Human rights watchdog says Korea's carbon neutrality scheme not enough

The state human rights watchdog said Tuesday it has decided to submit its opinion to the Constitutional Court to oppose the Carbon Neutrality Act, saying the law is unconstitutional because the government's target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is too low. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said it opposed the country's Carbon Neutrality Act, which was passed in September 2021, as Article 8 Clause 1 and its implementing ordinance Article 3 Clause 1 are "unconstit

June 13, 2023

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s 5G users top 30m in April: data

　The number of smartphone users on 5G mobile networks had topped 30 million as of April for the first time since the service was commercialized in 2019, data showed. 　The total number of 5G users reached 30.02 million in April, accounting for 38.1 percent of the total 78.79 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. 　SK Telecom, the country’s largest mobile carrier by subscriptions, had the most 5G users at 14.35 million as o

June 13, 2023

Urbanites drink and smoke less, subject to more stress

People living in urban areas are more likely to experience mental stress while those in rural areas are more likely to drink and smoke, data showed Monday. Findings in the 2022 Community Health Survey, conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, showed Seoulites recorded the lowest rate of smoking among the six groups studied, but that they had higher levels of alcohol consumption. Compared to other areas, however, they are less likely to binge drink. The survey looked into the

June 12, 2023

Women accused of beating minors for 'not greeting them properly'

Two women in their 20s were taken in for questioning over on suspicion of assaulting two minors for not greeting them respectfully in Ulsan, according to the city's Ulju Police Station on Monday. The women allegedly summoned two minors -- a middle school student and a high school student -- to the basement of a building located in Ulju-gun, Ulsan at night on June 4. They are suspected of forcing the students to kneel and slapping their faces for 20 minutes. The two women are also suspected

June 12, 2023

Bidding farewell to Korean age system

South Korea is finally letting go of an age counting method that no other country in the world uses. Under the traditional East Asian way of reckoning age, a person is considered 1 year old at birth, counting the time spent in the mother’s womb as the first year of life, and grows a year older at the turn of the calendar year, regardless of the actual date of birth. Japan dropped the method from its legal system in 1950, and China hasn’t used it since the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolutio

June 12, 2023

Local burger chain under fire for hygiene violation

Korean burger chain Lotteria is facing criticism over alleged hygiene issues, after an employee appeared to reuse a hamburger bun that they had dropped on the floor. After visiting a Lotteria branch in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, a customer filed a complaint that while watching an employee make the burger, the mayonnaise-slathered side of a bun fell to the floor. The complaint alleges the employee picked the bun back up and served it to the customer. According to the customer, the emplo

June 12, 2023

Yoon seeks ways to reveal more identities of offenders in crimes against women

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday ordered the Ministry of Justice to prepare a legislation to disclose the identities of more offenders targeting women, in a bid to appease public anger toward hideous crimes where women fall victim. According to a presidential spokesperson, Yoon ordered the government to do so "to swiftly address legal grey area" regarding the legitimacy over the disclosure of not only suspects but also defendants in courts, at a closed-door meeting of Yoon and his aid

June 12, 2023

Seoul city rolls out ‘BTS Map’ to celebrate band’s 10th anniversary

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Organization on Monday rolled out a BTS map dubbed the “Seoul BTS Map,” consisting of the capital city’s attractions with links to the boy band as the group celebrates its 10th anniversary. As part of “BTS Festa,” a two-week festival set for this month, the map contains places the bandmates visited when they were trainees or areas the group had stopped by to film, the city government said. The BTS map will incl

June 12, 2023

Child dead after playground bench swing breaks

A 12-year-old child died after a playground bench swing broke and collapsed on top of him, officials said Monday. The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday at a playground on the premise of an apartment complex in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province. According to local reports, the steel frame of the bench swing suddenly detached from the base, crushing the deceased boy and hitting another child who was playing in front of it. The surviving child suffered non-life threatening injuries.

June 12, 2023

Man caught 72 floors up climbing Lotte World Tower

A British man on Monday was caught 72 floors above ground climbing Lotte World Tower in Seoul -- the fifth tallest building in the world -- without a rope. Police identified the man as George King-Thompson, and arrested him on charges of trespassing and obstruction of business. Songpa Fire Station received a report at 7:50 a.m. that a man, 23, was scaling the 123-story tower with his bare hands and climbing chalk. The fire authorities dispatched 11 fire engines and 54 personnel. Fifteen police o

June 12, 2023

Police locate 5 out of 10 Vietnamese who fled during questioning

Ten Vietnamese nationals fled a police station in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Sunday during questioning over gambling charges but five of them have been located, officials said. The Gwangju Police Station said officials nabbed one Vietnamese hiding in an undisclosed location in Gwangju, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul, by analyzing CCTV footage and witness testimonies. Two suspects who fled to nearby cities have informed police officials of their plan to surrender, while two others

June 11, 2023

[Hello Hangeul] Korean proficiency test measures memory, not skill

In line with the growing fervor for Korean content, the country has also seen a rise in the number of non-native test-takers for the Korean proficiency test. Launched in 1997, the Test of Proficiency in Korean, or TOPIK, administered by the National Institute for International Education, a government body operating under the Ministry of Education, is a test that measures non-Korean nationals' ability to understand and use the Korean language. The test results are valid for two years, and is

June 11, 2023

Police search for 10 Vietnamese fugitives

Police are searching for 10 Vietnamese nationals who escaped from a police station after being arrested on gambling charges Sunday morning. Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station said Sunday that the escapees had fled the police station by diving out of a window inside the meeting room at around 6:40 a.m, some three hours after they were detained. According to police, the window is 20 centimeters wide and can be tilted inward by 15 degrees. The 10 escapees were among 23 Vietnamese nationals arrested on

June 11, 2023

Female Korean live streamer found dead in Cambodia, Chinese couple arrested

A Chinese couple has been arrested by the Cambodian police on suspicion of murder after the body of a female live streamer of Korean nationality was found near Phnom Penh, officials and reports said Sunday. The woman in her 30s was found dead on June 6, wrapped in a blanket and dumped in a pond, according to Cambodian newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea Daily. Local villagers discovered her body and alerted the police. The Cambodian police soon identified the victim as a Korean woman with over 250,000 fo

June 11, 2023

No. of police officers quitting up 46% in 4 years

While being a police officer has long been considered a job for life in South Korea, an increasing number of officers are leaving the force, citing fatigue from work and difficulties in dealing with the community, data showed Sunday. According to data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to Rep. Chung Woo-taik of the ruling People Power Party, 3,543 police officers quit their jobs last year, a 46.3 percent increase from 2,421 in 2018. In 2019, the police force saw 2,305 officers resign

June 11, 2023

Teenager who sought to derail bullet train by placing rock on railroad to be questioned

Police plan to summon for questioning a teenage boy who allegedly placed a brick-sized rock on a high-speed railroad last week, officials said Sunday. According to Korea Railroad Police and Korail, the state-run railway operator, the incident occurred at around 9 p.m. on Thursday at Singyeongju Station in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. A rail traffic controller who was monitoring the station via closed-circuit cameras noticed the boy trespassing into the restricted railroad area and plac

June 11, 2023

77 industrial spies nabbed in 3-month crackdown: police

A total of 77 people have been arrested in connection with 35 industrial espionage cases during an intensive crackdown, police said Sunday. The National Police Agency conducted the crackdown on industrial espionage activities from Feb. 1 to May 31. Out of the 77 arrests, 27 cases involved corporate espionage within local companies, while eight cases were related to the leaking of technology secrets abroad, including China, according to the NPA. Comparatively, last year's intensive crackdown

June 11, 2023

Lotte World ride comes to stop for 20 minutes, but all 33 rescued safely

A ride at the Lotte World theme park in Seoul came to an abrupt stop Saturday night while carrying 33 people, but all were rescued safely about 20 minutes later, officials said. The Fly Venture ride on the first floor of the theme park in southern Seoul stopped operating around 10 p.m. and all the passengers got out of it safely after theme park officials took emergency measures, officials said. No one was injured in the accident, officials said. (Yonhap)

June 11, 2023

Inside the debate on 'no-kids zones'

One of the most popular cafes located in Itaewon, Seoul, is off-limits to guests aged 12 and under. "Our cafe wasn't a no-kids zone at the beginning," the owner of Cafe Kyeri told The Korea Herald in an interview on May 31. The cafe, located on the edge of the district, aims to provide a quiet and relaxing environment for visitors. That is why it decided to restrict children from entering the venue six years ago, the owner explained. "We would love to have children at the c

June 10, 2023

Passengers on Korean Air flight stranded for hours in Paris

A Korean Air flight from Paris that was to return to South Korea carrying 354 passengers has been delayed for at least 16 hours due to a mechanical problem, The Korea Herald learned Saturday. The incident left its passengers stranded for more than four hours while aboard the airplane as it waited. The plane was initially supposed to take off at 9 p.m. Friday local time at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. But a mechanical error left the flight stuck on the tarmac. "They knew about the proble

June 10, 2023