South Korea

No one likes to be last. But I had that distinction as the Peace Corps Korea country director, and I am forever grateful that it happened. In early 1981, Peace Corps Headquarters made the difficult decision that the Peace Corps program in Korea had to be closed due to projected budget reductions to its worldwide programs.

Seoul Zoo sent two North Chinese leopards to Europe this week to help save the endangered species. The leopards were shipped to Germany, Wednesday, to be quarantined before one is transferred to Denmark, according to Seoul Grand Park, which houses the zoo.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who turned the company into the nation's largest conglomerate and a global technology titan, died in Seoul, Sunday, after years of hospitalization. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Lee Kun-Hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics. Chairman Lee passed away on Oct. 25 with his family, including […]

President Moon Jae-in and leaders of the government and the National Assembly are making final efforts to support Korean candidate Yoo Myung-hee in the election for next chief of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Lee Kun-hee, chief of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, died at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday at age 78. The following are the major events during the life of the late business tycoon in chronological order.

The government said Friday it will continue its state-led free flu vaccination program despite mounting concerns from deaths following administration of vaccines, stating that it hasn't identified a causal link between the deaths and the flu shots.

South Korea said Sunday it will launch a special probe into the working environment for foreign crewmen working on local fishing boats to root out possible human rights violations by their employers. The country plans to look deeper into the working conditions of foreign workers on local fishing boats sized 20 tons and above during the four-week period that […]

A highly pathogenic avian influenza case was reported in South Korea on Sunday, marking the first virulent bird flu case in the country in 32 months. The virulent avian influenza strain of H5N8 was discovered from a fecal sample collected from wild birds Wednesday in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and […]

South Korea reported fewer than 100 new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day Sunday, but sporadic cluster infections among hospitals and other risk-prone facilities continued, straining the country's virus fight. The country added 61 more COVID-19 cases, including 50 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,836, according to the […]

South Korea reiterated Saturday that North Korea's invasion triggered the Korean War, after Chinese President Xi Jinping cast the 1950-53 conflict the previous day as the fight against U.S. "imperialist invaders." In a statement, the foreign ministry said that the "historical fact" about how the war broke out cannot change, while stressing the international […]

The health authorities said Saturday that they will continue a free influenza vaccination program despite dozens of recent deaths following the shots, as they have found no link between vaccines and the fatalities. The number of deaths jumped to 48 as of 1 p.m., up from 36 the previous day, after the first suspected death was reported Oct. 16, according to […]

Seoul observed the first frost and freeze of autumn Saturday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported Saturday that new COVID-19 infections had returned to below 100 for Friday, after cases were recorded in triple digits on the previous two days, as sporadic infection clusters continued at elderly care hospitals and other risk-prone facilities. The country added 77 coronavirus cases, including […]

The government is spending billions of won on YouTube to enhance Korea's national image worldwide but is not cost-effective, according to a lawmaker, Sunday.Citing data compiled by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and 44 related public organizations, Rep. Lim O-kyeong of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said 15 of the 62 channels […]

Korea said Friday it will continue to administer remdesivir to COVID-19 patients in the face of looming controversy over the efficacy of the antiviral drug.The decision came as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced last week that its studies showed remdesivir had little or no effect on COVID-19 patients' mortality rates or on reducing the length of […]

In February 1993, five years after taking over from his father at South Korea's Samsung Group, 51-year-old Lee Kun-hee was frustrated that he wasn't making his mark. He summoned a group of Samsung Electronics executives to a Best Buy store in Los Angeles for a reality check on the Samsung brand. Covered in dust, a Samsung TV set sat on a corner shelf with a […]

Rival political parties and business circles mourned the death of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, Sunday, recognizing his business acumen that turned the company into a global consumer electronics giant over three decades.

South Korean police investigating the death of a Hong Kong fashion empire heiress during plastic surgery in Seoul early this year said Thursday the operating surgeon has been found at fault for the medical accident and her death. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said it booked the Seoul doctor, whose identity was withheld, without detention on […]

Japanese researchers showed that masks can offer protection from airborne coronavirus particles, but even professional-grade coverings can't eliminate contagion risk entirely. Scientists at the University of Tokyo built a secure chamber with mannequin heads facing each other. One head, fitted with a nebulizer, simulated coughing and expelled actual […]

South Korea's new coronavirus cases rose by double digits for the sixth day on Wednesday, marking nearly a week of low numbers, but untraceable and sporadic cluster infections continued to put strain on the country's virus fight. Imported cases also reached an almost three-month high. The country added 91 more COVID-19 cases, including 57 domestic […]

The Navy has received the military's first vessel designed for training, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday, as the country pushes to enhance naval combat capabilities. The 4,500-ton Hansando is equipped with stealth functions and a computer-based training system to allow trainees to take part in simulated combat exercises, according to the Defense […]

A long line of women clutching their smartphones, each with unique QR codes on their screens, as they wait for a bathroom cubicle to become vacant, may be a scene the country will witness in the near future as the state-run Korea Land & Housing Corp. (LH) pushes for the installation of a digital access system at women's restrooms. LH announced its plan […]

Public anxiety is growing over the safety of flu vaccines in South Korea as three people have died after receiving flu shots. On Tuesday, a 78-year-old woman was found dead at her home in Gochang, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, after receiving a flu shot a day earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). On the same […]

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) concluded that the closure of the Wolsong-1 reactor, which is seen as a symbol of President Moon Jae-in's nuclear phase-out policy, had some procedural problems. But it did not determine the validity of the policy decision, saying that the inspection only covered the economic aspects of the reactor.

Health authorities are continuing to urge children, senior citizens and other vulnerable people to get vaccinated for influenza, even though 48 people have died after receiving the flu shot. Health authorities say there are no direct causalities between the deaths and vaccinations.

Comedian and singer Kim Chul-min, who made headlines for taking a dog deworming medicine to treat his lung cancer, appeared at a National Assembly audit session recently, urging the Ministry of Health and Welfare to help manage such alternative therapies, especially for cancer patients.

A number of European countries took urgent new measures on Monday to combat a second wave of coronavirus infections, as the World Health Organization blamed the surge in worldwide cases - now more than 40 million - on countries' failure to quarantine infected people properly. Ireland and Wales became the first countries on the continent to re-enter lockdown […]

The Seoul metropolitan government on Thursday issued its first fine dust advisory of this fall, citing an inflow of fine dust and yellow dust from China and elsewhere. According to the city's health and environment research center, the average fine dust concentration level stayed above 150 micrograms per cubic meter for over two hours, forcing it to issue […]

“I still can't believe that $7,880, which is my parent's salary for two years has vanished into thin air,” said Dinurbek Jumaniyozov, a 19-year-old student living in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. In addition to the financial loss, his hopes of studying in Korea to become an IT developer have been dashed.