Man beats mother to death for refusing to let him move out

A man in his 30s was sentenced to seven years in prison for beating his mother to death because she refused to allow him to move out, according to legal professionals and media reports Sunday. The man assaulted his mother in January after she refused her son’s request to move out of the house. The mother reportedly suffered severe bodily injuries, sustaining broken ribs and a ruptured left kidney. She was sent to a nearby hospital and treated herself in emergency care, but later died from

May 15, 2023

Teachers’ job satisfaction plummets to all-time low

A majority of Korean teachers said they wouldn’t choose to teach if they had the choice, as job satisfaction for the profession hit an all-time low, a survey showed Sunday. Some 80 percent of 6,751 teachers at kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools and university said in the poll they wouldn’t be teachers if they were born again, according to the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations. When asked if they were satisfied with pursuing a career in teaching, only

May 15, 2023

Alert level raised after 4.5 magnitude quake hit East Sea

South Korea heightened its earthquake alert level by one notch from blue to yellow as a 4.5-magnitude quake was detected off the east coast Monday morning, affecting cities on the nation's eastern coast. The alert level is raised when at least three quakes are detected in a specific area within a short range of time, and calls for cooperation between several government bodies on the issue, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's office said in a statement. Han urged the Interior Ministry to insp

May 15, 2023

[Graphic News] Number of rail passengers above pre-pandemic level in Q1

The number of rail passengers in South Korea shot up 44 percent on-year in the first quarter as the country returned to pre-pandemic normalcy, government data showed. Around 39.2 million people traveled on railways in the January-March period, rising sharply from 27.2 million tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The figure excludes subway passengers. The figure represents a 0.7 percent rise from the first quarter of 2019, befor

May 15, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 10,000

South Korea's new coronavirus cases dipped below 10,000 on Monday, as the country moved to end almost all COVID-19 restrictions and return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 7,178 cases, including 16 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,415,280, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Monday's tally was down from 8,164 cases a week ago but was higher than the 5,772 two weeks ago. The country added seven COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 3

May 15, 2023

Yoon thanks teachers on Teachers' Day

President Yoon Suk Yeol thanked all teachers Monday for their love and dedication to children as he marked Teachers' Day. "On Teachers' Day, I deeply thank you for your love and dedication," he wrote in a Facebook message. "Raising a person is impossible without love. It is thanks to teachers' love and dedication that our children are able to grow brighter and healthier," he added. Yoon is scheduled to hold a luncheon with a group of teachers at his office la

May 15, 2023

Ruling party, govt. decide to ask Yoon to veto nursing act

The ruling People Power Party and the government decided Sunday to ask President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto the opposition-led nursing act amid strong protests from doctors and assistant nurses against it. The two sides made the decision after a high-level policy consultation meeting attended by People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong and presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki. The nur

May 14, 2023

American couple who sheltered Korean tourists in blizzard visit Korea

On Dec. 23 last year, a group of South Korean tourists became stranded in Buffalo, New York, during a heavy blizzard on their way to Niagara Falls. Their van got stuck in the snow, so two of them knocked on the door of a nearby house to ask for shovels to dig the vehicle out of a ditch. That was the home of Alexander Campagna and his wife Andrea, who had planned for a quiet Christmas weekend indoors, with a stocked fridge to wait out the snowstorm. The couple invited the nine travelers plus the

May 14, 2023

Al Gore calls on S. Korea to prioritize investments in clean energy

Former US vice president, businessperson and environmentalist Al Gore expressed caution over South Korea’s plan to increase its generation of nuclear power to over 30 percent of its total energy creation by 2030. “While nuclear can and should continue to play a role in South Korea, it would be a mistake to deprioritize proven and cost-effective solutions like wind and solar energy, which are not only necessary to hit our climate goals, but they allow countries like South Korea to avo

May 14, 2023

Doctors, nursing assistants to strike over Nursing Act as nurses await fate

A coalition of doctors, nursing assistants and other medical professionals is poised to go on a daylong nationwide general strike this week, as the medical sector remains split over the Nursing Act, which was passed in the National Assembly last month, where the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea holds the majority. The coalition of 13 medical associations including the Korea Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association said they would go on a one-day nat

May 14, 2023

Families with group chats have stronger bonds, study shows

Families that communicate in group chat rooms on mobile messaging apps are more likely to have stronger bonds compared to those who don’t, a study showed Sunday. “There is a higher chance that families with group chat rooms feel more satisfaction due to in-depth communication,” according to a report released by the research team led by Sogang University communications professor Cho Jae-hee. “Family members who are part of such chat rooms are more inclined to accept shared

May 14, 2023

5% of Koreans aged 19-34 'isolated' from society: study

Five out of 100 South Koreans aged 19-34 are effectively isolated from society, a new study shows. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the incidence of isolation among youth stood at 5 percent as of 2021. Compared to its previous survey conducted in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, the figure has significantly risen from 3.1 percent. The researchers define "isolation" as the state in which an individual maintains no meaningful social interactions with peo

May 14, 2023

Income inequality widens marriage rates among men

South Korean men in the top income bracket are likelier to be tying the knot, data showed Sunday, suggesting that income inequality could be a major factor in exacerbating marriage and childbearing rates. According to data released by the Korea Labor Institute analyzing labor and fertility trends, men with higher economic status were less likely to be unmarried and childless than low-income men. The finding came to light in research conducted from 2017 to 2019, which excluded variables related t

May 14, 2023

[Photo News] Twins homecoming day

TWINS HOMECOMING DAY -- Quadruplets stood side by side, holding hands at the "Twins Plus Homecoming Day" event held at the Seoul National University playground on Saturday. The Seoul National University Medical Research Center invited families with multiple pregnancies, including twins or more, who were delivered at the hospital, and opened a one-day amusement park. Professor Jeon Jong-kwan of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology explained that the purpose of the event was to ha

May 13, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases stay below 20,000 for 2nd day

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 20,000 for the second consecutive day on Saturday, as the country moved to end almost all COVID-19 restrictions and return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 19,352 cases, including 30 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,390,699, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Saturday's tally was down from 19,989 cases a day earlier but was about 7,000 higher than a week ago. The country added six COVID-1

May 13, 2023

[Photo News] Google chatbot Bard launched in Korean and Japanese

Google chose Korean and Japanese as the first service languages for its artificial intelligence-based chatbot, Bard, to expand its presence to compete with ChatGPT, which is backed by Google’s rival Microsoft. “They're incredibly dynamic and exciting regions, which are at the cutting edge of an opting technology,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Thursday, explaining the reason for launching Bard services in Korean and Japanese in advance of the 40 other most spoken langua

May 12, 2023

Ex-defense minister, officials investigated for abuse of power over martial law remarks

Former Defense Minister Song Young-moo and other high-ranking officials underwent a search and seizure Friday over allegations that Song had committed an abuse of power. He is alleged to have coerced subordinates to lie about his remark on the legitimacy of a hypothetical military crackdown on peaceful protesters demonstrating against former President Park Geun-hye. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials raided the homes and offices of former Minister Song, former reserve

May 12, 2023

Soldier in critical condition after suicide attempt following ‘bullying by superiors'

A 21-year-old man doing his compulsory military service remains unconscious for the sixth day since his suicide attempt on Sunday, which his family claimed was triggered by bullying from his superiors in the military. The victim reportedly attempted to take his own life around 12:15 a.m. at a South Korean Air Force base located in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province, after which he was found by fellow soldiers and moved to a nearby hospital. He has been in intensive care since. The initial investigatio

May 12, 2023

Man breaks woman's nose for allegedly snubbing his friend

A man suspected of breaking a woman's nose after she refused to give her phone number to his friend has been booked by the police in Seoul on Thursday. He is being questioned for assault charges. According to Gangnam Police, an unidentified suspect is accused of punching the female victim around 2:45 a.m. on Sunday in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. The attack resulted in a broken nose, requiring six weeks of medical treatment. Surveillance footage revealed by a local news outlet showed a man

May 12, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 20,000 after apparent endemic declaration

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 20,000 on Friday, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an end to almost all COVID-19 restrictions in the latest step to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 19,989 cases, including 17 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,371,675, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Friday's tally was down from 20,574 cases a day earlier but was higher than the previous Friday's 18,752 cases. The

May 12, 2023