Amid the rising number of imported cases of COVID-19 infections, a Polish national who tested positive reportedly carried out outdoor activities while in quarantine, sparking concerns of a community spread, local reports said Monday. The Yongsan District in Seoul posted online last week that a Polish man in his 40s had contracted the virus after coming into contact with a previously confirmed virus patient and that he had completed the two-week mandatory quarantine. Multiple Yongsan residents

Lengthy battle exhausts doctors, nurses on front line of coronavirus fight

Death rate in patients above 80 surges past 18 percent

　South Korea reported a net decrease in its population for the third consecutive month in January, due mainly to the critically low birthrate that has plagued Asia’s fourth-largest economy for years. 　Only 26,818 infants were born in January, down 11.6 percent on-year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of births has fallen on-year for a whopping 50 consecutive months, dating to December 2015. 　The number of deaths, on the other hand, advanced 4 percent on-y

With no end in sight in the global coronavirus outbreak, South Korea is pondering sustainable ways of continuing the quarantine system while also allowing for a return to normal.  The government said Monday it will launch a body encompassing public and private experts this week to devise guidelines on how people should go about their day while still helping to bring the spread of the virus under control. “The long-term goal is to control the size of infections to the level where h

President Moon Jae-in and his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Werner Iohannis, exchanged congratulatory letters Monday to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their countries' diplomatic ties, the foreign ministry said. In his letter, Moon welcomed the steady expansion of bilateral cooperation since the establishment of relations in 1990, while noting the recent strengthening of cooperation in the nuclear reactor, educational and cultural sectors. He also voiced expectation that the

Second supplementary budget bill is being prepared

A South Korean government-chartered plane departed for coronavirus-hit Italy on Monday to bring home hundreds of citizens, amid growing concerns over their safety in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe. The plane, bound for Milan, is one of the two flights that the Seoul government has arranged to bring about 530 citizens back to Korea. The other flight is expected to depart here for Rome on Tuesday. The first flight, with about 310 people, is set to arrive in Korea on Wednesday,

Colleges in North Korea are providing online programs for students amid an extended vacation, as the country is making all efforts to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, state media showed Monday. North Korea has not officially confirmed any coronavirus infections, but it has reportedly extended the winter vacation for all schools as a precaution. "Classrooms nationwide have been suspended and vacation periods extended as part of efforts to stem the spread of the new coronavirus t

The southern province of Jeju Island said Monday it has filed a lawsuit against two travelers who tested positive for coronavirus after a five-day trip of the island. The lawsuit, filed by the provincial government and six local businesses, is seeking over 100 million won ($82,000) in damages and business losses.  The defendants are a 19-year-old who attends a university in the US and her mother. They traveled to Jeju five days after the daughter returned from the US, and tested positi

The foreign ministry reconfirmed Monday that three South Korean coronavirus test kits can be exported to the United States as they were given pre-emergency use authorization numbers from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Saturday, the foreign ministry issued a press release that the three unidentified companies have gained preapproval in the FDA's emergency use authorization (EUA) process and that their diagnostic devices can be sold in the US market. But the announcement created

A super-large multiple rocket launcher that North Korea claimed to have test-fired the previous day appears to be similar to its large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system unveiled last year, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. The military is scrutinizing photos North Korean state media released earlier in the day of the super-large multiple rocket launcher tested Sunday as the system looks different from the North's existing weapon of the same name, a JCS official said.