South Korea will launch a nationwide shopping festival next month to boost domestic consumption amid the pandemic, the industry ministry said Friday. The annual Korea Sale FESTA will kick off Nov. 1 for a 15-day run, both online and offline, and a total of 1,276 companies have expressed their intention to take part in the event, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The government plans to issue discount coupons and hold various events in cooperation with retailers and 17 pr

South Korea reported 1,440 new daily cases Friday in a downward trend in its coronavirus infections as its strong vaccination push seems to be helping prevent the spread of the coronavirus from spinning out of control. The new tally, including 1,420 local infections, brought the total caseload to 348,969, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's number is down one from the 1,441 counted the previous day. It is also down 117 from a week ago. The death toll came to

A 2.4 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's central region Friday morning, the state weather agency said. The earthquake occurred about 26 kilometers south of Jecheon, 168 km southeast of Seoul, at 6:51 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter is estimated to be at a depth of 14 km. The earthquake was recorded at a maximum of Level 3 on the seismic intensity scale in North Chungcheong Province, where the epicenter was located. Gangwon Province in th

South Korea could discontinue most of its COVID-19 restrictions within mere weeks, according to top health officials. Kwon Deok-cheol, the minister of health and welfare, told lawmakers Wednesday that Nov. 1 is the likely date for the country’s “return to normal.” He said during a parliamentary audit of the ministry that the COVID-19 response team was “considering the first day of November as the date of the transition.” Korea Disease Control and Prevention Ag

Korea getting more visitors from US than China, Japan, Taiwan in 2021

Questions remain whether the new law will be effective in protecting victims and their families

A man who was sentenced by a district court to four years in prison for stealing a painting by South Korean abstract master Kim Whan-ki has been given a heavier sentence by an appellate court after he was found to have stolen other paintings, judicial officials said Thursday. The Seoul High Court handed out a six-year prison sentence to the man surnamed Kim, who was indicted for stealing the late painter Kim's painting titled "10-Ⅴ-73 #314," also known as "Sanulrim" (Echo am

Four ships, three helicopters, two aircrafts deployed for search

South Korea was preparing Thursday to launch its first homegrown space launch vehicle in the latest attempt to foster its space program and join the elite global space club. The KSLV-II -- also known as Nuri -- is set to blast off from the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung at around 4 p.m., the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said. The 200-ton Nuri is intended to put a 1.5-ton dummy satellite into orbit, a space launch vehicle technology that Sout

South Korea reported fewer than 1,500 daily cases Thursday, continuing a downward trend since the fourth wave of the pandemic peaked in late September, due to the accelerating rate of vaccinations. The country reported 1,441 new cases, including 1,430 local infections, raising the total caseload to 347,529, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.  Thursday's tally is down by 130 from the 1,571 counted the previous day. It is also down by 498 from the number reported a week

One crew member was found dead and two others were rescued Thursday after a fishing boat capsized in waters near South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo a day earlier, the Coast Guard said. Six people remained unaccounted for after the 72-ton vessel capsized in waters 168 kilometers northeast of Dokdo at 2:24 p.m. on Wednesday, as officials stepped up search and rescue operations, including sending 14 divers into the capsized boat. The nine-member crew consisted of three South Koreans, four

The military will seek to appeal a recent court ruling in favor of a deceased transgender soldier who had filed a suit over its decision to discharge her against her will, a defense ministry official said Wednesday. In a landmark ruling earlier this month, the Daejeon District Court judged it was unfair for the military to discharge Byun Hee-soo, formerly a staff sergeant in her 20s, over her gender reassignment surgery in 2019. Byun underwent the surgery in Thailand in 2019, two years after v

PM seeks cooperation from Japan, Russia in rescue efforts

Discussions needed on the “manageable” fatality rate ahead of South Korea’s return to normal next month

DONGHAE -- A ship carring nine crewmen capsized in waters off the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo Wednesday, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard has been informed by Japanese authorities that the 72-ton vessel capsized at 2:24 p.m. in waters 168 kilometers northeast of Dokdo. The Donghae regional office of the Coast Guard dispatched a pair of patrol ships and a helicopter to conduct a search, according to officials. The exact damage from the sinking was not immediately known. (Yonhap