In President Yoon Suk-yeol’s address marking his 100 days in office on Wednesday, COVID-19 went noticeably unmentioned despite the worrying rise in cases. Yoon has yet to appoint his minister of health and welfare, after the last two nominees dropped out following allegations of corruption. As president-elect and as candidate, Yoon has said he would be better than his predecessor Moon Jae-in at handling COVID-19. But the steps taken by his administration so far have more or less been fo

South Korea on Thursday updated its vaccine advice to recommend boosters to people who have had a “breakthrough” case, meaning an infection following full vaccination. The latest vaccine advice says boosters or third doses are recommended to all adults aged 18 and up as well as clinically vulnerable children aged 12 to 17, if their last infection was three months or longer ago. Previously, eligibility for boosters or third doses opened up for fully vaccinated people aged 12 and o

By Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik The number of job vacancies stood at 230,000 as of June 2022 in Korea, the highest since February of 2018. Particularly, labor-intensive industries such as shipbuilding and basic manufacturing industries, and service industries such as restaurants and retailers are seeing an increasing number of unfilled jobs. Labor shortages in shipbuilding and basic manufacturing are getting worse due to dire labor conditions such as dangerous work environmen

More than five million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been discarded in South Korea, according to a report released by the National Assembly on Thursday. More vaccines, however, are expected to be discarded with their expiration dates approaching. The issue of COVID-19 vaccines going to waste is likely to continue as more are scheduled to arrive in South Korea by the end of this year. According to the National Assembly Budget Office, the country discarded a total of 5.29 million doses of C

Four South Korean speed skaters, including three-time Olympic medalist Kim Min-seok, have decided not to appeal their recent suspension over a drunk driving accident, an official with the national Olympic body said Thursday. The official from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said Kim and three of his fellow national team athletes did not submit appeals by Wednesday's deadline. On Aug. 8, the Korea Skating Union (KSU) suspended Kim for 18 months for impaired driving in July. Chung

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed above 170,000 for the second consecutive day Thursday as the country is experiencing a new virus wave amid the continued spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country added 178,574 new COVID-19 infections, including 633 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 21,861,296, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked a slight fall from the previous day when the figure hit a four-month high of 180,

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it was considering converting Jamsu Bridge on the Han river into a pedestrian-only route. As part of the plan, the government plans to run a pilot program, restricting traffic on the bridge from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. every Sunday from Aug. 28 to Oct. 30. Also from noon to 9 p.m. on the day of traffic control, events such as street performances and outdoor movie screenings will be held on the bridge. Events and traffic control will not tak

Korea records the world’s highest COVID-19 cases per million

Between piling studies about hazards of tobacco and growing disdain for smoking, controversy rises over smokers’ right to light up in peace

With a single photo and 30 seconds of voice data, anybody can create lifelike digital characters, says KLleon founder and CEO

Prosecutors will determine this week whether to suspend the prison term of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife, who was convicted of college admission fraud involving their daughter and financial misconduct, sources said Wednesday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office will hold a meeting Thursday to determine whether to grant a request by Cho's wife, Chung Kyung-sim, to suspend her four-year prison term for health reasons, according to the legal sources. Chung, a former pro

The justice ministry has proposed a law requiring convicted stalkers to wear electronic monitoring devices for up to 10 years, officials said Wednesday. The ministry unveiled the proposal in a pre-legislation notice. Currently, high-risk convicted murderers, sex offenders, burglars and child kidnappers are subject to the use of devices such as ankle bracelets, which use GPS technology to monitor the location of the person. The move comes amid a rising number of stalking-related crimes despite th

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases jumped to a four-month high on Wednesday following the extended weekend amid the continued spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country added 180,803 new COVID-19 infections, including 567 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 21,682,816, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It is the highest figure since April 13, when the daily tally came to 195,387 amid the worst virus wave. Wednesday's f

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases surged to an 18-week high of about 180,000 on Wednesday amid a new resurgence of the virus, a government official said. The number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients came to 469 with the daily death toll reaching 42, Kim Sung-ho, the head of the interior ministry's disaster management office, said during a government COVID-19 response meeting. "An increase in travelers in the summer vacation season and the recent extended Liberation Day holiday is expected t

The justice ministry on Tuesday announced four candidates shortlisted for the first prosecutor general of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. A special ministry committee recommended the four -- Yeo Hwan-seop, head of the Institute of Justice; Kim Hoo-gon, head of the High Prosecutors Offices; Lee Doo-bong, head of the Daejeon High Prosecutors Office; and Lee Won-seok, deputy chief prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors Office. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon will pick and recommend one of them t