Top court stops eviction of insolvent shop tenant citing pandemic

South Korea's top court has ruled that a shop tenant who couldn't pay the rent during the COVID-19 pandemic should not be evicted, news reports said Wednesday, quoting the court's decision. The ruling by the Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed by the tenant against the landlord confirmed the lower courts' decisions that the landlord could not get rid of tenants behind on their monthly rent, ruling in favor of the plaintiff. The landlord’s appeal to the Supreme Court was di

May 10, 2023

[Korean History] Revisiting the 1983 Rangoon Bombing

The mid-80s were a harrowing time for South Koreans, marked by traumatic events that shook the entire nation. The shock of the Korean Air Flight 007's shot down by a Soviet missile on Sept. 1, 1983, which killed all of its passengers and crew, was compounded by another horror, just a month later, at the hands of communist forces in the northern part of the peninsula. On Oct. 9, in Myanmar’s capital of Yangon, a bomb went off, killing key members of South Korea’s economic team le

May 10, 2023

S. Korea seeks to ratify Hague Adoption Convention as early as 2025

South Korea's parliament is expected to ratify the Hague Adoption Convention, aimed at ensuring that inter-country adoption only occurs when in the best interests of the child, as early as 2025. The convention, known officially as the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption, developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, deals with international adoption, child laundering and child trafficking in an effort to protect t

May 10, 2023

Seoul to develop AI system to manage subway congestion

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that it would develop an AI-based congestion monitoring system to provide better information to passengers about crowd density at each subway station. According to Seoul Metro, the operator of the subway service in Seoul, the new service will help analyze the real-time flow of passengers and crowd levels in subway compartments, improving operational efficiency. Currently, the subway operator monitors crowding and measures the number of passengers

May 10, 2023

Seoul to trial visa route for foreign domestic helpers

The government plans to allow Southeast Asian domestic helpers to work in Seoul as early as this year, but the pilot project will not include previously suggested provisions allowing employers to pay them below the minimum wage. In a bid to raise the country’s record-low birth rate, Seoul City and the Ministry of Employment and Labor are reviewing a pilot project to bring domestic helpers from countries such as the Philippines to help families with childcare and housework. “Within th

May 10, 2023

No. of Vietnamese job seekers taking Korean proficiency test hits 10-year high

A Korean proficiency exam for Vietnamese job seekers saw the highest number of test takers in 10 years, data showed Wednesday. This year, a total of 23,412 Vietnamese applied for the “EPS-TOPIK (Employment Permit System’s Test of Proficiency in Korean),” more than doubling from 11,600 applicants a year earlier. The 2023 figure was also the highest in a decade, according to the Department of Overseas Labor under Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. The

May 10, 2023

Broadcasting regulator raided over suspicions involving re-licensing of radio station

Prosecutors raided the state broadcasting regulator, the Korea Communications Commission, on Wednesday as part of a probe into allegations involving its 2019 re-licensing of a regional radio broadcasting firm. The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors Office sent investigators to the commission's office inside the government complex in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, and the nearby Suwon City Hall to seize documents and other evidence. The license of Gyeonggi Broadcasting, a regional radio bro

May 10, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit 3-month high

South Korea's new daily coronavirus cases hit a three-month high Wednesday amid eased virus restrictions. The country reported 23,521 cases, including 43 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,331,112, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Wednesday's tally marked a growth from the previous day's 21,681 and was more than 3,000 higher than the same day last week. It is also the highest tally since Jan. 28 when the daily caseload stood at 23,591, the KDCA

May 10, 2023

Korea mulls ending COVID-19 isolation mandate

South Korean government is contemplating lifting the isolation mandate for COVID-19 patients as soon as this month, as part of efforts to transition to pre-pandemic normalcy. The decision will be announced as early as this week, officials said. The mandatory isolation rule was introduced as one of the first preventative measures in January 2020. The move is being considered as the isolation requirement has been lifted in a number of countries. Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Thailand, France

May 9, 2023

Police investigate smokers who made scene when asked to leave cafe

The police is investigating two men who reacted aggressively to a request to move to another place to smoke from a cafe’s terrace in Incheon. Incheon Seobu Police Station on Tuesday said that they received a report of two middle aged men pouring coffee and throwing a cup onto the sidewalk after being told by the cafe’s staff to move elsewhere on Saturday. The men are under fire after the footage of them -- initially uploaded by the owner of the cafe on a self-employed shopkeepers&rsq

May 9, 2023

[Photo News] Smiling young monks at Jogyesa

Children shave their heads and participate in five precept ceremonies Tuesday before entering a 21-day training experience at the Buddhist Jogyesa Temple in central Seoul. In the ceremonies, the children train as monks by swearing to follow the lessons of Buddha and renouncing themselves of worldly possessions by cutting their hair. The temple headquarters of South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, holds a religious education camp for children between the ages of 5 and 6 ever

May 9, 2023

Livestreamed teen suicides: Nation struggles to block spread

In the country with the highest suicide rates in the world, a disturbing new trend may be emerging: the live broadcasting of suicides on social media. On April 16, a teenager livestreamed her death by suicide on Instagram. Such content has been of international concern for some time, but the girl’s death marked the first known case of its kind in South Korea. Further jolting the nation, two teenage girls were stopped by the police from taking their own lives while livestreaming last Friday

May 9, 2023

Siberian tiger cub dies days after 1st birthday at Seoul Grand Park

A Siberian tiger cub has died from feline panleukopenia at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday, and two other cubs and three mature tigers are being treated for the disease. The cub, named Parang, was born at the zoo and had reached one year old just 10 days ago. Feline panleukopenia is an infectious disease that causes a fatal decrease in white blood cells in cats. The disease has a 50 to 59 percent fatality rate, and is easily transmitted through contact with infected a

May 9, 2023

‘No senior zone’ sparks controversy

A coffee shop's decision to ban elderly customers has sparked renewed criticism amid ongoing controversy over "no kids zones," where some restaurants or commercial venues prohibit the entry of children based on the owners' preferences. A photo posted on an online community on Monday showed a cafe with text on the door that reads: "No senior zone (no entry for elderly over 60).” Beside the text is a sticker that welcomes guide dogs. The netizen who posted the photo

May 9, 2023

Man kills neighbor over noise, attempts suicide

A man in his 40s has been apprehended for murdering his neighbor, Suwon Nambu Police Station said Monday. According to the police, the man killed his next door neighbor and then reported the incident to the police saying “(I) killed my next door neighbor over noise issues.” The police found the suspect at the scene of the crime. He had collapsed near the victim’s body with self-inflicted wounds. The wounds sustained by the suspect are not thought to be life threatening. Accordi

May 9, 2023

Investment firm head nabbed over suspected stock manipulation

A key suspect in a large-scale stock manipulation case that has recently shaken the local financial markets was detained by prosecutors Tuesday. Ra Deok-yeon, head of an unregistered investment consulting firm, was apprehended at his home at around 10:25 a.m. and taken to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office, according to the prosecutors who have formed a joint investigation team with the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service. The 42-year-old Ra is suspect

May 9, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases jump to 3-month high of over 20,000

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 20,000 on Tuesday with the daily caseload jumping to a three-month high on eased virus restrictions. The country reported 21,681 cases, including 35 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 31,307,591, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Tuesday's tally marked a growth from the previous day's 8,164 infections and was almost 6,000 higher than the same day last week. It is also the highest tally since J

May 9, 2023

Preventative mpox vaccinations expanded to vulnerable groups

South Korea began expanding preventative vaccinations against mpox to members of unspecified vulnerable groups on Monday, while the total number of cases of infection reached 60 as of 12 a.m. that day. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is offering preventive shots of the two-dose Jynneos vaccine to groups considered more susceptible to mpox infection on a reservation basis. The government has secured 5,000 doses of the vaccine and plans to secure more, the agency announced Monday. The

May 8, 2023

Two teen members of 'Depression Gallery' stopped from livestreaming suicide

Two teenage girls, aged 15 and 17, were stopped from attempting to take their own lives while livestreaming the event by the police on Friday. The teens are said to be members of the online forum, "Depression Gallery," a teenage member of which livestreamed the taking of her own life last month. According to reports, the police were alerted to the two teens' attempt by their friend at 3:55 a.m. on Friday, after they had climbed over the railing on the northern end of Hannam Bridge

May 8, 2023

[Local and Beyond] North Jeolla sets sights on becoming agriculture, bio center

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- As a region traditionally known for its vast agricultural land, North Jeolla Province has been one of the pillars of the farming economy in South Korea. The province's governor, Kim Kwan-young, who took office in July last year, has set his sights on even bigger ambitions. Despite the province's declining population as well as its high financial dependence on the central government, North Jeolla Province has the capacity to become the center of the bio

May 8, 2023