Errors found in state guidelines on water-reactive chemicals

Information regarding how to extinguish fires involving water-reactive chemicals was found to be either incorrect or missing in the information guide of the National Institute of Chemical Safety, a government institution under the Ministry of Environment, according to local media reports. Controversy surrounding the institution’s information guide was raised following a fire that engulfed a lithium battery manufacturing factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Fire officials had tro

June 27, 2024

S. Korea to merge nurseries, kindergartens by 2026

Operations of nurseries and kindergartens will be integrated with the Education Ministry becoming the single institution to manage the overall policies of children up to age 11, the government said Thursday, stressing that the plan is aimed at improving efficiency in policies to tackle the nation's plummeting birth rate. For more than 30 years, Korea's early childhood education and care system has been divided into kindergartens and day care centers under the supervision of the Ministr

June 27, 2024

Battery plant workers died from asphyxiation: police

The 23 deaths in the battery plant fire this week were found to have been caused by asphyxiation, according to officials on Thursday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police's investigation team for the accident at local battery manufacturer Aricell, the operator of the lithium battery plant, said that they received a verbal autopsy opinion from the National Forensic Service that it believed the victims had died of asphyxiation due to the fire. Asphyxiation happens when a substance such as car

June 27, 2024

Figure skater accused of sexual harassment denies allegations, says she was dating the victim

South Korean figure skater Lee Hae-in on Thursday spoke out on the recent allegations about her harassing a younger male skater during last month's training camp, saying the supposed victim and she had been in a romantic relationship at the time. The Korea Skating Union last week suspended Lee for three years for allegedly sexually harassing a male underage skater and drinking alcohol during last month's training camp of the national team conducted in Italy. Another unidentified fema

June 27, 2024

Jeju police enforce laws, issue on-site fines to foreign tourists

Jeju police have launched a crackdown on minor offenses, including jaywalking, littering, smoking on cigarette-free streets and public urination in response to recent complaints from locals over unruly sights involving tourists, officials said Thursday. Within the first hour of Tuesday's crackdown, which lasted around one and a half hours, the police caught nine law violators, the majority of whom were foreign tourists jaywalking. All nine violators were issued on-site fines that were requi

June 27, 2024

Basketball star claims to have been blackmailed by ex-girlfriend

South Korean basketball player Heo Ung of the 2024 KBL champion KCC Egis has recently filed complaints to the police against his former girlfriend for alleged stalking, intimidation and extortion. The Seoul Gangnam Police Station said Wednesday that it is investigating the case involving Heo and a woman he dated from 2018 to 2021. The 30-year-old athlete has claimed that she has been blackmailing him for the past three years, requesting him to pay her a large sum of money. He also accused her of

June 27, 2024

Cash subsidies offered to singles who date, marry in Busan's Saha-gu

Busan’s Saha-gu is preparing a meeting event and support program to provide direct cash subsidies to local residents and workers in the district to start dating and get married. The Saha-gu district council passed a revised supplementary budget to fund the meeting day for local singles, a pilot project for which will take place in October, according to local media reports on Wednesday. The pilot project will select eligible singles born between 1981 and 2001 who either live or work in the

June 27, 2024

[Graphic News] Deadliest fires in South Korea

At least 23 workers lost their lives and eight others sustained injuries in a fire that ravaged the Aricell lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. The blaze, which broke out on the second floor of the plant, claimed the lives of all the deceased victims as they were inspecting and packaging finished battery products. According to police reports, among the victims were 17 Chinese nationals, five South Koreans, and one Laotian. Following are the major fire and related inci

June 27, 2024

Battery plant blaze reveals irregularities in hiring of foreign workers

The massive fire at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday has shed light on the irregularities in the hiring system for workers of foreign nationality here, with local employers suspected of abusing loopholes in the labor law for their benefit, to cut costs while avoiding responsibility. Local battery manufacturer Aricell, the operator of the plant, where the deadly fire killed 23 people, among which 18 were foreign national workers, was later found not to be even a

June 26, 2024

Police, Labor Ministry raid Aricell factory, partners

Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor raided Aricell and partner companies that sourced workers for its battery plant on Wednesday to investigate irregularities in their operations after a deadly fire killed 23 workers and injured eight earlier in the week. The move came a day after the Labor Ministry charged five Aricell officials with violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act and laws on professional negligence resulting in death or serious injury, as well as banning them fro

June 26, 2024

Whooping cough outbreak spreads among Korean students

Schools across Korea are on high alert as cases of whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory illness, surge among students in different regions. Daegu city government officials reported 73 cases of the respiratory disease as of last Thursday, the highest number in the past decade. This is a significant increase from the four cases reported in all of last year. Of the 73 cases, 65 involve students from elementary, middle and high schools in Daegu. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis o

June 26, 2024

Police clear school, parents following teacher's death

The South Korean police said Wednesday that they would not press criminal charges against the parents of students or officials at a Daejeon school, saying they found no evidence of wrongdoing on their part related to last year’s suicide death of a teacher. Eight parents and two officials of Daejeon Yonsan Elementary School were under investigation for charges including obstruction of performance of official duties, with claims of alleged "excessive and malicious" complaints aga

June 26, 2024

YouTube linked to kids' reduced self-control: study

Do you find that kids today seem to lack patience and throw tantrums more often? A team of Korean psychiatrists point to YouTube as a potential culprit in their recently published study. Professor Shin Yun-mi and researchers at Ajou University studied 195 children aged 5 to 8 for 3 years between 2018 and 2021, measuring their temperament, YouTube usage patterns, and emotional and behavioral problems. Their findings suggest frequent YouTube use negatively impacts children’s temperament, a

June 26, 2024

Hangeul Party spreads beauty of Korean characters in Vietnam

Hangeul Party, an event aimed at promoting the beauty of Hangeul, which has played a crucial role in shaping Korean culture, was held in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City from June 21 to 24. The event was hosted and organized by the nongovernmental organization Hangeul Planet and The Korea Herald and sponsored by HiteJinro, South Korea's dominant soju and beer seller. At the Hangeul Party, students who major in Korean language at two Vietnamese universities -- the University of Economics and

June 26, 2024

Seoul wins UN Public Service Award for combatting digital sex crimes

SONGDO, Incheon -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government won a UN Public Service Award for its comprehensive policies combatting digital sex crimes at the UN Public Service Forum held in Songdo, Incheon, Wednesday. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, along with Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and UN Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua and 1,000 representatives from 100 different countries, attended Wednesday’s event. The UN Public Service Awards, first launched in 2003, are gi

June 26, 2024

Yonsei med profs to walkout indefinitely starting Thursday

The emergency committee of medical professors at Yonsei University said Wednesday afternoon it would walk out indefinitely in protest against the government's medical reform policies starting Thursday, fading hopes of an end to months of disruption in the country. A total of 531 out of 735 professors -- who double as senior doctors at Severance Hospitals in Seoul's Seodaemun-gu, Gangnam and Yongin in Gyeonggi Province -- voted in favor of striking. They said they would withdraw from th

June 26, 2024

Dispute rises over police deploying officers to plant fire site without gas masks

Korean National Police Agency has been embroiled in a controversy over an anonymous claim that it dispatched a strike unit to Monday's deadly battery plant fire site without gas masks. Police told local media that the controversial action was due to the officers being deployed in the area that was over 100 meters away from the battery plant in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. A person claiming to be a member of the police special operation unit said Tuesday that the unit had been s

June 26, 2024

Son Heung-min's father accused of child abuse at soccer academy

Son Woong-jung, father of South Korea national soccer team captain Son Heung-min, and two of the coaches at his soccer academy have been accused of verbally and physically abusing a youth athlete, local police said Wednesday. Parents of the child in question filed a complaint with authorities on March 19 against Son and two coaches at the Son Football Academy, where the elder Son is the director, in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. They said that Son had verbally abused their son for making mistak

June 26, 2024

N. Korea's trash balloons cause disruptions at Incheon Airport

Trash-filled balloons sent by North Korea disrupted the takeoff and landing of multiple airplanes at Incheon Airport early Wednesday. According to the Incheon International Airport Corp., the balloons caused delays of operations related to domestic and international flights that were scheduled to take off or land there between 1:46 a.m. and 4:44 a.m. The runways were fully operational as of Wednesday morning. Officials explained that the restriction was due to concerns that balloons could get

June 26, 2024

3 battery factory officials booked over deadly fire

Three officials at lithium battery maker Aricell were booked Wednesday for allegedly violating the industrial safety laws in connection with this week's deadly factory fire that claimed 23 lives, labor authorities said. The labor ministry's special investigation team said the government issued an order for Aricell to completely suspend the entire operations of its gutted plant in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, as of 9 a.m. Wednesday. As many as 23 employees, mostly foreigners,

June 26, 2024