A major umbrella labor union on Thursday renewed its threat to go on a general strike later this month in an effort to put a spotlight on labor issues ahead of next year's presidential election. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, said it will stage a strike and a massive rally on Oct. 20 as "the first step to break the solid system of exploitation." The KCTU aims to launch a walkout involving all its 1.1 million me

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 2,000s for a second day in a row Thursday following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,427 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,400 local infections, raising the total caseload to 325,804, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections rebounded to over 2,000 again Wednesday after falling below the 2,000 mark Monday and T

Car accidents involving unlicensed teenagers soared by 34 percent between 2018 and 2020, road traffic data showed Thursday. According to a Korea Road Traffic Authority report submitted to Rep. Kang Deuk-gu of the ruling Democratic Party, teenagers caused 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 of 2,140 accidents involving unlicensed teenage

South Korea has confirmed 3,213 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, including 3,209 of the highly transmissible delta variant, health authorities said Wednesday. The number of new delta variant cases accounted for 99.9 percent of new variant cases reported last week, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally indicates the delta variant is the dominant strain of coronavirus in South Korea, making it more diff

Lawmakers question validity of 5 billion-won severance pay to representative’s son

Disease prevention agency’s data suggests number could soar to 5,000 in November

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases surged to over 2,000 again after three days on Wednesday following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,028 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,002 local infections, raising the total caseload to 323,379, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections rebounded after falling below the 2,000 mark on Monday and Tuesday on fewer tests. South K

International Rotary, a nonprofit international volunteer organization, held its 2021 Rotary International President Conference and training session at the K Hotel in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Themes of the conference were disease prevention and treatment as well as the environment, and the event was attended in person by Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta. The speakers included former Environment Minister Kim Myung-ja, Ehwa Womans University professor Choe Ja

Nine out of 10 South Korean adults have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, helping the country to get closer to a goal of creating herd immunity, the health authority said Tuesday. A total of 39.7 million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 77.4 percent of the country's 51.3 million population or 90 percent of those aged over 18, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of fully vaccinated people stood a

Seoul has measures to keep them off shoes, but people say it’s not enough

Rep. Noh Woong-rae criticizes MOU between Environment Ministry, Kakao, T Map on sharing information of electric car chargers

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,600 on Tuesday on fewer tests during an extended weekend, but new infections may rise down the road due to increased tests. The country added 1,575 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,557 local infections, raising the total caseload to 321,352, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections slightly fell from 1,673 cases on Monday after the nation reported more than 2,000 cases on a daily basis since Sep

Indonesia’s tourist spot Bali will start allowing direct arrivals from China, Japan and South Korea as a receding Covid-19 outbreak lets the country ease restrictions further. Foreign visitors from New Zealand, Qatar and United Arab Emirates can also enter the country through the island’s Ngurah Rai International Airport starting from Oct. 14, said Luhut Panjaitan, coordinating minister for investment and maritime affairs who’s overseeing the pandemic response. Only Jakarta an

Despite Koreans being ostensibly tolerant of Islam, psychological bias remains

Japan poised to outstrip Korea in portion of people aged under 15