South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hovered above 400 on Saturday as sporadic cluster infections showed no signs of a letup and the rising number of travelers amid warm weather is worried to spark yet another uptick in the curve. The country reported 418 more COVID-19 cases, including 404 local infections, raising the total caseload to 92,055, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily case was slightly up from 398 reported on Friday, but down from 424 tallied

A fire tore through the main hall of Naejang Temple, one of South Korea's oldest Buddhist temples, on Friday in a suspected arson attack by a disgruntled monk, firefighters said. Firefighters received the initial report of the fire at the temple in the southwestern city of Jeongeup at around 6:30 p.m. The blaze burned down the wooden Daewungjeon building, while firefighters were trying to stop it from spreading to other structures, the authorities said. No casualties were reported. The fire

‘A special bill being proposed is not enough to eradicate human trafficking’

Plan for new scheme aims to open up economy, while making it harder for people to gather

The prosecutor general who rose to prominence by standing firm against pressure from the Moon Jae-in administration, shook political minds as he resigned Thursday over moves to deprive the prosecution of its investigative rights, a month ahead of the local by-elections. Yoon Seok-youl had adhered to the customary reticence of a chief prosecutor, limiting his public speech to parliamentary sessions, until he took his first media interview this week, four months before his two-year term was to ex

Prosecutors on Friday raided SK Group's headquarters to see if the group is involved in the alleged creation of an illicit fund by the chairman of the SK Networks Co., a global trading unit of the group. The anti-corruption unit of the Seoul Central Prosecutors Office said prosecutors and police investigators from the unit were searching the SK Group headquarters in Seoul to secure evidence for an investigation into the slush fund allegation. On the same day, prosecutors indicted chairman Choi

Two Army soldiers and a civilian employee have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Friday. A soldier in Sejong, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine after a virus case was reported at his base, according to the ministry. Since the first case was reported at the base on Monday, the total number of infections has risen to seven. Another soldier based in Hongcheon, 100 km east of the capital, was found in

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Friday the country has not reported a farm-linked highly pathogenic bird flu case for around a week, in a possible sign of a letup. No suspected cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza were reported from local poultry farms since Friday last week, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The 103rd case of bird flu was reported from an egg farm in Pocheon, 46 kilometers north of Seoul. South Korea identified its first bird fl

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases continued to hover around 400 on Friday amid the country's vaccination push, with a potential resurgence in spring still worrisome amid prolonged pandemic fatigue and an increase in more contagious COVID-19 variants. The country reported 398 more COVID-19 cases, including 381 local infections, raising the total caseload to 91,638, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload was down from 444 cases recorded Wednesday

Over 150,000 get first jabs in less than a week since campaign launch

South Korea saw its carbon dioxide emissions fall 6 percent last year, while the global average declined 7 percent due to lockdowns in force because of the COVID-19 pandemic, research showed Wednesday. According to a study by the University of East Anglia, Stanford University and the Global Carbon Project, COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented fall in emissions of around 7 percent, or 2.6 billion metric tons of CO2, from a year earlier to 34 billion metric tons in 2020. While many stu

Men’s population marks 46-month low in February

Three more people died Thursday after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, officials said, raising the number of post-vaccination deaths in the country to five. A 52-year-old patient at a long-term care hospital in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul, died early Thursday morning, nearly two days after being vaccinated, according to North Jeolla Province officials. The patient had a cardio-cerebrovascular disease and suffered a brain hemorrhage in June. The second patient, age

South Korea is accelerating its COVID-19 vaccination campaign one week after its first vaccine rollout, and more people are expected to receive their first shots despite controversies over recent reports of deaths. On Friday, the country began its long-awaited inoculation program, with health care workers and patients aged under 65 at long-term care facilities, as well as front-line medical workers, among the first in line to receive their first shots. An accumulated 154,421 people were admini

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for the second consecutive day Thursday as the country pushes forward with its vaccination drive amid looming safety concerns. The country reported 424 more COVID-19 cases, including 401 local infections, raising the total caseload to 91,240, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The tally was slightly down from the 444 recorded the previous day. The country added seven more deaths from COVID-19, raising the