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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 on Sunday above 500 for 5th day

A hilly sightseeing track rich with cherry blossoms near Gyeongpo Lake in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on April 3 is blocked by a poster that notifies it has been closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases exceeded 500 for the fifth straight day on Sunday, putting health authorities on alert over another potential wave of virus infections amid spring weather.The country reported 543 more COVID-19 cases, including 514 local infections, raising the total caseload to 105,279, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The country added four more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,744.The daily virus cases have stayed above 500 since Wednesday.A third wave of infections here, which began in mid-November last year, has shown little sign of slowing down, with the daily cases having recently stayed in the 300-400s for more than a month after peaking at a record high of 1,241 on Dec. 25.Health authorities warned of another wave as cluster infections at various facilities, including saunas, hospitals and workplaces,

Apr 4, 2021
New virus cases on Sunday above 500 for 5th day

Korean foreign ministry raises travel alert for Myanmar

Myanmar anti-riot police officers are transported in a truck to prevent an anti-military coup protest, in Mandalay, Myanmar, April 3, 2021. At least 535 people have been killed by the military since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), while more than 2,500 people have been detained. EPA-YonhapThe foreign ministry raised its travel alert for Myanmar and decided to form a team dedicated to protecting South Korean citizens in the Southeast Asian country, officials said Saturday.The decision came amid the bloody crackdown by Myanmar's military junta on anti-coup protesters that has reportedly resulted in hundreds of deaths.The ministry raised the travel alert level to the second highest one in a four-tier system, which recommends citizens withdraw from the country."We call on our citizens to cancel or postpone their plans to travel to Myanmar, and on those who are in Myanmar to withdraw from the country if they are there not on emergency matters," the ministry said in a press release.Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will oversee the team deali

Apr 3, 2021
Korean foreign ministry raises travel alert for Myanmar
  • Myanmar junta slammed for child deaths
  • Koreans leaving Myanmar amid growing instability following coup
  • Myanmar protesters take up Easter eggs: junta hunts celebrities

New COVID-19 cases on Saturday hit over 500 for 4th day, raising warning of possible further hike

A health worker disinfects inside Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul's Mapo District, April 2, ahead of the season opening game of Korean Baseball League between the Samsung Lions and Kiwoom Heroes, April 3. Yonhap The number of daily new COVID-19 cases surpassed 500 here for the fourth day in a row for Friday, ringing alarm bells over a possible resurgence nationwide in the midst of the spring season. The country reported 543 more coronavirus cases, including 521 local infections, raising the total caseload to 104,736, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) saidThe country added three more deaths, increasing total fatalities to 1,740.The daily number has stayed over 500 since Tuesday, when the number jumped by nearly 60 to a 40-day high of 506.The health authorities said virus infections were accelerating across the country as the movement of people increases amid the spring weather. Infection clusters have continued to emerge at various facilities, includin

Apr 3, 2021
New COVID-19 cases on Saturday hit over 500 for 4th day, raising warning of possible further hike

Non-regular workers hit harder by COVID-19, poll shows

Non-regular workers work inside an automobile factory in Korea. Korea Times fileNon-regular workers have been hit harder by the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic than regular workers, a survey showed Saturday. In a survey of 1,000 salaried workers aged 19 or above conducted from March 17 to 23 by pollster Embrain Public, 18.6 percent said they had experienced unemployment since the coronavirus broke out here in January last year.By employment status, 35.8 percent of non-regular workers experienced job loss, five times higher than the corresponding rate of 7.2 percent for regular workers, the poll found.It said 34.8 percent of all respondents suffered reductions in income over the past year, and the damage was more extensive among non-regular employees. Nearly six in 10, or 58.3 percent, complained of pay cuts, compared with 19.2 percent for regular workers.One in five respondents, or 21.3 percent, said they were forced to take leave. The proportion of involuntary leave was far higher among non-regulars at 35.5 percent, compared to 11.8 percent for regular workers, according

Apr 3, 2021
Non-regular workers hit harder by COVID-19, poll shows
  • Korea considers introducing COVID-19 self-testing kit
  • Over 70% of Koreans willing to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots: poll

Over 70% of Koreans willing to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots: poll

A woman receives the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Seoul, April 1. APOver 7 out of 10 South Koreans are willing to receive coronavirus vaccine shots, a poll showed Friday. In a survey on 1,000 people aged 18 and above conducted on Wednesday and Thursday by Gallup Korea, 71 percent said they would like to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Among them, 50 percent said they will "definitely" receive vaccine shots. Only 23 percent were not willing to join the nationwide inoculation campaign, with 8 percent of them saying they will "never" get vaccinated.Compared with the pollster's similar survey carried out from Feb. 23-25, just before the vaccine rollout kicked off here, the rate of those who said they will "definitely" or "never" receive vaccine shots rose by 2 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively. By age bracket, those in their 20s were evenly divided on the matter, with 49 percent showing eagerness toward coronavirus vaccination and the other 49 percent not.In contrast, 82 percent of those aged 60 and above said they we

Apr 2, 2021
Over 70% of Koreans willing to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots: poll
  • Korea considers introducing COVID-19 self-testing kit
  • Non-regular workers hit harder by COVID-19, poll shows

Korea considers introducing COVID-19 self-testing kit

This photo shows an at-home coronavirus testing kit developed by Lucira Health, which won the first approval for emergency use from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Nov. 17, 2020. Captured from Lucira Health websiteBy Lee Hyo-jin The government is considering allowing people to use self-testing kits for COVID-19 as a measure to largely increase testing capacity amid rising sporadic infections. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) held a meeting with quarantine experts, Friday, to thoroughly discuss possible use of self-diagnostic kits.“Discussions will be held on the necessity, legitimacy and accessibility of the kits as well as monitoring the situations of other countries where the devices are being used. We will find ways to strengthen our quarantine capacity by using all the tools and means available to this date,” KDCA official Kwon Jun-wook said at a briefing, Thursday. But he added that the meeting did not imply that the country would immediately introduce at-home testing kits allowing citizens to take samples by themselves and get the result

Apr 2, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea considers introducing COVID-19 self-testing kit
  • Over 70% of Koreans willing to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots: poll
  • Non-regular workers hit harder by COVID-19, poll shows

New COVID-19 cases above 500 for 3rd day; virus curbs tightened in Busan

People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus take pictures of cherry blossoms in full bloom at a park in Seoul, April 1. APSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 500s for the third straight day Friday, as cluster infections continued to emerge across the nation. Social distancing rules were tightened in some cities, including Busan and Jeonju. The country reported 558 more COVID-19 cases, including 533 local infections, raising the total caseload to 104,194, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added two more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,737.In South Korea, a third wave of infections, which began in mid-November last year, has shown little signs of slowing down, with the nation reporting daily cases that have hovered around 400 over the past week.Health authorities have warned of another wave as cluster infections have continued to emerge at various facilities, including saunas, religious gatherings and workplaces. Ahead of the Easter weekend and by-elections next week, health author

Apr 2, 2021
New COVID-19 cases above 500 for 3rd day; virus curbs tightened in Busan

Why Korea's COVID-19 vaccination rate is so low

An elderly citizen receives a shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Dongjak District, Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeKorea is lagging behind some other countries in COVID-19 vaccinations apparently due to its failure to preemptively secure vaccines, in addition to the comparatively low competitiveness of domestic pharmaceutical companies in new medicine development. According to the latest data collated by the University of Oxford-based Our World in Data, the government has administered vaccines to 1.66 percent of the Korean population as of March 30, a little over a month after the country's vaccination program began Feb. 26.This ranked Korea 111th in the world with regard to the share of people having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.Israel, which began vaccinations Dec. 19, with its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receiving the Pfizer vaccine and becoming the first Israeli citizen to be inoculated, has a rate of 60.5 percent.The vaccination rate in the United Kingdom, which was the first in the world to begin COVID-19 vaccinations De

Apr 1, 2021By Jun Ji-hye
Why Korea's COVID-19 vaccination rate is so low
  • New COVID-19 cases above 500 for 2nd day; loosened vigilance hampering virus fight
  • Korea begins inoculating elderly aged 75 and older

Korea begins inoculating elderly aged 75 and older

A woman receives the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Seoul, April 1. APSouth Korea on Thursday began administering COVID-19 vaccines to members of the general public aged 75 or above and other virus-vulnerable groups as the country accelerates its nationwide inoculation campaign.Some 3.5 million people aged 75 and older began getting vaccinated with U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. products, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.It marks the first time that non-medical personnel and those who are not at long-term care facilities have been included in the country's nationwide vaccination campaign that began in late February.The elderly population will first be given 500,000 Pfizer vaccines that are provided under a direct contract for 13 million people between the company and the Seoul government, the KDCA said.The first batch of Pfizer products for 250,000 people arrived last week and another for 250,000 people arrived Wednesday.Vaccines provided by Pfizer are given at 46 state-run vaccination facilities, as t

Apr 1, 2021
Korea begins inoculating elderly aged 75 and older
  • Korea to adopt 'vaccine passport' showing person's COVID-19 vaccination status: PM
  • Why Korea's COVID-19 vaccination rate is so low

Korea to adopt 'vaccine passport' showing person's COVID-19 vaccination status: PM

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a meeting on the government's coronavirus response at the government complex in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapSouth Korea will introduce a digital certification system to verify a person's COVID-19 vaccination status through a smartphone application this month, amid the government's efforts to boost people's participation in the public vaccine program, the prime minister said Thursday."The people will be able to experience a sense of return to normality from a vaccine passport or green card systems," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a daily interagency meeting on the government's coronavirus response.The government, according to Chung, has already developed the system that shows the vaccination status of a person through a smartphone application and plans to launch it this month.Chung explained that the system is based on blockchain technology to ensure security from possible identity theft. "(Systems) in other countries also do not store personal information while allowing the verifications of vaccination statuses," Chung added.Since Feb

Apr 1, 2021
Korea to adopt 'vaccine passport' showing person's COVID-19 vaccination status: PM
  • New COVID-19 cases above 500 for 2nd day; loosened vigilance hampering virus fight
  • Korea begins inoculating elderly aged 75 and older
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