South Korea's new coronavirus cases dropped to the lowest tally in six weeks Monday, but there are lingering concerns of another spike over the eased virus curbs. The country reported 127,190 new COVID-19 infections, including 15 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 14,001,406, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily tally marked the lowest number since the 99,562 cases on Feb. 22. The death toll from COVID-19 came to 17,453, up 218 from Sunday, t

The Seoul city government will actively consider building new crematoriums in addition to adding furnaces to existing ones in an effort to meet soaring cremation demand from rising COVID-19 deaths, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Sunday. Oh made the remark to reporters during a visit to Seoul Memorial Park, a crematorium on the southern outskirts of Seoul, saying the demand for cremation is difficult to meet even though the facilities have been in operation at full capacity. "Workers in the

No cases of delta, omicron recombinant viruses detected here so far

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 300,000 for the third consecutive day Sunday as the spread of the omicron variant slowed down after peaking out last month. The country reported 234,301 new COVID-19 infections, including 22 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,874,216, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea has seen a downward trend in daily cases in recent weeks, with a record high of over 620,000 on March 17 falling

The National Intelligence Service has detected a total of 99 cases of attempted industrial espionage over the past five years, which would have cost domestic companies about 22 trillion won ($18 billion), the agency said Saturday. Technologies and trade secrets targeted in the cases from January 2017 to February 2022 involved display devices (19 cases), semiconductors (17), electric and electronic products (17), automobiles (9), shipbuilding (8), information and communications (8) and machine

ULSAN -- A worker was killed Saturday in an explosion at a shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in the southeastern port city of Ulsan, police said. The employee in his 50s, hired by a subcontractor, was cutting steel plates with oxy-fuel gas when the blast occurred at 7:48 a.m. at a plant of the world's largest shipbuilder in the city, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul. He fell unconscious and was sent to a hospital, but he was declared dead, according to police. Other workers at the sce

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases remained below 300,000 for the second consecutive day Saturday as the omicron variant was spreading at a slower pace after peaking out last month. The country reported 264,171 new COVID-19 infections, including 68 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,639,915, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. South Korea has seen a downward trend in new cases in recent weeks, with an all-time high of over 620,000 on March 17 dippin

Lee Soon-ja to take up civil case against Chun as inheritor of late husband’s assets, but excused from an unpaid W95.6b forfeiture

SACHEON, South Korea -- Two Air Force KT-1 trainer jets collided in midair and crashed in southern South Korea on Friday, killing all four pilots aboard the planes, the Air Force and local disaster response officials said. The jets went down in a rice paddy in Sacheon, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, after colliding with each other in midair at around 1:37 p.m. during training, just minutes after their takeoffs from a nearby base, they said. Over 62 firefighters and emergency responders wer

The government hints that it can scrap all social distancing rules and antivirus measures next time -- except indoor mask mandate

A veterinary clinic employee allegedly dumped the remains of dozens of animals at a mountain in Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province, police said Thursday. Police summoned a veterinary hospital employee to investigate the charges of dumping about 70 dead dogs, including newborn puppies and skeletal remains, on a mountain in Geumwang-eup. An animal registration chip was found in one of the carcasses that contained medical records of the dog for the clinic where the suspect is emplo

The first reported patient of the COVID-19 omicron variant in South Korea has been indicted for lying to health authorities during an epidemiological survey following her infection in November, according to legal sources Friday. The 40-something woman living in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, was charged without detention for allegedly violating the Infectious Disease Control Act by lying about her transportation use when questioned by local authorities after testing positive for omicron o

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), an international organization on fighting climate change, has approved $190 million in funding for two new green energy projects, South Korea's finance ministry said Friday. The board of the GCF, headquartered in Songdo of Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, endorsed the funding plan for projects to help 14 emerging countries fight climate change, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It said $73 million will be spent to support a climate-smart agricul

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases dipped below 300,000 on Friday as the omicron wave that gripped the country for months appears to be topping out with one in every four people having had the virus. The country reported 280,273 new COVID-19 infections, including 48 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,375,818, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. South Korea has seen a downward trend in daily COVID-19 infections for the first time in about three mon

South Korea retreated from its pandemic response strategy known as “test, trace, treat” on the premise that with omicron, COVID-19 had transformed into a more flu-like disease. Omicron’s emergence called for a new strategy “attuned to the changes in the characteristics of the virus” and a departure from the earlier ways of handling the pandemic, health officials have said. The touted promise of a milder virus is fading by the day so far into Korea’s omicron