Investment firm head arrested for alleged stock manipulation

The head of an investment consulting firm was arrested Thursday for suspected stock manipulation that has shaken the local financial markets. The Seoul Southern District Court issued an arrest warrant for Ra Deok-yeon, the head of an unregistered investment consulting firm, citing the risk of him destroying evidence and fleeing. Prosecutors had filed for the writ late Wednesday and the court held a detention hearing earlier in the day. Ra's firm was at the center of the recent collapse of s

May 11, 2023

Korean-Chinese arrested for killing 2, injuring 1 in stabbing rampage

A Korean-Chinese man allegedly enraged by an internet gambling loss went on a stabbing spree in a working-class neighborhood, southwest of Seoul, earlier this week, killing two people and seriously injuring a third, police said Thursday. The suspect, a 39-year-old Chinese national of Korean descent, was apprehended by police after committing the murders at a permanent rental apartment in Siheung, 26 kilometers from Seoul, at around 8 p.m. Wednesday. He reportedly began the stabbing spree after l

May 11, 2023

Man given 3-yr imprisonment for starving over 1,000 cats, dogs to death

A man in his 60s was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for starving to death more than 1,000 cats and dogs abandoned by breeding farms. The sentence, delivered by the Suwon District Court's branch in Yeoju, 61 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is the maximum penalty the country's Animal Protection Act allows for animal cruelty. The 66-year-old man was indicted on charges of starving more than 1,000 cats and dogs to death since February 2020. He took over the animals, abandoned b

May 11, 2023

Seoul issues first ozone advisory this year

Seoul saw its first ozone advisory of the year take effect Thursday in southwestern parts of the city. The advisory was issued at 3 p.m. in the city's seven southwestern districts, including Dongjak, Guro and Yangcheon Ward. The ozone advisory is issued when ozone concentration levels reach an hourly average of 0.12 parts per million (ppm). The average in the southwestern districts stood at 0.121 ppm at 3 p.m., according to the city. Ozone exposure can lead to respiratory diseases, especial

May 11, 2023

Seoul to fortify flood-prone basement apartments

Flood control barriers will be installed in at least 20,000 flood-prone basement apartments in Seoul by June, the government said Thursday, as the country is expected to face more extreme summertime weather this year. The underground flats, also known as "banjiha," have been identified as most vulnerable to flooding under an ongoing government inspection of 220,000 banjiha that will end this month. It comes as the city is bracing itself for the rainy season as forecasts predict El Nino

May 11, 2023

At last, an end to COVID-19 emergency in South Korea

COVID-19 will no longer be classified at the highest degree of emergency in South Korea from June, three years and four months after its designation as such. President Yoon Suk Yeol convened a meeting of Cabinet members in charge of the COVID-19 response on Thursday and announced the country would be exiting the state of national emergency. “Today the government COVID-19 response headquarters decided to downgrade COVID-19’s status as an emergency. It is a delight that South Koreans w

May 11, 2023

Mixed feelings as Koreans set to return to pre-pandemic normalcy

Excitement at going back to normal life and a sense of relief was what Lee Ji-eun felt when she heard the news on Thursday morning that South Korea will lift nearly all COVID-19 restrictions, three years and four months after the country recorded its first case. “It gives me a complicated feeling that the pandemic that struck us so hard is fading. Many hospitals have already eliminated beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients, so it is unlikely that there will be any major changes in our work a

May 11, 2023

Teen booked on allegations of forcibly 'practicing' tattooing on other teens

A teen has been arrested for forcibly inscribing a 22-centimeter-long tattoo on another teen. The Incheon Nonhyeon Police Department handed over the teenager to prosecutors for allegedly threatening a fellow middle school student and forcing him to get the tattoo, according to a YTN report on Thursday. The assailant faces charges of coercion and violating medical laws as tattooing and semi-permanent makeup can only be performed by medical professionals under current South Korean law. The victim

May 11, 2023

Light rain this weekend, followed by summer weather next week

Light rain is expected in southern parts of South Korea this weekend, with some chance of showers in inland areas, the country’s weather agency said Thursday. In store next week is summer weather, with temperatures rising to 28 degrees in Seoul and 30 degrees in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, the Korea Meteorological Administration added. This is 4-5 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature for this time of year. The early-summer like weather is expected to continue until Tuesda

May 11, 2023

Yoo Ah-in postpones police appearance over media presence

Actor Yoo Ah-in, who has been suspected of drug use, postponed his scheduled appearance before the Seoul Metropolitan Police on Thursday after finding a group of reporters waiting for him at the entrance of the police building. This is the second time he has postponed an appearance for police questioning. His first postponement was in March, when he complained that his summon date was leaked to the media. Yoo was scheduled to appear before the police at 10 a.m. to answer questions about his alle

May 11, 2023

Woman wins lottery after quarrel with husband

A woman has won the first and second prizes in an annuity lottery after buying the tickets to cheer herself up after an argument with her husband. According to an interview she gave to Donghang Lottery, the operator of Yeongeum Bokgwon 720+, the winner, whose identity has been withheld, purchased the winning tickets at a shop in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, because she was “feeling down” and wanted to distract herself. After realizing that she has won, the first person she thoug

May 11, 2023

Yoon announces end to nearly all COVID-19 restrictions

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday declared an end to almost all COVID-19 restrictions, including mandatory isolation. Yoon said during a COVID-19 response meeting that the seven-day mandatory isolation period for COVID-19 patients will be reduced to a recommendation of five days. Yoon also said the indoor mask mandate will be lifted everywhere except for hospitals with rooms for hospitalization, and the national crisis level for COVID-19 will be lowered from "serious" to "alert.

May 11, 2023

No country for working moms?

Last month, the Labor Ministry launched an investigation into claims that a female software developer at Naver, the nation’s top internet firm, committed suicide after being bullied at work because she was a working mom. The bereaved family of the unnamed developer, who died last September, claimed that the victim was subject to discrimination since returning from maternity leave. The family requested that the ministry investigate the local tech firm for alleged violations of the Labor Sta

May 11, 2023

2 Kazakhstanis, 1 Tajikistani arrested for arranging 149 fake refugee claims

Police arrested two Kazakhstan nationals and a Tajikistan national for arranging fake refugee claims for 149 people with nationalities from Russia and Central Asian countries, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday. The three brokers allegedly took up to 1.5 million won ($1,130) from each person for fabricating documents so that they could fit the qualifications required to get refugee status in Korea from May 2022 to April 2023. None of the 149 -- who claimed they were subjected to terror threats,

May 10, 2023

Uzbek worker dies after falling into hot water tank at pipe factory

An Uzbekistan national working at a factory in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province died from injuries sustained from falling into a tank filled with 67-degree hot water while on duty. The deceased, a man in his 20s, was operating the temperature control panel of the hot water tank used in metal pipe production when he slipped and fell into the 1.5-meter-deep, 1.5-meter-wide, 7-meter-long tank, said the Yangsan Police on Wednesday. His demise comes nine days after getting treatment for his severel

May 10, 2023

NK hackers' message to South investigators in 2021 cyber theft: don't touch

In May 2021, the server of Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul was hacked. It was suspected that North Korea was behind the attack. After a two-year investigation, Seoul police concluded Wednesday that the hacking was carried out by the North Korean hacking group known as "Kim Su-ki" and that it stole the personal information of over 830,000 people, including the medical records of 810,000 patients. It is suspected that the hackers, using malware, looked into the medical record

May 10, 2023

8 caught digging tunnel to steal oil

Eight people were apprehended for attempting to steal oil from a public pipeline by digging an underground tunnel, police said Tuesday. The police caught the suspects at the site of the tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province in March after being tipped off by the National Intelligence Service, Daejeon Provincial Police Agency said on Tuesday. The case was handed to the prosecution while the four suspects, including the 58-year-old leader, were detained. The suspects dug a 9-meter tunne

May 10, 2023

Forensic drug tests jump 30% on-year in Jan.-April: report

The number of illegal drug-related forensic analysis requests received by the National Forensic Service in the first four months of this year was up over 30 percent from a year earlier, local media reported Wednesday. Citing a senior researcher of the state-run crime lab, Kookmin Ilbo reported that from January to April the NFS received a total of 24,242 such cases, including drug screenings and post-mortem narcotics tests. This marks an increase of 33.8 percent from the corresponding period in

May 10, 2023

'Earthquake swarm' hits East Sea

A cluster of minor earthquakes and tremors have hit Donghae, Gangwon Province, this year in a rare phenomenon known as an "earthquake swarm." The latest was a magnitude 2.5 earthquake struck at 4:32 p.m. on Wednesday, 4 kilometers south of Donghae, marking a total of 44 earthquakes around the area this year, according to the Korea Methodological Agency. An earthquake swarm is defined as relatively small earthquakes clustered within a small area and short period. Of the 44 earthquakes t

May 10, 2023

Top court stops eviction of insolvent shop tenant citing pandemic

South Korea's top court has ruled that a shop tenant who couldn't pay the rent during the COVID-19 pandemic should not be evicted, news reports said Wednesday, quoting the court's decision. The ruling by the Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed by the tenant against the landlord confirmed the lower courts' decisions that the landlord could not get rid of tenants behind on their monthly rent, ruling in favor of the plaintiff. The landlord’s appeal to the Supreme Court was di

May 10, 2023