South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases topped 13,000 as of midnight Tuesday due to the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant. It was the first time that South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases surpasses 10,000 in 737 days since the country saw its first confirmed COVID-19 case on January 20. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Wednesday, the country added 13,012 COVID-19 cases, posting a dramatic increase from that of the previous

Chang Yong-joon, better known as rapper No:el and the son of lawmaker Rep. Chang Je-won, had insulted and assaulted a police officer after refusing to comply with a breathalyzer test that followed a car accident in September, according to a video shown in court. Prosecutors revealed the video during a trial at Seoul Central District Court on Monday, where Chang refused to admit his noncompliance with the breathalyzer test and that he had physically attacked a police officer. In the video, Ch

South Korea‘s daily coronavirus cases hit an all-time high of 8,571 as of midnight Monday, with the quickly spreading omicron variant now dominant, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Tuesday. It is the first time the daily figure has topped 8,000 cases dating back to when the country reported the first COVID-19 infection in January 2020. The previous all-time high was 7,848 on Dec. 15, 2021. Despite the sudden increase in daily cases, the number of critically ill CO

People who have been hospitalized due to adverse events and allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are exempt from the country’s vaccine pass mandate, starting on Monday. 　 According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the government will grant the exemption if people have received hospital treatments within six weeks after they received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Those people who requested the government compensate them for vaccination side-eff

The South Korean government will lower the age minimum for COVID-19 treatment pills from 65 to 60 to better counter the spread of the omicron variant, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. Kim announced the measure during the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, along with other changes that the government will bring into the country’s COVID-19 response system. “(The government) will make several changes in the country’s response system to mor

South Korea‘s daily COVID-19 cases stayed above 6,000 for a second consecutive day as of midnight Thursday, largely as the spread of the omicron variant picks up pace. As of midnight Thursday, the country added 6,769 new COVID-19 cases, which raised the total caseload to 719,269, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The country‘s daily caseload surpassed 6,000 on Wednesday for the first time in 27 days, after staying below the mark since Dec. 24, when the figure re

Two men, who were convicted of selling illegal abortion pills and helping two cases of infanticide, have been sentenced to three years in prison, according to the Daejeon District Court, Thursday. The court also banned the two men from getting child-related careers for three years. In January, 2020, the two men, who are in their 30s, sold illegal abortion pills online to a woman in her 20s. However, the woman gave birth in her bathroom after the abortion pills failed. She then asked the two m

A man in his 80s who is believed to have murdered his wife over suspicion of a possible relationship with another man has been arrested, police said Thursday. The case has been sent to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation. According to the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station, the man is alleged to have murdered his wife on Jan. 12 at home. The man reportedly called his son and confessed to the crime. The son reported the case to police, and police arrested him at the scene.

An appellate court on Wednesday upheld life sentence of a South Korean man who murdered three women in the same family. While upholding the lower court’s ruling, the Seoul High Court also insisted the 26-year-old murderer Kim Tae-hyun should be sentenced to life in prison without parole. “Although the judicial authority’s opinion has no binding force to parole decisions, the court should clarify its opinion regarding the opportunity of parole,” the court said. “Th

South Korea’s daily coronavirus cases surpassed 5,000 for the first time in 20 days as the omicron variant began to spread rapidly. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s announcement on Wednesday, the country added 5,805 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Tuesday, raising the total to 705,902. The figure was 1,733 up from that of the previous day. The figure went over 5,000 for the first time in 20 days since it reached 5,034 on Dec. 30. The number

Kazakhstani Damir Kusheyev, a former professional cyclist, has finished a 793.8-kilometer bicycle trip across Korea, which he embarked on to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Kazakhstan and to support Busan in its bid to host the World Expo 2030. Kusheyev began his trip at Haeundae Beach in Busan on Jan. 8. He cycled over nine days, passing through Samnangjin, Daegu, Mungyeong, Jeungpyeong, Daejeon and Jincheon, before arriving in Seoul. In Seoul, Kush

South Korea will strengthen cooperation with the United Arab Emirates in major technologies related to the hydrogen economy, President Moon Jae-in said Sunday. The president, who is in Dubai for a three-day visit as part of his trip to the Middle East, made the remark at a business forum attended by Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE. “Korea and the UAE will expand energy cooperation into the hydrogen sector, a core energy resource in the

The government is set to announce its latest decision on the vaccine pass mandate Monday, amid continued controversy over the measure. The measure, which would have prevented unvaccinated people from using a number of facilities including department stores from Monday, has been put on hold in Seoul following the Seoul Administrative Court’s ruling that large shops based in Seoul should be temporarily excluded from the mandate. Due to ongoing concerns over the fairness of the vaccine pas

Seoul Foreign School announced Thursday that Andre Jin Coquillard has been named Alumnus of the Year for his athletic achievement. The award is the highest honor the school grants on its alumni, who presented excellence in their chosen field of endeavor and outstanding service to the community or profession, as well as devotion to SFS. For Coquillard, the school thought highly of his efforts in South Korea’s national rugby team. In 2021, Andre represented South Korea in men’s ru

People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Thursday openly attacked Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, saying that those linked to allegations against him have been “silenced with death.” Ahn also strongly demanded prosecutors to launch a special investigation into the scandals and their possible connection with presidential candidate Lee. “People who held keys to corruption scandals, including the Daejang-dong corruption scandal

Yongin, a city of 1 million located about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, will step up efforts to become an eco-friendly and economically self-sufficient city, said Baek Kun-ki, the mayor of Yongin. During a press conference held on Tuesday, Baek shared his vision for Yongin, whose new “special city” status goes into effect on Thursday. Yongin is one of four cities that received the designation this year. The others are Suwon, Goyang and Changwon. With the city’s new status,

A man convicted of killing three people in an arson fire at a motel in Seoul was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the Supreme Court of South Korea ruled Monday. The 71-year-old man was indicted on charges of setting a fire at a motel located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in November 2020, which led to a total of eight casualties. The man demanded the owner of the motel give him alcohol, but the owner refused. The man, who was found to be already drunk, then set a fire that killed three people and injur

South Korea‘s vaccine pass mandate, which requires people to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test conducted within 48 hours to shop in large retail and department stores, became effective on Monday. According to the government, there will be a one-week grace period until Jan. 16 to reduce confusion. After the grace period, penalties can be levied on people who enter those facilities with expired vaccine passes, as well as facilities owners who accept them. People who go in

South Korea‘s daily coronavirus cases continued to drop, falling below 4,000 for the first time in three days for Thursday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency‘s data, the country added 3,717 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Thursday. South Korea has recently seen a modest downward trend in daily COVID-19 cases lately. The numbers of COVID-19 cases for Tuesday and Wednesday were 4,443 and 4,125, respectively. The number of critically ill patients also

South Korea’s military said Wednesday that it failed to stop a North Korean defector even though he was caught on surveillance cameras five times. The Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday disclosed the results of its on-site investigation into how the 30-something North Korean man returned to the North Saturday night. The military currently believes that the defector is the same person who defected to the South in November 2020. The military first spotted him approaching the border reg