South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 6,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but critical cases and deaths hit record highs amid concerns over the spread of the new omicron variant. The country added 5,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 5,525 local cases, raising the total caseload to 528,652, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.  Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two

Cafe and restaurant owners and customers alike voiced complaints Monday as the government began enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine pass system in earnest in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Following a one-week trial period, the country officially began its vaccine pass system Monday, requiring all visitors to cafes and restaurants to present a certificate proving they have completed their COVID-19 vaccination or tested negative. Businesses can be fined 1.5 million won (US$1,270) or susp

With daily COVID-19 caseload hitting new records, some 8,000 coffee chain shops and restaurants here are playing in-store audio announcements from one of the top public health officials recommending indoor masking. “Hello. This is the Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Gang-lip. Please remind yourself to wear a mask before and after eating or drinking and while talking,” the voice announcement rang out, interspersed every 30 minutes between Christmas jazz licks played at a Star

South Korea’s second known child to die of COVID-19 had a chronic health condition, and he was considered to be at risk. He had been sick for about a week before he was officially diagnosed on Dec. 2. And yet he was not immediately given a bed at a hospital, instead isolating at home for two days until he was taken to the emergency room. When he got to the ER on Dec. 4, he had breathing difficulties and a fever that wouldn’t go down. He was placed on a respirator immediately in an

After South Korea’s brief freedom from COVID-19 restrictions, deaths and hospital admissions are all rising, putting Moon Jae-in administration’s goal to bring country back to normal by early next year to a test. The country will decide this week whether to roll back social distancing and other restrictions of the past. Pandemic of the unvaccinated? In the past week the number of deaths per day has averaged 57, nearly five times what it was in the last week of October. Eighty d

Police have again come under fire for their inadequate handling of a recent stalking case, which eventually led to one death and one serious injury in Seoul. A ranking official of the National Police Agency (NPA) on Monday admitted apparent misjudgment by a local police station, which failed on Tuesday of last week to detain a stalker accused of abducting and sexually assaulting his former girlfriend for unclear reasons. (Yonhap)Two workers were found dead and one is missing in connection with

A tea museum operated by South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific is found to have a rather controversial policy: It says no foreigners are allowed in its guided tours or tea classes because no interpretation services are provided.  Even if the foreigner is OK with not having an interpreter or has a native Korean speaker to help, the museum is apparently reluctant to accept the guest, warning, “The translation (by another guest) may be restricted if it disturbs other participants of

Ven. Seongpa was chosen to be the spiritual leader of the Jogye Order, South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, on Monday, The 82-year-old priest is to start his five-year term as the 15th Supreme Patriarch on March 25 when current leader Ven. Jinje's second five-year term ends, the Jogye Order said. The Supreme Patriarch, or "Jongjeong" in Korean, is the highest authority in the Buddhist sect, but does not oversee its administration. Born in 1939 in Hapcheon, 354 kilometers south of Se

Outages in the government's digital vaccine authentication system have been reported in large numbers Monday, causing inconveniences around lunch time on the first day of the nation's vaccine pass enforcement. Reports of inability to access COOV, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's smartphone application which offers vaccine certifications in QR codes, began appearing in various online communities at around 11:40 a.m. Authentications of QR codes in other popular services, such as

Police will consider disclosing the identities of not only distributors of sexually exploitative materials but also their buyers as part of efforts to clamp down on digital sex crimes, officials said Monday. The National Police Agency said it began discussing the matter in an interagency meeting with the government's policy coordination office, the interior ministry, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's censorship body and others. "To curb online sex crimes,

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 6,000 for the first time in six days Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend amid concerns over the spread of the new omicron variant. The country added 5,817 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 523,088, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two days before falling to 6,977 on Saturday

South Korea has the third-highest ratio of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a report showed Monday. The average monthly number of NEET people aged 15-29 in the country is estimated at 1.56 million in the January-October period, according to the report from the Korea Employment Information Service. Of the total, 778,000 were preparing for employment or seeking jobs, with another 507,000 unwilling to

‘Record-breaking outbreak calls for measures of corresponding intensity’

Authorities decide to improve vaccine pass system for teenagers

Officials at financial regulators increasingly moving to crypto exchanges almost without restrictions