South Korea reported 47 new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, down from 81 new cases a day earlier, bringing the nation's total infections to 10,284 and marking the fewest daily infections since late February.   South Korea has recorded some 100 or fewer additional cases in its daily number of new virus cases for more than three weeks, but health authorities remain on high alert over cluster infections at churches and hospitals, as well as new cases coming from overseas. The na

As of Friday, South Korean consumers can freely order alcoholic drinks online and pay via internet or with a mobile app. With a ban on online purchases of liquor lifted, convenience stores and hypermarket chains stand to benefit, according to the industry. Changes to the Liquor Tax Act came into effect Friday allowing retailers, including restaurants, hypermarkets and convenience stores, to sell alcoholic beverages on mobile apps and on the internet. But delivery is still banned, so custome

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government have agreed to push for abolishing the statute of limitations for sex crime involving children and minors. DP and government officials held a consultative meeting Sunday to discuss ways to strengthen the punishment of digital sex crime in response to a high-profile sex exploitation case at online chat rooms involving minors, widely known as the "Nth room case." At least 103 people, including 26 underage girls, are known to have been

South Korean shares opened higher Monday amid hopes of a potential treatment for the new coronavirus that has infected more than 1.2 million people around the world. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.56 points, or 1.19 percent, to 1,746.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities Co., said the main index received a boost amid positive news about Gilead Sciences' remdesivir against COVID-19. Daniel O'Day, chairman and

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has ascended to this year's highest of 53.7 percent, a poll showed Monday, amid a widespread view that his administration is coping effectively with the coronavirus. In the five-day phone survey of 2,521 people nationwide, age 18 or older, through last Friday, Moon's popularity rose 1.1 percentage points from a week earlier, while the portion of those critical of his leadership fell 0.9 percentage point to 43.2 percent, according to Realmeter. The margin

Free Joseon, a clandestine anti-Pyongyang political group, helped North Korea’s top diplomat in Italy go into hiding in November 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the US newspaper said Free Joseon arranged a car and a safe house for Jo Song-gil, who was then acting ambassador to Rome, and his wife. After having told colleagues he was going for a stroll, Jo got into the car awaiting them nearby the embassy’s compound, which

An American citizen working at U.S. Forces Korea's Camp Humphreys tested positive for the new coronavirus Sunday, the 19th confirmed case for the USFK community. USFK said the infected person is an American construction worker working for the military camp. According to USFK, the U.S. citizen last visited Camp Humphreys, the USFK headquarters in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and has since been under self-quarantine at his home for having been in contact with another coronavi

Baedal Minjok’s recently restructured fee system, which involves charging restaurant owners a fixed-rate commission of 5.8 percent, is now facing criticism from restaurants that say it imposes a higher cost burden, industry sources said Sunday. The country’s No. 1 delivery app has expanded its fixed-rate system Open Service by lowering the rate from 6.8 percent to 5.8 percent per order starting Wednesday, while scaling back the other optional flat-sum system, Ultra Call. This

Health care workers make up 2.4 percent of confirmed virus cases

　South Korea will stop overseas election affairs for the April polls in 41 diplomatic missions of 25 nations, including the United States, over the coronavirus pandemic until April 6, according to the National Election Commission. 　The move followed last week’s decision to suspend the election process in Italy and 16 other countries and territories over the COVID-19 pandemic. 　The total affected diplomatic missions reached 65 in 41 countries, the NEC said. An estimated 80,500 voters

Health care workers see second wave of outbreak coming their way

The serial adaptation of Korean film “Snowpiercer” is moving up its premiere date to mid-May, two weeks ahead of the original schedule. According to news reports from several US entertainment media outlets Thursday, US cable network TNT has decided to advance the release date of “Snowpiercer” to May 17. The move comes in response to a growing thirst for more content on the small screen by viewers as the COVID-19 outbreak pushes back new releases elsewhere. “Snow

Increasingly pressed to play a more active role in the coronavirus-hit financial market, South Korea’s central bank is considering exceptional measures to provide liquidity, such as purchasing corporate bonds and corporate bills. The Bank of Korea is slated to hold its decision-making Monetary Policy Board meeting Thursday to review the necessity of base rate adjustments and other key monetary actions, officials said. Despite the prolonged economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic an

South Korea is likely to post negative economic growth this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The average estimate of the nation’s gross domestic product growth for this year recently came to negative 0.9 percent, drastically down from the previous suggestion of around 2 percent. The forecasts were tallied from 11 global financial services firms, including Standard Chartered, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Nomura Holdings and Credit Suisse. The plunge is attributed