All but 1 district in Seoul recorded fewer births in 2023

Every district in Seoul except Gangnam had fewer childbirths in 2023 than the year before, recent data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety showed. Of the 25 district offices in the South Korean capital, only Gangnam recorded an increase in the number of childbirths, by 13.53 percent, for last year. All other districts had fewer newborn babies than in 2022, with five districts marking double-digit drops. The districts of Eunpyeong-gu, Jongno-gu, Gangdong-gu, Yangcheon-gu and Seongdong-gu rec

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2024

UN should 'break silence' over NK provocations: S. Korean envoy

The United Nations should break its silence over the growing North Korean provocations, including the latest test-firing of long-range missiles, said Hwang Joon-kook, permanent representative of South Korea to the UN, on Thursday. Hwang was quoted as saying by news reports that "the UN Security Council needs to break the silence over the way it (reacts)" to North Korean issues, adding it has become a "big question" for the UN Security Council to answer. The remarks came after

North KoreaJan. 19, 2024

Over 10,000 civil servants report at least W20m of outside income

A total of 10,185 government officials in South Korea made more than 20 million won ($15,000) in annual income in addition to their salaries in 2023, National Health Insurance Service data showed Friday. The data, provided by Rep. Choi Hye-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, revealed that 0.67 percent of the 1.51 million civil servants currently enrolled in the National Health Insurance program are paying monthly premiums based on their income and assets. The monthly premium

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2024

Security advisors of S. Korea, US, Japan hail new quantum partnership launch

The top national security advisors of South Korea, the United States and Japan celebrated the signing of a new trilateral quantum partnership to train a quantum workforce and strengthen the three countries' collective competitiveness in the technology field, a joint statement showed Thursday. South Korean National Security Advisor Chang Ho-jin and his US and Japanese counterparts, Jake Sullivan and Takeo Akiba, respectively, issued the statement congratulating Seoul National University, the

Foreign AffairsJan. 19, 2024

S. Korea's military power 5th in world; N. Korea ranks 36th: index

South Korea ranked fifth in the world in terms of military strength, while North Korea's standing was at 36th, an annual military power index showed Friday. South Korea had a firepower score of 0.1416 to stand at fifth out of 145 countries, according to Global Firepower 2024. Its standing rose by one notch from a year earlier. The index is calculated based on more than 60 factors, with categories ranging from military might and financial standing to logistical capability and geography. The

DefenseJan. 19, 2024

Opposition leader urges NK leader to stop provocations

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to stop its missile provocations, saying it will only lead to further isolation of the regime and intensify the suffering of its people. Lee, chairman of the Democratic Party, made the remarks amid heightened tensions over North Korea's continued saber-rattling, such as its recent test-launch of a solid-fuel hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile and artillery firings near the western inter-Korean sea border

PoliticsJan. 19, 2024

Senior S. Korean general calls for intl. response against NK threats at NATO meeting

A senior South Korean general has highlighted the need for international response and cooperation against North Korea's evolving military threats at a major gathering of top North Atlantic Treaty Organization military officials, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. Lt. Gen. Hwang You-sung, vice chairman of the JCS, made the call during a session of the defense chiefs of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels on Thursday after being invited to the gathering along with delegations from thr

DefenseJan. 19, 2024

Nature of NK threat could change 'drastically' due to Pyongyang-Moscow cooperation: US official

The nature of North Korean threats could change "drastically" over the next decade due to an "unprecedented" level of military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, a senior US official warned Thursday. Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, made the remarks, amid growing concerns about reported arms transactions between the North and Russia in the midst of the war in Ukraine, and their security

North KoreaJan. 19, 2024

Police looking into handling of drug probe into late actor Lee

Police have started looking into the handling of a drug investigation of late actor Lee Sun-kyun, officials said Thursday, after a group of filmmakers and actors urged for an inquiry into his death. Lee, best known for his role in "Parasite," was found dead in his car in central Seoul on Dec. 27, days after he publicly appeared before the police for the third round of questioning on suspicions of using marijuana and other illegal drugs on multiple occasions. Lee's death raised que

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Defense ministry unit probing student activists over attempt to enter presidential office

The defense ministry's investigation unit has begun a probe into student activists who attempted to enter the presidential office this month over their possible violation of military law, officials said Thursday. The ministry's Criminal Investigative Command has booked some 10 members of the Korean University Progressive Union on charges of injuring sentry guards and trespassing at a guard post during their attempt to enter the presidential office in central Seoul on Jan. 6. The presid

DefenseJan. 18, 2024

'NK's closed-door policy will only hurt itself'

Kim Gunn, South Korea's top nuclear envoy, said North Korea's plan of severing inter-Korean exchanges would only hurt itself, as he attended a meeting with his counterparts from the United States and Japan in Seoul on Thursday to address a laundry list of urgent security issues. "Most recently, North Korea announced the plan to abolish agencies for inter-Korean exchanges. It also clings to the old playbook to shift blame to the ROK and the US," Kim said, referring to South Ko

Foreign AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Parties roll out competing birth rate boosting pledges

The two main parties on Thursday each announced a set of pledges designed to reverse the country’s falling birth rate as the April 10 legislative election approaches. The ruling People Power Party vowed to establish a government agency dedicated to population planning and birth rate boosting. “We plan to establish a separate agency to deal with the country’s declining birth rate,” its election policy committee said during a press conference held in southern Seoul. “

PoliticsJan. 18, 2024

Dolphin calf entangled in net worries authorities

Authorities are deliberating about how to help a young, struggling dolphin whose tail has been entangled in a discarded fishing net for months. The calf, presumed to be under one year of age, was first spotted swimming with its tail entangled in the net in November last year by researchers from Jeju National University. It was seen again last week, still with its tail in the net, in waters off Seogwipo City. Professor Kim Byung-yeop who leads Jeju National University’s dolphin research t

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Europe winds down adoptions from South Korea

Northern European countries are scaling back their long-standing overseas adoption programs following reports of illegal practices, a move that will likely impact South Korea, one of the leading countries in sending babies abroad for adoption. Norway is contemplating a temporary suspension of all international adoptions after local news outlet Verdens Gang exposed illegalities and corruption in the process of bringing in foreign-born babies to be adopted by Norwegian families. The primary coun

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Death sentence sought for Seohyeon Station killer

South Korean prosecutors on Thursday requested the death penalty for Choi Won-jong, the 23-year-old man on trial for a stabbing rampage last year near Seohyeon Station in Bundang-gu, Gyeonggi Province, that killed two and injured a dozen people. "Two women lost their lives because of (Choi), and the pain suffered by the bereaved families and the injured cannot be described with words," the prosecution told the Suwon District Court at the hearing, also requesting that Choi be monitored

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Man dies after allegedly being forced to swim drunk

Local police found evidence to believe that a man in his 50s who died after swimming under the influence, had in fact been forced to swim by another man. Officials said Thursday that Changwon District Prosecutor's Office indicted a man in his 40s on charges of coercion, extortion and death by negligence. The suspect is believed to have coerced the victim and another man in his 50s to follow to abide by his will. According to investigators, the three men had consumed 22 bottles of soju b

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Minor opposition lawmaker dragged out of hall after telling Yoon to 'change his policies'

Commotion erupted Thursday as minor progressive Jinbo Party lawmaker Rep. Kang Sung-hee was dragged out of a venue in Jeonju, Jeonbuk State, after telling President Yoon Suk Yeol to change his policies. He was physically removed during a ceremony at Moak Hall at Sori Arts Center in Jeonju by the president's four bodyguards after he "did not let go of the handshake with Yoon and shouted at him," according to a source at the presidential office who declined to be named. Kang was forced o

PoliticsJan. 18, 2024

Pandemic puts public hospitals at financial risk

Public medical facilities that took on a greater share of COVID-19 patients also bore the brunt of the financial fallout due to poor financial support from the government, a filing showed Thursday. On the other hand, the best-resourced private hospitals appeared to have benefited from government relief provided to secure more beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients while keeping existing patients suffering from other diseases at the same time. The financial aid varied by hospitals depending on

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Seoul Metro to crack down on fare evasions through Feb. 2

Seoul Metro, the operator of subway line Nos. 1 to 8, will conduct a crackdown on fare evasions until Feb. 2. The municipal-owned corporation will conduct a special crackdown on all 275 subway stations running on Line Nos. 1 to 8. Considering the trend in the number of passengers using subway stations, the crackdown will involve Seoul Metro stationing its staff and security officers in 30 stations where a high number of fare evasion cases were recorded and where preferential transportation cards

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Increasingly more North Korean dissenters escaping to South

South Korea on Thursday reported a recent increase in defections of elite and younger North Koreans, who say they left because they are anti-regime. The Ministry of Unification in Seoul overseeing inter-Korean affairs said the number of defectors to the South hit 196 in 2023, which is about the triple the number of the two preceding years -- 2022’s 67 and 2021’s 63 -- when COVID-19 was still raging. According to the ministry, the defections of members of the North Korean elite seen l

North KoreaJan. 18, 2024