Former minority party leader booked for smoking cannabis

Former co-chair of Green Party Korea Kim Ye-won has been under police investigation and was arrested for illegally possessing and using cannabis, police said Friday. Police arrested Kim in February for allegedly using cannabis for entertainment purposes and keeping the product, which is strictly banned in Korea, at home since late 2022, it said. An investigation was launched in January, it added. Kim offered to quit the progressive party after admitting that she was under a police probe for her

April 14, 2023

86 parents disciplined for neglecting child support expenses

Eighty-six people will be given disciplinary measures for intentionally not paying for child support even after receiving orders from the court. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Friday it has decided to impose penalties on 86 of those who neglected their duty to pay child support expenses at the 29th Child Care Review Committee. By type of disciplinary measures, there are six people whose identity has been revealed to the public, 41 people who are banned from leaving the country a

April 14, 2023

Man arrested after growing cannabis in home with pregnant wife

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it has indicted four people for growing cannabis at home and selling it. One of them, a 37-year-old man surnamed Park, cultivated cannabis in his apartment where he lived with his pregnant wife, officials said. The four suspects consisted of two groups. The first duo -- Park and his friend Jung, 38 -- allegedly sold marijuana grown in their respective apartments located in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, from May last year to February t

April 14, 2023

S. Korea unveils five-year plan for suicide prevention

The Ministry of Health and Welfare unveiled a five-year plan aimed at decreasing the nation's high suicide rate on Friday. According to the suicide prevention plan, the government aims to see fewer than 20 suicide deaths out of 100,000 people in 2027. At 26.7 deaths per 100,000, suicide was the fifth leading cause of death here in 2021, far exceeding deaths from traffic accidents. Korea's suicide mortality rate should drop by 30 percent to 18.2 by 2027, over the course of six years beg

April 14, 2023

S. Korea confirms new locally acquired 10th mpox case

Health authorities in South Korea confirmed one more locally transmitted case of mpox infection Friday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, a South Korean national tested positive for the disease, formerly known as monkeypox, on Friday, bringing the total cases here to ten. The KDCA said the new patient had not traveled overseas in the past three months. The patient is reported to be in good health by the KDCA. Of the ten total infections so far, five were locally trans

April 14, 2023

S. Korea reports over 11,000 COVID-19 cases amid stabilizing infection trend

South Korea reported 11,666 new cases of the coronavirus Friday, as the country moves toward regaining pre-pandemic normalcy following the relaxation of most antivirus restrictions. The daily infection number includes 15 imported cases, bringing the total caseload to 30,967,692, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Friday's tally is up by 70 from the previous day and over 900 higher from a week ago. The daily average number of infections has remained around the 10,000 mark

April 14, 2023

1 Israeli dead, 34 others injured in bus accident in Chungju

CHUNGJU, North Chungcheong Province -- A tour bus fell sideways in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, killing one Israeli and injuring 34 people on board, 32 of them Israelis, police said Thursday. Eleven people who sustained serious injuries were taken to a nearby hospital. Among them, one Israeli, believed to be in his 60s, died at the hospital, police said. The accident occurred around 6:05 p.m. in Suanbo-myeon, located southeast of the city. The bus had departed from the southeastern city

April 13, 2023

Seoul unveils plan to combat child abuse

The government on Thursday unveiled plans to combat child abuse by conducting a nationwide inspection. Under the plan, the government will keep track of toddlers aged 2 or younger who have either not seen a pediatrician in the past year, or who have not completed the essential vaccination program that a baby has to go through within four months after birth. Korea estimates the number of such children to stand at around 11,000. The three-month inspection of toddlers will kick off Monday. "(S

April 13, 2023

Nosy interviewers: crossing the line is still legal in Korea

"What do your parents do for a living?" "Why did you not go to high school?" "Were you ever a victim of school bullying?" These are some of the questions an employment candidate may still encounter while seeking for a job in South Korea. According to data collected by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 84 cases of privacy violations during the employment interviews have been reported in the past two years. Job applicants were asked questions irrelevant to their a

April 13, 2023

Google ordered to disclose records of customer data given to US NSA

The top South Korean court sided with internet users here on Thursday, ruling that Google should disclose records of how its consumer data had been transmitted to a US spy agency upon the request of consumers. The ruling by the Supreme Court of Korea, after a decadelong wait, indicates that Google's policy of prohibiting the provision of such records to consumers and mandating that lawsuits be filed in US jurisdiction are both superseded by Korean law. A customer living in Korea may file a

April 13, 2023

Panic disorder most common among people in 40s

The number of Koreans diagnosed with panic disorder surged 44 percent last year from 2017, with experts suggesting growing social and psychological stress as a possible cause. According to a report released by the National Health Insurance Service on Thursday, a total of 200,540 people received hospital treatment for panic disorder in 2021, up 44.5 percent from 138,726 in 2017. Of them, males accounted for about 45 percent or 89,273, while the number of female patients stood at 111,267. The 2021

April 13, 2023

Incheon wants to be more international, says mayor

Incheon is the only municipality in South Korea with a growing population and a home to many global organizations making the city more international and competitive, Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said at a forum Wednesday. “Incheon is the only city with a growing population. Active reclamation projects are also possible as Incheon is adjacent to the sea and mud flats, so we have infinite possibilities,” he said in his speech titled “Incheon’s dream, South Korea’s future"

April 13, 2023

S. Korea raises mpox virus alert level

South Korea said Thursday it has decided to raise its alert level against mpox -- formerly known as monkeypox -- from the current "Level 1 attention" to "Level 2 caution" as the number of confirmed cases due to community transmission has increased. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, a South Korean national tested positive for mpox on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to nine. The KDCA has concluded that the case resulted from commun

April 13, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases over 10,000 for 3rd day; ninth case of mpox confirmed

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases remained over 10,000 for the third straight day Thursday as the country is moving toward regaining pre-pandemic normalcy following the relaxation of most antivirus restrictions. The country reported 11,596 cases, including 15 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,956,026, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Wednesday's tally is a slight drop from a week ago and more than 2,000 lower than the previous day, data showed.

April 13, 2023

Couple referred to prosecution over masterminding kidnapping-murder of woman

A couple accused of masterminding a recent kidnapping and murder of a woman in downtown Seoul was referred to prosecutors Thursday for further investigation and indictment, police said. The couple -- named Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee -- allegedly accepted the key murder suspect Lee Kyeong-woo's proposal to kill the victim, and paid him a total of 70 million won ($53,070) in return, according to the Suseo Police Station. "I have been falsely accused," Yoo, the husband, told repo

April 13, 2023

[Contribution] A smart way forward for South Korea's climate agenda

By Mahmoud Mohieldin On a recent mission to Songdo International Business District in Incheon, I was pleased to see how sustainability and resilience have been prioritized in planning this 21st century city. From light-emitting diode streetlights to solar energy supplies and rainwater storage facilities, to networks of bicycle lanes and a 100-hectare public park, Songdo is a “smart” and “green” city in every sense of the word. My country, Egypt, has also recognized the

April 12, 2023

Police reveal identities of couple suspected of masterminding kidnapping, murder

Police on Wednesday revealed the identities and photos of a couple suspected of orchestrating a recent kidnapping and murder of a woman from southern Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency identified the two suspects as Yoo Sang-won, 50, and Hwang Eun-hee, 48. The husband, Yoo, and his wife, Hwang, were arrested by Seoul's Suseo Police Station on Saturday and Monday, respectively, on charges of aiding and abetting a robbery and murder. A committee under the agency made the decision, ci

April 12, 2023

[Korean History] Lifting of curfew in 1982 signals exit from era of repression in daily life

Every night at 10 p.m., over soft music, a female voice actor on the radio would tell teenagers to go home as it had gotten late. After 11 p.m., people would rush to take the last buses and taxis. All stores and bars would close before 11:30 p.m. At the stroke of midnight, sirens would blare and steel barricades would be placed on the streets. Neighborhood patrollers would blow their whistles at anyone still out on the street and those spotted would do their best to run away. This was South Kore

April 12, 2023

Moroccans launch criticism at Korean star chef

Korean star chef Baek Jong-won is facing social media backlash from Moroccan viewers after his cooking program aired on TV last Sunday. Following the broadcast of tvN's "Business Genius, CEO Baek," Moroccan viewers are taking issue with how the program marked a map of Morocco and how they portrayed scenes of locals praying. The program shows the Korean crew selling Korean food in a Moroccan night market. With over 1,500 comments in Arabic and English, viewers criticized that the p

April 12, 2023

S. Korea confirms strengthened policy against school bullying

Students with a history of bullying or school violence will have their records reflected in the regular college admissions process starting in 2024, and the current bullying record retention period of two years will be extended to four years after graduation, the government said Wednesday. School violence records will be submitted to colleges “voluntarily” in the admissions process for the 2025 school year, but will be reflected on a “mandatory” basis for admissions in 20

April 12, 2023