A growing number of crosswalk traffic signals are finding their way onto the ground in Seoul as a way to enhance the safety of pedestrians glued to their smartphones, according to the city's ward offices Tuesday. Nearly 1,200 in-ground crosswalk traffic signal systems were in operation across the city's total 25 boroughs as of Tuesday, led by the southern ward of Gangnam, which was operating 138 of them. Installed on the ground at the foot of a crosswalk, the supplementary LED traffic lights a

A cold wave hit South Korea on Tuesday, with temperatures in Seoul dropping to minus 9.3 C as of 8 a.m. and expected to remain below zero in the afternoon too, the state weather agency said. The apparent temperature for Seoul was minus 15.6 C, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. Cold wave alerts were issued in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province and some parts of the eastern Gangwon Province, as the morning lows dropped below minus 10 C. Mercury dived to minus 17.9 C at Moun

South Korea's military on Tuesday reported 17 additional COVID-19 cases, including 15 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,461. Of the new cases, 12 are from the Army, three from the Air Force and two from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 182 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,646 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

SEOUL/PAJU -- Police have booked three family members of a dental implant maker employee arrested for allegedly embezzling 221 billion won ($185 million) in company funds on suspicions of possible collusion. Police were looking into whether the father, the wife and the sister-in-law of the 45-year-old Osstem employee, identified only by his surname Lee, played a part in the suspected embezzlement, believed to be South Korea's single largest embezzlement case. Lee, who was arrested Saturday, al

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the fifth consecutive day Tuesday amid tightened antivirus restrictions, but concerns linger over a possible resurgence due to the continued spread of the omicron variant. The country added 3,097 new COVID-19 infections, including 2,813 local infections, raising the total caseload to 670,483, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country reported 43 more COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 6,

A parliamentary committee on Monday approved a bill on lowering the age at which people can join a political party, a move seen as aimed at wooing young voters ahead of the March presidential election.   The Legislation and Judiciary Commission passed the revised bill that calls for lowering the age of eligibility for joining political parties to 16 from the current 18.  Under the bill, people aged 16 and older will be able to participate in the process of creating a political p

A man convicted of killing three people in an arson fire at a motel in Seoul was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the Supreme Court of South Korea ruled Monday. The 71-year-old man was indicted on charges of setting a fire at a motel located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in November 2020, which led to a total of eight casualties. The man demanded the owner of the motel give him alcohol, but the owner refused. The man, who was found to be already drunk, then set a fire that killed three people and injur

South Korea‘s vaccine pass mandate, which requires people to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test conducted within 48 hours to shop in large retail and department stores, became effective on Monday. According to the government, there will be a one-week grace period until Jan. 16 to reduce confusion. After the grace period, penalties can be levied on people who enter those facilities with expired vaccine passes, as well as facilities owners who accept them. People who go in

SEJONG -- The government plans to provide support to companies in preventing and dealing with industrial hazards, as a new workplace disaster punishment law is set to come into effect this month, officials said Monday. The law, passed by the National Assembly last year, will go into effect on Jan. 27, under which owners and CEOs of companies with five or more employees can face a minimum one-year prison sentence or up to a fine of 1 billion won ($833,000) in the event of serious workplace disas

A court on Monday gave its nod to electric carmaker Edison Motors Co's deal to acquire the embattled SsangYong Motor Co., according to sources. The approval by the Seoul Bankruptcy Court paved the way for Edison's plan to take over the financially troubled carmaker under court receivership.  Sources said following the court decision, Edison is expected to sign a formal contract to pump in about 304.8 billion won ($254.5 million) into SsangYong as early as Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Snow will fall in the capital area and central inland regions between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, the state weather agency said, forecasting snow accumulation of up to 3 centimeters in Seoul. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that snow clouds have been forming in the Yellow Sea as cold air from the northwest has met with relatively warm air. As the snow cloud belt moves to the east, snow will begin to fall on the west coast of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul,

To deal with a possible testing crisis driven by an omicron surge, South Korea says it would give people at higher risk PCR tests first, while lower priority people take at-home rapid antigen tests. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the country’s COVID-19 diagnosis system, which so far has only used the highly accurate PCR tests, may start using the rapid antigen tests for less urgent cases. At the moment omicron accounts for 8 percent of all sequenced cases in Korea. But given i

The omicron caseload in Seoul has more than doubled to 456 on Monday from last week's 183 cases, the city government said. Omicron marks 0.2 percent of the total COVID-19 cases confirmed in Seoul so far. Omicron is highly likely to become the most prevalent COVID-19 variant in the city by late this month or February, Park Yoo-mi, a disease control official of the city government said. The city, meanwhile, saw the average number of daily new coronavirus cases decline from 1,533 in the final

 Over 1,900 police detectives lost their qualification this year to lead investigations after refusing field assignments too long, the National Police Agency said Monday. Detectives are reviewed yearly for renewal of their qualifications under a system introduced in 2005. This year’s number of investigators losing their status is the highest since the system was introduced, the NPA said. The total number of qualified special investigative officers now stands at 31,659, down from 3

Fine dust plagued most parts of South Korea on Monday due to air stagnation caused by the high atmospheric pressure in the west, weather authorities said. As of 8 a.m., the density of ultrafine dust, called PM 2.5, had hit the "very bad" level for the greater Seoul area, North Chuncheong Province and the central city of Sejong, and the southeastern city of Daegu, according to the Comprehensive Air-quality Index. The level for other parts of the country was "bad," except for