Neighbors left flowers, gifts and heartfelt notes at a roadside clothing donation bin in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, where an infant was found dead earlier this month. The baby -- a boy -- was found by the bin’s operator on Dec. 18, wrapped with a towel. On Sunday, local police arrested a 20-something woman living nearby as a suspect. The woman confessed to having given birth to the baby at home and abandoning him at the bin, out of fear that her husband could find out about her extramar

Coronavirus cluster infections have been on the rise at young children's educational facilities in Seoul, the city government said Monday. The Seoul government said as many as 270 children tested positive for COVID-19 last week as parts of infection clusters traced to daycare centers, kindergartens and other educational facilities. The number of COVID-19 infections traced to an English language academy in the southern ward of Gwanak, for instance, reached 76 from Dec. 19-25, while similar clus

Civic groups vented outrage Monday over the recent special pardon for ex-President Park Geun-hye imprisoned on corruption charges, arguing that the decision is a blow to the country's democracy. Activists representing 1,001 civic groups, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, staged a press conference in front of Cheong Wa Dae earlier in the day, calling for the withdrawal of the amnesty. "President Moon Jae-in's

South Korea's state intelligence agency formally raised the alarm Monday about the possibility of counterfeit $50 bills being distributed in the nation, especially before and during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made public a photo of a fake bill, similar to a so-called supernote in its highly deceptive characteristics, which it had acquired recently. "Such a $50 counterfeit has not yet been found in South Korea, but it is continuing to ci

Government secures oral treatments for 604,000, drug likely to go into use from late January

The employment rate of students with bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to job markets, government statistics showed Monday. Their employment rate stood at 65.1 percent last year, the lowest since the education ministry started compiling such data in 2011, according to its statistics. According to the statistics, 553,521 people graduated from colleges and graduate schools across the country between August 2019

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 for the first time in 20 days Monday due partly to antivirus restrictions and fewer tests over the weekend, but the number of critical cases remained high. The country added 4,207 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 611,670, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure marked the first time daily cases fell below 5,000 since Dec. 7, and represented a sharp decline from a daily record high

Heavy snowfall on Jeju forces airlines to cancel, delay flights

South Korea's military on Sunday reported 31 additional COVID-19 cases, including 30 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,120. Of the new cases, 22 are from the Army, six from the Navy and three from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 278 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,327 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 6,000 for the second straight day Sunday following fewer tests on Christmas Day but critical cases remained high. The country added 5,419 more COVID-19 cases, including 5,339 local infections, bringing the cumulative total to 607,463, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Sunday's tally fell from 5,842 cases on Saturday, 6,233 on Friday and 6,917 on Thursday, apparently helped by antivirus restrictions. The number of crit

ICU workers hold the front lines against COVID-19 over the holidays

A decade ago, Seoulites were exposed to all of the elements of climate alongside automobile exhaust while waiting for the next bus to come. Today, the city has adopted digitally renovated bus stops that alert passengers of incoming vehicles, protect them from weather changes and help them better respond to medical emergencies.  Known as “smart shelters,” these tech-savvy bus stops are equipped with screen doors for safety, smartphone chargers, Wi-Fi internet access, air-condi

Medical workers on Wednesday dressed up as Santa Claus at a COVID-19 testing center in Gwangju.  To celebrate the upcoming Christmas, doctors and nurses at the testing center conducted COVID-19 tests in Santa Claus outfits. The number of COVID-19 cases rapidly increased this month, with some 7,000 cases reported each day. Amid the worsening COVID-19 situation, medical workers turned into Santa Claus to light up the atmosphere of the testing center.  The Santa Claus outfit that worke

The number of South Koreans studying in foreign nations in 2020 dropped 41 percent from two years earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Friday. There were 171,343 South Korean students abroad at the end of last year, a decrease from 293,157 recorded at the end of 2018, according to the foreign ministry's report on Korean expatriates. The total number of South Koreans abroad fell 6.53 percent over the same period to 2.51 million, apparently affected by the virus situation. (Yonhap)

The number of single-member households in South Korea soared more than 27 percent in 2020 from five years earlier, government data showed Friday, amid a delay in marriage and a rapidly aging population. One-person families numbered 6.64 million last year, up 27.5 percent from five years earlier and accounting for 31.7 percent of the total 20.93 million, according to the data by Statistics Korea. By age, men took up 49.7 percent of single-person households, with their number soaring 42.7 percen