S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 20,000 for 2nd day

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 20,000 for the second consecutive day Saturday as the country has been preparing to return to pre-pandemic normalcy, with new infections plateauing in recent months. The country reported 18,106 cases, including 19 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,524,477, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Saturday's tally was down from 19,586 cases a day earlier and about 1,200 lower than a week ago. The countr

May 20, 2023

Yoon meets with Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima

HIROSHIMA, Japan -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a group of Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Friday, saying he is sorry their homeland could not be with them when they suffer sorrow and pain. Yoon was the first South Korean president to meet with Korean victims of the bombing, which took place when the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule. The meeting came as Yoon was in Hiroshima for a Group of Seven summit. "When our compatriots fell

May 19, 2023

Arrest warrant sought for actor Yoo Ah-in over alleged drug abuse

Police sought a warrant Friday to arrest actor Yoo Ah-in on suspicions of the illegal use of five different drugs. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency filed for the warrant for the 37-year-old actor, accused of illegally using five different drugs for non-medical purposes: propofol, marijuana, cocaine, ketamine and zolpidem, an insomnia medication. Police reportedly made the decision in consideration of the seriousness of Yoo's case, the risk of flight and his continued denial of drug use.

May 19, 2023

White ants found in Seoul identified as drywood termites

A white ant species found in downtown Seoul has been identified as an "exotic species" that feeds on dry wood and causes significant damage to wooden structures around the world, South Korea's Ministry of Environment said Friday. The ministry weighed in after an online post on Wednesday claimed that a rare white ant species had been discovered at a residence in Seoul. The National Institute of Biological Resources and the National Institute of Ecology was unable to confirm the ant

May 19, 2023

Police find dozens of opium poppies that ‘no one planted’

Police on Thursday said it found some 40 opium poppy plants that seemingly have grown spontaneously at an apartment complex in Ulsan, 299 kilometers southwest of Seoul. According to Ulsan Nambu Police Station, officials received a report from a resident of an unnamed apartment complex that flower which look like the poppies are growing in the flower bed. Officers dispatched to the scene confirmed that the flowers were indeed opium poppies used to produce opium, not the common poppies which they

May 19, 2023

30-year jail term confirmed for couple who starved toddler to death

The Supreme Court has confirmed a 30-year prison term for a couple who abused and starved the woman's 2-year-old to death, upholding a lower court ruling on the case, local media reported Friday. The 22-year-old woman and her spouse, 29, were accused of neglecting the child and her 17-month-old brother from October of 2021 to March 2022, during which they did not provide sufficient nutrition to the children. The girl died in March 2022 due to severe malnutrition and brain hemorrhage. During

May 19, 2023

32-year-old man gets life sentence for double homicide

Lee Ki-young, 32, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a taxi driver and his ex-girlfriend in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, last year. The Goyang branch of the Uijeongbu District Court, northwest of Seoul, on Friday also ordered Lee to wear a GPS-equipped electronic monitoring anklet for 30 years. The court said in its ruling that Lee had “meticulously planned the murder and subsequent crimes” and “continued with the planned murder without any hesitation and gained

May 19, 2023

Yoon accepts resignation of KEPCO chief amid record losses

President Yoon Suk Yeol has accepted the state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. chief's resignation to have him take responsibility for the firm's snowballing losses and financial woes, officials said Friday. Last week, KEPCO President and CEO Cheong Seung-il tendered his resignation after his company logged a record-high operating loss of 32.63 trillion won ($24.44 billion) last year, more than quadruple from a year earlier, due mainly to high global energy prices and limited hi

May 19, 2023

S. Korea issues highest-level warning against foot-and-mouth disease

South Korea on Friday raised the crisis level of the foot-and-mouth disease to the highest point in central regions and will implement beefed-up quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the animal disease, the agriculture ministry said. The warning level was heightened by two notches from "caution" to "serious," the highest level of its four-tier system, for the central city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province; the county of Jeungpyeong in the same province; and seven

May 19, 2023

Firefighter pulls up woman falling from bridge on way to work

  A firefighter rescued a woman as she was attempting to jump from a bridge in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. Kim Chan-soo with the Gimhae Seobu Fire Station pulled the woman to safety from Samrangjin Bridge as she was trying to jump after taking sleeping pills. Kim was driving over the bridge to go to work in another city and came across the woman sitting at the side of the bridge. She was taking pills and bleeding from her arms and legs. Kim approached the woman and found she

May 18, 2023

Twin brother accused of taking exam on behalf of the other

Twin brothers are under investigation, with one twin allegedly taking an employment exam for a public financial institution on behalf of the other in 2022. The Bank of Korea and Financial Supervisory Service on Wednesday reported the twin brothers to the police for cheating on their entrance exams, which took place simultaneously on Sept. 24, 2022. While the younger of the twins took the exam for the BOK, the elder twin took the exam for the FSS, which was taking place in another part of Seoul a

May 18, 2023

Cho Min, a new YouTube sensation?

In just six days, a certain YouTube video has garnered an impressive 352,000 views and counting. It may seem like the YouTube debut of a popular TV star. However, these numbers belong to Cho Min, the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, whose life took a dramatic turn when her admission to a graduate school of medicine here was revoked after she had already graduated and passed the state medical licensing exam. Launched on May 12, her YouTube channel, "minchobae," has only on

May 18, 2023

Top court acquits man of NK spying charges in retrial after 48 years

The Supreme Court of South Korea cleared a man who served 17 years in prison for allegedly spying for North Korea in 1975 of his charges in a retrial on Thursday. Seoul's top court upheld an earlier ruling in 2022 that the evidence that originally put Park Ki-rae in jail for his breach of the National Security Act is not admissible, given that the investigative authorities during former President Park Chung-hee's military dictatorship had obtained the evidence and a confession by viola

May 18, 2023

Korea unveils plan to prevent 'lonely deaths'

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on Thursday a plan to survey people at risk of dying alone and target assistance toward the vulnerable group, as it seeks to halt the increase in "lonely deaths." An annual survey will be conducted to document the number of people at risk of dying alone, and services regarding health, employment and medical care will be provided according to their needs by age groups. The number of people at risk of lonely deaths in Korea is estimated to be

May 18, 2023

[H.eco Forum] Fishing industry is killing marine life: 'Seaspiracy' director

Many people would have heard eating red meat is bad for the planet, but they are less aware of the environmental impacts of the seafood on our plates, said Ali Tabrizi, a documentary film director who shed light on the dark side of the fishing industry with his film "Seaspiracy" (2021). Tabrizi, who is visiting Korea for the first time this month, will be the keynote speaker at the H.eco Forum hosted by Herald Corp. at Shilla Hotel, Seoul, on Wednesday. His speech, titled "Solutio

May 18, 2023

[H.eco Forum] Korea should promote eco-friendly lifestyles more, says Julian Quintart

For local Belgian TV personality Julian Quintart, South Korea, the country where he has lived for the last 19 years, is a society where consumption is highly prioritized and maximized. The 35-year-old, who has become a vegan and an environmental activist in recent years, said he believes that this aspect of Korea's culture will fade away because it is not sustainable. “Koreans are used to early morning deliveries and 24-hour services, but these cultures will ultimately change, as they are

May 18, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases over 20,000 for 3rd day amid eased rules

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed over 20,000 for the third consecutive day Thursday amid relaxed COVID-19 restrictions as the country has taken steps to resume pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 21,797 cases, including 30 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,486,904, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Thursday's tally was slightly higher than the 20,571 cases the country reported a week ago. The corresponding figure was 20,139 two

May 18, 2023

Story of teen boys’ all-night walk to school outing goes viral

The story of two middle-school students who walked 11 hours through the night to reach Everland for a school trip went viral after it was shared on social media recently. The reason for their arduous journey? A bet proposed by their friends with a reward of 70,000 won ($52). According to the person who shared their story in an online community, the two teenage boys were found wandering in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, by residents on May 12. The teenagers said they were from Hanam, a city just ea

May 17, 2023

Gucci after-party draws criticism for late-night noise

Luxury brand Gucci is facing a backlash over a loud party held late into the night after the brand's fashion show Tuesday at Seoul's Gyeongbokgung. Residents of the area near the party's venue in central Seoul claim that the party generated excessive noise and light pollution late into the night, and more than 50 complaints were filed with the police. Gucci held the party after the 2024 Cruise Collection Fashion Show at Seoul’s Joseon-era main palace, Gyeongbokgung. The afte

May 17, 2023

Children's Day tragedy: 5-year-old dies after failure to find ER bed

A 5-year-old with acute respiratory symptoms had died on the Children's Day weekend, earlier this month, after five hospitals refused to admit him, local media reported Tuesday. According to the reports, the boy was rushed to the emergency room of a hospital in Seoul when his body temperature began to spike and he begin having breathing issues at night on May 6, Saturday. But the hospital said it was unable to admit him, citing lack of available beds. The boy was turned back by four other h

May 17, 2023