Families of crowd crush victims hold memorial rally in downtown Seoul

Bereaved families of the victims of the Itaewon crowd crush on Saturday took to the streets of downtown Seoul and installed a memorial altar in a public square without approval from authorities, one day before the 100th day of the tragedy. About 5,000 people, including about 150 family members, marched from a memorial altar at Noksapyeong Station, near the site of the Oct. 29 accident that killed 159 people during Halloween festivities, to Sejongno Street, where they held a memorial rally for th

Feb. 4, 2023

92 people evacuated as fire breaks out in public bathhouse

More than 90 people evacuated Saturday morning as a fire broke out at a public bathhouse in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, according to local media reports. The fire started at 8:07 a.m. from the bathhouse, which uses the second, third and the fourth floor of a six-story building. The fire was put out in around an hour, but smoke billowed into other facilities of the building. Of 92 people who evacuated the scene, three people who inhaled smoke were taken to nearby hospital, including a

Feb. 4, 2023

Hunter sentenced 1 year, 4 months imprisonment for manslaughter

An appellate court on Thursday upheld a prison term for a hunter who shot and killed a taxi driver, mistaking the victim for a boar. The 73-year-old professional hunter was sentenced to one year and four months in prison for murder by occupational negligence at an appellate trial in the second criminal appellate division of Seoul Western District Court on Thursday, reducing the sentence by four months from the lower court’s ruling. The shooting took place around 8 p.m. on April 29 during a

Feb. 3, 2023

Ex-justice minister sentenced 2 years for forging kids' admission documents, abuse of power

Cho Kuk, a former justice minister and close aide of former President Moon Jae-in, was sentenced two years in prison Friday for forging his daughter's credentials which helped her get admitted to medical school. He was also found guilty of abusing his power when he was senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. The court ruled him guilty of using his power to interfere in a probe into bribery allegations against another Moon aide, as well as illegally taking 6 million won ($4,800) fro

Feb. 3, 2023

No more emergency text alerts for COVID-19 cases

The government has advised municipalities to stop sending emergency text alerts on the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the respective cities on growing calls that the system is becoming something of "a nuisance," according to reports quoting the Ministry of Safety on Friday. Several local governments, including Seoul, have stopped sending texts, according to the ministry. The number of COVID-19 cases, instead, can be found on the websites for each municipality. Over the last

Feb. 3, 2023

[Newsmaker] Free subway rides for seniors: Calls mount to raise eligible age to 70

Since 1984, turning 65 in Korea has come with one nice perk: free subway rides. It has encouraged older adults to travel more for social gatherings, hiking and other activities, helping reduce rates of suicide and depression, as well as medical fees, according to research from the Korea Transport Institution. However, as Seoul's city government pushes to raise subway and bus fares from as early as April, on top of a taxi fare hike that started Wednesday and a steep rise in gas and electricity ra

Feb. 3, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to lowest Friday tally in 31 weeks

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Friday tally in 31 weeks amid a gradual downtrend as the government has taken steps to support people's return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 14,961 new cases, including 28 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,228,889, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It is the lowest daily count for any Friday since July 1 last year when the figure came to 9,514. It was about half the level of

Feb. 3, 2023

Customs vows to combat drug trafficking via dark web

South Korea's national customs agency said Thursday it would combat drug trafficking activities, as international drug dealers can reach out to users via encrypted internet. The total volume of drugs confiscated upon arrival came to 624 kilograms in 2022, which the authorities estimate to be equivalent to 8.9 million doses of methamphetamine, cannabis, Chinese pain relievers containing phenobarbital and illegal synthetic drugs combined. Although the figure was halved from that of 2021, this is a

Feb. 2, 2023

Seoul Mayor urges disabled groups to halt subway protests

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon pleaded with a disability rights advocacy group for an end to rush-hour subway protests, stressing that the yearslong rallies have caused serious disruption to public transportation and Seoul citizens’ daily lives. “Seoul citizens have gone through many inconveniences, so I’d like to ask if the disability rights advocacy group could refrain from disrupting the operation of major lines,” Oh said during a meeting with the group held at the Seoul Metro

Feb. 2, 2023

Doctors protest budget cut of state hospital for infectious disease control

Dispute grew on Thursday over the Finance Ministry's budget cut of a state-run hospital, a decision that doctors say undermines years of efforts to strengthen state control of infectious diseases. A group of doctors with the National Medical Center Specialist Council staged an online signature campaign on Tuesday to protest the ministry's decision, addressing fears that the state hospital would not be able to counter the growing threats of viruses if not enough investment is made to

Feb. 2, 2023

Seoul to build forests named after celebrities along Han River

The Seoul metropolitan government’s Hangang Project Headquarters said Thursday that it would help fandoms, organizations and citizens create forests named after celebrities in the Han River Park. Starting this spring, the headquarters plan to build a 10,000 square meter forest dubbed the “Star Forest” in Seoul’s Nanji Hangang Park as it expects a surge in fans’ donations following the increasing popularity of Korean culture. The headquarters said it would actively s

Feb. 2, 2023

Two academics from Sejong University named 2022 Highly Cited Researchers

Two professors from Sejong University were named among the academics listed on the Highly Cited Researchers 2022. Professor Han Hee-sup at the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management was named on the list for four consecutive years, where he was recognized for conducting research in sustainable consumer behavior, Muslim tourism and green marketing. Myung Seung-taek, a professor at the Department of Nano Technology and Advanced Materials Engineering, was named in HCR’s cross-field

Feb. 2, 2023

Seoul city to crack down on teen use of 'Room cafes'

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will launch a special crackdown on “room cafes,” which provide private closed spaces similar to hotel rooms, even to teenagers, officials said Thursday. Municipal officials, police and a civic group will participate in the crackdown from Feb 3 to 13. The facilities called "room cafes" or "multi-rooms," are businesses that provide private spaces, simple snacks, and drinks. They are usually registered as ordinary cafes or general re

Feb. 2, 2023

Mother arrested for abandoning toddler to die at home

A 24-year-old woman was taken into custody by Incheon Police on Thursday on suspicion of neglecting her 2-year-old son at home alone for three days. The child was found dead. Investigation by Incheon Police Station found that the suspect left her home in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, at around 2 p.m. Monday, and returned at 2 a.m. on Thursday. Police took her into custody on suspicion of child abuse, after the suspect herself called the police and said her child was not breathing. The suspect did not st

Feb. 2, 2023

KIS offers diverse learning experiences through MISTI workshop

Korea International School held the Massachusetts Institute of Technology International Science and Technology Initiatives in January for the first time in three years to offer new learning experiences to students. During the weeklong sessions between MIT and KIS students offered context-rich learning to middle and high school students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Some sessions included learning how to design programs using CAD, Onshape and Adobe Illustrator

Feb. 2, 2023

Korean iPhone users lose W2b 'Batterygate' suit

A South Korean court ruled on Thursday that Apple did not deliberately slow down the performance of its iPhone handsets, dismissing some 9,800 Korean smartphone buyers' lawsuit for 2 billion won ($1.64 million) against the United States electronics giant. "The lawsuit is dismissed," a court judge briefly said, without elaborating as to the reason for the ruling. The ruling also indicated the plaintiffs are responsible for the entirety of attorneys' fees. The ruling comes five years aft

Feb. 2, 2023

Maximum 15-year imprisonment to be sought for house rental scam convicts

A maximum of 15-year imprisonment will be sought for those convicted of house rental scams, the government said Thursday, as part of efforts to crack down on a growing number of fraud crimes against tenants. The decision was made during a government meeting presided over by Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho as the country is grappling with increasing cases of house rental scams. Many tenants were left unable to recoup their house rental deposits in a series of "jeonse" frauds. Jeonse is t

Feb. 2, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to lowest Thursday tally in 31 weeks

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Thursday tally in 31 weeks as the country has seen a gradual downward trend and has taken steps to fully regain pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 16,862 new cases, including 45 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,213,928, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It fell from the previous day's 20,420 new cases and was a marked decline from 35,086 cases a week earlier. Thursday's figure

Feb. 2, 2023

Appellate court rules against local temple claiming ownership of Buddhist statue stolen from Japan

DAEJEON -- An appellate court on Wednesday ruled against a Buddhist temple in a civil suit it filed to claim a 14th century statue taken away to Japan centuries ago, and stolen and brought back to South Korea a decade ago. The 50.5-centimeter-tall Buddhist statue from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) was one of the two bronze statues Korean thieves stole from Kannon Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, in October 2012. Claiming its ownership, Buseok Temple in Seosan, 98 kilometers southwest

Feb. 1, 2023

[Korean Dilemma] What ChatGPT means for Korea

Just a couple days ago, I spoke to ChatGPT, the revolutionary artificial intelligence chatbot everyone is gushing about. Yes, it was beyond impressive watching the bot produce concise pieces of writing on any given topic with relevant info extracted from mostly English-language sources on the web within seconds. It even spilled out a nice short story about AI and aliens as soon as I asked for it. It may soon be practically pointless for humans to write simple articles, solve math problems or wri

Feb. 1, 2023