Five officials of the Daegu city government were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 as of Thursday morning, as the city struggles to deal with over 1,000 confirmed cases and another 1,000 in isolation. Three additional staff infections were confirmed overnight, after a staff member of the deputy mayor’s office was confirmed Tuesday and another official who had a meal with that person was confirmed Wednesday. The infections have prompted the city government to shut down buildi

As of Wednesday morning, over 400,000 South Koreans have signed an online petition calling for the impeachment of President Moon Jae-in over the government’s missteps in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. The petition appeared on the website of the presidential office Feb. 4, and more than 200,000 people had signed it by Tuesday afternoon. Cheong Wa Dae has to give an official answer to a petition if it gets more than 200,000 signatures in less than a month. The petitioner criticized

The Christian sect linked to more than half of South Korea’s COVID-19 infections said its leader’s brother received inpatient treatment for five days before dying at Daenam Hospital, where mass infections occurred. Also, inpatients in the closed psychiatric ward of the hospital in Cheongdo, near Daegu, stayed out overnight, went out for appointments or had visitors on 25 occasions between Jan. 22 and Feb. 13, according to the hospital. Most of the confirmed cases at Daenam Hospita

The ruling party and government are considering a supplementary budget of more than 10 trillion won ($8.2 billion) to contain the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. “Due to the emergency situation, we are formulating an extra budget plan in the first quarter, which is rare. … Over 10 trillion won would be a ‘super supplementary budget,’” an official of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea told Yonhap News. During the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003

Starting Thursday, anyone can be tested for COVID-19 at doctors’ discretion, regardless of his or her overseas travel record. People who have not traveled to China can be tested for the coronavirus if they have been in contact with someone who has traveled to the country and show respiratory symptoms or fever, according to the latest guidelines from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who have been admitted to hospitals for pneumonia of unknown cause must be iso

Korean universities are struggling to find ways to keep Chinese students in isolation to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, facing a lack of appropriate dormitory rooms to accommodate them. The Education Ministry has advised universities to allot a dorm room for each Chinese student to stay in isolation for 14 days upon arrival in Korea. At least 20,000 Chinese students in Seoul will have to stay off the campus, however, as there are not enough dorm rooms, according to university offic

The Cabinet on Tuesday passed a revised bill that encourages soldiers to take longer periods of leave for child care. Government officials including soldiers can take child care leave of up to three years per child. Currently, up to a year of child care leave for a soldier for his or her first child is included in the minimum period of service required for promotion. Under the revised bill, soldiers will be able to take child care leave of more than one year for their first child without dela

Prosecutors are looking into about 10 people suspected of drug abuse, including a famous actor, a chaebol scion, an entertainment agency CEO and a well-known fashion designer, SBS reported Thursday. Those suspected allegedly got habitual propofol injections for non-medical purposes over the past several years at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul’s Gangnam, the broadcaster said.　 The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requested for an investigation, as the clinic used excessive amounts of

An official of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations expressed doubt over North Korea’s claim that there were no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country, Voice of America reported Thursday. Bir Mandal, deputy FAO representative in North Korea, said Wednesday that his team doubted North Korea’s claim that there were zero cases of the COVID-19 infection in the country, according to the US broadcaster. Mandal did not offer any reasons, however, f

Contrary to assumptions that foreign nationals and Korean citizens residing abroad are free riders of the state health care system, they paid more in on average than they took out in terms of health insurance benefits. In 2018, some 946,745 foreign and overseas residents subscribed to the state health insurance plan, and paid a total of 1.01 trillion won in premiums, according to data from the National Health Insurance Service. This translates into an average of 1.07 million won a year per pe

The US State Department said it is willing to take a “flexible approach” on negotiations with North Korea, the Voice of America reported on Wednesday. “We are willing to take a flexible approach to reach a balanced agreement on all the Singapore summit commitments,” a member of the US State Department spokesperson’s office was quoted as saying by the US broadcaster. According to VOA, the official made the comments while explaining the department’s position

The Environment Ministry said Tuesday it will make all-out efforts to reduce the country’s annual average ultrafine dust level to 20 micrograms per cubic meter this year, down from 23 micrograms in 2019. In its annual policy briefing to President Moon Jae-in, the ministry said that in addition to stronger emission control on factories, owners of old, high-emission diesel cars will be given subsidies to scrap their vehicles. The government said it will also offer increased subsidies for

A Taiwanese person arrested for voice phishing repeatedly coughed and said he felt feverish Thursday morning, prompting police to take precautions against the novel coronavirus. The 35-year-old, locked up at the Gwangju Bukbu Police Station for allegedly stealing cash through telephone fraud, was taken to a clinic, where he was declared well as he had a normal temperature and no symptoms of pneumonia. Medical staff assumed that his persistent coughing was due to excessive smoking. Police ha

Concerns about the new coronavirus are growing as news emerged that the 42-year-old South Korean woman at the center of Korea’s 16th confirmed case was not flagged as a possible carrier for a full 10 days, despite having symptoms after a trip to Thailand. The woman was not placed under observation for signs of the new respiratory disease because she had no record of visiting China. Medical institutions are currently providing treatment for those who show symptoms such as cough or fever

The first 15 patients of the new coronavirus infections in Korea are stable as they were diagnosed and treated in the early stages, health authorities said Tuesday. One of the patients has fully recovered and is waiting to be discharged from hospital, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, hours before reporting the 16th case of the infection that is believed to have originated from Wuhan, China. The fourth patient, a 55-year-old Korean man who was previously rumore