The Seoul city government said Sunday it will redesign Gwanghwamun Square and the road around it in an effort to transform the square into a city-center park with more trees and flowers. The sweeping plan calls for removing the western side of the 10-lane Sejongro boulevard to expand the Gwanghwamun Square currently located in the middle of the road, while expanding the eastern-side boulevard to accommodate traffic on both sides. Finalization of the plan has been delayed as activists and other

Five flights were diverted from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, due to suspected drone activity on Saturday, the airport operator said. A passenger airplane of Russia's S7 Airlines, two cargo flights of South Korea's Asiana Airlines and two cargo flights of American Airlines were redirected to nearby Gimpo International Airport between 1:40 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. They could not land "due to an unidentified flying object, which appears to be an illegal drone," an Incheon I

Traffic accidents and casualties are the highest on the eve of the Chuseok holiday when South Koreans visit their hometowns and travel long distances, data showed Sunday. From 2015 to 2019, a total average of 825 car accidents took place on the day before the Chuseok holiday, responsible for an average of 1,200 deaths and injuries, according to police data. The data indicated that an average of 481 accidents per day and an average of 865 deaths and injuries took place during the Chuseok holida

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Sunday appealed to South Koreans to refrain from visiting their hometowns during the upcoming Chuseok holiday to help rein in the coronavirus. He also renewed warnings against holding illegal rallies. 　 The country’s virus fight is to be put to the test during the extended holiday, which runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, when a mass movement of people could heighten the risk of community spread of COVID-19. The country recorded double-digit figures in daily ne

More than 400 South Koreans have been injected with seasonal flu vaccines that should not have been administered due to storage problems, but no side effects have been reported, health authorities said Sunday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 407 people received the vaccines that were not supposed to be administered after being exposed to room temperature. The figure marked a hike from Saturday, when the agency reported 324 people received the flu shots. Still, n

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 100 for the first time in four days Saturday, as the country is struggling with sporadic cluster infections in the greater Seoul area and persisting untraceable cases ahead of a major holiday. South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 100 for the first time in four days Saturday, as the country is struggling with sporadic cluster infections in the greater Seoul area and persisting untraceable cases ahead of a major holiday. The Korea Disease

Three in four Seoul citizens don't have any plans to visit their hometowns or travel long distances during the Chuseok holiday due mainly to fears of coronavirus transmission, a poll showed Saturday. In the survey of 849 citizens aged 18 or older, 56.8 percent said they have no plans to travel long distances during Chuseok, while another 16 percent said they have canceled their holiday travel plans due to COVID-19. Merely 12.4 percent said they have travel plans during the Korean equivalent of

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a former executive of Shinhan Investment Corp., one of South Korea's major financial investment companies, to eight years in prison for deceiving investors to buy faulty fund products related to a massive fund scandal that has shaken the country since last year. The Seoul Southern District Court handed down an eight-year prison term and a fine of 300 million won ($256,235) to the man, surnamed Lim charged with fraud and violation of capital market and financial

South Korea on Friday unveiled a set of detailed social distancing guidelines for upcoming holidays to stem the nationwide spread of the novel coronavirus, which center on limiting operations of risk-prone facilities and banning gatherings of a certain number of people. The government set the two weeks starting Monday as a special period for its antivirus fight, as many people are expected to travel during the Chuseok holiday, which runs from Wednesday to Oct. 4. Millions of South Koreans tra

More than 100 South Korean have been injected with seasonal flu vaccines that should not have been administered due to storage problems, but there have been no reported side effects, health authorities said Friday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said hospitals and public health centers in Seoul and three other areas gave flu shots to 105 people with some of the vaccines that weren't supposed to be administered after being exposed to room temperature. The agency said the

The government and the medical sector are still at odds over whether to give a second chance to fourth-year medical students to take the state medical licensing exam. Senior students had been boycotting the state licensing exam -- which took place earlier this month -- in protest of the government's medical workforce reform plan. The students joined a nationwide strike by doctors, urging the government to withdraw its plan to increase admission quotas at medical schools. Representatives of d

South Korea will prohibit operations of nightlife establishments outside of the greater Seoul area for a week as part of the country's tighter social distancing requirements aimed at reducing COVID-19 infections during the upcoming Chuseok holiday, the prime minister said Friday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said tighter disease prevention rules will be adopted for restaurants, amusement parks, movie theaters and other frequently visited entertainment places in the capital area. Starting Wedn

A court has rejected arrest warrants for a priest and a church elder over their alleged obstruction of the government's efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Seoul Central District Court declined to issue them late Thursday night, citing low flight risk and small chance of the destruction of evidence. The two officials of Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul, a recent hotbed of the coronavirus pandemic with more than 1,100 cases linked to it, were suspected of violating t

South Korea reports more than 100 COVID-19 cases for third consecutive day

South Korea's internet censorship body on Thursday decided to block public access to a controversial doxing website that discloses personal information of alleged sex offenders and pedophiles over concerns of false accusations. The "Digital Prison" website was created earlier this year after public anger mounted over high-profile sex abuse cases that were not properly dealt with under the current judiciary system. The site came under intense scrutiny after a 20-year-old South Korean