N. Korea reinstates DMZ guard posts

North Korea has started to restore guard posts within the demilitarized zone, which had previously been demolished in accordance with the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement while bringing military personnel and firearm equipment back to the posts, Seoul said Monday. Movements to restore the military posts have been detected since Nov. 24, one day after North Korea declared a complete annulment of the Sept. 19 military agreement, the Defense Ministry in Seoul said in a statement. South Korea�

DefenseNov. 27, 2023

12 foreigners nabbed on suspicion of drug use

Gwangju Police said Monday it has apprehended 12 foreigners, including illegal immigrants, on suspicion of using narcotic substances at a local foreigner-only karaoke, known locally as "noraebang." The suspects, whose identities were withheld, are suspected of taking ketamine inside a noraebang in Usan-dong, Gwangju, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's drug investigations unit. The majority of the suspects were Vietnamese nationals who had gathered for a birthday

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Gangnam teen investigated for assaulting deliveryman with golf club

In a shocking incident of violence in the wealthy district of Gangnam, Seoul, a teenager was arrested on Nov. 11 for attacking a deliveryman with a golf club in broad daylight. The assailant, identified only as a high school student, is now facing aggravated assault charges. The incident came to light when the victim's dashboard camera footage was shared on YouTube on Nov. 24. The video shows the teen, dressed in shorts and carrying a backpack, striking a deliveryman on a motorcycle with a

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

1 in 8 commercial flights exposed to pathogens: KDCA

One in 8 commercial flights entering South Korea was found to be contaminated with pathogens that cause intestinal infectious diseases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday. The pathogens were detected through hygiene inspections on 58 out of 493 direct international flights from July 31 to Nov. 14 this year, according to the agency. Among the pathogens detected was E. coli, which causes diarrhea. Transmitted by food or water contaminated with animal or human feces,

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Windfall tax on banks and urban infra refurbishment

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on the Protection of Financial Consumers Proposed by Rep. Kim Sung-joo (Democratic Party of Korea) ● Persisting high prices and interest rates have benefited certain financial companies at the expense of financially vulnerable people and small-business operators. This amendment requires financial companies with a net interest margin exceeding 120 percent of their average net interest income over the past five years to pay up to 40 percent of the excess

PoliticsNov. 27, 2023

American investigated for ‘teeth grinding’ graffiti across Yongsan

An American in his 30s was caught by the police for writing “igari,” which means bruxism -- more commonly known as teeth grinding -- on at least 155 public facilities and properties in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. The Yongsan police said Monday it was investigating what it called the “igari graffitist,” who wrote "igari" in both Hangeul and English on tunnels, power poles, roads and buses among others, after nabbing him on Oct 25. He is also suspected of writing t

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Travel ban on G-Dragon lifted; police says 'open to all possibilities'

Police said Monday that they have not ruled out drug use allegations concerning G-Dragon, despite lifting travel restrictions on the K-pop icon after a detailed narcotics analysis of his biological samples came back negative. An official of the National Police Agency said in a regular press briefing that the officials are "open to possibilities until the investigation reaches its conclusion" on the G-Dragon probe. "If the circumstances clearly point to drug use, it wouldn't b

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

'HR weeds out women' online post sparks furor

An anonymous online post about an allegedly misogynistic hiring process at a company is sparking a furor here, where gender-related issues have repeatedly sparked controversy. The anonymous writer, who posted it on Sunday, claimed to be part of the hiring process at their company, and that their policy is to eliminate all applicants who graduated from women's universities. "It's not like we exclude all women but if (the applicant) is from a women's college, we don't even

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

High school seniors spend W4m for essay tutoring: data

South Korean high school senior students spent some 4 million won ($3,060) on average last year to receive tutoring on the college entrance essay test to learn how to write a good composition, government data showed Monday. They also paid more than 1 million won annually for college admissions counseling. According to data released by the Education Ministry and Statistics Korea on students’ private education spending in 2022, the average monthly expenditure for 12th graders who engaged in

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

5 Chinese nationals detained in Jeju for gambling debt-related false imprisonment

Jeju Seobu Police detained five Chinese nationals for the false imprisonment of a fellow Chinese national concerning a gambling debt of 50 million won ($38,000) on Monday, authorities confirmed Thursday. According to police, the victim had initially borrowed the sum for gambling purposes, agreeing to a 10 percent interest rate. However, the suspects allegedly increased the interest to 20 percent three days later, with which the victim refused to comply. When the victim refused to sign a new debt

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Poetic lauder of North Korean regime faces jail term in the South

A man in his 60s has been sentenced to a 14-month jail term for praising the North Korean regime in an award-winning poem published on the North Korean state-run news site Uriminzokkiri. The Seoul Central District Court on Monday found the 68-year-old South Korean guilty of violating the National Security Act when he submitted an anti-state poetry piece to the North Korean mouthpiece in September 2016. The court sentenced him to 14 months in prison and imposed a one-year suspension of qualific

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

Man falls off Jeju cliff trying to capture 'photo of life'

A man in his 50s fell off a cliff on Jeju Island while trying to photograph himself at a popular tourist spot, local police said Monday, in what seems to be an attempt to grab an "insaeng shot," or photo of life. According to the Seogwipo Coast Guard, the unidentified man was visiting the Oedolgae Sea Stack, a famously photogenic location along the southern coast of the island. During an attempt to shoot a picture of himself at a nearby cliff, he tumbled and sustained a head injury as

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Soccer star's sex tape controversy highlights spycam issue in Korea

A sex tape scandal involving South Korean striker Hwang Ui-jo has brought to light the issue of "molka," hidden cameras used to take pictures or videos for sexual purposes. A recent report showed that the crime happened at an average rate of 17 times per day over the past five years. A total of 3,111 crimes involving video recording without consent were reported in the first half of the year, according to the quarterly report on crime trends published Sunday by the Korea Institute o

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Yoon's approval rating up for 2 weeks to 38.1 pct

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating increased for two consecutive weeks to 38.1 percent, according to a poll released Monday. The survey, conducted by the polling agency Realmeter, showed that the positive assessment of Yoon's performance went up by 2.5 percentage points from the previous week, while 58.9 percent of respondents disapproved of his performance, down 3.1 percentage points. Yoon's approval rating, which had previously lingered in the mid-30 percent range since t

PoliticsNov. 27, 2023

S. Korea attends NATO-led cyberdefense exercise

South Korea is set to attend an international cyberdefense exercise led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the first time to enhance collaboration with NATO in the cyberspace domain, the defense ministry said Monday. NATO's flagship annual cyber exercise, called Cyber Coalition 2023, takes place in Estonia from Monday to Friday, involving 35 NATO members and partners as well as the European Union to strengthen their joint ability to counter threats in the cyber domain. South Kore

DefenseNov. 27, 2023

N. Korea claims S. Korea violated key inter-Korean agreements

North Korea claimed Monday that South Korea has breached a 2018 inter-Korean military accord and other key agreements between the two Koreas, condemning joint military drills between Seoul and Washington as a provocative act that violates the military accord. The condemnation came as North Korea vowed last week to resume all military measures halted under the 2018 deal and deploy new weapons to the border in response to Seoul's partial suspension of the military tension reduction accord ove

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

N. Korean leader casts ballot in local elections

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cast his ballot in local elections held over the weekend to pick new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties across the nation, state media reported Monday, with voter turnout recorded at almost 100 percent. Kim visited a polling station set up in South Hamgyong Province on Sunday and voted for candidates who ran in the elections in the region, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea's local elections are held

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023

S. Korea, U.S., Japan stage joint naval drills involving aircraft carrier

South Korea, the United States and Japan jointly conducted naval drills in waters south of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday to bolster their defense posture against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats, the South's Navy said. The joint exercise took place in southeastern waters off Jeju Island involving the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which has been docked at a naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The South Korean Navy's Ae

DefenseNov. 26, 2023

Number of Chinese travelers to S. Korea remains far below pre-pandemic levels

The monthly average of Chinese travelers visiting South Korea remained far below pre-pandemic levels, despite China's reopening from COVID-19 restrictions and resumption of group tours, data showed Sunday. Around 144,000 Chinese nationals visited South Korea per month on average this year, according to the data released by the Hyundai Research Institute. The tally was about one-third of the monthly average of 416,000 recorded from 2017 to 2019, when the Chinese government had banned group t

Social AffairsNov. 26, 2023

S. Korea, Japan, China agree to accelerate summit efforts

BUSAN — The top diplomats of South Korea, Japan and China reached a consensus on Sunday to accelerate efforts to hold a trilateral summit at the earliest time, but without specifying a time frame. "The three ministers reached an agreement to promptly restore and normalize trilateral cooperation," South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin told reporters following the trilateral meeting. "The three ministers have reaffirmed the agreement to convene the summit meeting -- the pinna

Foreign AffairsNov. 26, 2023