Most Popular
-
1
Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
-
2
Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
-
3
[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
-
4
S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
-
5
Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
-
6
[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
-
7
Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
-
8
On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
-
9
Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
-
10
[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
-
Teen murder suspect called emergency services to check penalties for murder
A South Korean teen murder suspect called emergency medical services immediately after her crime and asked what sort of punishment she would get, testimonies revealed at her trial on Monday. The 18-year-old female suspect is accused of murdering her classmate after an argument on July 12 at the victim's home in Daejeon, and is being tried by the Daejeon District Court. After the classmate's death, the suspect called the 119 emergency number to report it and asked, "Is it true that
Dec. 19, 2023
-
Escaped bear shot to death, animal rights groups urge law revision
South Korean authorities recently shot an escaped bear in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, sparking calls from animal rights groups for the parliament to pass a pending law that bans bear farming. According to the Dangjin Fire Station on Tuesday, officials received reports that a bear escaped from a bear farm in Seokpo-ri, Dangjin, at around 7 p.m. on Sunday. Officials located the animal after two hours of searching and shot the animal dead, upon the request of the farm owner who voiced safe
Dec. 19, 2023
-
S. Korean seniors poorest in OECD: report
South Korea’s older adults have remained the most mired in poverty among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for 14 consecutive years since 2009. The OECD currently has 38 member countries. In the Paris-based organization’s analysis of the latest available data, the relative poverty rate for Korean seniors aged 66 or older stood at 40.4 percent in 2020, a whopping three times the OECD average of 14.2 percent, and the only country with old-age pove
Dec. 19, 2023
-
Ex-US Amb. Sung Kim to join Bae, Kim & Lee
Sung Kim, who served as US Special Representative for North Korea and US ambassador to South Korea, will join Bae, Kim & Lee to lead a new team at one of the top law firms here, according to the firm. On Tuesday, Bae, Kim & Lee said that Kim will oversee its Global Future Strategy Center, which aims to help the firm and local businesses navigate cross-border issues. The center will also give “strategic advice” to multinational firms operating in Korea. The new partnership is
Dec. 19, 2023
-
Korea to offer up to W39m for parental leave
The South Korean government has decided to expand financial support for working parents so that both can take parental leave starting next year, as part of efforts to boost the country's dwindling birth rate, according to the Labor Ministry. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that the government approved a revised Employment Insurance Act reflecting expanded parental benefits at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. Under the revised law, set to go into effect on Jan. 1, working parents wi
Dec. 19, 2023
-
Prosecutors seek 5-year jail term for ex-minister Cho Kuk in appeals trial
Prosecutors sought a five-year prison term for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk on Monday during an appellate trial on charges he used his influence to receive academic favors for his children and interfered with an inspection into a corruption case. Prosecutors also sought a fine of 12 million won (US$9,200) and the forfeiture of 6 million won during the trial at the Seoul High Court, the same sentence demanded during the first trial. "The defendant committed a crime by cheating through the
Dec. 18, 2023
-
Incheon to subsidize families with cumulative W100m won per child
The Incheon Metropolitan Government stated on Monday that it will provide up to a combined 100 million won ($76,969) in subsidies cumulatively over the life of a child up until age 18. Titled “100 million+i dream,” the policy proposes to provide cumulative monetary support for every child born in Incheon from 2023 from birth until they reach age 18. The total cumulative 100 million won figure comes from combining 28 million won in new funds and 72 million won that is already currentl
Dec. 18, 2023
-
Workplace bullying over office dinners persists: study
A civic group said Monday that it has received 48 complaints this year on abuse related to "hoesik," Korean work dinners that often accompany rounds of drinking. Gabjil 119, a group seeking to raise awareness of workplace bullying in South Korea, shared details of the hoesik-related complaints, most of which were superiors forcing subordinates to participate by threatening to give low performance reviews if they were absent. The group said it verified the identities of those who submit
Dec. 18, 2023
-
Gyeongbokgung graffiti suspect turns himself in
Less than a day after another piece of graffiti defaced one of South Korea’s most significant cultural heritage sites, a suspect turned himself into the police, according to officials on Monday. The suspect, who is believed to be a man in his 20s, voluntarily surrendered to the Seoul Jongno Police Station at around 11:45 a.m. and underwent police questioning about the crime, including whether he had an accomplice. Police are still looking for two suspects who had vandalized the walls of Gy
Dec. 18, 2023
-
College probed for allegedly forcing repatriation of Uzbek students
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced Monday that it has initiated an investigation into Hanshin University in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, after claims that the university's staff forced 23 students from Uzbekistan to leave Korea. The NHRCK received a petition, lodged by the husband of one of the students, about the incident and referred it to the relevant department on Dec. 11. "The investigation has just begun," an official from the NHRCK said Monday. The commis
Dec. 18, 2023
-
'Women are useless': professor investigated for misogyny, extortion
The Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday launched an investigation of a male professor here over a string of allegations including misogynistic comments and extortion. Local media outlets reported that a professor at Korea National University of Cultural Heritage has been accused of insulting students, extorting money from them and making them run personal errands. Educational institutions here are conventionally under the supervision of the Education Ministry, but this particular institut
Dec. 18, 2023
-
'I have a ticket!' Man hanging on departing KTX train goes viral
A video of a man hanging on a KTX train as it began departing from a station has gone viral online in South Korea. In the video, reportedly recorded just before 4 p.m. Friday at Gwangmyeong Station in Gyeonggi Province, a person appearing to be a man of foreign nationality hanging on the outside of a train leaving for Mokpo, which had just started moving, between two cars. A female station official ran alongside the man, shouting, "Get off! Get off!" in Korean. But the man continued to
Dec. 18, 2023
-
Incheon hotel fire injures 54, including 8 foreigners
A fire broke out at a hotel in Incheon Sunday night, causing injury to 54 people including eight foreigners, the local fire department said Monday. The fire appears to have originated from the parking tower in the 18-story building, said officials of the Incheon Gongdan Fire Station, whose jurisdiction includes parts of Namdong-gu and Yeonsu-gu in the southern part of the city. The facility was set ablaze around 9 p.m. and 54 people suffered varying levels of injury including smoke inhalation an
Dec. 18, 2023
-
Mercury to dip further in midweek
The season's strongest cold wave continued to grip the entire nation on Monday and the temperatures are forecast to further dip later this week, the state weather agency said. Monday's morning lows ranged from minus 18 C to minus 3 C nationwide, with Seoul registering minus 12.2 C, the Korea Meteorological Administration said, adding the mercury also plummeted to minus 10.2 C in the central city of Daejeon and minus 5.4 C in the southern city of Busan. The temperatures will rise slight
Dec. 18, 2023
-
Ex-DP leader Song arrested over cash-for-votes scandal
A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Song Young-gil, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Monday over a cash-for-votes scandal surrounding the party's 2021 leadership election. The Seoul Central District Court granted the warrant sought by prosecutors following a court hearing attended by Song on charges that included illegal political funding. "I exercised my rights to silence during a prosecution questioning, but I will explain myself humbly and sincerely at
Dec. 18, 2023
-
[Graphic News] Over 85,000 foreigners hold home ownership in S. Korea: data
Over 85,000 foreign nationals own a house in South Korea, with Chinese nationals accounting for more than half of real estate properties held by foreigners in the country, government data showed. A total of 85,358 foreign nationals owned a house in South Korea as of the end of June, up 4.6 percent from the corresponding figure from six months earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Nearly 93.5 percent of the foreign nationals had ownership of a
Dec. 18, 2023
-
Yoon nominates new industry minister
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday tapped current Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun as the nominee to head the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The 55-year-old expert in international economy and trade started serving as the Yoon administration’s first trade minister from May last year. This promotion would put him at an actual ministerial-level position, compared to his previous role, which was technically a vice-ministerial level position. “Ahn is a global trade expert backed by bo
Dec. 17, 2023
-
Half of Koreans could be over 65 by 2072
South Korea could see a more than 40 percent decline in its population in 50 years' time, with half of its people aged over 65, a recent report released by Statistics Korea showed. The worst-case scenario in the agency’s projections for the country’s population between 2022-2072 forecast the nation's population would plummet to 30.1 million over the next five decades. The state-run statistics agency came up with three different forecasts -- one optimistic, one median, and o
Dec. 17, 2023
-
Seoul issues warning as extreme cold takes hold
A day after issuing a cold wave advisory, the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday announced that the weather warning will remain in effect as temperatures continue to drop. “The lowest temperature on Saturday was recorded at minus 3.6 degrees Celsius and the lowest temperature from Sunday morning was minus 12 C, 8.4 degrees lower than the previous day,” said the Seoul Metropolitan Government in a press release. “The city government decided to keep the cold wave watch issued
Dec. 17, 2023
-
10 flights canceled in Jeju as S. Korea braces for cold wave
A total of 10 flights have been canceled on the southern resort island of Jeju on Sunday morning, officials said, as South Korea was gripped by a cold wave and heavy snow. The cold snap affected Jeju International Airport, prompting the 10 flights to be canceled and another three flights to be delayed as of 8:30 a.m., according to airport officials. As of Sunday morning, some areas of Jeju received about 20 centimeters of snow, weather authorities said. The flight cancellations at the Jeju airpo
Dec. 17, 2023