Actor Lee Sun-kyun requests lie detector test over drug suspicions

Actor Lee Sun-kyun of the Oscar-winning "Parasite" requested a lie detector test Tuesday for his ongoing drug investigation, claiming innocence, sources said. Through his lawyer, Lee submitted a polygraph test request to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency in Incheon, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, the legal sources said. Lee has gone through three rounds of police questioning on suspicions of using marijuana and other illegal drugs at the home of a hostess working at a high-end

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Police hunting down mastermind behind defacing of Seoul palace walls

Police are hunting down the mastermind who commissioned a teen to spray paint 44-meter-long graffiti on the walls of a historic palace in central Seoul earlier this month, officials said Tuesday. A 17-year-old, only identified by his surname Im, was arrested last week after spray painting the phrase "free movie" in Korean on both sides of the western gate to Gyeongbok Palace and palace walls near the National Palace Museum of Korea on Dec. 16. Investigators have since found that Im was

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Defense chief calls for vengeance in event of N. Korean provocation

South Korea's defense chief on Tuesday instructed Navy officials to mercilessly bury North Korean sailors at sea in the event of another North Korean provocation. Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the remark as he inspected the new 2,800-ton ROKS Cheonan frigate, which was deployed for operations to the headquarters of the Navy's Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday. Shin told Navy officials and sailors to "mercilessly bury (the enemy) at sea if t

DefenseDec. 26, 2023

Apartment fire on Christmas could be due to ‘negligence’: police

A fire that broke out in an apartment building in Dobong-gu, northern Seoul that left two people dead and injured 30 others Monday was likely caused by human negligence, the police and fire authorities said Tuesday. A police official on-site said that it seems “unlikely that the fire was ignited due to electrical factors” after a joint on-site investigation. “It seems unlikely that the fire was caused by a short circuit or malfunctioning electrical equipment. Based on the evide

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Han vows not to run in 2024 general election

Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon was officially sworn in as the People Power Party's interim leader on Tuesday, backed by approval from the majority of the ruling party lawmakers. Han took on the role of chairman of the emergency leadership committee, following a mobile phone voting process involving 824 ruling party lawmakers across the country. Of the total, 650 participated in the ballot and some 96.5 percent, or 627, of the participants voted for Han. The 50-year-old interim leader

PoliticsDec. 26, 2023

Underage drinkers turning themselves in becomes issue in S. Korea

Earlier this month, online communities across South Korea were abuzz with a story of a group of high school students who fled from a local eatery without paying. On the back of a bill, they wrote "I'm sorry but you didn't check our IDs. If we report you, you'll get shut down. We'll just go. We'll come back later after we're adults." Legal minors reporting themselves after consuming alcohol, or threatening to do so, is quickly becoming a social issue. South

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

A closer look into Korea’s suicide statistics

It is no longer news that South Korea has a high suicide rate. With 25.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022, the country topped the 38-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of suicide rates. This rate is more than double that of the OECD average of around 10-11 deaths per 100,000. But under the headline numbers, when, where and how do most suicide attempts occur here? A recently released set of data encompassing crucial information from first response records t

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Ministry inspected 2% of 2,600+ sexual abuse cases in public sectors

  Over 2,600 cases of sexual violence and harassment were reported in public organizations nationwide over the past two years, with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family responding to just over 50 cases for on-site inspection, the ministry's data showed Tuesday. Some 18,000 government offices, institutions and schools recorded 2,620 cases of sexual abuse from July 2021 until June this year, according to data provided by the ministry to Rep. Yangyi Won-young of the main opposition Democ

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

From 2024, Seoul to use drones to monitor traffic

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Tuesday that it will monitor traffic conditions in real time using drones starting in 2024. Using drone footage of traffic taken 200 meters above the ground, an artificial intelligence algorithm will analyze the footage to find patterns and predict future traffic conditions. To create a traffic management system that utilizes drones and AI, the Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted several tests in September and October. The city government tested

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Seoul flags Kim Jong-un sympathizers as inside threats

The Ministry of National Defense in Seoul has characterized sympathizers of the North Korean regime threats within South Korea. In its latest version unveiled Tuesday, the Defense Ministry’s moral training program called sympathizers of the North Korean regime and its ideology “threats from inside that imperil the very foundations of liberal democracy.” The ministry said in the program that among South Korea, there existed forces that “sympathize with North Korea’s

DefenseDec. 26, 2023

Ex-prime ministers share concerns over DP's deepening divide

Three ex-prime ministers under the previous Moon Jae-in administration have expressed concerns over the deepening divide within the main opposition party and throughout the liberal bloc as of Tuesday. Former Prime Ministers Lee Nak-yon, Chung Se-kyun and Kim Bu-gyeom pointed to the Democratic Party of Korea's current leader Lee Jae-myung's monopolization of power within the party as a major hurdle to party unification ahead of next year's general elections, in two separate meeting

PoliticsDec. 26, 2023

Man loses appeal for draft dodging, despite claiming to be gay

A Suwon district court recently handed down a jail term to a man in his 20s for evading his military duties. The man had reportedly vowed to to fulfill his duties when first accused but later claimed to be a conscientious objector based on his sexuality, according to local media reports, Tuesday. The defendant was sentenced to one year and six months behind bars by the appellate division of the Suwon court, which upheld an earlier ruling that punished him for violating the Military Service A

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Govt. pays out most for whistleblowers in 2023

The state anti-corruption agency on Tuesday announced that it recorded the highest ever amount in rewards provided to those who reported corrupt officials or companies in 2023. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said it disbursed some 4.243 billion won ($3.273 million) as rewards to whistleblowers whose reports led directly to recovery or increase in public institution revenue in 2023, marking a 40 percent increase from the previous year. This annual figure represents the highest am

Social AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Tech cooperation key to future of Korea-India ties: Indian envoy

Strategic technological cooperation spanning space, 5G networks and green energy holds the key to advancing the future of bilateral relations between South Korea and India, Indian Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar said. "I think technology will increasingly play a very important role in our partnership," Kumar told The Korea Herald on Dec. 14 at an interview held in Seoul, marking the 50th anniversary of establishing bilateral diplomatic ties. "We should explore a technology partners

Foreign AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Yoon calls for different perspective to boost birthrate

President Yoon Suk Yeol called Tuesday for approaching the issue of the country's surprisingly declining birthrate from a fundamentally different perspective, emphasizing the need to identify its causes and find effective solutions. Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting as South Korea's fertility rate, already the world's lowest, experienced another decline in the latest setback to the government's efforts to boost its declining population. According to the statistics

PoliticsDec. 26, 2023

Allies seek more cooperation in US arms maintenance

South Korea and the United States have agreed to make efforts to expand the participation of South Korean companies in the maintenance of US military equipment in the Indo-Pacific region, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The two sides discussed such efforts during logistics policy talks in San Diego last Wednesday, attended by Lee Gap-su, head of the ministry's logistics management bureau, and Christopher J. Lowman, US assistant secretary of defense for sustainment. During the talks, the

DefenseDec. 26, 2023

Ex-Justice Minister Han to take over as ruling party leader

Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon was set to be sworn in as chief of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday, taking on the daunting mission of leading the party through April's parliamentary elections. Han will take office as chairman of the PPP's emergency committee after the party's national committee endorsed his nomination through phone voting. His inauguration ceremony is set for 3 p.m., party officials said. Han takes over at a time when the PPP has been struggling to

PoliticsDec. 26, 2023

UNHCR calls for China to ensure 'humanitarian space' for N. Korean asylum seekers

The United Nations' refugee agency has recommended China ensure "viable and effective humanitarian space" for North Korean refugees, according to a report posted on the website of the UN Human Rights Council. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees made the recommendation as China is set to undergo a universal periodic review in January. UPR is a mechanism that calls for each UN member state to go through a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years. The re

Foreign AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Pontiff calls for Korea peace through dialogue in Christmas message

Pope Francis expressed hope for efforts to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through "dialogue and reconciliation" in his Christmas message on Monday, amid tensions heightened by North Korea's recent missile launches and tough rhetoric. The pontiff delivered the message during his "Urbi et Orbi" -- or "to the city and the world" -- blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican as the world has been beset by multiple secur

Foreign AffairsDec. 26, 2023

Political parties gear up for crunch election just 100 days away

With about 100 days until April's parliamentary elections, political parties are vying to get a head start in the crucial race that observers say could determine whether President Yoon Suk Yeol will be able to push his agenda forward or end up an early lame duck. Recent public surveys largely suggest a challenging path for the ruling People Power Party amid Yoon's low approval ratings, as shown in the party's crushing defeat in October's local by-election for Seoul's Gan

PoliticsDec. 26, 2023