Korea24 – 2021.12.29. (Wednesday)

News Briefing: South Korea has announced that it has completed the development of a method that can quickly detect the omicron COVID-19 variant through a PCR test and will put it to use from Thursday. This comes as the number of daily new omicron cases hit triple-digits for the first time. (Eunice KIM)

In-Depth News Analysis: Electricity and gas bills in South Korea are set to go up next year, but not until April. The government said it had decided to freeze prices until then in consideration of the financial burdens placed on the public during the pandemic. But that decision has drawn criticism, saying it was made due to political considerations rather than economic, as the price hikes come after the presidential election in March. Economics Professor Shin Se-don from Sookmyung Women's University joins us on the line to provide analysis on the situation.

Korea Trending with Walter Lee:

1. A man in his 20’s was given a suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the men's bathroom of a retail store. (대형매장 화장실서 여학생 성폭행한 20대 집행유예 논란)

2. A 22-year-old man in Japan who was charged with arson is said to have set fire to a house in the Utoro District of the Kyoto prefecture because he “hates South Korea”. (교토 조선인 마을 '우토로' 방화 용의자 27일 기소)

3. Two-time KBO MVP Park Byung-ho has left the Kiwoom Heroes to join the KT Wiz in a three-year contract worth three billion won. (키움 박병호, KT 간다…3년 총액 30억원)

Korea Book Club: Literary translator Anton Hur joins us for our final edition of the Club for 2021 to take a look back at the literary trends of 2021, including high-profile works reflecting on the Korean War and speculative fiction. We’ll also discuss what to look forward to in 2022 for Korean Literature.

Morning Edition Preview with Gaby Magnuson:

• In tomorrow’s Korea Herald, Choi Jae-hee writes about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected charitable organizations being able to supply coal-briquettes to low-income households in Korea.