Man who tortured duck to death 'didn't know it was a crime'

A man in his 50s is being investigated for allegedly torturing and killing a wild duck in Seoul, local police said Tuesday. Officials of Seoul Dobong Police Station are questioning the suspect, identified only as a Vietnamese national, for his actions on 11:20 a.m. last Friday at a stream in Dobong-gu, northeastern Seoul. He is believed to have thrown stones at a eastern spot-billed duck living in the stream to knock it out, after which he tortured and killed the animal. His reasons for killi

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

No exchange between Koreas' separated families since Feb. of last year

South Koreans with relatives in North Korea have not been in contact with their kin across the border for over a year, government data showed Tuesday, highlighting the increasingly worsening relations between Seoul and Pyongyang. According to the Ministry of Unification, there has been no contact between the separated families of the Koreas at the civilian level since February of last year. This refers to individuals connecting with their relatives through a non-government broker, which must b

North KoreaJuly 30, 2024

Driver behind deadly car crash apologizes at court hearing

The driver behind the fatal car crash that killed nine pedestrians near Seoul City Hall earlier this month repeatedly apologized as he attended an arrest warrant court hearing Tuesday morning. “I’m very, very sorry to the deceased and bereaved families,” the 68-year-old, surnamed Cha, said as he entered Seoul Central District Court at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday morning. Cha showed up to the hearing with his face covered with a cap and a mask while being asked several questions by repo

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

'You're Still Here': Exhibition honors UN forces in Korean War

Seventy-four years ago, troops from 22 nations, led by US Gen. Douglas MacArthur under the United Nations flag, were dispatched to defend South Korea against North Korean aggression. The bloody conflict left millions dead, with over 100,000 UN casualties. July 27, commemorated annually as National Korean War Armistice Day, marks the signing of the 1953 agreement that ended the three-year conflict. This day of national recognition honors all those who served, fought and died during the Korean War

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

Cabinet approves launch of strategic command

South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposed presidential decree to establish a strategic command aimed at effectively countering North Korea's increasingly sophisticated nuclear and missile threats, according to the presidential office. South Korea's strategic command will also play a central role in integrating the country's advanced conventional forces with US nuclear forces, thereby strengthening integrated deterrence between the treaty allies against potential No

DefenseJuly 30, 2024

66% of Gen Z get beauty treatments to land a job

About two-thirds of young job seekers in South Korea said they had obtained beauty care to land a job, with many of them believing that physical appearance plays a key role in increasing their chances of being employed, a survey showed Monday. Local job platform Catch revealed the results of a survey it conducted with 1,455 young job seekers belonging to Generation Z -- adults born after the mid-1990s. According to the survey, some 66 percent of the respondents said they received care for their

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

Assembly passes all 4 broadcasting bills despite ruling party objection

All four contentious bills aimed at reducing the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s influence over public broadcasters here were passed by the opposition-led National Assembly Tuesday. The Assembly passed the revision to the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act, railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, in a 189-0 vote during a plenary session in the morning. The move marks the passage of the last of four contentious broadcasting bills, with the amendments to the Broadc

PoliticsJuly 30, 2024

Environment ministry unveils sites for 14 new dams

The Ministry of Environment announced Tuesday that it has chosen 14 different sites to build new dams to guarantee South Korea’s safety and readiness for heavy rain, floods and droughts. “Since May 2023, the Ministry of Environment has been trying to promote the construction of dams that can combat extreme weather conditions,” said Environment Minister Kim Wan-sup during a press briefing Tuesday. Kim, an ex-vice finance minister, recently became the new environment minister on

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

Jangma ends, leaving Korea under subtropical heat

Jangma, the rainy season, finishes in South Korea around Saturday and scorching hot days will last for, the Korea Meteorological Administration announced its analysis Tuesday. South Korea came under the influence of a strong subtropical high and the rainy front moved to North Korea, and it can be interpreted as the end of jangma, the forecast agency said. This year’s jangma lasted over a month -- 31.5 days in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi and Gangwon Province, 31.4 days in southern provinces

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

Number of returning resident doctors 'very low'

With the job opening for junior doctors' September training closing Wednesday, the government once again urged them to return to patient care, as many striking trainees remain lukewarm about resuming their duties. During Tuesday's government response meeting, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong made the final plea to trainee doctors to apply for the post, asking them to "take courage" for patients waiting for them. "The government took appeasement steps by providing special co

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

NK trash balloons have landed at over 3,000 sites in South: police

Balloons carrying rubbish sent from North Korea since late May have been discovered at more than 3,000 sites throughout South Korea, a police report showed Tuesday. According to a police report obtained by Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Yang Bu-nam, balloons sent by North Korea were found at 3,359 locations across South Korea between May 28 and July 25, during which 10 balloon campaigns were conducted. South and North Korea have used balloons in their propaganda campaigns since the Korean War in

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

[Community Discovery] Mapo-gu completes Seoul experience: district head

Mapo-gu, home to Gyeongui Line Forest Park, World Cup Park, Haneul Park and vibrant university areas, is set to enhance its reputation as a premier cultural and tourist destination, becoming a must-visit hot spot for tourists from overseas, according to the current district office head. “If you haven’t traveled all over Mapo-gu, you haven’t truly experienced Seoul,” said Park Gang-su, 65, in an interview with The Korea Herald. The district’s cultural vibrancy is evi

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

Parliament confirms appointment of new police chief

The National Assembly confirmed the appointment of Cho Ji-ho as the country's new police chief Tuesday. The parliamentary committee on public administration and security adopted a confirmation hearing report on Cho's nomination as the commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency after holding a hearing the previous day. Adoption of the report is seen as parliamentary consent to the appointment, though the National Assembly has no power to reject the nomination and the pres

PoliticsJuly 30, 2024

S. Korea's seaport container cargo up 6.4% in Q2

The amount of container cargo processed at South Korean seaports increased 6.4 percent in the second quarter, data showed Tuesday, driven by stronger shipments to the United States and China. The container cargo handled at the country's ports nationwide amounted to 8.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the April-June period, up from 7.61 million TEUs recorded a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The volume of container cargo handled for exports and

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

NK trash balloons disrupt Incheon Int'l Airport operations on 12 occasions: lawmaker

North Korea's recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South's main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing government data. According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent f

North KoreaJuly 30, 2024

[Contribution] Achieving gender equality through sports: Reflections on Paris 2024

By Philippe Bertoux and Jeongshim Lee The 2024 Paris Olympic Games mark a historic milestone in sports, featuring an equal number of male and female athletes competing for the first time. This should go without saying: After all, women constitute half of the world’s population. In historical context, the 50/50 gender allocation at Paris 2024 is truly significant. In 1900, also in Paris, women competed in the Olympic Games for the first time, but constituted only 2.2 percent of all athlet

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Kim Jong-un's daughter under succession training: lawmaker

Kim Ju-ae, the 12-year-old daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is seen as being groomed for succession, a lawmaker who attended a meeting of the intelligence committee of the National Assembly told reporters Monday. "(According to the National Intelligence Service,) Kim Ju-ae is being suggested as the most likely successor in the regime, as her succession training is currently underway," said Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party, who attended the meeting Monda

PoliticsJuly 29, 2024

Teens spend most of digital social lives on Instagram: data

Instagram has emerged as the social media app South Korea's teens spend the most time on, outpacing KakaoTalk by more than double, data showed Monday. According to data from mobile marketing and data analysis company IGAWorks, Korea's smartphone users under 20 spent a total of 94.1 million hours scrolling on Instagram in June, making the app the leading social media platform in popularity for the age group. This figure was nearly double the time they spent on the next most popular

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Heat wave, tropical nights to persist this week

Heat wave warnings and tropical night phenomena are expected to persist throughout this week, with sporadic rain continuing in the Greater Seoul area and some parts of Gangwon Province until the end of the week, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. On Tuesday, daytime temperatures are expected to reach as high as 36 degrees Celsius, with precipitation ranging between 5 to 30 millimeters for parts of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province and 5 to 10 mm for much of Grea

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

[KH Explains] Korea-Japan breakthrough? Watershed weekend faces challenges

Last weekend marked a significant turning point for South Korea and Japan, as the Yoon Suk Yeol government attempted to move beyond one of the longstanding historical disputes stemming from Imperial Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Simultaneously, the defense chiefs of Seoul and Tokyo, meeting on Japanese soil for the first time in 15 years, committed to revitalizing military exchanges and signed an agreement institutionalizing trilateral security cooperation wi

Foreign AffairsJuly 29, 2024