Online Hangeul contest for foreigners held this summer

A local Hangeul foundation is hosting an online contest for foreigners to transcribe their native language in Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, this summer. The contest, dubbed "Hangeul Festa 2023," hosted by Hangeul Nuri Foundation, requires its applicants to submit videos of the following descriptions from June 1 to Aug. 31 via its official website (https://www.hangeul-festa.org/en/). The contest will be held in three categories: transcribing in Hangeul the lyrics to a song; transcribing

June 1, 2023

Police release homicide suspect’s identity

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency on Thursday revealed the identity of a 23-year-old woman held on suspicion of murdering and dismembering the body of another woman in her 20s. Police said they decided to make the suspect’s identity public after convening a committee to contemplate the disclosure. According to police, the suspect is 23-year-old Jeong Yu-jeong. South Korean law allows police to reveal the identity of a suspect only under certain conditions, where the crime is considered

June 1, 2023

Teenage hacker arrested for leaking mock test grades

A teenage hacker and an operator of a Telegram chatroom in his 20s were arrested on the charge of leaking scores of 270,000 high school sophomores of a mock scholastic ability test held nationwide in November last year, the police said Thursday. The 19-year-old has allegedly broke into the Gyeonggi Office of Education‘s server on Feb. 18 and stole the mock test results of high school sophomores, according to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency. The teenager gave the data to the Telegra

June 1, 2023

7 in 10 greater Seoul residents oppose Japan's Fukushima wastewater discharge plan: poll

Seven out of 10 South Koreans residing in the greater Seoul area expressed their opposition to Japan's move to discharge radioactive wastewater from the now-defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, local broadcaster CBS reported on Thursday, citing a survey. In the poll of 1,000 people aged 18 or above conducted by polling organization Jowon C&I May 27-29, 70.8 percent of respondents said they are against Tokyo's plan to release the destroyed nuclear plant's w

June 1, 2023

S. Korea to ease regulations, build more industrial clusters

South Korea will build more industrial clusters to nurture innovative firms in high-end industries such as chips and biotechnology by lifting regulations and forging more partnerships with foreign businesses, the government said Thursday. The plan also aims to attract participation from municipalities in cluster projects, as well as in ventures and startups, to enhance South Korea's industrial competitiveness. Legal and accounting consulting services will also be provided to such businesses

June 1, 2023

Anti-corruption watchdog launches probe into NEC hiring scandal

South Korea’s anti-corruption watchdog said Thursday that it has launched a full-scale probe into allegations that high-ranking officials at the National Election Commission used their power and position to secure employment for their own children within the state agency. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said it would probe incumbent and retired officials and those previously acquitted from the election watchdog to look into employment practices. The commission said it has r

June 1, 2023

S. Korea lifts most COVID-19 restrictions

South Korea lifted nearly all its COVID-19 restrictions Thursday, including the isolation mandate for COVID-19 patients, as the country lowered the COVID-19 crisis level from the top level on Thursday. On May 11, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared that the government would downgrade the status of the COVID-19 crisis from "serious," the highest level, to "alert," starting from Thursday, June 1. With the alert level lowered, the COVID-19 isolation period of seven days has been sh

June 1, 2023

[Graphic News] More than 1.5m people at risk of ‘lonely death’: survey

More than 1.5 million South Korean people are at risk of “lonely death,” or unattended death, accounting for 3 percent of the country’s population, a government survey showed. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it had conducted the poll on a sample of 9,471 single-member households from November to December last year to check their circumstances that could possibly lead to a lonely death in the future. The 10-step checklist includes questions about whether the respondent h

June 1, 2023

Police issue 1st order to disperse downtown KCTU rally

Police on Wednesday exercised the first order to disperse a massive downtown rally led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the biggest umbrella labor unions in South Korea, taking a hard-line stance as instructed by President Yoon Suk Yeol. The order was issued concerning unionized workers marching from the presidential office in Yongsan in central Seoul to the Korean National Police Agency's headquarters in Seodaemun-gu, demanding Yoon resign for "oppressing labor righ

May 31, 2023

College degrees no longer required from foreign instructors for online classes

A government agency that oversees policy coordination on Wednesday recommended that the Ministry of Education lower the standard for foreigners’ educational qualifications to teach online classes at hagwons -- or private academies -- to match those of domestic instructors. The Regulatory Tribunal of the Office for Government Policy Coordination recommended that the Education Ministry revise its current standard for foreign instructors teaching online lectures at hagwons to match that for K

May 31, 2023

Seoul mayor says evacuation alert 'not issued in error'

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the warning alarm sent out by the city government early Wednesday morning telling people to evacuate to the nearest shelter following North Korea's launch of a projectile was "not an error," amid the intensifying blame game between the central government and the municipality with the former criticizing the latter for overreacting and throwing its residents into chaos. In an emergency press conference, Oh admitted that Seoul had "overreacted" to the

May 31, 2023

Sirens, alerts unsettle foreign residents in chaotic Seoul morning

Foreign residents of Seoul were startled and confused as they woke up to emergency sirens and an alert sent out by the city government early Wednesday morning, just after North Korea launched what it says was a space satellite. At 6:41 a.m., the Seoul city government sent phone alerts and sounded sirens, warning people to prepare for evacuation without saying why -- or where they should evacuate to. Many foreign residents did not immediately know what the alert and the blaring sirens were about,

May 31, 2023

How seriously should you take emergency mobile alerts?

The emergency mobile alert that woke up many Seoul residents early on Wednesday is classified as a "warning alarm," one of three types meant to help South Koreans brace for attacks. As the country is still technically at war with North Korea, the civil defense system involves two other types of alarms: the "air raid alarm" and the "chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) alarm." An air raid alarm is sent to urge people to evacuate to the nearest underground shel

May 31, 2023

How to find the nearest underground shelter in Seoul

A rare warning alert asking Seoul residents to "prepare to evacuate to the nearest underground shelter" on Wednesday left many confused as the text message didn't elaborate on where exactly they should go. "Underground shelter" became one of the most-searched-for words online shortly after the warning alarm rang for North Korea's launch of a projectile that it claimed to be a military reconnaissance satellite at 6:32 a.m. According to the Ministry of Interior and Sa

May 31, 2023

S. Korea to expand welfare services for isolated people

Isolated young and middle-aged people will be eligible for state welfare services from the second half of this year, the government said Wednesday in unveiling a raft of new welfare policies. Socially isolated people refer to people who are emotionally or physically isolated from the majority of society for at least six months, according to the Welfare Ministry. This includes those who have not worked and have rarely left home. Welfare services, including those for community care and psychologic

May 31, 2023

Evacuation alerts send Seoulites into panic

Confusion, frustration and fear were what Lee Hyun-jung felt early Wednesday morning after she received a mobile emergency alert and heard sirens outside calling for Seoulites to evacuate following the news that North Korea had attempted to launch a space satellite. The sirens started at 6:32 a.m, with the city issuing a “Presidential Alert” to all Seoul residents to prepare for a potential evacuation. However, 20 minutes later the Interior Ministry sent a correction. “Notice t

May 31, 2023

[Korean History] Korea’s own Jonestown Massacre lesson on dangers of cults

From the infamous Jonestown Massacre in Guyana in 1978 to the more recent case of the "starvation cult" in Kenya this April, the world has witnessed a disturbing string of mass deaths associated with religious cults. In the summer of 1987, South Korea, too, had its own harrowing experience. On Aug. 29, a chilling discovery was made in the attic of a factory in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. It was a bizarre scene: Bodies were stacked upon one another, their feet bound and nostrils stuffed

May 31, 2023

Pro baseball player Lee Young-ha acquitted of assault charges against former teammate

Pro baseball player Lee Young-ha was acquitted Wednesday of charges of violence against a junior teammate during his high school baseball days. Lee, 25, a pitcher of the Doosan Bears, was indicted without detention last year over allegations that he had beaten a teammate while attending Sunrin Internet High School in Seoul. Judge Chung Geum-young of the Seoul Western District Court found Lee not guilty, citing a lack of evidence to support the charges. The judge determined that the alleged victi

May 31, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases bounce back to over 20,000 amid eased rules

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 20,000 on Wednesday, with health authorities preparing to lift nearly all remaining antivirus curbs. The country reported 24,411 new infections, including 48 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,703,511, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Daily infections had remained below 20,000 for the past six days. Wednesday's tally is higher than the 22,952 cases a week earlier but lower than the 26,128 two w

May 31, 2023

Evacuation alert error scares Seoul

The South Korean government said Wednesday a disaster alert it issued in Seoul at around 6:30 a.m. was issued in error after North Korea attempted to launch a space satellite. According to an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, the North Korea's projectile "flew over the Yellow Sea, and (its trajectory) had nothing to do with the Seoul and the neighboring areas." This came as the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a disaster alert calling for evacuation of Seou

May 31, 2023