K-NEWS BITES

Fri 2022-01-14 (KST)

New policies, changes for Seoul City in 2022 (3 min read)

Seoul City has introduced some new policies and changes in its programs for 2022. Below are some of the changes to affect the capital.

New Gwanghwamun Square: “The city government is currently proceeding with the facelift project, which includes expanding the size of the square by 3.7 times by reducing lanes and expanding pedestrian paths.”
Free meals for kindergarteners: “A decade after the city government began offering free lunches to students at all public elementary schools in Seoul, the free school meal program has been expanded to middle and high schools, and will include kindergartens starting March.”
Joint daycare centers: “Public daycare centers will share their resources with nearby private centers enabling them to offer standardized childcare service, so that parents do not have to be in long waiting lists for admissions into public daycare centers.”
Second light rail transit: “In May, the new Sillim Line, a light rail transit (LRT) route that will run from Yeouido to Seoul National University in just 16 minutes, will be opened.”
Self-driving bus along Cheonggye Stream: “The city will operate an urban circulation autonomous driving bus made with domestic technology along Cheonggye Stream in downtown Seoul as early as April.”
Digital education for seniors: “It will expand its digital education center in cooperation with the digital education welfare center operated by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Education for the disabled will also be provided at 25 district offices from the current five.”

Anti-communist remarks lead to Starbucks Korea boycott (2 min read)

“On Jan. 6, Vice Chairman Chung had uploaded on Instagram an image of an article from Korean daily Chosun Ilbo that had a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping and was criticizing the Korean government's silence toward a high-level Chinese official who had referred to Korea as a ‘minor country.’ Chung tagged the image with the hashtag, "destroycommunism" ("myeolgong" in Korean), and it set off controversy… The incident spread to the political circle and the spokeperson for ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung subsequently tweeted that he will not drink Starbucks coffee anymore. Supporters of the DPK showed their intention to join the boycott of Shinsegae… Shinsegae is the parent company of E-mart, which owns 67.5 percent of Starbucks Korea.”

[Newsmaker] Lee Jae-myung whistleblower found dead (3 min read)

“The first whistleblower on ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung's alleged payment of legal fees by proxy in 2018 was found dead Wednesday, after he had gone missing for days. The latest is the third death reported among those related to allegations surrounding Lee, which has again raised calls for exhaustive investigations into Lee's suspected charges from the opposition bloc… He was suspected of unfairly using his authority to institutionalize his now-deceased brother [to a psychiatric ward] against his will from April to August 2012. Lee Jae-myung was cleared of charges from a Supreme Court ruling in July 2020. In the process of trial proceedings, the presidential nominee was alleged to have had someone else pay for his defense,” which is estimated to have cost around 10 billion won.

Construction site safety under scrutiny after Gwangju collapse (3 min read)

“Safety inspections took place at major construction sites across South Korea on Wednesday, as the search continued for workers missing in Tuesday‘s collapse of a Gwangju apartment building that was under construction. The Gwangju Metropolitan Government earlier in the day ordered the temporary shutdown on all construction sites in the city run by Hyundai Development Co., the company involved in the accident… The accident occurred around 3:50 p.m. Tuesday when an exterior wall of the high-rise apartment building under construction in Hwajung-dong, Gwangju crumbled, with 394 people working on the site. At least one person was hospitalized with injuries.”

Korea to use oral COVID-19 pills from Friday (2 min read)

“Korea will receive its first shipment of COVID-19 antiviral pills… 21,000 courses of Paxlovid, the oral COVID-19 pills developed by Pfizer, will arrive on Thursday and will be dispensed from Friday… As the initial delivery is highly limited, the government has decided to limit eligibility on a priority basis: people aged 65 and older and those with weak immune system, who are experiencing mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. The authorities noted that eligibility will be adjusted or expanded depending on the supply situation and the number of patients…”

“Patients undergoing home treatment may be prescribed the drugs through contactless consultation with a physician. The patients' family members may pick up the pills from a designated drug store, or the pills can be delivered to their home by local government officials or pharmacists… the antiviral pills so far appear to be effective against the Omicron variant, with more study results to come.”

S. Korea approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (1 min read)

“South Korea's drug safety agency on Wednesday approved an authorization of US-based biotechnology company Novavax Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine.” Recent studies showed efficacy rates of 90.4% and 89.7% In the United States, and Britain respectively. “The vaccine will be administered to people aged 18 or older, and a second injection will be administered 21 days after the first…[The] Novavax vaccine can be stored at a refrigerator temperature of between two and eight Celsius for up to five months… The vaccine has so far [received] authorizations from European Union regulators, the World Health Organization, as well as several Asian countries. The company has said it will also submit a request to the US Food and Drug Administration.”

‘Omicron is COVID-22’: Korea’s top national hospital doctor spells hope (3 min read)

“Dr. Oh Myoung-don, who heads the National Medical Center‘s committee for clinical management of emerging infectious diseases, told a news conference Wednesday, ‘Omicron is a distinctly different virus from the coronavirus as we know it. COVID-22, if you will… While COVID-19 is known to infect the lungs, growing evidence suggests omicron primarily targets the upper airways… From the way it infiltrates human cells to results from animal studies to clinical data from many parts of the world, omicron looks like it’s much less severe than delta.’”

“‘About a month’s time is left until omicron becomes dominant in Korea. Depending on how prepared we are for that initial tsunami our transition to the post-omicron wave normal may not need to be so bad,’ he said… According to the latest update from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of omicron patients jumped to over 2,300 from around 1,300 a week prior. Two of the known omicron patients fell severely sick, while one died.”

Daily infections over 4,000 for 2nd day; imported cases hit record high (2 min read)

“The country added 4,167 new COVID-19 infections… raising the total caseload to 679,030, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA)… The country reported 44 more COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 6,210… The fatality rate came to 0.91 percent. The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients stood at 701, staying below 800 for the fourth straight day… Currently, some 12 percent of the total cases were found to have been caused by the omicron variant, and it is highly likely to become the dominant COVID-19 strain in South Korea as early as late this month, according to the health authorities.”

General COVID Information for residents in Korea:

Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea

Coronavirus Public Advice (incl. social distancing information)

Latest guidance (16th Dec 2021 press release, updated 23rd Dec)

COVID FAQ

Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea

Some U.S. flights on West Coast grounded amid North Korea's missile launch (1 min read)

Right after the latest North Korean missile test, “the Federal Aviation Administration grounded airline flights at major airports on the West Coast — from Seattle to San Diego and from Las Vegas to Honolulu. Full operations resumed less than 15 minutes later and airlines reported no major delays. But there were some confused pilots and air traffic controllers… North Korean tests are always cause for concern, but until now they have not been cause for grounding airliners. Military officials told CBS News there was no need for the grounding. The FAA said it is reviewing its procedures.” A 1m 49s long video clip of CBS’s evening news segment for this is included in the article.

Moon not considering attending Beijing Olympics: Cheong Wa Dae (1 min read)

““President Moon Jae-in is not considering attending the Beijing Olympics next month, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday, despite Seoul's hopes to use the Games to help resume dialogue with Pyongyang… The official took note of Seoul's ongoing considerations regarding the sending of an ‘appropriate’ delegation to the Olympics ‘in accordance with the custom.’... Seoul's efforts to use the Beijing Olympics to revive its stalled peace initiative have faced a series of setbacks, including Washington's diplomatic boycott of the Games and renewed cross-border tensions caused by a recent spate of North Korean missile tests.”

North Korea's latest missile reached Mach 10: Seoul (2 min read)

“North Korea's missile launched this week was ‘more advanced’ than the previous test, reaching an estimated top speed of about 10 times the speed of sound, according to the South Korean military… A weapon tested on Jan. 5 flew at speeds up to Mach 6, according to Seoul. Japan, the U.S. and South Korea assessed it to be a ballistic missile, and South Korea's Ministry of National Defense disputed Pyongyang's claim that it was hypersonic, citing the shape of the warhead and details of its flight pattern. The latest test may be an effort by North Korea to showcase its technological progress in the face of these doubts. It also appears to be a reaction to international criticism. The test came hours after a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council…”

US Slaps Sanctions on N. Korea after Missile Tests (1 min read)

“The U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday that the sanctions were imposed on six North Koreans, one Russian and a Russian firm responsible for procuring goods for the North's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile-related programs. It added that the steps aimed to prevent the advancement of North Korea's programs and impede its attempts to proliferate weapons technologies… The sanctions freeze any assets that the targets have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with them. They are the first specifically targeting North Korea's weapons programs imposed by the Biden administration.”

There's something weird going on with LG's virtual influencer (3 min read)

“… My interest was piqued at CES 2022, where LG announced that Reah Keem - who, lest we forget, is a DJ and songwriter with her own SoundCloud and everything despite not actually having a heartbeat - will release her first album… LG has been erasing elements of Reah Keem's social media, as if trying to cover up her saying something that would be later used against her… what I found was a weird thread [on Instagram] of 'finding her voice', which culminated in her posting both a wonderful #pissedatdevelopers hashtag when they hadn't 'found her voice' and also the one where she unveils her new tones and invites comments. But now, everything posted after August 2020 has been deleted. Suspicious. Why is LG doing this? Could it be that the new album deal she's inked with Mystic Story has forced LG to redact the previous voice she 'found'?”

Apple to allow third-party app payment options in South Korea (2 min read)

“Apple has submitted its compliance plans to allow developers to use third-party payment options in South Korea at a reduced service fee, the Korea Communication Commission (KCC) said on Tuesday… The announcement comes after the South Korean authorities requested in October for global app store operators like Google and Apple to turn in detailed plans for the country’s new law, which bans app store operators from forcing developers to use their payment systems.”

Squid Game makes history with Screen Actors Guild Award nominations (2 min read)

“Squid Game made history on Wednesday as the first non-English-language television series and the first Korean series to score a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. The hit Netflix show, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, is nominated for ensemble in a drama series alongside The Handmaid’s Tale, The Morning Show, Succession and Yellowstone. Squid Game stars Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon also landed individual nominations for actor and actress in a drama series, respectively… The Squid Game milestone comes three years after Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning Korean thriller Parasite became the first non-English-language project to win a Screen Actors Guild Award for film ensemble.”

South Korean execs get COVID after Las Vegas tech trade show (2 min read)

“More than 30 officials from major South Korean companies who attended the giant CES tech trade show in Las Vegas last week tested positive for COVID-19 while in the United States… Hyundai Heavy Industries said six of its employees who attended CES tested positive while in the US and were quarantined… Meanwhile ‘multiple’ Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis officials who attended CES also tested positive after arriving back in South Korea… The Samsung officials are being moved to quarantine facilities in South Korea and most were asymptomatic or have light symptoms.” SK Group and Hyundai Motor Group declined to provide further comment.

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Please note: The opinions stated by the authors of these articles do not represent those of K-News Bites. We aim to provide an un-biased aggregation of current news, and an honest/unaltered summarization of what is stated in those articles.

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