South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but health authorities remain on alert over a possible spike in new infections under eased virus curbs. The country reported 1,715 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 383,407, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Last week, South Korea began its "living with COVID-19" scheme as part of a broader plan to gradually lift the virus restrictions by the end of F

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Monday it has detected 14 hacking attempts from abroad on the country's key industry technologies in the first nine months this year that could have resulted in nearly 1.78 trillion won ($1.5 billion) worth of damage to relevant companies. Of the total cases detected between January and September, seven were reported from the country's leading chip and display industries, according to the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The NIS added it has pre

Indoor sports workers question ambiguous standards on what counts as high-risk

The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people's cross-border movements, data showed Monday. The number of multicultural marriages came to 16,177 last year, down 34.6 percent, or 8,544, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest reading since 2008 when the statistics agency started to compile related data. The number of international marriages sharply fell la

President Moon Jae-in on Monday instructed aides to mobilize all possible measures to stabilize a supply of urea water solution amid growing public concerns about a worsening shortage of the key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions due to tightened imports. Moon also ordered aides to "make utmost diplomatic efforts to secure" urea water solution from foreign countries, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters. The government will take stern actions agai

Police will minimize the use of diesel vehicles to prepare for the prolonged shortage of urea water solution across the country, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Monday. The NPA said it has instructed all police organizations nationwide to deprioritize the use of diesel vehicles to cope with the worsening urea water crisis. South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions, after China tightened exports of the

The government on Monday launched an inter-agency team to monitor illegal market activities surrounding urea water solution amid a dire shortage of the key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions due to tightened imports, officials said. The launch of the special inspection team, comprising 31 sub-teams and 108 personnel, came as South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution, known as diesel exhaust fluid, and its surging prices in recent weeks, since China

The government is considering using the military reserve of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions, to help address supply shortages in the civilian sector, sources said Monday. The defense ministry and other relevant ministries are in talks over the idea of temporarily lending part of the military stockpile to the civilian sector, they said, amid fears that a protracted shortage of the fluid could cause serious disruptions in the country's logistical in

A total of 2,844 people were caught drunk driving in the first full week last week since the country eased virus curbs to gradually return to normalcy under its "living with COVID-19" scheme, police said Monday. Of them, 514 were caught Saturday, 427 on Friday and 417 on Sunday, and total of 2,091 people had blood alcohol content levels high enough to have their license revoked while the remaining 753 with levels warranting license suspension, according to the National Police Agency.

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 for the first time in six days Monday as fewer people took virus tests over the weekend, but health authorities remain on alert as new infections could rise under eased social distancing rules. Last week, the government began its "living with COVID-19" scheme as part of a broader plan to gradually lift the virus restrictions by the end of February. The country reported 1,760 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 381,694

Lackluster hiring of women drags down performance

Nov. 1 marked the launch of the South Korean government’s three-phase plan, announced last week, to gradually lift the restrictions previously imposed because of COVID-19. While many people have welcomed the road map for a return to normal -- particularly local business owners hurt by the prolonged restrictions -- there are still concerns about what is to come in this new era of “living with COVID-19.” Experts across the country have expressed concern that the new policy

The number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients has risen steadily since Nov. 1, when rules were eased for public gatherings and working hours at public facilities such as restaurants and cafes. The change came into effect as part of a step-by-step transition by health authorities to remove all restrictions by February. This weekend some 3,000 South Koreans attended rallies in downtown Seoul, while many others took advantage of the increased freedom in public places. But Korea is seeing an incr

Eyes on whether probe will look into Lee Jae-myung’s aides

People flocked to churches and temples in South Korea on Sunday to attend worship services on the first weekend since the country began easing virus restrictions as part of steps to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. South Korea on Monday kicked off the first of the three-stage "living with COVID-19" scheme to gradually phase out coronavirus restrictions as more than 70 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated. Under the eased rules, in-person worship services are now allo