Concert organizers, movie theaters, singers and other members of the cultural sector are gearing up to resume long-suspended shows, concerts and performances after the government unveiled a roadmap for a gradual return to normalcy from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the roadmap, most coronavirus restrictions, such as nighttime curfews on cafes, restaurants and other multi-use facilities, will be phased out starting next week as the country's vaccination rate surpassed the key milestone of

About 60 Jindos get socialization training to build trust ahead of adoption

Some 2.4 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine that Samsung Biologics has helped manufacture are being supplied for domestic use for the first time, South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. The ministry said the 2.4 million doses are among the first batch of Moderna’s vaccine from the plant in Incheon. The country’s drug regulators authorized the Samsung Biologics-produced doses for emergency use Monday, the ministry said, which differs from th

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 1,500 for the third consecutive day Tuesday, less than a week to go before the beginning of a gradual return to normal life with eased social distancing rules. The country added 1,266 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,246 local infections, raising the total caseload to 354,355, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally inched up from 1,190 new cases reported the previous day, though it remained under 1,500

Three-quarters of South Koreans agree with the need to shift to the “living with COVID-19” scheme, according to a recent poll, as the government is moving to phase out coronavirus restrictions under the new policy next month. According to the survey conducted early this month with 1,083 people aged 19 to 69, 76.5 percent expressed support for the government‘s planned transition to coexistence with the coronavirus. In a similar poll carried out in August, only 56.9 percent wer

Police in this southeastern port city have apprehended 27 sex trafficking suspects, including one identified as a court official, the local police agency said Monday. The suspects are accused of operating 95 prostitution establishments in Busan and adjacent areas of Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, mediating prostitution over 8,800 times and taking 700 million won (US$599,000) in profits from March last year to last month, according to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. Notably, a civil

Come January, life will come to more closely resemble the way it was before

More than 80,000 crimes by romantic partners were reported in the past five years, with the numbers showing an upward trend, data showed Monday. Of the 81,056 reports, 61,133 involved violent crimes such as murder, sexual assault, other assault, battery or criminal intimidation, according to the data submitted by the National Police Agency to Rep. Yang Ki-dae of the ruling Democratic Party. There were 227 murder reports involving romantic partners during the five-year period. According to the

On the occasion of Dokdo Day, local civic group Voluntary Agency Network of Korea has developed an online campaign in collaboration with advertising guru Yi Je-seok to encourage the public to check and report errors of names of Dokdo and East Sea in maps on overseas sites.  The models for this campaign are independence activists, Ahn Jung-geun, Yun Bong-gil and Ryu Gwan-sun, who are portrayed as discovering and correcting errors on overseas sites using cellphones and computers. The c

Experts say government, public figures need to act responsibly to uproot hatred, discrimination against foreigners

South Korea will take steps toward a gradual return to normal life from the COVID-19 pandemic next month, as the nation's vaccination rate surpassed the key milestone of 70 percent, President Moon Jae-in said Monday. Despite the measures, however, some anti-virus restrictions, including a mask-wearing rule, will remain in place after November to continue to slow the spread of the virus, Moon said in a budget speech at the National Assembly. Some 35.9 million of the nation's 51.3 million popula

South Korea reported 1,190 new cases Monday, continuing a sustained decline in the number of coronavirus cases as its vaccination rate reached the milestone of 70 percent over the weekend. Monday's tally, including 1,167 local infections, raised the total caseload to 353,089, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It is down from the 1,423 counted the previous day. New virus cases stayed below 2,000 for the 17th day in a row. The death toll came to 2,773, up seven from a

Car accidents involving unlicensed teenagers soared by 34 percent between 2018 and 2020, road traffic data showed. According to a Korea Road Traffic Authority report submitted to Rep. Kang Deuk-gu of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, teenagers were in 833 accidents last year while driving without a license, a sharp jump from 618 and 689 accidents in 2018 and 2019, respectively. More than 3,100 people suffered injuries and 63 died in the total 2,140 accidents involving unlicensed teenagers

More than 80,000 cases of dating violence were reported in the past five years nationwide, with more than 200 cases resulting in murder, police data showed Monday. According to the data of the National Police Agency, obtained by Rep. Yang Ki-dae of the ruling Democratic Party, 81,056 cases of dating abuse were reported to police between 2016 and last year. The annual total rose steadily from 9,364 in 2016 to 18,945 last year, the data showed. Of the total, 61,133 cases involved serious types

South Korea ranks fourth in relative poverty among major economies in the world, data showed Monday, in a sign of its high income inequality. The country's relative poverty rate, referring to the percentage of people with an income below 50 percent of the median income, came to 16.7 percent in 2018-19, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is the fourth-highest rate among 37 member countries of the Paris-based club of rich nations. Sout