South Korea continues to grapple with sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks linked to small gatherings at churches, cafes and restaurants as the country reported 54 new infections Wednesday. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35 of the new cases were locally transmitted -- 13 in Seoul, 19 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and three in Busan. The remaining 19 were imported. The total caseload rose to 14,714. At least 10 employees working at Lotteria fast food chains

When Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung first brought the idea of universal basic income to South Korea’s political arena years ago, it was quickly dismissed as too far-fetched and populist. Now, the COVID-19 crisis put the universal basic income -- periodic cash payments to all citizens -- high on the agenda on both sides of the political aisle after the government’s one-off cash payments during the height of the virus crisis received widespread public support. Lee was among t

Hanjin KAL Corp. said Friday it will spend 53.6 billion won (US$45.2 million) to buy new shares to be issued by its low-cost carrier Jin Air Co. Earlier in the day, the board of directors of Hanjin KAL, the parent of Jin Air, decided on the purchase of Jin Air's 7.36 million new shares, Hanjin KAL said in a regulatory filing. After the purchase slated to take place in November this year, Hanjin KAL's stake of Jin Air will be lowered to 56.38 percent from the current 60 percent, Hanjin KAL

New clusters of infections linked to churches in the populated Seoul metropolitan area are keeping Korea’s health authorities on their toes, as the country reported 20 new infections Friday. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nine of the new cases were locally transmitted -- six in Seoul and three in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province. The remaining 11 were imported. The total caseload rose to 14,519. A new cluster of infections was found at a church in

South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday hailed the country’s effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing this year’s sustainable development report by a team of international experts that put the country at No. 1 among OECD countries. “Such feedback (on Korea’s response to the pandemic) on a global forum is due to the dedication by our medical professionals and cooperation by members of the public,” he said at a pangovernmental meeting

South Korea’s trainee doctors went on a one-day strike Friday, in protest against the government’s plan to increase the number of medical students in the country. No major disruptions in medical services were reported, as affected hospitals mobilized alternative health workers including clinical doctors and medical professors to fill the absence of interns and resident doctors at intensive care units, surgery and emergency rooms. The government laid out a plan to increase the num

Even after a vaccine is developed, there will be no immediate change to antivirus rules, as people will still have to wear masks and maintain social distancing, health authorities said Thursday. 　 “At this point, what I want to stress is that after a safe vaccine is secured sufficiently and administered safely, there will be a no change in everyday quarantine,” KCDC Deputy Director Kwon Jun-wook said at a briefing Thursday. “No vaccine can guarantee 100 percent safety (agains

The first week of August is peak summer vacation season in South Korea. Highways to popular destinations are clogged, beaches are crowded and life slows down in normally hectic Seoul. But this year, a double whammy of heavy downpours and a deadly virus epidemic is ruining the holiday mood, as well as plans for many people. Jay Kim, a 38-year-old man living in Seoul, would have been in Amsterdam, Netherlands, by now to attend the world’s biggest nautical event organized once every five

Nine people have been denied entry into South Korea after they handed in “substandard” certificates as proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, health authorities said Tuesday. Since the country tightened entry rules on arrivals from “high-risk” countries in mid-July, 22 people have arrived with a coronavirus-free certificate but were later diagnosed with COVID-19 here, it added. Between July 13 and Aug. 3, a total of 548 people arrived from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ka

South Korea’s coronavirus situation is stably under control with more than 80 percent of new cases confirmed to be under the government’s watch, health authorities said Monday, as the country reported only three locally-transmitted cases. 　 Korea reported 23 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 20 imported cases from overseas. The country’s total caseload as of Monday was 14,389, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 　 The number of domesticall

A new cluster of coronavirus infections was found at a franchise coffee shop in southern Seoul as South Korea saw the number of COVID-19 cases hover around 30 for three days straight over the weekend. The initial patient visited the cafe and then a restaurant, infecting eight others so far. How the person contracted the virus was yet to be identified, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Korea reported 30 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, 22 imported from overseas

  Three Vietnamese nationals who escaped from a facility where they were under mandatory self-quarantine since arriving in South Korea will be deported and banned from entering the country again, authorities said Tuesday. The Vietnamese sailors, who arrived in Korea on short-term visas, checked into the temporary quarantine facility in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, July 20 for two weeks of self-isolation as required for entry into the country. They escaped from their sixth-floor rooms Monday

The Saemaul Globalization Foundation is hosting an international song contest from July 6 to Sept. 4, calling for contestants around the world to submit videos of themselves singing the Saemaul song in English or French, the foundation said Monday. Founded by the North Gyeongsang Provincial Government in 2012, the nonprofit foundation is holding the first such contest to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Saemaul Undong, also known as the New Village Movement, which is seen as part of the

South Korea plans to charge foreign patients infected with COVID-19 for their hospitalization and treatment costs, amid a surge in the number of imported cases involving foreign nationals. “We will make foreign patients pay the whole or part of the cost for their hospitalization, but will do so under the principle of reciprocity considering diplomatic relations,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Sunday at a pangovernmental meeting on the COVID-19 response. Under the current law,

A key lesson from the HIV epidemic is that stigma and discrimination often send people with symptoms underground, ultimately endangering the health of the general public and undermining epidemic responses. 　 The same goes for the COVID-19 outbreak, said Eamonn Murphy, regional director for Asia and the Pacific at the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, in an email interview with The Korea Herald. 　 “This virus is a threat to all of humanity, regardless of nationality, ethnicity or

South Korea saw the number of its new coronavirus cases drop below 60 on Sunday, a day after its highest one-day total in nearly four months due to imported cases involving Russian sailors and Korean workers returning from Iraq. On Sunday, Korea reported 58 new COVID-19 cases, 46 imported from overseas and 12 locally transmitted, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The total caseload rose to 14,150. Korea reported 113 cases on Saturday, including 86 imported

The number of infections linked to a front-line Army base has risen to 17, health authorities said Thursday, with a civilian counselor believed to have brought the virus to the military barracks. 　 Four more people -- one soldier, two career advisers and a family member of one of the counselors -- at the 220-strong unit in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 　 Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director o

At least 13 soldiers from an Army base near the inter-Korean border tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, raising fears of further infections in enclosed military barracks and in the community. Two soldiers at a 220-strong unit in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday after showing symptoms of fever the previous day. Eleven more cases from the unit were reported Wednesday, raising the total at the unit to 13. Some 50 soldiers who came into cl

Changes made to the points-based residency visa requirements, which will go into effect Dec. 1, are meant to advantage a “superior pool of foreigners” and to mitigate the negative impact of the “overuse” of low-income foreign workers on the South Korean labor market, the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday. 　 The newly revised rules for the F-2-7 visa, which the ministry announced in a public notice on July 7, include a dramatic increase in the number of points to be awar

GEORGIAN ENVOY’S VISIT -- Otar Berdzenishvili (right), ambassador of Georgia to South Korea, shakes hands with Herald Corp. CEO and Publisher Kwon Chung-won during a courtesy visit to Herald Corp. headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday.