Altman pinpoints chips as Korea's focus in talks with Yoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol and OpenAI Chief Sam Altman engaged in an hour-long conversation at the presidential office in Seoul on Friday, discussing various aspects of artificial intelligence, including the trajectory of AI development, potential risks, solutions, and collaboration opportunities between the US firm and Korean startups. "ChatGPT fever is spreading worldwide,” Yoon told Altman during the meeting, according to the written statement by Yoon’s office. "I tested

June 9, 2023

2023 K-Wellness fair showcases health promotion and industry collaboration

SUWON -- The 2023 K-wellness fair opened in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday, showcasing 140 exhibition booths by more than 30 government agencies and companies under the theme of "Promoting the health of the people and discovering related content." The 2023 K-wellness fair spans three exhibition halls at the Suwon Convention Center, located 41 kilometers southeast of Seoul, showcasing government policies related to family and pregnancy, wellness and tourism content organized by loc

June 9, 2023

Over 18,000 drunk drivers caught in April and May

A total of 18,047 drivers were caught drunk driving from April 13 to May 31, said the National Police Agency on Friday. In addition, 7,082 drivers were also caught violating traffic regulations in school zones over the same period. The police said that the number of car accidents that occurred during this time significantly decreased compared to the same period last year. A total of 1,358 car accidents occurred due to drunk driving, which is a 32.1 percent decrease compared to the year before, w

June 9, 2023

Middle school students arrested for stealing and crashing car

Four middle school students were taken in for questioning after stealing and crashing a car in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, according to Asan Police Station on Thursday. The teens are suspected of stealing an unlocked SUV at around 11:40 p.m. on June 2, then driving the vehicle for four hours around Asan. Their alleged criminal actions ended when the driver caused the vehicle veer off into farmland in Inju-myeon, Asan, at around 4 a.m. the next day. It is estimated that the suspects drove a

June 9, 2023

Gangwon to be given autonomy to develop protected areas, tech

Gangwon Province will be given greater autonomy to develop protected natural areas like forests and farmland and instead foster the high-tech industry after rebranding itself as Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province on Sunday. Gangwon Province will become the second province to be designated as a special self-governing province, after Jeju Island in 2006. In 2012, the de facto administrative capital of Sejong was also given the same status by becoming a special self-governing city. Up until no

June 9, 2023

Man acquitted of murdering wife wins her life insurance benefits

A man of Korean nationality, acquitted on charges of murdering his pregnant wife of Cambodian nationality, has won another lawsuit against an insurance company. The Seoul High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the second trial against Samsung Life Insurance filed by a man surnamed Lee, Thursday. The second trial court ruled that Samsung Life Insurance should pay about 202 million won ($155,000) to Lee and 60 million won to Lee's daughter as compensation for delayed death insurance an

June 9, 2023

Narcotic residues found in Korea's sewage plants

Residue of methamphetamine, a common illegal substance, also known as “philopon” in South Korea, was detected in 34 sewage plants nationwide every year for the past three years, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Since 2020, the ministry has conducted the sewage test each year, whereby researchers collect samples of untreated sewage and analyze the concentration of drug residues to quantify drug use within a community. According to the latest report released by the

June 9, 2023

Another Korean man convicted of unauthorized visit to Ukraine

A 27-year-old South Korean man was convicted of an unauthorized visit to war-torn Ukraine, amid a series of convictions handed down here to Korean nationals with apparent intentions to fight with Ukraine against Russia, according to a local court on Friday. The man, whose identity remains undisclosed, was given a 3 million won ($2,314) fine for flying from Korea to Poland in March 2022, crossing the border to Ukraine a few days later and staying there for six months. The man "intended to

June 9, 2023

Construction union raided for alleged illegal protest

Police raided the office of Korea's major construction workers union on Friday, accusing them of staging an illegal protest last month, amid the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's ongoing crackdown on labor unions. According to police, investigators from the Seoul Namdaemun Police Station were dispatched to the office of the Korean Construction Workers Union, known as the more militant of the nation's two largest labor unions, in Yeongdeungpo-gu, southern Seoul, to carry out an earl

June 9, 2023

Govt., doctors tentatively agree to raise medical student quota

The South Korean government announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement with a coalition of doctors' groups to increase the number of medical students. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korean Medical Association, the country's largest coalition of doctors' groups, with 130,000 members, met on Thursday to discuss expanding the number of students admitted to medical schools and addressing the shortage of doctors. According to the agreement, the number of medical

June 9, 2023

[Graphic News] Proportion of women execs at major firms nears 7% in Q1

The proportion of female executives at South Korea’s major companies came to 7 percent in the first quarter of 2023 following last year’s implementation of a related law, a corporate tracker said. The number of female executives at 349 out of the country’s top 500 firms by sales reached 997 at end-March, accounting for 6.8 percent of the total 14,718, according to the Leaders Index. The proportion was up 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier and 1.7 times the tally for the f

June 9, 2023

[Herald Interview] Minister turns to AI classes to cool competition in education

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho is attempting to change the course of South Korea’s education system by adopting artificial intelligence technology in all public school classrooms, which the minister claims will transform the nation’s hypercompetitive education culture and make it the first country in the world to adopt such measures at scale. Calling it a “paradigm shift,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday that the new plan of replacing paper-based te

June 8, 2023

Police nab 82 in yaba drug bust

Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency brought in a total of 82 people for smuggling, selling and taking the drug yaba. Police also found methamphetamine, cannabis and ecstasy. Yaba is a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine that originates in Thailand. All 82 of the suspects are Thai nationals. Out of 82 suspects, one is accused of smuggling, 33 are accused of distributing, and 48 are accused of purchasing the drug from January last year to May this year around Seosan, South Chungcheong Provi

June 8, 2023

W459.9b house rental fraud busted

South Korea has so far busted a total of nearly 1,000 housing rental fraud cases that left about 3,000 victims nationwide suffering from 459.9 billion won ($352.2 million) in damages, the national law enforcement said Thursday, disclosing the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation. This means the victims -- over half of which are either in their 20s or 30s -- have lost what in most cases constituted their life savings due to scammers disguised as landlords in false jeonse contracts. The

June 8, 2023

Authorities warn stern measures against foreigners involved in drug crimes

The Justice Ministry said Thursday foreign nationals involved in even minor drug offenses will be subject to deportation and a permanent entry ban, in addition to criminal punishment. The warning came as the government readies for a nationwide crackdown on illegal aliens for 50 days from June 12 through July 31. The ministries of justice; employment and labor; land, infrastructure and transport; the National Police Agency; and the Korea Coast Guard will take part in the joint inspection. “

June 8, 2023

Seoul world’s ninth-most expensive city for expats: survey

South Korea's capital city, Seoul, was named the world’s ninth most expensive city for expatriates in terms of living expenses, an international survey showed. According to a global consulting firm ECA International in March this year, the cost of living in Seoul was the ninth-highest, up one notch from a year earlier. Tokyo was next, down five notches on-year. The survey compared the costs of living in 207 cities with high numbers of foreign national residents across 120 countrie

June 8, 2023

Seoul Metro puts 30 station names up for sale

Seoul Metro, the public corporation that operates the subway system in Seoul, is putting the names of 30 subway stations up for sale. The upcoming auction will involve 18 subway stations, the naming contracts of which have expired, along with 12 additional stations in downtown and commercial hub areas. They include Gangnam Station on Line 2, one of the busiest stations, as well as Seongsu and Sinsa Stations, in hip Seongsu-dong and Sinsa-dong, respectively. The new names will be displayed in bra

June 8, 2023

14 injured by reversing subway escalator

Over 10 people were injured on Thursday when an escalator at Sunae Station on the Bundang Line suddenly began operating in reverse. The incident was reported to the South Korean Fire Service at around 8:20 a.m., with multiple injuries caused by the malfunctioning escalator at Exit No. 2 of the station. According to the fire department, three individ­uals who sustained serious injuries were hospitalized, while 11 others who suffered minor injuries were sent home after receiving medical treatm

June 8, 2023

Environmental group protests Fukushima wastewater discharge plan

Green Korea United, a local environmental group, staged a protest in front of the Embassy of Japan in Seoul on Wednesday, condemning Japan's plan to discharge approximately 1.32 million tonnes of wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. The activists displayed a water purifier attached to a mock barrel of contaminated Fukushima wastewater, provided by Jeski Social Campaign, a research group that creates public service campaigns. They criticized the

June 7, 2023

Korea to ease 20-character limit on driver's licenses

South Korea is envisioning a plan to scrap the limit of 20 English characters on driver's licenses, the government said Wednesday. The character limit -- imposed on driver's licenses and disability certificates -- has often discouraged holders from having their full name displayed. The eased rule will accommodate names with up to 37 characters on the identification cards and certificates, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety. Under current rules here, foreigners who earned a license

June 7, 2023