Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong walked free from prison Friday after he was granted parole, about 11 months before scheduled release. The de facto leader of Samsung Group walked out of the Seoul Detention Center in a southern suburb of Seoul at 10 a.m. Friday. He is one of 810 prisoners scheduled for release Friday as part of South Korea’s annual tradition of clemency for Liberation Day, which falls on Sunday. “I apologize for causing this much concern to fellow citi

An appellate court on Wednesday upheld a four-year prison term for Chung Kyung-sim, the wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, for forging documents to help her daughter gain admission to medical school and for other actions concerning a private equity fund. But the Seoul High Court lowered Chung’s fine to 50 million won ($43,000) and lowered her forfeiture to 10.61 million won. In December the Seoul Central District Court had fined her 500 million won and ordered her to forfeit 140 mil

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials is weighing whether to investigate a lawmaker affiliated with the main opposition People Power Party for allegedly receiving illegal political support funds. If conducted, it would be the first official investigation of an incumbent lawmaker by the CIO. Last week the anti-corruption watchdog asked the North Gyeongsang Province branch of the National Election Commission to send over related documents and other data on a main opposit

The latest wave of COVID-19 infections is showing no signs of slowing down, with 1,540 new cases announced Tuesday -- 1,476 locally transmitted and 64 imported from overseas. The figure, which covers the 24 hours ending Monday at midnight, pushes the total number of cases to date to 213,987, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. South Korea added nine more deaths, raising the death toll to 2,134. The virus seemed to have slowed down a little in the capital region -- Seo

South Korea is again on alert to contain the spread of the deadly Africa swine fever after finding a new case at a pig farm just three months after the last discovery. The government-led ASF task force announced Sunday that an ASF case was confirmed at a domesticated pig farm in Goseong-gun, Gangwon Province. The latest discovery of an ASF case in a pig farm comes three months after the last case was found in the province on May 4. The country so far has located a total of 18 ASF cases at loca

Seoul’s subway workers are mulling a full-scale strike as Seoul Metro prepares to carry out a massive restructuring plan to resolve continuing financial losses. Unionized workers at Seoul Metro are planning to hold a vote, along with union members who work for subway corporations in Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Incheon and Gwangju, from Aug. 16 to 19 to decide whether to launch a full-scale strike to protest Seoul Metro’s plan to reduce its head count by 1,539 employees. Seoul Metro&rsqu

South Korea could maintain the strictest level of social distancing in the greater capital region throughout August, as the fourth wave of infections shows little signs of subsiding. The country on Wednesday reported 1,725 new COVID-19 cases, 1,664 locally transmitted and 61 imported from overseas, raising the cumulative total to 203,926, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest addition is sharply up from 1,200 cases reported a day earlier and 1,218 cases repo

The amount of debt held by job seekers in South Korea has surged as COVID-19 pandemic remains strong and affects employment landscape, data showed Wednesday. According to a survey of 1,498 job seekers from local human resources service Saramin released Wednesday, 40.5 percent of respondents said they have outstanding debt to pay back. Their average amount reached 32.87 million won, up 2.68 million won from the same survey done a year earlier. The surveyed amount for this year is up by more tha

A spokesperson for Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung’s presidential campaign resigned from his post Monday after it was found he had made comments defending driving under the influence. The comment, likely made to defend the past criminal record of Lee, stirred controversy across political parties and again shone light on the presidential contender’s past criminal record, which could damage his campaign. Park sent a text message to reporters late Monday saying he was stepping do

Police in the coming days will summon the head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions as they investigate the umbrella labor group’s rally last month for violating COVID-19 rules. Yang Kyung-soo, head of the KCTU, is scheduled to appear at Seoul Jongno Police Station by 2 p.m. on Wednesday for questioning, according to police on Monday. The timing of the meeting was reportedly at the request of Yang. Police asked Yang to appear for the investigation three times last month, but Yang

South Korea will carry out COVID-19 vaccinations in August for people between the ages of 18 and 49 as part of its efforts to achieve herd immunity by November. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced Friday that the country would make vaccinations available to 17.8 million people aged between 18 and 49 in August and September, with the aim of administering first shots to a total of at least 36 million people by the end of September. Those whose occupations involve frequent c

Close relatives and spouses of employers could face legal action for workplace bullying starting October, as the South Korean government looks to continue its work on improving workplace culture. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Thursday that it will expand the range of people punishable for workplace bullying in accordance with the Labor Standards Act from those directly in the workplace with those harassed. At the moment, no legislative clause is in place to directly levy punishment

The announcement that no COVID-19 infections were reported from a Korean Confederation of Trade Unions rally was based on a report submitted by the labor group with no supporting evidence, an opposition lawmaker said Wednesday. The finding extends controversy as to whether the mass rally of thousands of people held in central Seoul played a role in worsening the country’s virus situation, and whether the labor group should be held responsible in related developments. The office of Rep.

Prosecutors will investigate officials from the unsuccessful Seoul mayoral campaign of Park Young-sun for allegedly violating election rules by recruiting an underage high school student to voice support for the candidate. The Seoul Yangcheon Police Station said Tuesday that it has handed over the case to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office recommending to indict 17-year-old student surnamed Kang and two officials from Park’s campaign office who were working for her Seou

Seoul’s city-run bike rental service, Ddareungi, has proven a success, but its popularity is feeding financial concerns for the city. According to Seoul city government data, the number of accumulated users for Ddareungi reached 3 million as of May, accounting for nearly one-third of the city’s population. The number of users skyrocketed since reaching 1 million in 2018, surpassing 2 million in May 2020 and adding 1 million more in just a year to hit 3 million in the first half o

South Korea could extend the ban on private gatherings of five or more people under effect in greater Seoul area to the rest of the country, as the country looks to overcome its worst-ever COVID-19 wave to date. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday that strengthening social distancing rules and other virus control measures should be reviewed to minimize confusion and minimize infection among those who travel during the summer holiday season. While most of the cases today are reported from S

Hundreds of small-business owners took to the streets Wednesday night, denouncing the government for once again putting their livelihoods at risk in its drive to contain COVID-19 with strict social distancing rules. With limits on private gatherings that continued since last year, coupled with the most recent minimum wage increase, small-business owners are asking the government for monetary support and to relax restrictions on business operations to boost consumption. To make their demands he

South Korea has set its minimum wage level for 2022 at 9,160 won ($8) per hour, up 5.05 percent from this year’s 8,720 won, after labor and business presented vastly different views on how the rate should be set to assist those suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minimum Wage Commission chose the middle ground. Yet the agreement reached late Monday was not well received, drawing fire from both labor and business representatives. The commission consists of 27 members, nine each from

South Korea’s virus authorities are asking those in the Greater Seoul area to give up high-speed running on treadmills and fast dance music for group exercises in fitness clubs, as they worry that intense workouts could exacerbate the spread of COVID-19 during its most challenging wave to date. The restrictions under the strictest level of the four-tier system now require many fitness clubs and users to revise their plans, or else face fines. The health authorities have also come under mo

As candidates officially register themselves for next year’s presidential election, donations have started rolling in, giving a preliminary glance at the public support for each candidate and party. Attention toward the upcoming election is believed to be much more heated than before, with hundreds of millions of won pouring in for candidates even on the first day of them opening accounts to receive donations. The campaign office for Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung said Saturday tha