The Korean government has decided to require all passengers on buses, taxis, subways and flights to wear masks, in order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The face-covering mandate, issued by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, comes as more drivers and passengers are disregarding mask-wearing recommendations amid rising temperatures. Under the new measure which goes into effect for buses and taxis on Tuesday, operators and drivers can temporarily refuse

South Korea reported 16 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the national’s total number of infections to date to 11,206, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The daily caseload of new infections dipped below 20 for the first time in four days, while health authorities are staying vigilant as cases linked to a cluster that appeared in Seoul’s nightlife district of Itaewon in early May continue to emerge. The number of cases linked to the Itae

The main opposition United Future Party is set to embark on a reform process, with an 80-year-old party outsider at its helm. The party on Friday voted Kim Chong-in, a veteran politician well-versed in economy, as the head of its envisioned emergency leadership body, ending weeks of internal strife over how to revive the faction’s political fortune after a crushing defeat in the April elections and who will map out strategies for it. Kim will serve until the parliamentary by-election

The forces that shaped today’s Korea -- from its belated opening to the outside world in the late 19th century and its annexation by Japan in 1910 to the 1950-53 Korean War, dictatorships, rapid industrialization and blood-paved democratization -- are on exhibit at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. Located in Gwanghwamun Square, a site of historic and symbolic importance, the eight-story museum tells stories of the country’s politics, society, economy and culture

Controversy surrounding the conviction of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, who served a two-year jail term for bribery, has been rekindled, after the ruling Democratic Party sought to revisit the case. Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party, on Thursday hinted that Han may have been politically targeted, referring to a 100-page diary written by a late businessman, the bribe-giver. He passed away in 2018. “The investigation was launched just ahead of the local e

The 20th National Assembly held its final plenary session Wednesday and approved 141 pieces of legislation, including a bill to prevent online sex crimes and another addressing historical human rights violations committed by the state. The sex crime bill obligates service providers, including internet giants Naver and Kakao, to remove illegal pornographic materials and block access to them. Recently the so-called “Nth Room case” caused a furor over the circulation of illegal sex

The prosecution is set to probe corruption allegations against Yoon Mi-hyang, a lawmaker-elect from the ruling Democratic Party and a longtime activist for the rights of victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery. The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday assigned the case involving Yoon, former president of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, to a criminal division for direct investigation. A handful of c

The South Korean government and nonprofit organizations are offering quarantine and medical supplies to countries fighting the novel coronavirus in a bid to boost relations in challenging times. According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on Monday, the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee will deliver 10,000 face masks and other health protective items to the members of native American Navajo tribe who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War. Currently, the na

The South Korean government urged citizens to refrain from gatherings and access to enclosed facilities over the weekend in the wake of a growing number of infection cases as a virus breakout at clubs and bars in a popular Seoul nightlife area is spreading. Health authorities are on alert as COVID-19 is penetrating deeper into the country after Seoul’s Itaewon emerged as a new cluster early this month, generating secondary and tertiary infections. “The number of infection cases

South Korea reported 27 new cases of coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 11,018, according to the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. The death toll remained at 260 as the country saw no additional death from the respiratory virus. The fatality rate stood at 2.36 percent. The trend of domestic infections outnumbering imported ones continued largely due to ongoing aggressive tests on people who have been to Seoul’s Itaewon, the count

Korea is at a critical moment in its struggle to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections, as a virus breakout at clubs and bars in a popular Seoul nightlife area threatens to turn into a wider spread into communities. Korea reported 29 additional cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 10,991, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the new cases, 20 were traced to establishments in Seoul&r

South Korea reported 29 additional cases of the new coronavirus Thursday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 10,991. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said among the cases confirmed the previous day, 12 were from Incheon, six from Gyeonggi Province and four from Seoul. North Chungcheong Province reported three new cases. Nearly 90 percent of the newly diagnosed patients, or 26 people, were found to have domestically transmitted infections in the afte

Aggressive testing and contact tracing are back in full swing in South Korea, as new chains of coronavirus infections continue to pop up sequentially after an outbreak linked to nightclubs and bars in Itaewon, central Seoul. Health authorities added four new clubs and bars -- MADE, Soolpan, The Fountain and Pistil -- to the list of locations where mass transmissions are believed to have occurred. That raises the number of establishments in Seoul’s popular nightlife spot under the scr

South Korea reported 26 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the national’s total infections to 10,962, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. The latest figure continued to show a reversal of the downward trend that reached zero cases in late April with an emergence of a new infection cluster in Seoul’s Itaewon, packed with nightlife entertainment facilities. Of the 26 new patients, four were imported cases and the rest were domestic infect

Coronavirus may have been spreading undetected in late April and early May, prior to the Itaewon nightclub transmissions, health authorities investigating infection routes of over 100 patients linked to the club cluster said Tuesday. Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the mass infection that occurred in Itaewon has multiple epicenters. He said there were cases with no apparent correlation with the cluster’s first identified pa

South Korea reported 27 more cases of the new coronavirus on Monday, bringing the nation‘s total infections to 10,936, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. It marked the fourth day in a row that the country logged double-digit increases in daily infections. Death toll from the coronavirus rose by two to 258. The total fatality rate stood at 2.36 percent. The country has been seeing a new spike in COVID-19 cases stemming from nightclubs and bars

The reopening of schools, which was scheduled for Wednesday for high school seniors, has been postponed in South Korea amid the specter of another wave of COVID-19 infections. One-week delays in school resumption schedules, in stages spanning from this week through June 1, were announced Monday afternoon after at least 90 coronavirus cases were identified in a new cluster of infections that occurred in Seoul’s popular party district of Itaewon. Health authorities expect the caseload t

South Korea has so far identified a total of 79 novel coroanvirus cases linked to clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon district, in a new cluster of infections that has stoked fears of a resurgence of the virus here. “As of 8 a.m. Monday, the accumulated caseload linked to the Itaewon clubs stands at 79,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior Health Ministry official, said during the daily briefing on the virus. Itaewon’s popular clubs and bars emerged as a new center of virus transmissions af

Foreigners who visited clubs or bars in Seoul’s Itaewon, a nightlife spot popular among locals and foreigners alike, during last week’s holidays are urged to get tested for the coronavirus after the area emerged as a hotbed of COVID-19. “We request those who visited clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon between late April and May 6 to refrain from going out and to follow instructions from community health centers to undergo a diagnostic test,” Korea Centers for Disease Con

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday elected Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon as its new floor leader to head the party which secured an absolute majority in parliament amid a stack of pressing issues involving the economy dampened by the coronavirus pandemic awaiting to be solved. In his second attempt, four-term lawmaker Kim succeeded to take the position by defeating two other candidates Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol and Rep. Jung Sung-ho. He received 82 votes out of 163. “I will gather the party