More South Korean students will be allowed to take in-person classes starting Monday as attendance cap restrictions in schools have been eased despite the extended distancing measures. The Ministry of Education reaffirmed Thursday it will allow schools to expand in-person classes even under the Level 4 distancing scheme, the most stringent set of rules, as planned. The ministry decided to ease the attendance caps in steps last month as schools began their fall semesters, citing the need to res

Over 8 out of 10 South Koreans have encountered hate speech against women online, a survey showed Sunday. According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) survey on 1,200 people aged 15 and older from May 20-25, 80.4 percent of the respondents said they have read malicious online comments targeted at women. Hate speech against people from certain regions, feminists and the elderly came after at 76.9 percent, 76.8 percent and 72.5 percent, respectively. Other online targets

St. Louis Cardinals' starter Kim Kwang-hyun suffered his seventh loss of the season following the shortest start of his major league career, unable to survive an early onslaught by the Milwaukee Brewers. Kim gave up four runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings against the Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Saturday (local time). Kim got the hook with the Cardinals trailing 4-0 in the second inning, and they lost by the same score. The South Korean left-hander fell to 6-7 for the

There is no time to mope or dwell on what could have been. After a disappointing, scoreless draw against Iraq to open the final Asian qualifying campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup last Thursday, South Korea will pursue their first win of the phase against Lebanon on Tuesday. The kickoff for the teams' second Group A match is 8 p.m. at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. Lebanon also had a 0-0 draw in their first match Thursday against the United Arab Emirates in D

Doosan Infracore Co., South Korea's major construction equipment maker, said Sunday it has won orders to deliver 28 large excavators to Egypt. Doosan Infracore said it has signed a supply contract for 36-ton excavators with the Egyptian defense ministry, which will be used for a state-run railway construction project. The construction unit of Korean conglomerate Doosan Group won orders for 30 pieces of construction equipment with the Egyptian government earlier this year. Doosan Infracore s

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell to the 1,400s on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, while health authorities extended the tough restrictions ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,490 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,461 local infections, raising the total caseload to 260,403, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally is down from 1,804 on Saturday and 1,709 on Friday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for

As many as 140 people were given questionable Pfizer vaccines that had passed or were nearing the recommended inoculation deadline after thawing at a general hospital in Seoul last week, health officials said Saturday. According to the officials, Korea University Guro Hospital in southern Seoul used Pfizer vaccines that came close to or exceeded the inoculation deadline after thawing during its inoculation work conducted from Aug. 26-27. About 140 people received the questionable vaccines tha

One more Afghan, who was on South Korea's list of people to be evacuated from the war-torn Afghanistan, arrived here Saturday, the justice ministry said. The Afghan, whose identity was withheld, landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 8 a.m. The person flew in from India with help from Korean diplomats following a business trip there. The person is among hundreds of Afghans brought here by South Korea and labeled as "special contributors" for their contribu

South Korean superband BTS, along with Coldplay front man, Chris Martin, will appear on YouTube's weekly music show next week, the septet's agency said Saturday. The K-pop sensation and Martin are set to appear on a special episode of YouTube Originals' weekly music series "Released" that will air at 12:45 p.m. Friday, according to Big Hit Music, the group's agency. They are expected to share their experiences as musicians on the global stage and talk about a set of topics, such as

The current law requiring only foreigners to have a higher education qualification to teach at local cram schools, or hagwon, is discriminatory, the state human rights watchdog said Saturday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said it is discriminatory for private teaching institutes to require foreign nationals aspiring to become hagwon instructors to have a college degree or higher, while only requiring their local counterparts to have a junior college degree or higher. T

  South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose above 1,800 on Saturday, though the country kept tight vigilance with the extension of stringent social distancing measures ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,804 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,776 local infections, raising the total caseload to 258,913, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally is up from 1,709 reported Friday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for the la

South Korea's top nuclear envoy returned home Thursday after meeting with his US counterpart and other officials in Washington to discuss efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea.  Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for the Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, said he had "in-depth" talks with the US side and that the visit was a "fairly productive" one.    "We confirmed the US stance that it remains committed to resolving the North Kore

The families of four forced labor victims have withdrawn a request to seize what was believed to be assets of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in South Korea, legal sources said Thursday. The families recently filed the withdrawal request with the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court, just south of Seoul, through the law firms representing them, the sources said, after finding that the assets did not directly belong to the company. Last month, the families asked the court to seize bond

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo on Thursday ordered an investigation into allegations that a prosecutor asked the main opposition People Power Party to file a complaint against three ruling bloc figures when Kim's predecessor Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. In a text message to reporters, the Supreme Prosecutors Office said Kim instructed its inspection department to look into the allegations. Earlier Thursday, online news outlet Newsverse rep

South Korea strongly denounces the recent drone attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on an airport in Saudi Arabia and urges the militants to take part in UN-led peace talks, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "We strongly denounce the attack by Yemen's Houthi rebel forces on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a commentary. "We reaffirm our support for international efforts toward peace and ending the civil war in Yemen, and u