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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

New virus cases spike back to 600s

Visitors wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk near a stream in Seoul, May 3. AP-YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases spiked to the 600s on Wednesday as rising cluster infections continue to hamper the country's virus fight against the pandemic.The country reported 676 more COVID-19 cases, including 651 local infections, raising the total caseload to 124,945, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The daily new cases are sharply up from the 541 recorded a day earlier, the KDCA said. The number also bounced back to the 600s after three days.The country added seven more deaths, raising the death toll to 1,847, the KDCA said.The daily caseload has been on an upward trend over the past week.The greater Seoul area, home to more than half of the country's 52 million people, is under Level 2 social distancing, the third highest in the five-tier scheme, with non-capital regions under Level 1.5.Of the locally transmitted cases, Seoul reported 234 new cases, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital city identified 126 new patients,

May 5, 2021
New virus cases spike back to 600s
  • Vaccinated people to be exempted from self-isolation in Korea from Wednesday

More than 170 Koreans return home from virus-hit India via special flight

This photo provided by the Consulate General of Korea in Chennai, May 3, shows Korean citizens boarding a special flight to Korea at Chennai International Airport in southern India. YonhapMore than 170 South Korean residents in virus-hit India returned home on Tuesday via a special flight, and more people will come home this week, health authorities said.A flight operated by Indian air carrier Vistara landed at Incheon International Airport around 10:17 a.m. with 172 passengers, including workers of Hyundai Motor Co., after departing from Chennai International Airport in southern India. India has been a virus hotspot in recent months, with a COVID-19 variant strain also posing a problem. The country has reported more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases per day for 13 consecutive days, with its accumulated total now exceeding 20 million.Regular flights between South Korea and India have been suspended from March last year over virus concerns. Since then, only non-regular flights have been operated between the two countries.But to better contain the Indian variant of COVID-19, South Kor

May 4, 2021
More than 170 Koreans return home from virus-hit India via special flight
  • Over 40 foreigners found infected with COVID-19 in Gangneung

Childbirth allowance rejection of naturalized Korean overturned

gettyimagesbankBy Nam Hyun-wooAn infographic about Korea's childbirth allowance for non-full-time working women / Courtesy of the Ministry of Employment and LaborEconomically active women who obtain Korean nationality after childbirth should be eligible to receive government childbirth allowances, an administrative ruling showed, Tuesday. The Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission decided that the domestic labor office's dismissal of an application for childbirth allowance by a woman who became a naturalized Korean after giving birth was unfair.The woman, whose identity was withheld, has been paying taxes here while working as a freelancer. Freelancers and other categories of non-full-time workers are not automatically covered by the country's employment insurance.After the birth of her child, the woman obtained Korean nationality and applied for the childbirth allowance through the labor office, citing the country's program of providing 1.5 million won in childbirth allowances for non-full-time workers. But the labor office dismissed her application, because she was not a Kor

May 4, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Childbirth allowance rejection of naturalized Korean overturned

Over 40 foreigners found infected with COVID-19 in Gangneung

Medical workers take test samples for COVID-19 at a makeshift testing center in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, May 3. More than 40 foreign migrant workers in the east coast city tested positive for COVID-19 after preemptive coronavirus testing, municipal officials said Tuesday. YonhapMore than 40 foreign migrant workers in the east coast city of Gangneung tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday after preemptive coronavirus testing, municipal officials said.The municipality of Gangneung, 240 kilometers east of Seoul, has so far conducted the preemptive testing on 743 migrant workers and 43 of them were diagnosed with the new coronavirus, the officials said.By nationality, Russians accounted for 36 of the confirmed cases, with the others from Central Asian nations, they noted.The preemptive testing was administered after one foreign worker tested positive for COVID-19 last Saturday and at least six people tied to the worker were found to be infected with the virus two days later.The Gangneung city government then set up a temporary testing station for foreigners on the parking lot of a f

May 4, 2021
Over 40 foreigners found infected with COVID-19 in Gangneung
  • New cases bounce back to 500s; variants emerging as another drag
  • More than 170 Koreans return home from virus-hit India via special flight

New cases bounce back to 500s; variants emerging as another drag

A man wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus exercises near a stream in Seoul, May 3. AP-YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases bounced back to the 500s on Tuesday amid growing fears that rising cases of COVID-19 variants could become another challenge to the country's virus battle. The country reported 541 more COVID-19 cases, including 514 local infections, raising the total caseload to 124,269, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The country added six more deaths, raising the death toll to 1,840.The daily caseload had been in the 600s since Wednesday, but it fell back to the 400s on Monday on fewer tests over the weekend.Cases from more contagious variants have been spiraling upwards, accounting for some 15 percent of confirmed cases recently."The figures logged a double-digit rise for a second straight week," Minister of the Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol said in a virus response meeting.A possible flare-up in new cases amid warm weather forced the health authorities to extend social distancing rules and a ban on private gath

May 4, 2021
New cases bounce back to 500s; variants emerging as another drag
  • Over 40 foreigners found infected with COVID-19 in Gangneung

Vaccination hits snag due to supply and demand imbalance

Seats are empty at a public vaccination center in Gwangju, Monday, following the health authorities' earlier decision to halt temporarily giving first shots of the Pfizer anti-COVID-19 vaccine in order to carry out inoculations for those scheduled for second shots. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin The government's vaccination plan is hitting a snag due to an imbalance between supply and demand, adding uncertainty to its goal of fully vaccinating 12 million people in the first half of the year. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), around 3.39 million people have received at least one dose of a vaccine as of Sunday, among which 236,468 have been fully vaccinated with two.But rising demand for second shots of the two-dose regimen vaccines is causing a supply-demand imbalance, leading to the temporary suspension of initial shots. The health authorities announced Friday that they would stop giving first shots of the Pfizer vaccine until mid-May, in order to inoculate those scheduled for their second doses. Accordingly, the KDCA requested local governments to refrain fr

May 3, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Vaccination hits snag due to supply and demand imbalance
  • COVID-19 herd immunity looks increasingly unlikely: experts

COVID-19 herd immunity looks increasingly unlikely: experts

Visitors wearing face masks exercise near a stream in Seoul, May 3. AP-YonhapDespite the ramped-up vaccine rollout, it will likely be difficult to reach herd immunity against the novel coronavirus, local health experts said Monday. "The COVID-19 virus is likely to be a new normal," said Oh Myoung-don, head of the country's central clinical committee for emerging disease control, adding that immunizing 70 percent of the population will not lead to the goal of reaching herd immunity.Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of the population becomes immune to a certain type of disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely.The committee earlier estimated that immunizing 70 percent of the country's population, either through vaccinations or past exposure to the virus, will lead to herd immunity.So far, the country has inoculated some 3.5 million people, accounting for some 6.6 percent of the 52-million population, since its vaccine rollout in late February. COVID-19 vaccines, such as by Pfizer Inc., are 95 percent effective at preventing symptomatic disease, but it

May 3, 2021
COVID-19 herd immunity looks increasingly unlikely: experts
  • New cases back to 400s on fewer tests
  • Vaccination hits snag due to supply and demand imbalance

New cases back to 400s on fewer tests

A medical worker takes test samples for COVID-19 at a testing center in Gwangju, April 30. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new virus cases fell back to the 400s on Monday as fewer people took new virus tests over the weekend with concerns over another round of the pandemic still worrisome amid a low vaccine supply.The country reported 488 more COVID-19 cases, including 465 local infections, raising the total caseload to 123,728, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The country added one more death, raising the death toll to 1,834.The daily caseload has been in the 600s for the past six days. Due to worries over a potential rise in new cases amid warm weather, health authorities extend social distancing rules and a ban on private gatherings of five or more people for three more weeks until May 23. The greater Seoul area, home to more than half of the country's 52 million people, is under Level 2 social distancing, the third highest in the five-tier scheme, with non-capital regions under Level 1.5.The authorities will adopt new distancing rules in 22 counties and citie

May 3, 2021
New cases back to 400s on fewer tests
  • FC Seoul defender Hwang Hyun-soo diagnosed with COVID-19
  • COVID-19 herd immunity looks increasingly unlikely: experts

Socially distanced test

Job applicants for Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corp. take a written exam while seated 2 meters apart from each other to maintain social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, at the EXCO Hall in Daegu, Sunday. Yonhap

May 2, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Socially distanced test

Korea moving to embrace diverse family types

Members of activist groups, including Political Mamas and the Korean Hanbumo Association, hold a press conference in front of KBS in Yeouido, Seoul, April 14, to protest discrimination against single parents. This issue came up after the broadcaster decided to have Japanese TV personality Sayuri Fujita, who became an unmarried mother by choice, appear on a childcare program. Korea Times photo by Lee Yu-jiBy Bahk Eun-jiEvery country has a legal definition of and boundaries around what constitutes a “family,” so that it can apply laws in regard to various family issues, such as childcare, household subsidies, inheritance and housing among others. Such laws, however, can have adverse effects on people who do not fall into the legal concept of family, causing discrimination against them for not forming a “normal” family. Korea has recently seen a debate on what kind of family is normal and what kind is not ― a debate sparked by, among other things, television personality Sayuri Fujita, who became an unmarried mother using artificial insemination and an anonymous s

May 2, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Korea moving to embrace diverse family types
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