South Korea's new coronavirus cases dipped to a 10-week low Monday as omicron began to recede and the country lifted most restrictions to move on from the COVID-19 pandemic. The country added 47,743 new COVID-19 infections, including 14 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,353,495, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The new tally is slightly fewer than the 49,546 reported Feb. 9 when the omicron variant started to rapidly spread across the country.

A fire broke out at an apartment building in northern Seoul early Monday, leaving one dead and another injured, officials said. The fire started at 3:38 a.m. in a unit on the ninth floor of the 15-story building in Nowon Ward and was extinguished about 50 minutes later. One of the unit's residents, in her 50s, was found dead on-site, and the other resident, in his 20s, was sent to a nearby hospital after inhaling smoke and sustaining burns. About 60 other residents in the apartment evacuated on

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province/MOKPO, South Jeolla Province -- Saturday marked the eighth year since the Sewol ferry disaster. Sewol’s sinking left a long-lasting mark on the collective memories of Koreans. From the moment the first 119 call for help was routed, up to the ferry’s submergence into the water, the tragedy was televised as it unfolded on April 16, 2014. The ferry, which was sailing through the Jindo archipelago in the farthest southwestern corner of Korea, sank at 2:37 p.m.

Government lifts social distancing rules after nearly two years, signaling beginning of ‘living with coronavirus’

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 100,000 on Sunday amid the continuing slowdown in infections, with the country set to lift major social distancing rules this week to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country added 93,001 more COVID-19 infections, including 18 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,305,752, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The tally marked a drop from 107,916 Saturday and 125,846 Friday. Daily virus cases fell below

With all social distancing rules but mask-wearing set to end this week, South Koreans are eager to return to complete pre-COVID-19 normalcy without masks, but some say masking is too beneficial to let go of even after the pandemic is over. Starting Monday, all COVID-19 infection prevention requirements, barring the mask mandate, will be lifted, including a curfew on operating hours of restaurants, cafes and other small businesses as well as the cap on the size of private gatherings. This will ma

After battling the new coronavirus for two years, South Korea is moving closer to post-pandemic life with the planned lifting of almost all COVID-19 social distancing rules. The new "post-omicron" scheme marks the first sweeping change in the COVID-19 response system since South Korea reported the first outbreak of the novel virus on Jan. 20, 2020. Starting Monday, restaurants, cafes and many other business establishments will be able to operate freely without a curfew and people will

A woman who allegedly killed her husband for insurance compensation in 2019 was arrested in the north of Seoul with her accomplice, the police said Saturday. The police arrested the 31-year-old murder suspect, Lee Eun-hae, and the 30-year-old accomplice, Cho Hyun-soo, at a residential building in Goyang, just north of Seoul, at around noon, according to the Incheon Metropolitan Police. Lee allegedly drowned her husband in June 2019 at a valley in Gapyeong, 60 kilometers east of Seoul, with Cho

President Moon Jae-in on Saturday reiterated his call for continued efforts to find the truth behind the tragic Sewol ferry sinking in 2014. "There are still matters in which the causes have not yet been revealed," Moon wrote on his social media accounts on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the incident that killed 304 people. Moon added that revealing the truth behind Sewol without exception is needed to build foundations for the country's safety. The ferry sank off the sou

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 110,000 on Saturday, with the country set to gradually return to normalcy starting next week by lifting major social distancing rules. The country added 107,916 more COVID-19 infections, including 30 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,212,751, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is a drop from the previous day's 125,846, marking a steady decline in the virus curve from the March 17 peak

Around 65 percent of patients infected with COVID-19 said they experienced at least three different types of post-COVID-19 symptoms, according to a local survey Friday. Myongji Hospital conducted a survey among 748 patients between March 21 and April 11 out of the 1,077 people who visited its post-COVID-19 care center. “Most of the patients who visited the post-COVID-19 care center here said they suffered from at least two or more aftereffects,” Myongji Hospital COVID-19 Sequela

South Korea will lift all COVID-19 social distancing rules, except a mask mandate, starting Monday, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during a COVID-19 response meeting Friday. It is the first time in around two years for the government to lift all social distancing rules. South Korea first introduced social distancing measures in March 2020, when it recommended to operations be suspended at religious facilities and some businesses. Kim said, “the government has decided to boldly lift s

A man was arrested on charges of setting fire to a four-story commercial building in Seoul early Friday, which left one dead and another injured, police said. The fire broke out at 3:24 a.m. at the building in Seoul's western district of Yeongdeungpo, gutting its first and second floors and charring the walls of the third and fourth floors before being extinguished around 5 a.m. A man in his 60s died on the third floor, and a woman in her 70s was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. After che

South Korea will lift all COVID-19 social distancing rules, except a mask mandate, next week, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, marking the first time all restrictions have been lifted since the pandemic began two years ago. Starting Monday, restaurants, cafes and other small businesses will be able to operate freely without a curfew, while the limit on the size of private gatherings will be removed, Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting. Currently, such businesses are allowed to

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