Health authorities estimate that the new omicron wave would peak at around 300,000 COVID-19 cases a day, the government said Wednesday. The government added that it would expand the country’s medical capacity to cope with the increasing number of infections and severe cases. ”The number of daily COVID-19 infections, at its peak, is expected to come to some 300,000,“ said Lee Ki-il, second vice ...

Cable channel ENA’s hit legal drama series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” offers a glimpse of what it might be like to work with a person who has autism spectrum disorder. The main character is an autistic genius named Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), who, after graduating from a top law school with honors thanks to her photographic memory, embarked on a career as an attorney at a big law f...

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 70,000 for the second straight day Wednesday as a highly contagious omicron subvariant is spreading fast amid eased virus curbs. The country reported 76,402 new COVID-19 infections, including 429 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,937,971, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. On Tuesday, the daily caseload mo...

The number of violent crimes in the second quarter of the year jumped 14 percent compared with a quarter earlier, data showed Wednesday, partially on the back of eased social distancing measures. A total of 367,412 crimes occurred in the April-June period, compared with 322,346 cases in the previous three months, according to the data compiled by the National Police Agency (NPA). The number of ...

Action for Clean Environment (ACE), a global non-profit organization aiming to facilitate global environmental activism, completed the 2022 Fellowship for Young Leaders Program with a ceremony held on Saturday in Seoul. According to the organizers, 11 students ranging from second to eleventh grade participated in the program this year. The program, lasting three weeks, comprised of three main s...

With no executions in nearly 25 years, S. Korea debates once again whether it needs capital punishment on the books

Most suicide victims showed warning signs before taking their own lives, according to a Ministry of Health and Welfare report. The report, released Tuesday, reviewed 801 cases of suicides involving South Koreans ages 19 and older between 2015 and 2021. The report found that 94 percent of suicide victims exhibited signs that included talking about dying or wanting to die; making preparations such...

Daily cases increase faster than government estimates

A South Korean national considered to be one of the country's biggest drug traffickers based in Southeast Asia was repatriated from Vietnam on Tuesday, police said. The 47-year-old suspect, only identified by his surname Kim, was the subject of an Interpol red notice for supplying illegal substances, such as methamphetamine, through Telegram, since 2018, the National Police Agency (NPA) said. H...

Second COVID-19 booster shots for people aged 50 and older began Monday as the country battles a resurgence in cases. The second boosters are also available for those aged 18 and older who have underlying health conditions, along with patients and workers at some facilities considered vulnerable to disease transmission, such as senior care centers. For people aged 50 and older, the government w...

Seoul city is offering transport subsidies for pregnant women, but the measure is limited to Korean residents, casting questions on the inclusiveness of the city’s policies. The Seoul city government has been offering pregnant women living in the city 700,000 won ($538) each in transportation vouchers since July 1. However, depending on their residency status, some pregnant mothers may not recei...

The National Police Agency announced that it has issued two Purple Notices related to new drug smuggling methods via airplane or ship components, which were shared with 195 member countries of the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, Monday. Interpol Notices are “international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-rela...

A member of the Seoul city council filed a petition Monday asking the state rights watchdog to get to the bottom of the previous administration's 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen against their will. Lee Jong-bae, a ruling People Power Party-affiliated member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, denounced the repatriation as human rights violations as he filed the petition with the N...

South Korea's new coronavirus cases more than doubled Monday from a week earlier amid a resurgence of infections and the fast spread of a highly contagious new omicron subvariant. The country reported 26,299 new COVID-19 infections, including 319 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,788,056, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure fell from 41,31...

The South Korean Air Force's aerobatic flight team received two top awards at the world's largest military air show in Britain over the weekend, the armed service said Monday. The Black Eagles team clinched the King Hussein Memorial Sword for the best overall flying demonstration and the As the Crow Flies Trophy at the three-day Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at Fairford, Gloucestershire,...