11-year-old boy dies from alleged abuse by father, stepmother

A 39-year-old father and 42-year-old stepmother were arrested by police in Incheon, west of Seoul, Tuesday, on suspicion of aggravated child abuse resulting in the death of their fifth-grade son. An investigation by Incheon Police Station found that the 11-year-old boy had sustained multiple bruises on his body, which are presumed to be wounds inflicted by physical abuse. According to police, the father himself had called 119 -- a line for emergency and rescue equivalent to 911 in the US -- at a

Feb. 8, 2023

Seoul cancels plan for new bus fare system, but fare hikes still on

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, while moving to raise fares for buses and the subway to cover mounting losses, backpedaled Wednesday on its plan to introduce a new distance-based fare system for buses after facing public backlash. The initial plan, which was recently submitted by the municipal government to the city council, called for raising the basic fare for intra-city buses by 300 won ($0.24) or 400 won from 1,200 won, and the inter-city bus fare by 700 won from 2,300 won. On top of that

Feb. 8, 2023

Seoul mayor elected to C40 Steering Committee

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been elected by majority vote as vice chairman of the Steering Committee of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group for the East, Southeast Asian and Oceania regions, the city government said Wednesday. In line with the organization’s initiative to make the world’s cities greener and more sustainable, Seoul would take the lead in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, it added. “We will seek ways to contribute to the fight against the climate crisis thr

Feb. 8, 2023

Seoul City to build Ferris wheel, green spaces to attract more tourists

The Seoul city government has proposed building a mega Ferris wheel and more green spaces as part of an upgraded urban planning project aimed at making the capital more liveable and attractive to tourists, Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Tuesday. Under the plan, the city aims to build a Ferris wheel larger than the London Eye, with the mayor saying that it will become Seoul's landmark. The London Eye stands at 135 meters tall, and has a maximum capacity of 800 people. Haneul Park in Sangam-dong in

Feb. 8, 2023

Subway murderer gets 40-year prison term for revenge killing

Jeon Joo-hwan, who fatally stabbed an ex-coworker at her workplace to seek revenge last year, was sentenced 40 years of imprisonment and labor at a district court on Tuesday. Jeon, 31, was also ordered to put on a tracking device for an additional 15 years after his release from prison. Jeon was earlier sentenced to nine years behind bars for stalking the same victim in a district court, which both prosecutors and Jeon appealed. A judge at the Seoul Central District Court said the murder was int

Feb. 7, 2023

Depression risk befalls most young Korean moms: study

Over 60 percent of Korean moth[1]ers aged 24 and under show signs of depression, a recent study by state-run institutes showed. The state-run National Youth Policy Institute and Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs conducted a survey on 101 mothers in that age group across the country based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-11, which asks people how they felt or behaved in the previous week It found that 61.4 percent of mothers surveyed scored 16 or more, which in

Feb. 7, 2023

Korea to keep remaining COVID-19 rules until WHO lifts alert

South Korea will weigh whether to lift the remaining COVID-19 policies based on the World Health Organization decision on the status of the disease, the country’s public health chief said Tuesday. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jee Young-mee said in a press conference that while the discussions around the future course of COVID-19 policies have begun within the government, the decision on any change would likely come after the WHO withdraws its official emergency

Feb. 7, 2023

Seoul Court orders Korea to pay W30m to Vietnam War victim

A local court in Seoul on Tuesday ordered the South Korean government to pay 30 million won ($23,900) in compensation to a Vietnam War victim, holding the country accountable for a wartime massacre of civilians. The Seoul Central District Court also ordered that the Seoul government be held responsible for any interest on payments to the plaintiff delayed for five decades, as well as the plaintiff's attorney fees. This is the first court ruling in history here that recognizes the state's account

Feb. 7, 2023

Korea sends condolences and aid to Turkey, Syria quake victims

Following a devastating earthquake that struck central Turkey and northwest Syria, Koreans from all walks of the life on Tuesday expressed condolences to the victims and their families and showed their support for rescue missions in search of survivors. Calling for international assistance to people who lost homes and families, Koreans said they would stand in solidarity with those in Turkey and Syria struggling to respond to the biggest quake in 84 years in the area. “A disaster is not ea

Feb. 7, 2023

Police panned in performance review over Itaewon response

The Korean National Police Agency received the lowest "C" rating in the government's annual performance evaluation over its response to the Itaewon crowd crush that claimed 159 lives in October 2022, the report showed Tuesday. "The lack of measures to prevent the Itaewon crowd crush and the response to address it was why we came up with the rating," Paek Il-hyun, deputy minister for government performance evaluation at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, told

Feb. 7, 2023

Disgraced ex-minister's daughter says she feels proud, qualified as a doctor

The high-profile daughter of the disgraced former Justice Minister Cho Kuk has said she does not feel ashamed of herself at all despite her parents' conviction for forging her academic documents. Cho Min, who has made headlines over suspicions that her parents fabricated various academic documents to get her into a medical school, made the remarks in a YouTube interview on Monday, three days after her father was given a two-year prison sentence on multiple charges, including those related t

Feb. 7, 2023

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

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 20,000 for the sixth straight day Tuesday, signaling a downtrend in the virus wave. The country reported 16,120 new cases, including 29 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,279,381, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The Tuesday tally is down from 19,617 of the previous week and up from 5,850 of the previous day, the lowest daily count in 224 days. The country added 10 COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, bringing the

Feb. 7, 2023

Ex-gov't employee summarily indicted for alleged attempt to sell Jungkook's lost hat

Prosecutors have summarily indicted a former foreign ministry employee on charges of attempting to sell BTS member Jungkook's lost hat online for 10 million won ($7,950), legal sources said Tuesday. The former government employee, whose identity has been withheld, allegedly shared a photo of the bucket hat on an online flea market, claiming the K-pop superstar had left it at the ministry building in Seoul when he visited to apply for a passport. The seller further said he had acquired the o

Feb. 7, 2023

Seongnam City Hall raided in development corruption investigation

Prosecutors raided Seongnam City Hall on Tuesday as part of a high-profile development corruption investigation involving opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, officials said. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sent investigators to the City Hall and Asia Developer, a private real estate developer, to seize evidence related to the investigation. The probe centers on allegations that the municipal government of Seongnam gave special administrative favors to Asia Developer in 2015, which led

Feb. 7, 2023

[From the Scene] 'Room cafes' let S. Korean teens indulge in forbidden desires

In Sinchon, the student area near Seoul's Yonsei University, "Room Cafe" signs vie for the attention of passersby. But these are not just places for coffee or dessert. Instead they offer a maze of rooms, typically less than 3 square meters. Each has a TV, and often a bathroom with a shower and a bed. Many of them openly cater to minors, who are banned from using motel rooms with someone of the opposite sex. The rate for staying at a room cafe is around 10,000 won ($8) per hour --

Feb. 6, 2023

Military police launch probe into alleged motor drill violence in Army

Military police said Monday they had launched an investigation after a report that a sergeant had abused a soldier with a motor drill. According to a military statement, a sergeant at a unit located in the greater Seoul metropolitan area was reported Sunday for using a motor drill on the arm of a soldier on Friday. The names of the perpetrator and victim have not been disclosed. The sergeant appeared at the unit's cafeteria with a motor drill in his hand and, without warning, began to drill

Feb. 6, 2023

How old is a ‘senior’ for elderly Seoulites?

Elderly Seoulites consider those above 72.6 years old as senior citizens here, a survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Government showed Monday. The figure is the average age of the respondents who answered “yes” when asked if they consider themselves as seniors. The 2022 report on the welfare and living conditions of the elderly in Seoul compiled by the city government was based on a survey conducted from June to August, including a face-to-face survey with 3,010 respondents above 65. Cu

Feb. 6, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to lowest tally in 224 days

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest tally in 224 days on Monday, a week after the country lifted most mandatory indoor mask-wearing rules amid a COVID-19 downtrend. The country reported 5,850 new cases, including 20 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,263,261, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It is the lowest daily count since June 27 last year when the figure came to 3,419. The country added 18 COVID-19 deaths Monday, bringing the d

Feb. 6, 2023

[My Hangeul Story] Meet Billy, YouTube’s self-starter Korean tutor

YouTube is home to a myriad of creators catering to people interested in Korean language and culture, but not many have the presence of Billy Go. The 36-year-old American has nearly 544,000 followers, amassed through a decade of engagement and several hundreds of tutoring clips and posts. His YouTube channel, which started in 2012, “Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean” mostly features short-form videos of 10 minutes or less that teach the Korean alphabet, words and phrases, as well

Feb. 6, 2023

5 of crew members missing from fishing boat capsizing

SINAN -- 5 of crew members missing from fishing boat capsizing found dead Rescuers searching a 24-ton fishing boat that capsized off the southwestern coast found five missing crew members dead inside the shipwreck Monday, Coast Guard officials said. Seawater started to flood the ship's engine room, causing the vessel, the Cheongbo, to overturn at 11:19 p.m. Saturday in waters 16.6 kilometers west of the uninhabited island of Daebichi that lies some 20 km from the southwestern county of

Feb. 6, 2023