Women working long hours more likely to show signs of depression

Women who work long hours and have conflicting demands from family and work are more likely to have symptoms of depression, a study showed Thursday. A study in the Journal of the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health suggested that such women were 35 percent more likely to have depressive symptoms compared to those with standard hours. In contrast, there was no significant difference in depression rates among male workers with or without long hours, even when the demand

Social AffairsJan. 11, 2024

Lax penalty for judge accused of buying sex sparks controversy

The decision to suspend a judge for three months after he was found to have illegally paid for sex is fanning criticism against the judiciary. According to local reports, the judge in question -- a 43-year old who holds a post in an Ulsan court -- was found to have worked at his regular job for a month before he was suspended by the Supreme Court. He was summarily indicted for the crime of paying money for sexual intercourse in Seoul in June of last year, but South Korea's highest court wai

Social AffairsJan. 11, 2024

Plane lands safely after bird strike at Incheon Airport

A T'way flight was hit by a bird during landing late Wednesday, but the pilots managed to land the aircraft safely in Incheon, the airline said. The TW216 flight, bound for Incheon from Narita International Airport in Tokyo, had been touching down on a runway at the Incheon International Airport around 9:28 p.m., when a bird was sucked into one of its engines. The pilots aborted the landing temporarily, but were able to land the plane safely some 13 minutes later, T'way Air said. Small

Social AffairsJan. 11, 2024

'Angel of Goesan' donates over W90m anonymously

In the small county of Goesan-gun, North Chungcheong Province, a man has been anonymously leaving donations for district officials over the past three years, amounting to a little over 90 million won ($68,000) since 2021. Goesan-gun Office said the unidentified middle-aged man made his most recent contribution on Monday, when he left an employee of the resident welfare team at the Buljeong-myeon office a paper bag, which contained 400 50,000 won bills. He mouthed "I'll leave it her

Social AffairsJan. 11, 2024

N. Korea holds Cabinet plenary meeting over economic issues

North Korea has discussed ways to enhance the Cabinet's role in implementing this year's economic goals, state media reported Thursday, amid the country's protracted economic difficulties caused by UN sanctions imposed due to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. Premier Kim Tok-hun presided over a plenary meeting of the Party Committee of the Cabinet from Monday to Wednesday in a follow-up to a year-end key party meeting, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The

North KoreaJan. 11, 2024

White House official not aware of any indications about N. Korea-Hamas military cooperation

A White House official said Wednesday that he has not seen any indication of military cooperation between North Korea and the Hamas militant group, despite the South Korean spy agency's assessment that North Korean-made arms are being used by the group. John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, made the remarks after Seoul's National Intelligence Service confirmed last week's Voice of America report that Hamas fighters have used an F-7 roc

Foreign AffairsJan. 11, 2024

What should we call you, Chun Doo-hwan?

State-run broadcaster KBS was recently embroiled in controversy over its abrupt change of the title used for the late Chun Doo-hwan, a former military dictator of South Korea who ruled over the country with an iron fist in the 1980s. Last Thursday, a senior journalist of the public broadcaster, Kim Seong-jin, issued a notice on the company's intranet that its reporters should refer to Chun as "former President Chun," instead of "Chun-ssi (Mr. Chun)." After the notice was

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

First lady's unique presence a double-edged sword

First lady Kim Keon Hee has arguably been the most active spouse to a South Korean president to date, advocating strongly for the protection of the environment and animal rights, as well as for the global promotion of Korean culture. The 51-year-old had built a successful career as an art exhibition investor and organizer before her husband took office in 2022. Since Yoon took office, she actively engaged with the public, but controversies surrounding her have become the opposition's late

PoliticsJan. 10, 2024

Man finds out his 'wife' was already married with child

The Gwangju High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that handed down a jail term for fraud to a woman who faked her marital status and scammed a man into marrying her and giving her money. The 38-year-old defendant, who was given a prison term of three years and six months, had swindled a total of 570 million won ($430,000) from the victim in their one year of marriage that started in 2021. She pretended to be single and got the victim to marry her, when she had in fact been marr

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

Yoon names new security office deputy, vice foreign minister

President Yoon Suk Yeol tapped his secretary dedicated to economic security as the new deputy of the presidential National Security Office on Wednesday. Wang Yun-jong, secretary for economic security, was promoted to third deputy director of the NSO. Ahn Se-hyun, an international affairs professor at the University of Seoul, will take Wang's post. The 62-year-old Wang and 52-year-old Ahn will both begin in their positions on Thursday, according to Yoon's office. Wang has shaped the direction for

PoliticsJan. 10, 2024

In Korea, over-70s now outnumber 20-somethings

The number of people aged over 70 has surpassed the number of those in their 20s for the first time since national demographics have been compiled, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety on Wednesday. According to the ministry, as of Dec. 31, 2023, South Korea’s total population was 51.32 million, a 0.22 percent decrease from the year before. The population numbers for those aged 70 and up stood at 6,319,402, while those in their 20s stood at 6,197,486. Until 2022, the number of

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

Woman gets jail term for stalking superstar couple

A South Korean court on Wednesday handed a six-month prison term to a woman who was convicted of stalking a local celebrity couple, singer and actor Rain and actress Kim Tae-hee. The Seoul Western District Court also ordered 40 hours of psychological treatment for the defendant in her 40s, who was found to be suffering from mental illness. "The defendant is a first-time offender and it does not appear as if she intended to harm the victims," the court said in its verdict, adding that s

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

More lawmakers leave Democratic Party of Korea, accusing chief of crony politics

Three lawmakers on Wednesday said they were leaving the Democratic Party of Korea, marking yet another departure of longtime lawmakers from the main opposition that controls a clear majority in the National Assembly. Announcing their decision to leave the Democratic Party they had long been part of, Reps. Lee Won-wook, Kim Jong-min and Cho Eung-cheon cited their disagreements with the party’s chair, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, and the way he is running the party. The lawmakers, prominent members o

PoliticsJan. 10, 2024

Attacker says stabbing was to stop Lee from becoming president

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday that the political ideology of the suspect in the stabbing of the main opposition leader led to the knife attack. “The attacker had vented resentment toward the Democratic Party leader and wanted to stop Lee from becoming president and prevent him from securing a majority of seats in the upcoming general election by giving nominations to specific persons,” said Woo Cheol-moon, head of the Busan Police Agency, as he briefed the press

PoliticsJan. 10, 2024

Yoon vows to remove hurdle for housing redevelopment projects

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that his administration would push to ease regulations concerning the redevelopment of apartment buildings aged 30 years or older, by allowing projects to go ahead even if the existing buildings are safe for habitation. Any residential complex built before 1994 may apply for reconstruction. Previously, owners of the apartment units had to get a municipality's approval that the buildings in the complex were dangerous to live in, no matter how old they w

PoliticsJan. 10, 2024

Man fined for erasing over 4,000 company files before quitting

A man who erased thousands of digital files owned by his former employer has been fined 5 million won ($3,800), a South Korean court said Wednesday. The Seoul Eastern District Court assessed the punishment for a 35-year-old former employee of a local online retailer. The former employee was indicted on interference with business charges for erasing 4,216 files the company had saved to Google Drive in April 2021. He had been feuding with the company over distribution of profit, and quit the compa

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

No. of depression patients surpasses 1m in Korea: data

The number of patients with depression in Korea surpassed the 1-million mark in 2022, data showed Wednesday. According to data released by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients treated for depression has increased every year in the past five years. In 2018, 753,011 patients were treated for depression, 799,038 patients in 2019, 832,329 patients in 2020 and 915,294 patients in 2021. In 2022, the number surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time, recordi

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

Seoul mayor in Vegas to promote city's vision, cooperation with MLB

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met with Charlie Hill, Major League Baseball's vice president of international strategy, in Las Vegas on Tuesday, pledging the city’s full support to help the MLB globalize baseball and vowing plans to build a domed baseball stadium and convention center, as previously announced. The meeting took place on the sidelines of CES 2024, the world's largest technology show. Oh arrived in Las Vegas early Tuesday to host the Seoul Pavilion and promote Seoul’s

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

48 countries, EU unite in condemning NK-Russia arms transfer

A united front of 48 countries, alongside the European Union, unequivocally expressed their condemnation in the "strongest possible terms" against North Korea's export of ballistic missiles and Russia's recent use of the ballistic missiles in the assault on war-torn Ukraine. The joint statement, featuring endorsements from foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, Japan, Ukraine, and other participating countries, was issued on Wednesday, Seoul time. "Our gove

Foreign AffairsJan. 10, 2024

Half of Busan residents over 50 years old

Nearly half of the population in Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, is over age 50, a report compiling statistics on those over 50 in Busan showed, Wednesday. The report by Busan Metropolitan City revealed that, as of 2022, 46.5 percent of the city’s population, totaling 1.53 million, belongs to the age group of 50 and above. The figure breaks down into two subgroups: approximately 830,000 residents who are age 50 to 65, and the remaining 702,000 residents who are aged 65 or

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024