IYF founder Park Ock-soo met with African leaders to foster personality education

The number of severe COVID-19 cases dropped to three digits for the first time in almost six weeks, according to government data Thursday. The number of critically ill patients, as of midnight Wednesday, marked 962, down 52 from the previous day, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency figures showed. It was the first time for the figure to drop below 1,000 since March 7, when the country reported 955 severe cases. The occupancy rate of hospital beds for critically ill COVID-19 patient

Scant surveillance risks losing sight of highly probable Korean COVID-19 lineage, experts warn

A US Forces Korea (USFK) service member was caught driving under the influence of alcohol and causing an accident in Seoul early Thursday, police said. The soldier in his 20s was found to have damaged about 10 vehicles and motorcycles while driving after drinking at a bar in the capital's western district of Mapo, according to police. His blood alcohol level was 0.14 percent, high enough to have his driver's license revoked, when he was apprehended by police on a road in the central Yongsan dist

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 150,000 on Thursday, amid the continuing modest decline in infections after the worst omicron outbreak passed its peak last month. The country reported 148,443 new COVID-19 infections, including 35 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,979,061, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Excluding Mondays, when the daily counts tend to drop due to fewer tests on the weekend, the latest tally is the lowest number in abo

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday picked his close associate and elite prosecutor Han Dong-hoon to lead the Ministry of Justice. Han, 49, is known for leading the probes into corruption allegations against the conservative administrations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye during the early days of Moon Jae-in’s presidency as the head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s anti-corruption department.  After Moon gave Yoon the post of prosecutor general, Han was p

The Jeollanamdo Provincial Government, which represents South Jeolla Province, aims to support young people of Korean ethnicity residing overseas through the K-Diaspora Youth Project. The regional office signed the memorandum of understanding on Monday with the Godowon Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to youth mentoring, the Blue Tree Foundation, an NGO against school violence, Rep. Yang Hyang-ja of Democratic Party and The Korea Herald, agreeing to work closely to educate youn

The government confirms new social distancing rules to be announced Friday

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo pledged Wednesday to do everything he can to derail the ruling Democratic Party's push for a bill depriving the prosecution of its investigative power, denouncing the move as a "direct violation of the Constitution" that would be welcomed only by criminals. The DP has been pushing for what it calls a "complete deprivation of the prosecutorial investigative right" as part of efforts to reform the powerful law enforcement agency long accused of abu

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 200,000 on Wednesday, continuing the downward trend after last month's peak, with the government set to further ease virus curbs to regain normalcy. The country added 195,419 more COVID-19 infections, including 37 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,830,644, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is a drop from Tuesday's 210,755, marking a steady decline in the virus curve from the March 17 peak

Mandate or not, some Koreans plan to stick with face coverings to escape lookism

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to more than 200,000 on Tuesday after falling to the lowest level in seven weeks a day earlier amid the government's efforts to return to normalcy. The country reported 210,755 new COVID-19 infections, including 33 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,635,274, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The public health agency reported 171 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, raising the death toll to 19,850. The nu

Swedish Speaker of Parliament Andreas Norlen and his wife Helena Norlen, on an official visit to Korea at the invitation of National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, met with President Lee Sang-kyun of the Korea-Sweden Arts and Culture Society (KOSACS) to share views on cultural ties and exchanges between the two countries. President Lee said at the meeting, “Artistic and cultural exchanges between countries awaken citizens’ cultural sensibilities and passions, while providing th

As end of party’s rule draws near, rush to eliminate prosecutorial investigations