SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- A teenage boy died after being administered with a seasonal flu vaccine, yet the cause of his death has not yet been determined, health authorities said Monday. The 17-year-old boy in the western port city of Incheon, whose identity has been withheld, died early Friday morning after receiving the flu shot on Wednesday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The KDCA said he was administered with one of the vaccine bottles that were shipped by Shinsung Pharm Co., a distributor of some vaccine bottles that were exposed to room temperature during shipments as part of a nationwide free flu shots program. "It is necessary to first determine the cause of his death as no specific side effects were reported after receiving the shot and he passed away after a certain period of time," KCDA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said during a briefing. The authorities earlier said the mishandled vaccines have passed quality tests and c

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(ATTN: ADDS Chinese embassy's remarks in paras 8-10, info in 7th para) BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Ambassador to China Jang Ha-sung said Wednesday that he has taken issue with a senior Beijing official over the reported suspension of the delivery of some merchandise featuring K-pop superband BTS. Jang made the remarks during a video-linked parliamentary audit session following reports that the Chinese logistics firm, Yunda Express, and other firms have boycotted the shipments of goods related to BTS. The boycott came after BTS faced online rebukes in China earlier this month following its member's remarks honoring the sacrifices of South Koreans and Americans during the 1950-53 Korean War, in which Chinese troops fought in support of North Korean forces. "The day after the related situation was first reported in the media, I directly communicated with a high-level official in the Chinese government," Jang said, stressing he will seriously watch and respond to

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SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- Concerns over seasonal flu shots grew further on Friday as deaths after vaccinations swelled to over 30, with health experts split over whether to go ahead with a state-led free shot program amid a potential "twindemic" of the new coronavirus and the flu. Although no connection has been confirmed between the recent fatalities and vaccines, public fears have been mounting in South Korea over flu shots. Since the first suspected death from a flu shot was reported last Friday, 32 have died as of midnight on Thursday, up 20 from a day earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country's forensic agency said it has found no direct links between a 17-year-old boy's death, the first suspected death case after flu vaccination, and a flu shot. Despite growing flu shot concerns, South Korea's health authorities have reaffirmed that the state-initiated seasonal flu shot program will continue despite more suspected d

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SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- Irene, a member of popular K-pop act Red Velvet, admitted to allegations that she verbally attacked a stylist during a recent shoot and apologized over the incident. "I sincerely apologize for hurting the stylist with my foolish attitude and careless words and action," Irene said in an Instagram post uploaded Thursday evening, with an image of a plain black square. "There were a lot of people who helped me to get where I am now, and I regret hurting them with immature behavior," she said, adding that she will "think and act more carefully" going forward. The incident first surfaced when a stylist posted on Instagram that she was "drastically trampled and abused" by a celebrity, mentioning "gapjil" cases like the so-called nut rage incident in 2014 involving a Korean Air heiress. "Gapjil" is Korean jargon that refers to harassment and abuse by a person in a more powerful position. The stylist, who claimed she has worked in the industry for 15

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SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul taxi driver who caused public outrage by blocking an ambulance transferring an emergency patient was handed a two-year prison term by a local court on Wednesday. The Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced the 31-year-old taxi driver to two years in prison on charges of assault, fraud and others. The man, surnamed Choi, was accused of intentionally colliding with an ambulance on a road in southeastern Seoul and delaying its departure for about 10 minutes, telling the ambulance driver to deal with the accident before transferring the patient to a hospital on June 8. The patient, who was 79 years old and had stage 4 lung cancer, belatedly arrived at the hospital but died later that day. The driver said he will "take responsibility if the patient dies" at the time of the accident, according to the petition the patient's son wrote on the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae's website in July, sparking huge public outrage. During the in

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SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday released the world's first rollable TV in South Korea at a jaw-dropping price of 100 million won (US$87,000) as the tech giant aims to target high-end consumers amid the pandemic. The company said overseas launch schedules of LG Signature OLED R have not been fixed yet due to the COVID-19 situation in each country. LG said the product, which uses flexible OLED display that leverages self-lighting pixel technology, is designed to deliver a differentiated user experience to high-end consumers and strengthen its position in the premium TV market. Its name "R" contains the meaning of "revolutionary," "rollable" and "redefine the space," according to the home appliance maker. The 65-inch TV model named RX is highlighted by its screen that rises from a box and can be rolled up inside. Depending on how much the screen has rolled up inside the base, it provides three different viewing options for users to des

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(ATTN: ADDS more info in 7th para; UPDATES last para) SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- Concerns over seasonal flu shots grew further on Friday as deaths after vaccinations swelled to over 30, with health experts split over whether to go ahead with a state-led free shot program amid a potential "twindemic" of the new coronavirus and the flu. Although no connection has been confirmed between the recent fatalities and vaccines, public fears have been mounting in South Korea over flu shots. Since the first suspected death from a flu shot was reported last Friday, 36 have died as of 1 p.m. Friday, up nine from Thursday's tally at 4 p.m., according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country's forensic agency said it has found no direct links between a 17-year-old boy's death, the first suspected death case after flu vaccination, and a flu shot. Despite growing flu shot concerns, South Korea's health authorities have reaffirmed that the state-initiated se

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SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to an over one-month high Friday as sporadic cluster infections at senior care hospitals and other risk-prone facilities continued to increase. The country added 155 more COVID-19 cases, including 138 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,698, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). New virus cases stayed above 100 for the second straight day and marked the highest since Sept. 11 when the number of daily virus infections hit 176. The number of daily local infections also was the largest since Sept. 17 when the figure reached 145. The uptick in daily new virus cases was largely attributable to continued cluster infections at hospitals and facilities for the elderly, deemed vulnerable to COVID-19. The country's new virus infections have been on a downward trend after a flare-up in the number of daily COVID-19 cases for over a month that began in mi

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JEJU, South Korea, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- A Jeju Island woman, who recently caused a stir in Korean society after offering to sell her newborn baby for 200,000 won (US$175) in a mobile secondhand marketplace, has deeply repented for her wrongdoing, police said Monday. Jeju's provincial police agency, investigating the unprecedented case, said it has conducted a preliminary questioning of the single woman in her 20s and concluded that she appears to have uploaded the controversial post out of her physical and emotional difficulties after giving birth to the baby following an unwanted pregnancy. The woman has sincerely expressed remorse, police said, noting she had immediately deleted her online post after realizing her behavior was wrong. The case started Friday, when the woman uploaded two photos of her newborn baby on the cyber marketplace, saying a 36-week-old baby is available for adoption for the price of 200,000 won. The shocking post immediately went viral on local on

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(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 3, 11; ADDS photo) SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- The number of daily local coronavirus cases in South Korea spiked again to over 100 for the first time in nearly one month Thursday, as sporadic cluster infections at senior care hospitals and other facilities continued to climb amid eased virus restrictions. The country added 121 more COVID-19 cases, including 104 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,543, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country's new COVID-19 cases bounced back to triple digits for the first time in a week due largely to an uptick in cluster infections at senior care hospitals and other risk-prone facilities, and a rise in imported cases. The tally marked a rise from 91 new cases Wednesday and 58 Tuesday. It also marked the first time that local infections surpassed the 100 mark since Sept. 24, when the number of domestic virus cases reached 109. La

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