'Smart crosswalk' deactivates kids' smartphones for fewer traffic accidents

A crosswalk with devices for child safety has been implemented in front of an elementary school Nam-gu, Busan, in a bid to reduce traffic accidents involving children. The Nam-gu district office installed what it calls a "smart crosswalk" on the road in front of Yeonpo Elementary School, which had been infamous for frequent car accidents due to its narrow sidewalk and an adjacent downhill slope that led to cars speeding across it. The main feature of the crosswalk is a device that deac

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2024

Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia

Lee Jong-sup, South Korea’s ambassador to Australia, on Friday has given up the post less than a month after he was appointed. The former national defense minister’s offer to step down follows a controversy over his his taking on the job while still under investigation over the death of a marine in July last year. President Yoon Suk Yeol approved his resignation later the same day, according to his press office. Twenty-year-old Corporal Chae Su-geun died when he was swept away by an

PoliticsMarch 29, 2024

Jeju tangerine orchard owner arrested for intentionally poisoning birds

The owner of a tangerine orchard has been detained for deliberately poisoning birds on Jeju Island, police said on Friday. The owner faces charges of violating the Wildlife Protection and Management Act after injecting pesticides into tangerines with a syringe, leading to the deaths of approximately 200 birds, including birds like the bull-headed shrike and the light-vented bulbul. This act was carried out in the orchard in Namwon-eup, Seogwipo City. The arrest followed reports to the local po

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2024

Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued

Yellow and fine dust blanketed South Korea on Friday with a thick haze of pollution categorized as "very bad" in the central region of the country, prompting the state weather agency to issue advisories. Yellow dust advisories for the greater Seoul area, Gangwon and South Chungcheong provinces were raised to "caution," the second-lowest level in the government's four-stage crisis alert as of 8 a.m. Friday, according to the Ministry of Environment. A yellow dust warning i

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2024

Govt. vows not to backtrack increased medical school admission quotas despite doctors' walkout

The government's ongoing push for medical reform is for the people, and it cannot be subject to negotiations, the health ministry said Friday, effectively rejecting the medical community's call for modifying the state plan to markedly raise medical school enrollment quota. More than 90 percent of the country's 13,000 trainee doctors have been on strike in the form of mass resignations since Feb. 20 to protest the government's decision to increase the medical school enrollment

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2024

UNSC fails to extend mandate of expert panel monitoring NK sanctions enforcement

A divided UN Security Council failed Thursday to extend the mandate of the expert panel charged with monitoring the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea, in an unprecedented move likely to undermine global efforts to curb Pyongyang's nuclear and missile threats. The council failed to adopt a new resolution meant to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts by another year as Russia vetoed it amid its call for an annual extension of UNSC sanctions against Pyongyang. The panel's mandate i

North KoreaMarch 29, 2024

Yellow dust advisories issued for parts of S. Korea

The environment ministry said Thursday it has issued yellow dust advisories for parts of the country, including the greater Seoul area, as fine dust caused by sandstorms is expected to blanket the country. The ministry said the advisories have been issued at the "attention" level, the lowest in its four-notch warning system, for the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon, South Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang provinces as of 5 p.m. The national weather agency said yellow dust has been de

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Seoul bus drivers' brief strike ends in 11 hours, after agreement reached on wages

Unionized bus drivers in Seoul went on their first general strike in 12 years Thursday morning, but withdrew the protest later the same afternoon after reaching an agreement with the city over wages. At 3:20 p.m., the Seoul Metropolitan Government officially announced it had reached a new wage deal with the union and the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association. According to the deal, the drivers will see a 4.48 percent wage increase and receive up to 650,000 won ($480) in holiday benefits.

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for the assault and attempted murder of his former girlfriend, who broke up with him before the attack. The defendant in his 30s was found guilty of attempted murder, special bodily injury on another, special intimidation, stalking and intrusion upon habitation, and was also ordered to complete 40 hours in a stalking treatment program. The court dismissed the appeals made by the defendant, who cl

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband

Local police on Thursday said it is investigating a South Korean man in his 50s on suspicion of murdering his wife, a Vietnam-born woman who had become a naturalized Korean following her marriage. The suspect is believed to have stabbed the victim to death while she was sleeping in their home in Yangsang, South Gyeongsang Province, at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Yangsan Police Station. The suspect then drove his car to the downtown area and turned himself in to the police at 7:43

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Thursday said it will put more responsibility on non-custodial mothers and fathers to bear child-rearing expenses by having them pay the government directly for the expenses covered by the state in advance. Under the advance payment of child-rearing expenses system, the state pays unpaid child support to the custodial parent first and then collects the outstanding amount from the non-custodial parent later. As early as next year, the new single-paren

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Korea enters full election mode

South Korea shifted into full-scale election mode Thursday, with political parties launching their official campaigns to stretch until the general election on April 10 that is expected to shape the political landscape for the next four years. For the next 13 days, eligible candidates representing their parties are allowed to use loudspeakers and trucks with megaphones for campaigning activities in open spaces from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the National Election Commission on Thursday. The t

PoliticsMarch 28, 2024

Voluntary subscribers for state pension service declining

The number of South Koreans who voluntarily subscribe to the National Pension Service continued on a downward trajectory last year, according to the NPS on Thursday. As of November of 2023, 858,829 of those subscribed to the state-run pension plans were categorized as voluntary subscribers. The National Pension Act mandates that anyone living in South Korea with a fixed income -- including foreign nationals -- between the age of 18 and 59 must be subscribed to the NPS, but a number of people cho

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Financial struggles leading trigger for suicidal ideation

Stress related to financial difficulties was the primary cause of suicidal ideation among Koreans across all age groups, a survey on national public perception of suicide released by the Health Ministry showed Thursday. Nearly 45 percent of respondents pointed to money issues as the main trigger of suicidal ideation, while 42.2 percent said family problems. Other causes included physical illness, emotional difficulty, intimate partner problems and alcohol addiction. Of the 2,807 people who parti

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Formerly outspoken billionaire takes down social media posts

Chung Yong-jin, the recently appointed chairman of Shinsegae Group, had deleted nearly all of the posts from his Instagram page as of Thursday, fanning speculations that he may be quitting his stepping back from his activities on social media. Chung's page, which has some 843,000 followers, only has a few posts remaining that contain only photos and no text. The photos are of nature, of him reading or holding presentations or of him meeting famous people like former New York Yankees shortst

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Far-right lawmaker candidate forcefully detains migrant workers

Police have initiated an investigation into a candidate for the National Assembly who has taken it upon himself to forcefully detain and inspect migrant workers, a local media outlet reported Wednesday. Police in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and Daegu received multiple complaints alleging that Park Jin-jae, a candidate for the Liberty Unification Party, has been accosting people who appear to be migrant workers, according to a report by the Kyunghyang Shinmun. The Liberty Unification P

PoliticsMarch 28, 2024

Man on trial after driving wife to suicide, by forcing her to shoot sex videos

A South Korean man on trial for driving his wife to suicide by forcing her to film adult content and sex videos has denied accusations of illegally confining the victim, local court said Thursday. During the court hearing on Wednesday at Incheon District Court, the 37-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to the charges of distributing "obscene content" and intimidation against the victim, but said he did not hold her against her will. He did not elaborate on his claims. The defendant has

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Strike halts Seoul buses; which ones are still operational?

Unionized Seoul bus drivers on Thursday kicked off an indefinite strike, as 97.6 percent of the buses in the nation's capital ceased operations. With 7,210 of the 7,382 buses grounded, here are some of the Seoul buses that remain operational as of Thursday morning. All 'maeul' buses The strike involves the Seoul Bus Labor Union, which is affiliated with the Korea Automobile & Transport Workers' Federation. As such, drivers of "maeul" buses ("village&q

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2024

Russia's foreign intelligence chief visits N. Korea this week

Russia's foreign intelligence chief visited North Korea earlier this week to discuss ways to bolster cooperation in responding to spying and plotting activities by hostile forces, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. Sergei E. Naryshkin, director of the External Intelligence Bureau, visited Pyongyang between Monday and Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Naryshkin met with Ri Chang-dae, the North's state security minister, and working-level talks were als

North KoreaMarch 28, 2024

Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections

Official campaigning kicked off Thursday for the April 10 general elections, with the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party vying fiercely for control of the National Assembly. The quadrennial race holds significant importance for the ruling party as failure to regain a majority could potentially render President Yoon Suk Yeol a lame duck for the remaining three years of his single five-year term. The main opposition Democratic Party aims to retain its parliamentary

PoliticsMarch 28, 2024