Category: Korea-General Topics

It looks like the couple that contracted South Korea’s first cases of Omicron could face legal troubles:

A couple, who tested positive for the omicron coronavirus variant for the first time in South Korea, was found to have lied about how they went home from the airport upon return from Nigeria, leaving dozens of people exposed to the risk of infection.

The couple — a pastor and his wife in their 40s — initially told health authorities they took one of the officially designated infection-proof “quarantine” taxies to return home from Incheon International Airport on Nov. 24.

But it was found later that a friend of the couple, a Uzbek national, drove them home in a private vehicle. That left the friend out of health authorities’ radar even after the couple tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 25.

The friend moved around without any restrictions for six days, coming into contact with 87 people, including family, friends and co-workers, and putting them at risk of COVID-19 infection. He later tested positive for the new variant.

Officials said two of them — his wife and his mother-in-law — have been categorized as suspected omicron cases and an investigation is under way. 

Health authorities said they are mulling over the option of filing charges of infectious disease prevention law violations against the couple, saying “their false statement left the Uzbek man uncategorized as those who came in close contact with COVID-19 patients.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I once talked to a contract tracer that said people lying to them is actually quite common. For example I would not be surprised if this Uzbek national that picked them up at the airport may have immigration issues. If so the couple may have lied to protect him.

Here is some good news for small business owners in South Korea:

South Korea is unlikely to reimpose tighter social distancing rules despite surging COVID-19 infections, as the government is set to announce new measures to help tame the latest wave of infections, a senior presidential official said Thursday. 

The new measures will be announced Friday as the nation is battling to contain virus infections, with daily cases standing at a record high of more than 5,200 earlier in the day. 

“Rather than a drastic tightening of distancing rules, (the government) will announce measures on how to fine-tune (current measures),” Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for communication, told a KBS YouTube channel.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

President Moon continues to push hard for an end of war declaration for the Korean War before he exits office early next year:

The scheduled visit to China by President Moon Jae-in’s top security advisor is widely believed to be seeking Beijing’s support and cooperation for the President’s proposal of declaring an official end to the Korean War. However, experts say it remains to be seen how actively China will work on the issue, given the complex geopolitical situation.

Cheong Wa Dae said, Wednesday, that National Security Advisor Suh Hoon will visit Tianjin from Thursday to Friday for talks with his Chinese counterparts, at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party’s head of foreign affairs, Yang Jiechi.

The presidential office said that Suh’s trip will be a reciprocal visit for Yang’s visit to Busan in August last year, and the two will discuss, “South Korea-China relations, Korean Peninsula issues, regional and international affairs and other topics of mutual interests.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The omicron is here:

The first suspected cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 have been detected in South Korea, health authorities said Tuesday, as the nation tightened its entry restrictions for the African region to prevent it from spreading into the country. 

Health authorities have conducted a genome sequencing test on a couple who recently arrived in South Korea from Nigeria and the couple’s acquaintance. They tested positive for COVID-19. 

The authorities expected the result to be announced after 9 p.m. Wednesday. 

The couple, who were fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine, visited Nigeria on Nov. 14-23 and tested positive for COVID-19 last Thursday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but did the health authorities have to give this latest mutation such an ominous sounding name? Additionally the initial reports out of Africa are stating the symptoms from this new variant are very mild and the hospitals there are not swamped with COVID patients.

It only took a month, but the Moon administration has decided to not move forward with the next steps in its Living with COVID strategy:

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the government will halt a further easing of social distancing rules amid spiking COVID-19 infections, and speed up the administration of booster shots and secure more hospital beds over the next four weeks. 

Moon made the remarks while presiding over a COVID-19 response meeting, making it clear that the government will not wind down its first-phase measures aimed at returning to normalcy despite a jump in serious cases and infections, and concerns about the omicron variant.

“Hospital beds are in a tight supply as the number of new patients and critically ill patients is on the rise,” Moon said. “However, we can’t retreat to the past by reversing the gradual return to normal life.” 

South Korea has seen a sharp jump in daily coronavirus infections after the government started its first phase of the “living with COVID-19” scheme this month.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Moon administration was going to further reduce COVID protocols in December as part of its Living with COVID strategy. However, the rise in serious cases and deaths has put a halt to their timeline. The government is going to instead focus on booster shots and getting more hospital beds available.

You would think that people on Chun Doo-hwan’s side of this debate would just keep quiet because no apology will ever be accepted by the opposing side:

The apology by the widow of Chun Doo-hwan for past wrongdoings inflicted by the former dictator has only refueled the anger of victims of the bloody suppression of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, as Chun’s side made it clear that the massacre was not subject to the apology.

Former first lady Lee Soon-ja made the apology during Chun’s funeral in Seoul, Saturday, four days after he died of a type of blood cancer. The former Army general, who seized power through a military coup in 1979 and served as president from September 1980 to February 1988, was responsible for the brutal suppression of Gwangju citizens but went to his grave without ever making an admission of guilt or an apology.

In a speech as a family representative, Lee said, “On behalf of my husband, I would like to deeply apologize, especially to those who suffered pains and scars during his time in office.”

Lee’s apology was initially assumed to be for the victims killed in the May 1980 uprising. But civic groups related to the movement, including those of bereaved families, criticized it for being vague and incomplete, saying they couldn’t accept the apology.

Then Chun’s former secretary Min Jeong-ki told local reporters that Lee was not talking about Gwangju.

“Lee clearly said ‘during his time in office,'” Min told reporters hours after Lee’s remark, at Seoul Memorial Park where the cremation took place. He explained that the Gwangju incident took place before his presidency, which officially began on Sept. 1, 1980.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is going to be interesting to see if the Moon administration will continue its living with COVID strategy with the various record highs in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths:

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases fell below 4,000 on Thursday, a day after hitting an all time-high of 4,115. But critical cases and deaths climbed to fresh highs, fueling worries about the virus spread ahead of another pandemic winter.

The country reported 3,938 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,917 local infections, raising the total caseload to 429,002, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Critically ill patients hit an all-time high of 612, up 26 from the previous record set a day earlier. The same figure averaged 498 for the seven days ending Sunday.

The country added 39 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest number since the start of the fourth wave of the pandemic in July, bringing the death toll to 3,401, with the fatality rate standing at 0.79 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I think the numbers will eventually go down because my theory is that the lockdowns mitigated people who conduct high risk activity in places like bars and Noraebangs from getting sick. With the restrictions lifted I think these people conducting high risk activities are getting sick. Eventually the growth in case numbers from this high risk population will be reduced due to prior infection and thus an overall reduction in case numbers. South Korea is getting bad press right now but give it a few weeks and I think eventually the cases will go down.