South Korea reported a record-high number of more than 170,000 daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday, amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the nation.

The country reported a total of 171,452 COVID-19 infections over a 24-hour period, surging by over 70,000 from the previous day and exceeding the previous record of 109,831 registered on Thursday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Prime Minister Kim Boo Kyum, however, said in a meeting held earlier in the day that there was no need to be overly concerned by the daily figure as the fatality rate for the Omicron variant was quite low.

"According to what the health authorities have found among patients, the fatality rate of Omicron is about a quarter that of the Delta variant and twice that of typical influenza, and it can be reduced if inoculated with a booster shot," Kim said.

About 60 percent of the South Korean population has been vaccinated with booster shots, according to the agency.