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Korea on course toward vaccinating over quarter of its population by end-June

A man receive a Janssen COVID-19 vaccine shot at Changwon Hanmaeum Hospital in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, June 10. YonhapSouth Korea has inoculated over 10 million people amid its accelerating vaccination drive, making the country's goal to get about 14 million vaccinated by the end of this month attainable, health authorities said Thursday.A total of 10.06 million people have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines as of 11 a.m., accounting for 19.6 percent of the country's population, since the country started its vaccination program on Feb. 26, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country aims to vaccinate up to 14 million people by the end of this month, a quarter of its 51.2 million population, and achieve herd immunity in November, but it hopes it can reach its goal earlier than expected with the increased vaccine rollout.The authorities said the inoculation drive has sped up recently as the country began inoculating seniors aged 60-64.Reserve forces, civil defense members and others in charge of defense and foreign affairs

Jun 10, 2021
Korea on course toward vaccinating over quarter of its population by end-June

US soldier at Camp Humphreys tests positive for coronavirus

An American service member stationed at a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday.The soldier at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Wednesday after showing symptoms, according to the U.S. military. The patient last visited the base Tuesday and is now in isolation at a facility designated for coronavirus patients "KDCA and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether anyone else may have been exposed to this individual, and to identify and ensure all known on-post and off-post facilities visited by the individual are thoroughly cleaned," USFK said in a release. KDCA stands for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the USFK-affiliated population to 886, most of whom tested positive upon their arrival here from the United States. (Yonhap)

Jun 10, 2021

New virus cases in 600s for 2nd day

A man gets COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, June 10. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases stayed over 600 for the second straight day Thursday as the current distancing rules are likely to be again extended without clear signs of letup in the coronavirus pandemic.The country reported 611 more COVID-19 cases, including 594 local infections, raising the total caseload to 146,303 the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.Daily virus cases stayed in the 400s on Monday and Tuesday due to fewer tests over the weekend but spiked to the 600 range Wednesday. Daily caseloads have been going through some ups and downs between the 400s and 700s in recent months due to lingering cluster infections nationwide.The country added two more deaths, raising the death toll to 1,979. The fatality rate was 1.35 percent.Health authorities will decide whether to extend the current distancing rules Friday. Currently, the greater Seoul area is under the Level 2 distancing in the five-level scheme, while the rest of the country is under Level 1.5.A total of

Jun 10, 2021
New virus cases in 600s for 2nd day

Peaceful one-person protest in front of US ambassador's residence should be allowed: rights watchdog

By Lee Hyo-jinThe nation's human rights watchdog said Wednesday that peaceful one-person protests in front of the U.S. ambassador's residence should be allowed, and recommended law enforcement authorities to guarantee such demonstrations.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) delivered the opinion in response to a petition filed by a man who organized a solo demonstration in front of the ambassadorial residence in downtown Seoul's Jeong-dong from Oct. 25 to 27, 2019. National Human Rights Commission of Korea headquarters / Korea Times fileHe planned the event in protest of the then-U.S. administration's demand for Korea to increase its share of costs to maintain 28,500 U.S troops stationed in the country.One-person protests are not subject to the law on demonstrations and assemblies, so a solo protester is not required to report the protest plan to police in advance.According to the petitioner, police officers guarding the residence blocked him when he arrived at the site along with three other people. They were told by police that the demonstration had not been report

Jun 9, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Peaceful one-person protest in front of US ambassador's residence should be allowed: rights watchdog

VANK launches multilingual anti-IOC campaign on occasion of G7 Summit

By Kang Seung-wooOn the occasion of the upcoming G7 Summit to be held in the U.K., the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), a civic organization promoting Korea and its history online, has produced multilingual posters criticizing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of hypocrisy in its handling of Japan's disputed Olympic torch route map.The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea's poster criticizing the International Olympic Committee's failure to take action against Japan's inclusion of Dokdo in its Tokyo Olympic map / Courtesy of VANKSeoul has strongly urged the IOC to order Tokyo to remove the islets of Dokdo from the map of its Summer Olympics, scheduled to kick off on July 23. The easternmost islets belong to Korea, but Japan claims sovereignty over them. Despite the Korean side's repeated protests, the IOC as well as the Japanese organizer have yet to take any action.As a result, VANK produced posters in Korean and English criticizing the IOC last week, with the title “Is the IOC a puppet of Japanese government?” and the non-governmental organization has expa

Jun 9, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
VANK launches multilingual anti-IOC campaign on occasion of G7 Summit

New virus cases bounce back to over 600; vaccination drive on smooth path

A medical worker takes test samples for COVID-19 at a makeshift testing center near Seoul Station, June 7. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases bounced back to over 600 Wednesday due to sporadic cluster infections as the country's inoculation drive gains traction on increased vaccine supply.The country reported 602 more COVID-19 cases, including 581 local infections, raising the total caseload to 145,692, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.Wednesday's figure was sharply up from 454 cases Tuesday. Daily cases here usually spike from Wednesday as more people get tested. Daily caseloads have been going through some ups and downs between the 400s and 700s in recent months with no significant signs of a letup due to lingering cluster infections nationwide.The country added two more deaths, raising the death toll to 1,977. The fatality rate was 1.36 percent.Health authorities are speeding up vaccinations in order to inoculate 14 million people by the end of this month and 36 million by September. The country aims to achieve herd immunity in November but hopes

Jun 9, 2021
New virus cases bounce back to over 600; vaccination drive on smooth path

Number of children with myopia increasing steeply

gettyimagesbankBy Yoon Ja-youngThe number of children experiencing myopia, or nearsightedness, is increasing steeply in Korea, where the majority of the population already experience vision problems. Doctors say that it seems to be related to the rise of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.According to a survey at Kim's Eye Hospital, 74.9 percent of the young patients below the age of 15, who visited the clinic during the one-year period between April 2020 and March 2021, were myopia patients. That figure is up 6.6 percentage points from the figure for the same period a year ago. April 2020 was when schools across the country started offering online classes due to the pandemic.Doctors say that it can be assumed that the increase in young myopia patients is related to the rise of online classes, involving more frequent use of digital display devices.“After the implementation of online classes, the number of children visiting the clinic due to myopia increased. Though we would not jump to the conclusion that the two are directly related, it does seem that one is affecting

Jun 8, 2021By Yoon Ja-young
Number of children with myopia increasing steeply

SPECIAL REPORT 'Invisible,' undocumented children excluded from Korea's welfare system

This article is the second in a four-part series to highlight and address issues surrounding marginalized residents of foreign nationality who are living in legal blind spots in Korean society. ― ED.By Lee Hyo-jin Na-young, as she prefers to identify herself, is a 12-year-old girl living in Gyeonggi Province who faces the threat of deportation when she turns 19. She is an undocumented child living with her parents from the Philippines, who entered Korea as migrant workers in the late 1990s, but later lost their legal status.Undocumented children can only stay in the country until they graduate high school, after which they face deportation. “She will probably have to go to the Philippines, which is a completely foreign country for her,” her mother said. Na-young doesn't know Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines, nor the country's culture.Meanwhile, as a fifth grader at elementary school, Na-young is already paying the price of being undocumented. Last year, when most classes went online following the COVID-19 outbreak, without an ID number, Na-young couldn't sign

Jun 8, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
[SPECIAL REPORT] 'Invisible,' undocumented children excluded from Korea's welfare system

New virus cases in 400s for 2nd day amid vaccination push

Workers wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus work at a construction site in Seoul, June 3. AP-YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases remained in the 400s for the second straight day Tuesday amid efforts to boost the country's vaccination campaign. The country reported 454 more COVID-19 cases, including 435 local infections, raising the total caseload to 145,091, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.Tuesday's figure was down from 485 cases Monday. But daily cases usually go up starting Wednesday as more people get tested.Daily caseloads have been going through some ups and downs between the 400s and 700s in recent months with no significant signs of a letup as cluster infections continue to pop up across the nation. The country added one more death, raising the death toll to 1,975. The fatality rate was 1.36 percent.Health authorities aim to inoculate 14 million people by the end of this month with an increased vaccine supply and 36 million by September. The country is seeking to achieve herd immunity in November but hopes it can be reac

Jun 8, 2021
New virus cases in 400s for 2nd day amid vaccination push
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