The South Korean government is mulling over whether to provide free self-testing kits for COVID-19 and who to give them to, amid growing supply shortage fears induced by recent changes in pandemic treatment measures. Demand for self-test kits has surged since the government began to prioritize high-risk groups on Feb. 3, including those aged 60 and over, for access to immediate polymerase chain reaction tests. Under the new system aimed at dealing with the omicron-fueled COVID-19 wave, the re

South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections rose sharply to hit another high of over 50,000 on Thursday amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant across the nation. The country reported 54,122 new COVID-19 infections, including 54,034 local cases, raising the total to 1,185,361, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked the first time that the daily tally exceeded the 50,000 level. The previous daily record high was 49,567 recorded Wed

COVID-19 patients recovering at home under the age of 60 will no longer be provided care and monitoring unless they are on Paxlovid, the Pfizer oral antiviral treatment, raising concerns for younger but vulnerable patients. Amid an omicron surge, a record 168,000 patients were under home recovery as of Monday afternoon across South Korea, exceeding the manageable maximum of 166,000 that was set previously by the government. Home recovery became the default care arrangement for patients of

Last Saturday, uncle of YouTuber and online streamer Cho Jang-mi revealed that his niece had taken her own life due to rumors and malicious internet comments. The revelation has since sparked nationwide furor over cyberbullying and a relatively novel phenomenon of “cyberwreckers,” referring to YouTubers who make commentary videos of contentious issues using compiled footage and photos. A particular cyberwrecker involved with the incident was a YouTuber with the channel name PPKKa

South Korea‘s daily COVID-19 cases nearly reached 50,000 during the 24 hours of Tuesday, due to the quickly-spreading omicron variant, the government said Wednesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country reported 49,567 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, raising the total to 1,131,248. It is the first time that the country’s daily figure has surpassed 40,000, according to government data. The figure was around 11,000 more than the previous dail

South Korea has switched to a do-it-yourself contact tracing scheme as the omicron variant changes how the outbreak is handled. And yet people are still required to scan personal QR codes that have so far allowed contact tracers to collect information about exactly where they visited and when. Starting Monday, those who test positive for COVID-19 will need to contact trace themselves through an online questionnaire that asks where the last places they visited were, whether they live with anyon

Guri, Gyeonggi province, has an area of ​​33.29 square kilometers, making it the smallest city in South Korea. It has a population of around 193,000 as of October last year. The map of this city is changing slowly but surely. The size of the projected population of the city by 2035 is around 235,000. This is an increase of more than 20 percent from now. Guri Mayor Ahn Seung-nam is seeking population growh and regional development through large-scale development projects. Guri Han Riverside

Suwon has taken steps toward a more equal, age-friendly city

Small city mayor calls himself ‘happy preacher’

Chung Mong-joon, honorary chairman of Asan Institute for Policy Studies, has donated $1 million to honor the work of Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, a renowned scholar in international relations, the institute said Wednesday. Half of the fund was given to the Center for Strategy and International Studies in Washington, DC, and the other half to the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. An influential realist scholar

‘Suwon special city will serve as excellent test bed for expanding autonomy’

Seoul's daily tally of new COVID-19 infections reached 11,682 on Wednesday, the first ever figure over 10,000 since the country's first case reported two years ago, according to city officials. The daily COVID-19 tally in the capital city has been growing rapidly with the fast spread of omicron variant, hitting the 5,000 level for the first time a week earlier and repeatedly renewing its record to surpass the 8,000 level last Saturday. Of the latest total, 11,630 cases were locally tra

The first batch of self-driving taxies in Seoul will go into service in the city's western region this week, the city government said Wednesday. Four autonomous cars will start providing public taxi services in the Sangam-dong district in western Seoul on Thursday, covering two separate transportation routes. Any passenger can call one of the taxies on the smartphone application TAP! at the fixed fare of 2,000 won ($1.67) per ride, automatically payable on the application. Circling two separate

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 416 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its domestic personnel to 7,158. The new cases included 216 from the Army, 129 from the Air Force, 27 from the Marine Corps, 26 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, 15 from the Navy and three from the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command. Currently, 2,613 military personnel are under treatment. Meanwhile, the military reported no additional virus cases from the N

South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections rose sharply to hit another high of nearly 50,000 on Wednesday amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant across the nation. The country reported 49,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 49,402 local cases, raising the total to 1,131,248, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked the first time that the daily tally exceeded the 40,000 level. The previous daily record high was 38,689 recorded Sun