[Graphic News] Proportion of single-person households jumped to 42% in 2023

  The number of single-person households increased further last year to account for a record high of 42 percent of all households, data from the Interior Ministry showed. According to resident registration data from the ministry, the total number of registered households in the country rose by 0.9 percent to reach 23.91 million as of December last year, compared to the previous year when the corresponding figure was 23.7 million. Of the total, one-person households reached 9.93 million as

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2024

North Korea conducts first ballistic missile test of year

North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday afternoon, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. This was the North’s first ballistic missile launch of the year, with the previous one on Dec. 18. “At approximately 2:55 p.m. on this day, a single intermediate-range ballistic missile was fired from the vicinity of Pyongyang toward the east coast, flying for about 1,000 kilometers before landing in the water,” t

DefenseJan. 14, 2024

Taiwan election result could put S. Korea-China relations to test

The victory of Lai Ching-te of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party in the presidential election on Saturday will put the relationship between South Korea and China to the test, given Seoul's unique geopolitical position and the need to strike a balance between Beijing and Washington, according to experts in Seoul on Sunday. As China effectively refused to accept the result of the high-stakes election, concerns are mounting as South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol administration has been

Foreign AffairsJan. 14, 2024

Policemen punished for death of man they escorted close to home

Two South Korean policemen have been fined after the intoxicated man they escorted to the building he lived in froze to death, a local court said Sunday. The Seoul Northern District Court imposed a fine of 5 million won ($3,800) and 4 million won, respectively, to a police sergeant and a senior patrolman of Seonguk Police Station on the charge of death by occupational negligence. In November of 2022, the defendants escorted a man in his 60s who was heavily intoxicated back to the multifamily res

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

Soccer star accused of lying in sexual video scandal

The scandal surrounding South Korean soccer player Hwang Ui-jo has continued to escalate, with the national team striker reiterating his stance Sunday that the videos he filmed of a sexual encounter with a woman were taken with consent, while the woman claimed that Hwang is telling lies. A legal representative for the 31-year-old athlete claimed that Hwang has presented evidence to the police backing his claims, stressing that the video in question was filmed with consent as his smartphone

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

Pet cloning in Korea raises concerns over bioethics, regulatory void

A pet owner nuzzles her puppy Tico after months apart in a heartwarming video uploaded to YouTube on New Year’s Day. But this is no ordinary reunion. Tico died in November 2022. The puppy in the video is a clone made to replace her. For some viewers, this last detail adds a bitter aftertaste to the touching scene. Animal rights advocates have expressed concern over what cloned dogs go through, and what the surrogate mothers to the cloned pets have to go through to meet the desires of a sin

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

Ex-heads of rival parties talk possible union against political establishment

The former leaders of two rival parties spoke over coffee Sunday morning on possibly uniting against establishment politics ahead of the April general election to fill the National Assembly. Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jun-seok -- who once led the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, respectively -- met at a Starbucks near the National Assembly in Yeouido, central Seoul, for a brief chat on their potential political union. Rep. Kim Jong-min, who quit the Democratic Party last week, was

PoliticsJan. 14, 2024

South Korea officially adopts body camera for police officers

South Korea will officially adopt body cameras for police officers to better manage violent crimes, as well as stipulate measures to ensure the protection of personal information. According to the National Assembly and the National Police Agency on Sunday, a partial revision to the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers recently passed the plenary session of the National Assembly. The revision sets out the basis for the legal introduction of body cameras and specific standards for

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

PPP's Han hints at measures to ease college tuition costs

Interim leader of the ruling People Power Party Han Dong-hoon on Sunday called for "groundbreaking" policy measures to help students alleviate the burden of college tuition costs. At a meeting of government representatives, the ruling party and President Yoon Suk Yeol's office, Han asked meeting participants to devise more policies to tackle tuition costs for tertiary education. South Korea's annual average tuition fees are estimated to be the eighth-highest among the 27 memb

PoliticsJan. 14, 2024

Netizens abuzz over false rumors of 'politically correct' skirt-wearing fire exit signs

South Koreans were abuzz over the weekend over an eventually debunked rumor that the government is mulling a fire exit sign depicting a long-haired woman wearing a skirt as a supposedly politically correct move, a rumor which officials denied in a joint statement. Earlier Friday, some media outlets reported that the Ministry of Interior and Safety was reviewing whether to revamp the design of conventional emergency exit signs, which depict a generic image of a person exiting a door. The report s

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

Anger after video shows teen beating up security guard in his 60s

A video of a high school student beating up a security guard in his 60s has sparked public outrage here, despite the police closing the case when the victim expressed his wish not to punish his attacker. In the video that went viral through the social media, the teen was filmed launching series of brutal attacks against the man on Friday, as a female voice was heard laughing at the scene. The assault occurred at a commercial complex in Dasan-dong in Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province. Local polic

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

Man fined for child abuse after attacking wife while holding child

A South Korean man accused of attacking his wife while holding their three-year-old daughter in his arms has been fined 1 million won ($760) for child abuse, Incheon District Court said Sunday. An investigation found that the 44-year-old defendant and his wife got into a physical altercation on June 18, 2022, which saw the man push the woman to the floor and throw her phone out the door when she attempted to record the situation. He grabbed their 3-year-old daughter when he attempted a secon

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

College student dies after knee surgery; family sues doctors

The bereaved family of a 19-year-old South Korean college student, who died following complications in postoperative care for a simple knee surgery, has filed criminal charges against medical staff involved in the operation, local police said Saturday. According to Dunsan Police Station in Daejeon, four medical staff of Daejeon Eulji Medical Center have been accused of death by occupational negligence by the student's family. If convicted, the accused can be punished by up to five years in

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2024

S. Korea says it hopes for continued peace, stability across Taiwan Strait after presidential election

South Korea hopes to see peace and stability maintained across the Taiwan Strait, a foreign ministry official said Sunday, following the election of a U.S.-friendly president. Lai Ching-te, vice president of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, was elected president of the self-ruled democracy on Saturday, defeating his China-friendly rival from the main opposition party. "We expect peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait to be maintained and the peaceful development of cross-strai

Foreign AffairsJan. 14, 2024

Biden gives greetings on Korean American Day

US President Joe Biden issued a message to celebrate Korean American Day on Saturday, highlighting Korean Americans' "immense contributions" to the United States and their efforts to "enrich" the country. Korean American Day honors the Korean American community's contributions and marks the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the US on Jan. 13, 1903. In 2005, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed resolutions for celebration of the day. "Thro

Foreign AffairsJan. 14, 2024

N. Korea halts radio station known for sending coded messages to spies in Seoul

North Korea is pressing ahead with measures to disband its inter-Korean organizations, apparently stopping a radio station previously used to send encrypted messages to its spies in South Korea. As of Saturday, the North appears to have stopped broadcasting the state-run Pyongyang Radio and cut off access to its website. The latest move comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered "readjusting and reforming" its organizations in charge of inter-Korean affairs during a key Worker

North KoreaJan. 13, 2024

Blinken, senior Chinese official discuss N. Korea, Taiwan, Russia's war in Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a visiting senior Chinese official held talks in Washington on Friday over a range of issues concerning North Korea, Taiwan, Russia's war in Ukraine and the Middle East, a State Department spokesperson said. The talks between Blinken and Liu Jianchao, minister of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, came just before Taiwan's presidential election on Saturday. "The secretary reiterated

Foreign AffairsJan. 13, 2024

North Korea to welcome Russian tourists, the country's first since the pandemic, report says

Russian tourists reportedly going on a ski trip to North Korea will be the first international travelers to visit the country since its borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown. The report, published Wednesday by the Russian state-run Tass news agency, underscores deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang . It also follows the meeting last September between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. Ta

Foreign AffairsJan. 12, 2024

In Taiwan's election Saturday, who are the 3 candidates trying to become president?

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan is holding its presidential election on Saturday, a race that China has called a choice between war and peace. China considers the self-ruled island about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off its east coast a breakaway province and has threatened to take control over it, by force if necessary. Taiwan's election is closely watched internationally due to the potential for rising military tensions across the Taiwan Strait. At home, voters are concerned with m

Foreign AffairsJan. 12, 2024

Japan successfully launches an intelligence-gathering satellite to watch for North Korean missiles

TOKYO (AP) — Japan successfully launched a rocket carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite Friday on a mission to watch movements at military sites in North Korea and to improve responses to natural disasters. The H2A rocket, launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, carrying the optical satellite as part of Tokyo’s reconnaissance effort to rapidly build up its military capability. The governm

Foreign AffairsJan. 12, 2024