The population movement during this year's Chuseok holiday period increased 5 percent from a year earlier, Seoul's transport ministry said Thursday, apparently due to eased virus curbs for family gatherings.  The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said a total of 32.76 million people traveled between Friday and Wednesday to celebrate Chuseok, the Korean harvest celebration. Daily average population movement reached 5.46 million during that period, up 5.1 percent from a year ea

A revision bill will take effect this week to allow a police officer to go undercover when investigating online sex crimes against minors, police said Thursday. The Korea National Police Agency (KNPA) said investigators can hide or disguise their identities to approach potential offenders to secure criminal evidence under the revised Act of the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses, which will go into effect Friday. With a court warrant, undercover operatives can also use fake id

South Korea will join international efforts to help Afghanistan overcome the humanitarian crisis and other hardships in the wake of the Taliban takeover, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Ham Sang-wook, deputy foreign minister for multilateral affairs, made the remark during a virtual ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 nations (G-20) held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. In the meeting, Ham voiced concerns over the current situation in Kabul and called for concer

A 2.6 magnitude earthquake struck South Korea's southeastern region Thursday afternoon, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred about 14 kilometers south of Changnyeong, about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 12:02 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). It was the sixth strongest quake to hit the Korean Peninsula to date this year. The epicenter was at 35.42 degrees north latitude and 128.49 east longitude at a depth of 16 km. The quake's tremor was reco

Social distancing rules to tighten back to pre-Chuseok levels

Fines, prison sentences introduced for online grooming; police allowed to conduct undercover investigations in digital sex crime cases

The government has come up with a set of special measures to boost the COVID-19 vaccination rate among migrant workers here as fears of a possible crackdown on unregistered immigrants are holding back their vaccination turnout, officials said Thursday. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Justice and other related government agencies discussed the measures in an interagency pandemic response meeting held a day earlier in a bid to help ease the hesitation many migrant workers

President Moon Jae-in’s promise to halve the annual number of fatal industrial accidents by the end of his term seems unlikely to materialize. According to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of industrial accident deaths in the first six months of this year reached 474, meaning 2.6 deaths per day. That is four more than the figure for the same period a year earlier. If workplace deaths continue at their current pace through the remainder of this year, the yearly

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed above 1,700 for the third day in a row Thursday due to fewer tests during the three-day Chuseok holiday, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, but concerns run high over a potential resurgence across the country down the road. The country reported 1,716 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,698 local infections, raising the total caseload to 292,699, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.  The latest caseload was slightly d

In 2020, 29 of 36 OECD members post ‘eased’ tax burden

The seven bandmates of BTS and President Moon Jae-in pose for a group shot at Cheong Wa Dae on Sept. 14. The K-pop band was awarded certificates of appointment as special envoys for public diplomacy before attending the annual UN session.  V and President Moon pose for a shot together. Suga and President Moon pose for a shot together. RM and President Moon pose for a shot together. Jimin and President Moon pose for a shot together. Jin and President Moon pose for a shot together. J-Hope an

Most highways and roads remained clogged with heavy traffic early Wednesday, as people were traveling back to Seoul on the last day of the Chuseok holiday. Major highways, running through the central part and along the western coast of the country, were jammed with vehicles, with the road congestion likely to peak at about 4-5 p.m., according to Korea Expressway Corp. As of 9 a.m., the estimated travel time to Seoul was 5 hours and 20 minutes from the southern port city of Busan, about 4 hours

Koreans maintain strong boundary against the “other,” ostracizing foreigners, migrants

INCHEON -- South Korea has imported twice as many cats and dogs this year compared with two years ago as people spend more time at home amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, customs data showed Wednesday. According to the data by the regional customs office in Incheon, a main gateway for trade located about 40 kilometers west of Seoul, the number of cats and dogs brought in to the country via air carriers reached 10,241 in the January-August period this year, including 7,961 canines and 2,280

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed in the 1,700s for the second consecutive day on Wednesday despite fewer tests during an extended Chuseok holiday, raising concerns over a spike in new infections across the nation after the holiday. The country reported 1,720 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,703 local infections, raising the total caseload to 290,983, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was slightly down from 1,729 on Tuesday, but