State panel demand government apology for coup gunshot victim

A state reconciliation panel confirmed Thursday that a civilian was shot by soldiers during a military coup 62 years ago, recommending compensation be paid by the state. The victim, who suffered a lifetime of pain from the gunshot wound, has finally been granted the possibility of receiving financial reparation. On May 16, 1961, then-Major General Park Chung-hee led a military coup against former President Yun Po-sun's government. The victim, who is only identified by the surname Cho, was s

Feb. 16, 2023

Child dies after drowning at pool during 3:1 lesson

A six-year-old boy who was found facedown in a swimming pool in Busan during a 3:1 lesson died Wednesday afternoon, the Busan police said Thursday. The boy had been in critical condition for a week since the accident. The child was found unconscious near a pool ladder at around 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 8, and it was determined that he drowned after his life jacket became stuck between the ladder’s rungs while he was diving into the water. Surveillance camera footage shows the swimming instructo

Feb. 16, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 13,000 on gradual downtrend

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 13,000 on Thursday, logging a marked on-week decline amid a gradual virus downtrend. The country reported 12,519 new infection cases, including 24 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,397,720, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. It was a decline from 14,957 cases a day earlier. Compared with the previous week, the latest figure marked about a 15 percent fall. The KDCA reported 22 deaths from COVID-19, putting the deat

Feb. 16, 2023

Korea not safe from quakes anymore: experts

South Korea, located on the relatively stable Eurasian Plate, has generally been considered safe from earthquakes. But authorities and experts here are voicing concerns that it is not a safe zone anymore, citing the growing number of earthquakes detected in recent years, changes in geology making Korea more vulnerable to big quakes in nearby regions, and most importantly, inefficient regulations that could minimize the damage if a quake happens. According to Korea Meteorological Administration&#

Feb. 15, 2023

Korea, Mongolia pledge rare earths cooperation

South Korea and Mongolia will expand cooperation in exploring, developing and trading rare metals in Mongolia to bolster the supply chain of Korea's electronic goods and components. According to the South Korean Prime Minister's office, the two countries agreed to set up a new committee co-led by South Korea’s Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Il-jun and Mongolia's Mining and Heavy Industry Minister Ganbaatar Jambal, to hold an annual regular meeting on

Feb. 15, 2023

Actress summoned over Bithumb investigation involving ex-boyfriend

Actress Park Min-young was summoned as a witness by prosecutors investigating Kang Jong-hyun, her ex-boyfriend and a businessman known to be the de-facto owner of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, over embezzlement charges, fraudulent transactions and dereliction of duty. According to legal professionals and local media, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office questioned Park on Monday over possible involvement in Kang’s alleged crimes, probing whe

Feb. 15, 2023

Turkish Embassy in Seoul declines used goods and warns of fake news

The Turkish Embassy in Seoul is asking Koreans not to donate used goods, and are warning against fake news about donations. The embassy announced Sunday that it would not be accepting any used materials to send to Turkey, citing a lack of infrastructure at the goods' destination. The earthquake has destroyed public health infrastructure, leaving the Turkish authorities in affected regions unable to sterilize the donated goods before they are distributed. Following the decision by the embass

Feb. 14, 2023

Selling your Seoul: Why city slogans keep changing

Seoul city is moving to replace its eight-year-old slogan, "I.Seoul.U," by putting two new candidates, "Seoul, My Soul" and "Seoul for You," to an online vote for the next 30 days starting Wednesday. The city government under Oh Se-hoon has stated that a new slogan is needed as the current one lacks popularity and does not make sense. In calling time on the slogan, Oh is erasing one of the legacies of the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who died amid a sexual harass

Feb. 14, 2023

Argentine police arrest Korean man who killed his wife, secretly buried her

Argentinian police have arrested a Korean man on suspicion of killing his wife and concealing the body, saying he admitted to the crime after a suicide attempt. The Korean man, identified by his surname Kim, allegedly admitted to choking his wife to death on Thursday and secretly burying her in a farm in San Martin, in Argentina’s Mendoza province. According to Argentinian media outlet Sitio Andino, a report was dialed through 911 early Monday morning that a man had consumed poison. Police

Feb. 14, 2023

Man arrested for removing electronic anklet to abduct ex-girlfriend

A man in his 20s was arrested after he removed his GPS-equipped electronic monitoring anklet to kidnap his ex-girlfriend. The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for the accused person, only identified by his surname Kim, on Monday. The court, however, dismissed the arrest warrant for the offender’s abettor, only identified by his surname Lee, explaining that Lee’s criminal charges could not be sufficiently proven. The two offenders allegedly broke into Kim’s

Feb. 14, 2023

Family conflict most common reason migrant women seek advice

Family conflict was the most common reason cited by migrant women seeking advice from Seoul City's counseling center, statistics showed Tuesday. Of the total number of counseling services provided by the Seoul Migrant Women's Counseling Center, family conflict topped the list with 35.8 percent, followed by advice on everyday life and legal matters with 18.3 percent and 16.5 percent, respectively. Visas were also a common point of concern, making up for 7.4 percent. Counseling related

Feb. 14, 2023

PM calls for swift implementation of tasks to empower local governments

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo instructed the Cabinet on Tuesday to swiftly carry out what is necessary to follow up on a plan to delegate some of the central government's powers to local governments. Han issued the instruction, referring to a plan unveiled during a meeting presided over by President Yoon Suk Yeol last week to transfer 57 kinds of administrative authority from the central government to local administrations in order to help provincial regions find their own growth engines. &qu

Feb. 14, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases in 14,000s as virus wanes

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit around 14,000 on Tuesday, marking a moderate fall from the previous week amid a declining virus trend. The country reported 14,371 new infection cases, including 26 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,369,744, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Tuesday's count is down by 1,741 from 16,112 reported a week earlier. The KDCA reported 11 deaths from COVID-19, putting the death toll at 33,758. The number of critically ill

Feb. 14, 2023

[Graphic News] What to do during an earthquake

The death toll from last week’s massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria has now reached more than 28,000. Deadly earthquakes are unusual here, but South Korea is not in a safe zone. Recently, a 2.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Boeun, North Chungcheong Province, Saturday. Fortunately, no damage has been reported. Following is what you should do in the case of an earthquake:

Feb. 14, 2023

Suwon strives to boost equal citizenship, green growth and culture

The city of Suwon, south of Seoul, is famous for the UNESCO-listed heritage site of Hwaseong Fortress, but over the years, it has fared better by becoming a city with stable governance. Suwon, the capital of Gyeonggi Province and the largest of its 31 cities, responded promptly to the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago, demonstrating its capabilities in handling the crisis and ensuring its citizens’ safety. The local government is now taking steps toward becoming a city of equal citizenship

Feb. 13, 2023

Taxi driver convicted for dropping passenger off on motorway

A taxi driver was found guilty of death by occupational negligence for letting a drunk passenger out at the edge of a motorway in an appellate trial. Busan High Court threw out a lower court's acquittal and sentenced the driver to one year in prison, suspended for two years. The driver has also been ordered to carry out 40 hours of social services. “Taxi drivers are responsible for protecting passengers until they reach the destination, as well as taking safety measures for them,&rdqu

Feb. 13, 2023

[Newsmaker] [Herald Interview] ChatGPT shows limitations in East Asian languages, but not for long: linguist

  ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot taking the English-speaking world by storm, is being called by many as a mind-blowing “game changer.” For now, East Asian countries, which use their own search engines and platforms different from the rest of the world, are spared by the immediate impact, although it won’t be long before AI is trained to get information from them as well, according to Jieun Kiaer, a professor of Korean linguistics at the University of Oxford.

Feb. 13, 2023

Convicts who lured teens into sex work get more jail time for physical abuse

A group of people in their 20s, who were previously sentenced to serve between two to seven years in prison for luring teenagers into sex work, have been given additional prison terms for physically abusing their friends. The Chuncheon District Court on Monday sentenced the three main convicts -- all in their mid-20s -- to between 26 months and 32 months in additional time for breaching the so-called "punishment of violences act." Seven other offenders, who allegedly tracked down and b

Feb. 13, 2023

Car accident kills 5 Korea Univ. students on way to ski resort

Five university students were killed in a single-vehicle accident after the car crashed and caught fire in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, on early Sunday morning. The students -- believed to be one female and four male students, all in their 20s -- were from Korea University, the school confirmed after the incident. They were also reportedly members of the Korea University Ski Team Association, a union ski club consisting of nearly 40 Korean universities. According to fire authorities and police

Feb. 13, 2023

COVID-19 cases hit 7-month low 2 weeks after eased masking

The number of daily novel coronavirus cases in South Korea hit 5,174, its lowest count in seven months, government data showed Monday. It marked the lowest point since June 27, 2022, when Korea counted 3,419 daily cases, according to data by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest figure has brought Korea's accumulated number of COVID-19 cases to 30.35 million. In general, figures announced on Mondays tend to be lower due to fewer people taking tests over the weekend. St

Feb. 13, 2023