South Korea's new COVID-19 cases exceeded 100,000 for the sixth straight day on Sunday as infections stayed high amid the spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant and increased movement encouraged by eased social curbs and summer vacation. The country added 105,507 new COVID-19 infections, including 484 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,489,128, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. This marked the sixth straight day that daily cases hovered above 10

Gwanghwamun Square, a major landmark in central Seoul, opened to the public Saturday after nearly two years of renovation. The square, which has been expanded and partially refurbished into a park, opened to the public at 11 a.m., according to the Seoul city government. Construction began in November 2020 to expand the square with new historical and cultural attractions. The square is now 2.1 times larger than before at 40,300 square meters after an adjacent road that had been located to its

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases remained over 100,000 for the fifth straight day Saturday as the country battles a new wave of infections fueled by a highly infectious omicron subvariant. The country added 110,666 new COVID-19 infections, including 573 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,383,621, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Saturday's figure is slightly down from 112,901 Friday but jumped 1.35 times from a week earlier. Daily infection cases have

The country’s daily COVID-19 cases stay above 100,000 for the fourth consecutive day

A civic group on Thursday denounced the Japanese government over a pension payment of less than $1 to victims of forced labor during Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula. According to the Japanese Forced Mobilization Civic Group, a number of victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial era received 931 won ($0.74), from the Japanese government as pension. The victims and civic group deplored the payment, saying it is “a malicious ridicule and an insult.” The gro

The minimum hourly wage for next year has been finalized at 9,620 won ($7.38), up 5 percent, or 460 won, from this year, unchanged from the Minimum Wage Commission’s earlier decision, the Labor Ministry said Friday. The ministry officially published the 2023 minimum wage in the government gazette at 9 a.m. The new minimum wage translates to a monthly wage of 2.02 million won, when an individual works 209 hours a month. This will apply equally across all industries. Earlier on June 29,

One in 3 parents who murdered or attempted to kill their own children since 2020 were given suspended prison sentences, while all parent killers sentenced during the same period were handed jail terms, local media reported Friday. The local Segye Ilbo newspaper said it analyzed verdicts given to 15 filicide cases and 15 patricide or matricide cases from January of 2020 to May of this year. Among the filicide cases, it found that the accused had walked away with a suspended term for five of the

Police are investigating an Iraqi man who strewed a large amount of U.S. dollar and euro bills on a street in northern Seoul and later reported to police he lost money, officials said Friday. The Iraqi in his 30s scattered dollar, euro and Korean won bills worth a total of 22 million won (US$16,930) on a street in a residential area of Seoul's Nowon district Thursday evening, according to police officials. The man reportedly started strewing the banknotes after he tried to give money to a p

The government will resume preemptive COVID-19 tests for new military conscripts to prevent mass infections at boot camps amid a new wave of virus resurgence, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Friday. "The government will have new conscripts get free tests at public health centers nationwide within three days before joining the military by classifying them into the priority group for the polymerase chain reaction test," Lee said during a government virus response meeting. The upcomin

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases exceeded 100,000 for the fourth straight day Friday amid a wave of infections driven by a highly infectious omicron variant. The country added 112,901 new COVID-19 infections, including 497 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 20,273,011, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's figure is slightly up from 107,894 Thursday. On Wednesday, the daily caseload stood at 119,922, which was the highest since the 125,821 c

A Russian man who was on the run after allegedly killing a Uzbek man in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, has been apprehended three days after the crime, police said Wednesday. The Russian national in his 50s was put under emergency arrest on murder charges, according to police in Hwaseong, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul. The suspect is accused of stabbing the Uzbek national in his 40s several times at the latter's home in Hwaseong's Songsan district last Saturday before fleeing, polic

Brazil-born Sogang University senior behind Korean Brazilian virtual influencer Theo

An independent counsel probe led by prosecutor Ahn Mi-young has requested an extension of the investigation period for the death of the late Sgt. Lee Ye-ram, a victim of sexual violence in the Air Force. 　 　The team said it asked the president‘s office to extend the investigation period on Thursday. 　 　The independent counsel probes are limited to 70 days, but the investigation can be extended by up to 30 days with the approval of the president. 　 　The team launched an investigation on Jun

Yoon‘s failure to meet Pelosi is decision considering national interest, chief spokesperson says

Experts call for bottle-to-bottle recycling, as 80% of recovered PET are reused just once as clothing before a trip to the landfill