SUWON -- An appeals court upheld a 3 1/2-year prison term for a North Korean defector charged with spying for Pyongyang, court officials said Friday. The defector, whose identity was not made public, was indicted on charges of meeting with a North Korean official after traveling to a border region between China and the North in May 2018 at the request of his brother staying in the North. During the meeting, the defector allegedly accepted a request from the official to collect and deliver info

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases fell below 4,000 for the first time in three days Friday as the country is speeding up booster vaccination shots amid persistent concerns over the potentially more transmissible omicron variant. The country added 3,717 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,529 local infections, raising the total caseload to 657,508, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was down 409 from the previous day's tally and 1,158 fewer than

Squid Game, the television series at the forefront of the Korean wave, has won worldwide praise for its ingenious plot. Even more intriguing was the decision that the lead character made while building a team for a deadly, high-stakes game. After much pondering, he chose to partner with elderly people and women, those in socially vulnerable groups who would benefit the most from the cash prize. The responsibility for protecting vulnerable groups, however, should fall on society as a whole rather

Prosecutors said Thursday they indicted the two founders of Mergepoint, a once-popular online discount app, for causing some 100 billion won ($83.63 million) worth of damages to customers and member stores by selling virtual coupons that could not be used. The Seoul Southern Prosecutors Office said the sibling founders -- Kwon Nam-hee, CEO of the app operator, Mergeplus, and Kwon Bo-goon, the top strategy executive, -- were charged with fraud and violating the e-transaction law. The latter Kw

South Korea has bought an additional 400,000 courses of Paxlovid, the COVID-19 antiviral pills developed by Pfizer, health officials said Wednesday evening. With the latest purchase, the country has secured enough oral treatments for 1 million people in total -- Pfizer’s for 762,000 people, and the rest from Merck. “Adding pills to our treatment protocol will help stabilize and expand the at-home COVID-19 care scheme, a key pillar of our return to normal,” the Korea Disease C

A 32-year-old man was sentenced to seven years behind bars Thursday for beating his girlfriend to death. The man, surnamed Lee, was indicted on charges of battering his girlfriend, Hwang Ye-jin, to death in the lobby of a studio apartment building in western Seoul in late July during a fight between the two. Repeatedly beaten on the head, Hwang lost consciousness and was moved to a hospital with symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage. She eventually died about 20 days later. Appealing for leniency,

US, Canada, European countries limit unvaccinated minors’ access to public places, but rarely to education -- public or private

New engine for national growth lies in provinces, governor says

Police are stepping up an investigation into South Korea's single largest embezzlement case that has engulfed a local medical equipment producer, officers said Thursday, following the arrest of a suspect the previous day. A 45-year-old employee of Osstem Implant Co., identified only by his surname Lee, was arrested at his residence in Paju, 30 kilometers north of Seoul, on Wednesday on charges of embezzling 188 billion won ($157 million) from the dental implant maker. The arrest came just five

More than 16,000 people joined a year-end bell-ringing festival hosted by the Seoul city government in the metaverse, the digital arm of the city said Thursday. The Seoul Digital Foundation said an accumulated 16,067 people joined the metaverse festival marking the new year during its eight-day run from Dec. 25. The metaverse event included a midnight bell-ringing ceremony on New Year's Eve, to which some 3,000 people connected simultaneously, according to the foundation. The popular year-end

Three firefighters were killed while battling a warehouse blaze in Pyeongtaek on Thursday as authorities were still struggling to bring the fire under control after over 12 hours, officials said. The bodies of two deceased firefighters were found at 12:22 p.m. on the second floor of the refrigeration warehouse construction site in western Pyeongtaek, a city located 70 kilometers south of Seoul. The third firefighter was discovered nearby about 20 minutes later. The fire at the seven-story ware

Train operations on the Seoul-Busan line were normalized Thursday morning, a day after a KTX bullet train derailed in central South Korea and injured seven passengers, the operator said. Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) said trains bound for Seoul from the southeastern port city of Busan resumed normal operations from 5:47 a.m. and those heading to Busan from Seoul from 7:55 a.m. The normalization came after more than 130 train operations were delayed or canceled Wednesday afternoon, as a KTX-San

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 16 additional COVID-19 cases, including 14 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,376. Of the new cases, six are from the Army, six from the Air Force and four from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 221 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,566 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed over 4,000 for the second straight day Thursday as the country kept stricter antivirus measures in place amid persistent worries over a resurgence in infections and the spread of the omicron variant. The country added 4,126 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,931 local infections, raising the total caseload to 653,792, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). This marked the second straight that the daily cases have rema

The mandatory vaccine pass continues to fan controversy, with legal and health authorities clashing over its necessity at some places and possible rights violations. Legal experts say the mandatory vaccine pass, among other disease control policies, raises points of constitutional contention that stretch beyond the realm of public health and science. Health authorities on the other hand say the pass is necessary to contain the spread and allow the country to return to normal. A Seoul