S. Korea aims to boost health care exports

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it seeks to promote the expansion of medical institutions overseas and facilitate the export of advanced medical systems through deregulation measures and advisory services. Under the plan to promote health and medical exports, the Welfare Ministry on Monday said it sees the global medical market as a promising industry and aims to boost it as a key driver of future growth. The market is expected to grow 6.3 percent annually from $10.4 trillion in 2021 to

June 5, 2023

Real-time monitoring to let commuters check subway crowding

The government is developing a system to monitor how busy subway stations are in the Greater Seoul area on a real-time basis, as part of efforts to avoid accidents due to overcrowding. Development of the data analysis model will be completed by August, the Integrated Data Analysis Center under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Sunday. Starting with Seoul subway stations in September, the congestion levels at each station will be shown on the Seoul Metro app. Ridership inside subway ca

June 5, 2023

Meth user nabbed after asking police to help find lost drugs

A meth user was arrested Sunday after he sought police assistance in locating a bag of methamphetamine that he had lost. According to Gwangju Bukbu Police Station, the suspect, a man in his 40s, had accidentally dropped a white plastic bag containing meth and 1 million won in cash. After realizing that the bag was missing, he went to the nearest police station and stated that he was “in search of a white plastic bag” he had lost. The police, which was holding the man’s plastic

June 5, 2023

Flasher booked for public indecency after being chased by children

Police booked a male college student in his 20s who exposed his genitals to elementary school children who then chased him last week in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, according to news reports on Monday. In video footage taken on May 31 and shown on the cable news channel YTN, the flasher -- wearing a mask, black t-shirt and grey sweatpants -- ran away as soon as he pulled his pants down in front of four elementary school students to display his genitals. The children immediately chas

June 5, 2023

Opposition lawmaker searched over suspected leak of justice minister's personal info

Police seized the mobile phone of Rep. Choe Kang-wook of the main opposition Democratic Party on Monday in a raid conducted as part of an investigation into the alleged leak of personal information of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon. Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confiscated Choe's phone in front of his home in the city of Yongin, south of Seoul, and were trying to search his office at the National Assembly, officials said. Investigators are looking into the alleged

June 5, 2023

7 Vietnamese nabbed for suspected drug use at club

Seven Vietnamese nationals have been apprehended for suspected drug use at a foreigners-only club just southwest of Seoul this week, one month after a crackdown led to 10 drug arrests at the same place, police said Monday. The seven Vietnamese were put under emergency arrest after testing positive for ecstasy and other banned substances in a crackdown that began at 1 a.m. Monday at a Vietnamese-only club in Siheung, 26 kilometers southwest of Seoul, according to the Gyeonggi Siheung Police Stati

June 5, 2023

YouTuber's unauthorized disclosure of suspect's identity stirs controversy

A YouTuber's unauthorized disclosure of the identity of a suspect who was earlier convicted of attempting to murder a stranger, is stirring up a number of controversies, including over whether the right to privacy of a person convicted of a crime outweighs the public's right to know. The YouTuber, who has some 729,000 subscribers and goes by the name Caracula Detective, revealed on Friday the identity of a man who in May 2022 kicked a woman in the head, knocked her down and dragged her

June 4, 2023

Busan murder suspect told police she was being manipulated

The suspect in the murder of a university student in Busan told police that she was being manipulated by a stranger during her first interrogation, according to a news report on Sunday. Suspect Jung Yoo-jung said she "was told by a stranger to steal the identity of a woman they had murdered," while refusing to admit to the murder, broadcaster JTBC reported, quoting the notes from the police interrogation on May 27. But police concluded that her statement was false after examination of

June 4, 2023

Half of prestigious high school students come from districts where quarter of Seoulites live

Nearly half of students attending prestigious high schools came from five districts in Seoul which are believed to have a higher fervor for education compared to the city's other 20 districts, data showed Sunday. Of the total 7,895 students who in 2022 advanced to prestigious high schools -- science high schools, foreign language high schools, international high schools and autonomous private high schools -- 3,671, or 46.5 percent, were those who graduated from middle schools in five distri

June 4, 2023

3 out of 10 university students witness bullying: report

Three out of 10 Korean students attending four-year universities across the nation have witnessed their peers falling victim to bullying, a report said Sunday. The National Youth Policy Institute published a report titled "Research on Bullying Among University Students and a Study on Preventive Measures for Improvement," which included the results of an online survey of 467 undergraduates from four-year colleges nationwide. Among the respondents, 135 students, or 28.9 percent, said t

June 4, 2023

Police may use decibel-measuring device in protests: news report

South Korean police are mulling deployment vehicles equipped with decibel meters at protests in order to determine whether or not the rallies exceed the legally permitted noise level, local media reported Friday. According to local newspaper Chosun Ilbo, the National Police Agency's plan is to convert one of its trucks to fit a noise-measuring device to be used at protests this year, and to acquire another one of these vehicles by next year. The NPA is currently requesting an extra budget t

June 2, 2023

Court orders psychological test for animal abuse sentencing

An appellate court on Friday ordered prosecutors to obtain a psychological test for a defendant accused of committing animal cruelty, in order to consider the appropriate sentence. The Daejeon District Court stated, “While there already exists a series of tests for sexual crimes, there are none for animal cruelty.” “The prosecutors should submit the results of a psychological test to evaluate the possibility of repetition of the crime,” the court added. In response, the p

June 2, 2023

Drunk driver nabbed after car chase ends in police parking lot

A drunk driver was caught after he drove into a police station during his attempt to evade arrest. Incheon Police shared on Thursday a video showing a drunk driver in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, on March 25, saying they were investigating the driver in his 20s for breaching traffic rules and obstructing justice. The footage shows an SUV driving away from police in a business area after being ordered to stop by police investigating a report of suspected drunk driving. While police tried to block the fug

June 2, 2023

LGBT festival seeks alternate venues after Seoul squashes initial request

Organizers of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival said late Thursday that they are still looking for places in Seoul to hold this year’s event, after the Seoul city government refused its initial request to use its usual venue, Seoul Plaza at City Hall. The organizing committee said that it submitted applications with the Seoul Police Station, Seoul Namdaemun Police Station and Jongno Police Station in Seoul to hold the 17-day annual festival for the LGBT community from July 1 in the nation&r

June 2, 2023

To steal victim's identity? What expert says about suspect in Busan murder

Jung Yoo-jung, a 23-year-old suspect in the murdering, dismembering and disposing of the body of a woman in her 20s in Busan, might have killed her with the intention to steal her identity, a profiler suggested Friday. Lee Soo-jung, a criminal psychology professor at Kyonggi University, told MBC that the purpose of the crime may have been "stealing the victim's identity." Lee said, “The victim was a popular tutor on the app. The suspect seems to have tried to steal the victi

June 2, 2023

Police officer indicted for secretly filming 26 women during sex

A police officer was arrested and charged with nonconsensual video recording during sex of partners he had met through a dating app. The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said Friday that it had indicted the officer at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police for breaching the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and for tampering with evidence. The police officer, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of filming 26 women without consent during sex using his

June 2, 2023

S. Korea's defense chief departs for Singapore for security forum

South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup left for Singapore on Friday to attend an annual security forum, where North Korea's evolving military threats, the war in Ukraine and an intensifying Sino-US rivalry are expected to feature prominently. The three-day Shangri-La Dialogue is set to kick off in the city-state later in the day, bringing together senior security officials from more than 40 countries, including the United States, China, Britain, Australia and Japan, according to S

June 2, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 20,000 amid downtrend

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 20,000 on Friday as almost all pandemic-related restrictions were lifted this month. The country reported 19,724 new infections, including 33 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,747,839, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Daily infections remained below 20,000 for the six days through Tuesday but rose above 20,000 on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday's tally is higher than the 17,933 cases a week earlier and t

June 2, 2023

Are Korean police officers underprotected?

Earlier last month, a drunk woman in her 40s was arrested for assaulting and injuring a police officer who tried to apprehend her. The officer in question was reportedly unable to use physical force when arresting the suspect, out of fear that she might file sexual harassment charges against him. Each year, thousands of police officers are attacked while conducting law enforcement. According to the National Police Agency, 5,825 of the 7,001 cases in 2021 involving the obstruction of performance

June 2, 2023

Major children's hospital to end weekend services on pediatrician shortage

A major children's hospital in Seoul said Thursday it has decided to suspend most of its weekend operations starting this month due to a shortage of pediatricians, reflecting the country's dire population crisis. Sowha Hospital announced a temporary suspension of its weekend and holiday operations, except for Saturday mornings, citing "a shortage of medical staff" and the need for "facility maintenance." However, no specific date has been provided for the resumption

June 1, 2023