S. Korea sees warmest-ever February morning temperatures

South Korea recorded the warmest-ever February morning temperatures Wednesday, with morning lows in many parts of the nation exceeding 10 C, the weather agency said. The daily minimum temperature in Incheon, a port city west of Seoul, reached 11 C, marking the highest morning low for February recorded since modern weather observations began in 1904, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The previous record was 8.5 C registered on Feb. 25, 2010. Highest-ever February morning lows

Social AffairsFeb. 14, 2024

N. Korea's ruling party delegation chief meets Russian communist party leader: report

North Korea's ruling party chief delegate has held talks with Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Russian media said, amid deepening bilateral ties in the military and other sectors. Kim Su-gil, an alternate member of the political bureau of the Workers' Party, met with Zyuganov on Tuesday at the Russian State Duma, the lower house of Russia's legislature, the RIA Novosti news agency said. During their meeting, Kim was quoted as saying that Pyongyang pays special atte

North KoreaFeb. 14, 2024

N. Korea could conduct localized provocation on border island: ex-Seoul official

North Korea could undertake localized provocations this year, such as suddenly occupying a South Korean border island, a former senior Seoul official said Tuesday, amid concerns over the possibility of the North's saber-rattling ahead of the April parliamentary elections in the South. Speaking at a forum, Kim Sung-han, who served as President Yoon Suk Yeol's national security adviser from 2022-2023, noted that Pyongyang might undertake "peacetime" provocations that would fall

North KoreaFeb. 14, 2024

Near-quarter of N. Koreans own mobile phones: study

An estimated six million North Koreans have cellular phones as of 2021, a recently published report by a state-run think-tank said, indicating a wave of change among the people living under the oppressive regime. The Korea Institute for National Unification conducted a study on how distribution of mobile phones is affecting North Koreans' quality of life, in which they presumed that a little over 23 percent of some 25.7 million North Koreans own smartphones. The consensus was based on estim

North KoreaFeb. 13, 2024

Despite failed Expo bid, Yoon pushes for Busan upgrade

South Korea on Tuesday announced a set of measures to boost Busan's economic growth, bolster job creation and improve access to key urban infrastructure, about three months after the city lost its bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Along with the announcement, President Yoon Suk Yeol held a public debate the same day at Busan City Hall, where he said the concentration of the population, companies and talent in the Greater Seoul area, coupled with the excessive competition in society, has &quo

PoliticsFeb. 13, 2024

S. Korean kids' screen time 3 times WHO recommendation: study

South Korean kids aged between three and four spend about 184.8 minutes a day watching screens of electronic devices such as smartphones, TVs and computers, which is three times more than the recommended amount for the same age group by the World Health Organization, a recent study showed. The Korea Press Foundation surveyed 2,675 children aged between three and nine around the country from Oct. 26 to Dec. 8, and they found that children aged 3-4 spend an average of 80.4 minutes watching TV, 52.

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

Seoul to subsidize W1m for mothers' postpartum care

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide mothers who give birth in Seoul with a subsidy of 1 million won ($753) per child in 2024, said the city government through a press release on Tuesday. From September 2023, the city government subsidized newborn mothers' postpartum care in the form of voucher points, which were distributed to their credit or debit cards. Within just four months since the subsidy was introduced, up to 15,907 mothers signed up to receive the subsidy. However, at

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

4 out of 10 young adults forgo health care

More than 4 out of 10 young adults in South Korea have been unable to go to the hospital when they were sick because they were too busy or did not have enough money, a recent study showed. A report on young adult poverty and self-reliance released by the National Youth Policy Institute on Tuesday found that 41.6 percent of 4,000 young adults aged 19 to 34 said they had been unable to go to the hospital when they should have in the past year. The most common reason for not being able to go see th

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

Disgraced ex-minister to launch new party ahead of election

Disgraced former Justice Minister Cho Kuk on Tuesday officially announced to launch his own political party ahead of the general election scheduled for April 10. “I plan to fight on the front line of the battle to bring an early end to the incompetent 'dictatorship of prosecutors,' and the restoration of the values of a democratic republic,” Cho said in an announcement made at his hometown of Busan, pointing at the current Yoon Suk Yeol administration. “I will create

PoliticsFeb. 13, 2024

Under pressure, junior doctors leave strike decision hanging

Tensions continued to build Tuesday between doctors and the government, with a group of over 10,000 junior doctors ending their first discussion about joining the nationwide strike without reaching a conclusion. Instead, they decided to forge an emergency committee in an apparent move to escalate their offensive against the government plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota. The Korea Intern Resident Association, consisting of thousands of junior doctors essential to the critical ca

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

S. Korea open to Japan joining nuclear consultative group: ex-security advisor

South Korea is "open-minded" about expanding the existing bilateral nuclear consultative group with the United States to a trilateral framework including Japan, a former South Korean national security advisor said Monday. Kim Sung-han, President Yoon Suk Yeol's former top national security advisor from 2022 to 2023, acknowledged that during his tenure, he had the opportunity to discuss the idea of the expansion of the framework with his Japanese counterpart. The Nuclear Consultati

Foreign AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

Fire station that lost two firefighters had been understaffed: report

The fire station which lost two of its firefighters in a Jan. 31 fire had been understaffed when the deaths occurred, local media outlets reported Tuesday. It was recently found that two of the three teams at the Mungyeong Fire Station in North Gyeongsang Province had been running with five members instead of the mandated six. The two deceased firefighters, 27-year-old Kim Su-gwang and 35-year-old Park Su-hun, had been members of the understaffed team 1. The exact circumstances of how the two fi

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

S. Korea seeks to raise duty-free allowance limit for alcohol

The customs agency said Tuesday it will push to raise the limit of the duty-free allowance for alcohol to boost travelers' convenience. It is part of the Korea Customs Service's comprehensive plan for 2024, which also includes measures to strengthen the crackdown on drug smuggling and to better support exporters. Under the plan, the agency will review the possible adjustment of the cap on duty-free liquors, which is currently set at 2 liters valued at $400 or less. The government in 20

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

S. Korea, UAE stage combined anti-terrorism drills

South Korea's military contingent in the United Arab Emirates has conducted its first combined exercise of the year with its host nation's troops, officials said Tuesday, amid efforts to boost military ties. The Akh unit recently staged the exercise in the Middle Eastern country to boost joint capabilities in ground-based and maritime anti-terrorism operations, according to the officials. The two sides held various drills, including those on hostage rescue operations, sniper shooting a

DefenseFeb. 13, 2024

Appeals court upholds 1 1/2-year prison term for Uzbek for sending money to al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group

An appellate court upheld an 18-month prison sentence for an Uzbek national accused of sending money to a UN-designated terrorist group while residing in South Korea, judicial officials said Tuesday. The Seoul Central District Court confirmed the lower court's ruling on the migrant worker from Uzbekistan, saying the provision of aid to the terrorist group carries a high risk of harming global peace as well as the safety of the country and the public. The 35-year-old was indicted for providi

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2024

Ex-industry minister named vice chair of presidential committee on aging society, population policy

President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed former Industry Minister Joo Hyung-hwan as vice chairman of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, presidential chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup said Monday. Joo is a policy expert known for his drive to get things done and is expected to lead the committee in a way that produces visible results in a swift manner, Lee said. Yoon is the ex-officio chairman of the committee. "With the recognition that society's survival is at stake

PoliticsFeb. 12, 2024

Highway traffic levels ease on last day of Lunar New Year holiday

Traffic levels on major highways eased Monday as people who visited their families during the Lunar New Year holiday returned home on the final day of the four-day holiday. A drive from Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to the capital was expected to take about five hours as of 5 p.m., while driving from Gwangju, 267 km south of the capital, to Seoul was expected to take three hours and 30 minutes, according to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp. The drive in the opposite direction from

Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2024

Man locks up girlfriend after getting dumped

South Korean police said Monday it is investigating a 28-year-old man on suspicion of locking up his girlfriend at his home and threatening her, after she expressed her wish to end their romantic relationship. According to Seoul Gwanak Police Station, the suspect is believed to have confined the victim in his home in Gwanak-gu, Seoul between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. last Thursday. When the victim dumped the suspect, he became enraged and violent, throwing a soju bottle and threatening to hurt the victi

Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2024

17% of workers say they work under different conditions from contract

Some 17.4 percent of South Korean workers said their actual working conditions were different from the ones they agreed upon before joining the company, a survey announced Monday showed. Civic group Workplace Gapjil 119, which assists victims of office abuse, surveyed 1,000 office workers across the country in December, including 600 "regular workers" -- a blanket term referring to those working under lifetime job security -- and 400 "non-regular" workers. In one case shared

Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2024

Korea sees surge in number of asylum seekers from Russia

South Korea saw a significant rise in the number of Russian asylum seekers last year, with over 5,000 submitting refugee applications, a government report found Monday. According to the latest monthly report by the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the number of Russian nationals who sought refugee status in Korea last year stood at 5,750, a five-fold increase from the number of asylum applications by Russian nationals in 2022, which stood at 1,038. The number is also almo

Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2024