The majority of foreigners living in South Korea are excluded from the government’s efforts to protect people from COVID-19, but they are no less susceptible to the potentially deadly virus, Udaya Rai, head of the Migrants Trade Union, told The Korea Herald in an interview.  From mask rationing to coronavirus relief cash handouts, migrants are largely left out of consideration, he said.  “We are just angry to be discriminated against at such a critical moment,” sai

A 29-year-old man living in Yongin tested positive for COVID-19. He went clubbing in Itaewon, a party district in Seoul, when he had no symptoms, exposing at least 1,500 people to the virus. It was the first local infection in four days, triggering fears of further community spread. Another thing that made headlines was that the patient visited “gay clubs.” Human rights activists on Friday denounced some South Korean media outlets for unnecessarily highlighting the main clientele

A civic group that advocates for Korean victims of wartime sexual enslavement by Japan is facing controversy, after a victim accused the group of misappropriating donations and exploiting the victims for their cause for nearly 30 years. The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, which holds weekly rallies demanding an apology and reparations from Japan, denied the allegations, saying donations have been used “transparently” a

　South Korea is on alert over the possible further community spread of COVID-19, after a man who visited bars and clubs in Itaewon, a party district in central Seoul, tested positive for the virus. It is the first local infection in four days. The 29-year-old patient, who lives in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has no known overseas travel history or exposure to someone who had traveled or been infected, raising fears that the virus may be spreading in communities undetected. The case is one of fo

A man confirmed to have COVID-19 was found to have visited clubs in Itaewon, one of the popular nightlife districts in Seoul, authorities said Thursday, triggering concerns about the community spread of the virus. The 29-year-old man, who lives in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has the first domestic infection reported in South Korea in four days. Most new cases over the past week have come from overseas. How and where the patient contracted the virus remain unknown, raising fears that the virus

The South Korean government said Wednesday it will issue fines and file criminal complaints against Mercedes-Benz Korea, Nissan Korea and Porsche Korea for manipulating emissions data on their diesel vehicles.   　 The Ministry of Environment said that some 4,381 diesel-powered vehicles of 14 models sold in the country by the three carmakers between 2012 and 2018 were fitted with illicit devices to cheat pollution standards. The certification for the models will be revoked within this mont

Thermal cameras, transparent dividers in cafeterias, masks and disinfectants in classrooms: These are some of the changes Korean students are to face in the era of COVID-19 as they return to schools from May 13.   　 With a marked slowdown in new infections and the easing of social distancing nationwide, students will go back to school in phases after 72 days, starting with high school seniors. The spring semester already began in April, though entirely with online classes.   　 &ldqu

Schools are getting ready to welcome back students. Public museums and libraries are preparing to reopen and professional baseball and soccer leagues will kick off their long delayed new season this week. 　 Life is South Korea is getting back to normal, as the country’s fight against COVID-19 enters a new phase with a marked slowdown in new cases. 　 “Our war against the coronavirus has yet to end and it will not in the short term,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at meeti

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday directed swift action on undocumented migrants amid concerns that their crowded and substandard living conditions, lack of access to masks and testing could create new clusters of COVID-19 infections, as seen in Singapore. 　 An estimated 380,000 migrants illegally residing in the country should be able to get masks and receive medical treatment without worrying about their status or about being deported, Chung said at the meeting on the government&rsqu

Migrant workers staying in cramped accommodations during their mandatory two-week quarantine could pose a risk to South Korea’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, experts and activists said Tuesday. On Monday, some 20 migrant workers from Myanmar, who arrived in Korea on April 23, were caught staying in accommodation inappropriate for quarantine, with shared kitchens and bathrooms, where strict self-quarantine is nearly impossible, according to the Bupyeong-gu Office. “It

The South Korean government said Monday it would soon put forward a timetable to reopen schools, as the rate of new coronavirus infections stabilizes.   　 Currently, all students are taking online classes at home.   　 “We cannot compromise children’s safety for anything, but we cannot confine students to their homes until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Monday, directing the Education Ministry to study a road map for schools re

Those who break compulsory home quarantine rules will be asked to wear electronic wristbands starting Monday, authorities said Friday, as part of efforts to curb violations. Due to privacy concerns, wearing it will not be mandatory, raising questions over the effectiveness of the policy. Violators who do not agree to wearing the location-tracking wristbands will be required to stay at state facilities during quarantine, instead of at their homes, the authorities said. They must also pay fo

South Korea’s government on Friday released a detailed draft of “routine distancing” guidelines that the public should follow to fight the novel coronavirus, saying the pandemic could last as long as two years and there is no going back to pre-coronavirus normalcy. As Korea has seen a slowdown in new cases following social distancing campaign that began on March 22 across the country, the government is moving to transition to “routine distancing,” which will allo

More than half of all particulate pollution in Seoul in 2018 resulted from domestic causes such as heating and vehicles, while China was responsible for 38 percent, a report showed Thursday. 　 Some 58 percent of PM 2.5 emissions -- ultrafine airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and harmful to the human body -- originated within South Korea, up from 45 percent in 2016, according to a study released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. 　 Seoul contributed 26 percent of t

Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don stepped down from his post Thursday, admitting to “unnecessary physical contact” with a female subordinate. 　 “I realized the contact that occured during a short meeting that lasted five minutes could be taken as sexual harassment,” Oh said in a press briefing, adding that what he had done -- however light or heavy -- could not be forgiven. 　 “As a responsible public servant, I apologize to victims and will spend the rest of my life repenti

Faced with the novel coronavirus epidemic, South Korea’s schools began offering online classes this month in a step the education minister called a “new road we have never walked.” Distance learning, however, poses an unprecedented burden to parents and educators, with the quality of education for each student appearing to be closely linked to the level of preparedness of the schools, teachers and parents -- from teachers’ digital literacy to parents’ availability

A Vietnamese woman filed a lawsuit against the Korean government on Tuesday over a massacre of civilians allegedly committed by South Korean troops during the Vietnam War, in the first of its kind filed some five decades after the atrocity. The plaintiff is Nguyen Thi Thanh, 60, who lost family members at the hands of Korean troops in Phong Nhi in Quang Nam province in February 1968. She seeks 30,000,100 won ($24,400) in compensation and an apology from the Korean government. According

Only hundreds of meters away from the palace Gyeongbokgung in central Seoul, time travel into Korea’s history can begin in a temple enshrining Tangun, who founded the first kingdom of Korea in 2,333 BC. According to Korean tradition, Tangun was the legendary founder of Gojoseon, or old Joseon, the first recorded state in Korean history. The state occupied the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and parts of northeast China. In the shrine, a portrait and statue of Tangun have been pla

The South Korean government is mulling over whether to extend its social distancing campaign to fight COVID-19, amid concerns over community spread following Wednesday’s parliamentary elections and the Easter weekend. The campaign was scheduled to end Sunday. Despite the country’s tally of new cases of the novel coronavirus hovering around 20 for the fifth straight day, health authorities are on alert over a possible spike in new infections due to people’s increased movements

A total of 163 patients previously declared cured of COVID-19 have tested positive again in South Korea as of Friday, up 22 from a day earlier, giving the government a fresh headache in its fight against the virus. The recurring cases account for 2.1 percent of the 7,829 people released from quarantine after recovering. Studies are underway to find out why, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  It took 13.5 days on average for these patients to test positive