The daily COVID-19 increase in South Korea remained in triple digits for the fifth straight day as infection clusters continued to spread in the Seoul metropolitan area.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said as of 12:00 a.m. Thursday, 143 additional people tested positive for the virus, raising the country's cumulative total to 27-thousand-942.

The daily increase has surged above 100 nine out of 12 days this month, with the average daily increase for the past week standing at 127-point-four.

Out of the new cases, 128 were local infections, the highest since October 23, with 88 of those reported in the Seoul metro area.

As of noon Wednesday, 17 people have been confirmed in connection to Yeoksam Station in southern Seoul, and another 23 linked to a nursing facility in the city's Seongdong district.

In the central Chungcheong city of Cheonan, 41 have tested positive in connection to a call center and nearby coffee shop.