Ministry backpedals on its plan to ban free wet tissues in restaurants; environmental impacts of reckless use kept out of discussion

Seoul has sustained the heaviest damage from the heavy downpour that has hit Korea over the past week, government officials said Tuesday. The torrential rain that hit the greater Seoul region last week moved to the southern coastal areas of Korea on Tuesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the southern coastal regions will receive up to 150 millimeters of rain through Wednesday. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the week of rain has flo

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it has officially embarked on developing the city‘s new slogan, which will replace the eight-year-old “I·SEOUL·U,” created under the mayorship of Park Won-soon. The city government said it has decided to change the slogan after the existing one has been widely criticized for lacking clarity. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also previously criticized his predecessor’s slogan for being incomprehensible and fo

The South Korean government on Tuesday said that the total number of critically ill COVID-19 patients will peak between 800 and 900 in early September. The government added the number of deaths from COVID-19 could also reach between 100 and 140 during the same period. The government, however, did not change its projection for the number of daily infections, which it previously anticipated to peak at around 200,000 cases in late-August. “The COVID-19 spread is expected to peak by the e

Police are reviewing strengthening support measures for stalking cases, including increasing the supply of smartwatches and directing greater manpower. According to the National Police Agency on Tuesday, 14,271 cases of stalking incidents were reported to the police from January through June this year. The figure is about 4.1 times higher than the 3,494 reports received during the same period last year. Illegal filming reports also increased to 3,240, a spike of over 50 percent from 2,140 case

Bill Gates on Tuesday said he hoped South Korea would take on a larger role in tackling global health threats to match the scale of its economy in a stronger partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which he co-chairs. In a meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol at his office in central Seoul, Gates said that South Korea‘s growing contribution to global health and its capabilities made the country “a strong match” with the goals of the Gates Foundation. &ldquo

INCHEON -- A university freshman indicted on charges of attempted rape and murder of a female schoolmate is said to have confessed to pushing the victim off a campus building, judicial officials said Tuesday. The 20-year-old student of Inha University in Incheon, west of Seoul, is accused of attempting to rape the victim and causing her to fall to her death from the campus building on July 15. The victim was found by a passerby about one hour after her plunge from the third floor of the five-sto

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 for the second consecutive day Tuesday, but the number of seriously ill patients hit about a four-month high amid the continued spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country added 84,128 new COVID-19 infections, including 463 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 21,502,164, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). New daily infections fell below the 100,000 level on Monday for the

The latest resurgence in COVID-19 infections in South Korea slowed down on Sunday, according to government data Monday. The resurgence, however, is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, coinciding with the summer holiday season, as well as the Chuseok holiday in early September. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s report on Monday, the country added 62,078 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday. The daily tally reported during the 24 hours of Sunday was

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 for the first time in seven days Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend amid the spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country reported 62,078 new COVID-19 infections, including 396 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 21,418,036, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily tally stayed above 100,000 for the past six days, with new cases reaching a four-month high of 151

Korea’s soft power growth undeniable, but sustainability remains in question

The deaths from last week’s heavy rains stood at 14 and the number of people registered missing was revised down to four from five as one person was mistakenly reported missing, officials said Sunday. 　Of the dead, eight died in Seoul, four in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and two in the eastern Gangwon Province, according to data from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. 　Previously, one person had been registered as missing in Seoul, but the person was mist

South Korea‘s new daily COVID-19 cases declined for the third straight day Saturday but remained above the 100,000 level for the fifth day in a row amid the fast spread of the omicron variant. 　The country added 124,592 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 21,236,355, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. 　Of the new cases, 480 were from overseas. 　The daily tally marked a fall from 128,714 the previous day, but it was higher than the 110,632

Hospitalizations, deaths creep up

The Korean government on Friday announced a plan to ensure the safety of children, based on the Child Safety Management Act, enacted in May 2020. In cooperation with other ministries, the Ministry of Interior and Safety pledged to ensure the safety of children from traffic accidents by improving the pedestrian environment in school zones and tightening the management of traffic lights, and more. It will designate roads without sidewalks as “pedestrian priority roads,” giving pr