North Korea sends troops to support Russia in Ukraine war: NIS

North Korea has dispatched special forces to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, with the first batch already having arrived in Russia and a second group of North Korean troops expected to follow soon, South Korea's intelligence agency claimed on Friday. The National Intelligence Service said it "confirmed that North Korea began its participation in the war by transporting special forces to Russia via Russian Navy transport ships from Oct. 8 to 13." However, the NIS provided no

North KoreaOct. 18, 2024

Ruling bloc divided over prosecutors' move to dismiss stock manipulation charges against first lady

South Korea's conservative ruling bloc on Friday was divided over the prosecutors' recent decision to not indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scandal involving a local BMW dealer. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Thursday dismissed the charges that the first lady violated the Financial Investment Services And Capital Markets Act. The announcement came some four years after the probe into allegations that Kim's stock trading ac

PoliticsOct. 18, 2024

Bereaved families outraged after police chief acquitted in Itaewon tragedy

Bereaved families erupted in outrage following the acquittal of former Seoul Metropolitan Police Chief Kim Kwang-ho and two senior officials in a case concerning the Itaewon crowd crush. The court’s Thursday ruling sparked widespread anger among the families and their advocates, who accuse the judiciary of failing to hold top officials accountable for the disaster, which they attribute to inadequate planning and emergency response measures. The Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families group stro

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Weekend chill may bring first snowfall in Korea

With heavy rainfall expected nationwide through Saturday, temperatures across South Korea are set to drop sharply from Sunday, ushering in chilly autumn conditions. Some regions may even experience their first snowfall of the season. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Korea will see nationwide rain until Saturday as a low-pressure system from the west passes over the country. While the rain will cease in most parts of the country from Saturday morning, the rain will likely con

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Medical schools under fire for poor conditions ahead of 2025 student surge

The poor condition of regional medical schools came under fire during Thursday's parliamentary audit at the National Assembly, just five months ahead of the start of the 2025 school year which will see a sharp rise in medical students. While several medical schools will have as many as twice or more medical students next year, Rep. Bak Seung-a of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea pointed out during the session held Thursday afternoon that the quota hike may not be feasible witho

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Court clears charges for welfare worker acused of abusing disabled child

A 63-year-old welfare worker who applied a form of corporal punishment on a 11-year-old child with A brain disorder was cleared by the Supreme Court of criminal charges, after it ruled the actions were a form of discipline and not abuse. South Korea's top court upheld a lower court ruling that said the defendant was not to be punished for child abuse. The appellate court had said while the defendant's actions could be said to be excessive, it appeared to be in the interest of the child

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Koreans challenge Berlin district's decision to remove comfort women statue

A civic group of Koreans living in Germany said Thursday they had filed for a court injunction against a Berlin district's recent decision to remove the Statue of Peace, erected to honor victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery. Korea Verband said it submitted the papers to reverse the recent decision made by the officials of Berlin's Mitte district last month. The district had provided notification of an order to remove the statue by the end of this month, citing the road laws

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Police officers busted for embezzling seized property, sparking wider probe

Two police officers have been arrested on charges of tampering with seized property, triggering a nationwide investigation into the management of confiscated items, the Korean National Police Agency announced Friday. According to Yongsan Police Station, a police official was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of embezzlement, as the officer allegedly stole hundreds of millions of won worth of confiscated property, including cash, while investigating a case he was assigned. Another police official,

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Kim Jong-un drills front-line troops, branding S. Korea as 'foreign, hostile'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un doubled down on the legitimacy of using offensive forces against South Korea in the event of a contingency, drilling into front-line troops the notion of South Korea as both a "foreign" and "hostile" country. Kim on Thursday visited the headquarters of the Korean People's Army's 2nd Corps positioned on the front lines near the inter-Korean border, with Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea Pak Jong-chon

North KoreaOct. 18, 2024

Animal rights groups rescue 455 dogs from illegal puppy mill in Busan

Animal rights organizations have rescued 455 dogs from an illegal breeding facility in Busan, highlighting the ongoing issue of unlawful puppy mills in South Korea, a coalition of 15 organizations announced Friday. The dogs, including various high-value breeds, were found crammed into filthy cages across the 230-square-meter site in Daejeo-dong, Gangseo-gu, which had been operating illegally for 25 years, according to the coalition. The coordinated rescue was led by the Lucy's Friends, whic

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Test-takers to take legal action over Yonsei's college entrance exam leak

Test takers are preparing to file a collective suit to invalidate a leaked Yonsei University entrance exam and seek a court injunction to suspend the test result if the school refuses a retest, citing unfairness and defrauding of early-admission candidates. More than 100 test-takers and parents have expressed their intention to take legal action over the irregularities in the exam as of Thursday at around 3 p.m. and plan to hire a lawyer for the case, according to local media reports on Friday.

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Losing 3 fingers 'not a disability': report

Recent government data has indicated the threshold of disability registration in South Korea remains high, as local media reported Friday that over 110,000 applications for disability registration over the past four years were not accepted by the government. From 2021 to June of this year, there have been 814,437 applications for disability registration, news agency Newsis reported, citing National Pension Service data submitted to Rep. Choi Bo-yun of the People Power Party. Of those, 123,816 ca

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

DP to take steps to impeach prosecutor general over nonindictment of first lady

The main opposition Democratic Party said Friday it will take steps to impeach Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung over the prosecution's decision not to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme. "The (DP) leadership discussed the issue of impeaching the prosecutor general and concluded to go ahead with it," Jo Seoung-lae, a senior DP spokesperson, told reporters after a Supreme Council meeting. "The steps and timing of the impea

PoliticsOct. 18, 2024

PPP voices objections to new first lady special counsel bill

The ruling People Power Party on Friday voiced objections to a new opposition-introduced bill calling for a special counsel probe into allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, calling it an "unconstitutional wicked bill." The main opposition Democratic Party introduced the bill on Thursday, the third time it submitted such a proposal after two previous versions were scrapped following revotes triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol's vetoes. The new bill expands the scope of th

PoliticsOct. 18, 2024

1 in 7 willing to fight if war breaks out: survey

As tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula, a recent survey shows that just some 1 in 7 people here would be willing to participate in a war if conflict erupts. According to a survey released Thursday by opposition Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Hwang Hee, 13.9 percent of respondents said they would join the war effort. The survey, conducted by the Korean National Defense University in 2023, involved 1,200 people aged 18 to 75. The figure has dropped from 22.7 percent in 2014 and 20.9 percent in 2

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Israel says it has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza

Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar , a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most-wanted man. Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settling of scores just over a year after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others in an attack tha

Foreign AffairsOct. 18, 2024

Seoul envoy calls for stronger defense industry cooperation, cautions against protectionism

Seoul's top envoy to Washington cautioned Thursday against economic "protectionism" as he highlighted the need to address barriers that preclude full defense industrial cooperation between South Korea and the United States. Speaking at a think tank forum, Ambassador Cho Hyun-dong pointed to a US legal mandate requiring US naval ships to be built in America as a challenge limiting efforts to expand collaboration between the US and its foreign partners. "This issue is particula

PoliticsOct. 18, 2024

Zelenskyy says N. Korea is preparing 10,000 troops to help Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that North Korea is preparing to send around 10,000 soldiers to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, calling the development "a big problem." Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence reports indicating that North Korean personnel have already been deployed in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, with additional troops being prepared to join the fight. "We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparin

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 17, 2024

Foreign ministry strongly urges missionaries in Lebanon, Israel to leave

The foreign ministry on Thursday strongly urged Korean missionaries in Lebanon and Israel to leave the countries as soon as possible amid escalating military tension in the Middle East. Hong Seok-in, who is in charge of the protection of overseas nationals and consular affairs, conveyed the warning during a meeting with 10 missionary organizations. He strongly advised the missionaries in Lebanon and Israel to promptly leave the area via available flights, considering the escalating conflict betw

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 17, 2024

Seoul Design 2024 set to demonstrate impact of AI on design

Seoul Design 2024, coined as the largest design festival in South Korea, officially commenced on Thursday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, central Seoul. The event, hosted by Seoul Design Foundation and Seoul Metropolitan Government, celebrates its 11th anniversary this year. Over the last few years, Seoul Design has served as a platform to showcase the latest design trends and to introduce newly launched products and services reflecting the recent design trends. Under the theme “Ima

Social AffairsOct. 17, 2024