High income earners to see pension premiums rise starting July

High earners will pay pension premiums on a greater share of their salaries starting July, as the government seeks to shore up the pension system's finances. The maximum amount of income subject to pension payments will rise from 5.53 million ($4,240) won to 5.9 million won, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in a plan unveiled on Friday. This means that anyone earning more than 5.9 million won will be paying 531,000 won in monthly national pension subscription payments, a rise of 33

March 3, 2023

Probe launched against disgraced investigation chief

Police have launched a probe into Chung Sun-sin, the state investigation chief who resigned hours after it was revealed that his son had a history of school bullying. Seoul Metropolitan Police ordered Seodaemun Police Station to investigate allegations that the National Office of Investigation chief had concealed his son's record of verbal abuse in 2017 while applying for a position to lead the office. His son was accused of verbally abusing at least two classmates at a boarding high school

March 3, 2023

Discussions begin over lifting remaining COVID measures

The quarantine authorities said Friday that they would start to discuss lifting the remaining COVID-19 control regulations, including all indoor mask mandates and the obligation to isolate for seven days quarantine after a case is confirmed. "Now we will begin discussing the remaining disease control regulations, including lowering the COVID-19 crisis alert level, adjusting infectious disease level, lifting the seven-day isolation obligation, and lifting mask mandates in every place,"

March 3, 2023

[Newsmaker] Delivery riders help nab hit-and-run driver

Delivery riders helped police catch a drunk driver who fled after hitting a parked truck, officials said Friday. The Changwon Seobu Police Station said the 40-year-old male driver was suspected of crashing into a truck while changing lanes near the city’s northeastern district of Uichang-gu at 11:28 p.m. on Wednesday. The driver had been on the run in his vehicle after some officers began chasing him upon receiving a report of suspected drunk driving. Following the hit-and-run, instead of

March 3, 2023

World Scout Jamboree to return to Korea after 32 years

Some 43,000 teenagers from 170 countries will gather in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, this August for the world's biggest scouting event. Government ministries, including the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said they discussed measures Friday to facilitate the event and ensure safety. Hosted by the World Organization of the Scout Movement, the World Scout Jamboree is the world's largest youth camp held every four years. Adolescents gath

March 3, 2023

Parliament to review car crash by suspected unintended acceleration

In December last year, a sport utility vehicle driven by a 68-year-old woman suddenly raced about 600 meters forward for about 30 seconds before falling into an underpass in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The driver’s 12-year-old grandson was killed, while the driver suffered severe injuries. Lee Sang-hoon, the driver’s son and the child’s father, filed an online petition with the National Assembly, attached to a revised bill written by a lawyer to make the carmaker responsible f

March 3, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases around 10,000; gov't mulling lifting antivirus measures

South Korea reported 10,408 new COVID-19 cases Friday, as the government said it will start discussions on lifting remaining antivirus measures. The figure is up by 357 from the previous week, and slightly higher than the past seven-day average of 9,195, data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency showed. The total caseload came to 30,543,981. South Korea reported 11 deaths, bringing the death toll to 34,014. Critically ill patients stood at 135, up from the previous day's 129

March 3, 2023

[Graphic News] Spring festivals return after COVID-19 pandemic

  Spring festivals in Korea, which have been suspended or reduced in size due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will return with the easing of quarantine guidelines. Local governments are busy welcoming tourists in anticipation of successful spring festivals. They are also striving to establish various measures to prevent safety accidents caused by large crowds of spring visitors.  

March 3, 2023

Religious group's request for court injunction to block release of Netflix documentary rejected

A South Korean court on Thursday rejected a local religious group's request for an injunction to stop the release of a new Netflix documentary series about its chief. The Seoul Western District Court turned down the request that the religious fringe sect Christian Gospel Mission, better known as JMS (Jesus Morning Star), made against MBC, a major television network, and Netflix. The eight-part documentary series, "In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal," is about four Korean religious fig

March 2, 2023

Neighbor suspected of killing mother and daughter with 'doraji' tea

A woman accused of killing a mother and daughter living next door in Busan last year had allegedly poisoned the neighbor’s 15-year-old son before the murder, according to the boy’s testimony at court. During the first hearing of the double murder case held at Busan District Court on Monday, the sole survivor of the family took the witness stand to recount the Sept. 12 visit by the neighbor, who brought with her a bottle of light purple liquid which she said was a tea made with balloo

March 2, 2023

ADHD cases doubled in last four years: data

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a behavioral condition, is becoming increasingly prevalent in South Korea, data showed on Thursday. Statistics from the National Health Insurance Corporation show that the number of people diagnosed with ADHD has doubled over the last four years in the nation, rising from 53,056 in 2017 to 102,322 in 2021. Among the total number of patients, teenagers accounted for 41.3 percent (42,265), followed by of children under the age of 9 at 22.3 percent (24,331)

March 2, 2023

‘No more masks!’ Classrooms return to normal after 3 years

After three years of indoor mask mandates, students in Korea returned to classrooms without masks on Thursday for the new semester. The full-scale reopening of schools comes as part of the government’s decision to end the 27-monthslong mandate in January, allowing schools from elementary to secondary levels to be mask-free. With the rules lifted, the temperature check routine before entering classrooms and cafeterias and the installation of plastic dividers at canteens to stop the virus sp

March 2, 2023

KORAIL staff punished for looking up BTS RM’s personal info

A staff of Korea Railroad is facing disciplinary action after looking up BTS member RM’s booking details and personal information such as his address and mobile phone number from the KORAIL system. RM responded to the news with an emoji of smiling eyes with a semicolon, denoting polite embarrassment. The railway operator said it conducted an internal inspection upon receiving a report that a worker in the IT department told a fellow employee that she or he had checked RM’s booking de

March 2, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to 7,000s

South Korea reported 7,561 new COVID-19 cases Thursday due to fewer tests a day earlier. The figure is a drop of 4,730 from the previous day as fewer tests were conducted on the March 1 Independence Movement Day. Compared with last week, the daily tally fell by 23,282. It is also the lowest daily count for any Thursday since June 23, 2022, when the figure came to 7,491. The country added 15 deaths, bringing the death toll to 34,003. The number of critically ill patients stood at 129. The total c

March 2, 2023

AI colorized photos of independence heroes at Gwanghwamun plaza

Primary patriots who committed themselves to Korea’s liberation greet people today in full-color photos at Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul, Wednesday. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on Tuesday began displaying the patriots’ portraits on a billboard outside the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, after bringing color to the original black-and-white, damaged photos with the Generative Facial Prior-Generative Adversarial Network based on artificial intelli

March 1, 2023

[From the Scene] While Yoon offers new vision to mend ties, protests against Japan continue

Soon after President Yoon Suk Yeol gave a key address, calling Japan a partner for South Korea's regional security and economy, some hundreds held a rally on Independence Movement Day on Wednesday, urging him to keep his promise of resolving historic disputes with the neighboring country including the one over sexual slavery during its 1910-45 rule of Korean Peninsula. In the late morning chill, around 200 civic activists gathered near the Japanese Embassy in central Seoul, holding paper

March 1, 2023

1 in 4 foreign laborers relocate with some citing violence: data

Nearly 1 out of 4 low-skilled foreign workers who came to Korea on the E-9 visa have applied to change their workplace in the past six years on average, with some citing workplace violence, data showed Wednesday. From 2017 until October 2022, Korea has seen nearly 45,000 applications on average to change the workplace each year, out of some 200,000 workers on an E-9 visa, according to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor requested by Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee In-young. They ac

March 1, 2023

Korean government maintains Russian draft evaders not refugees

The South Korean government once again held firm in its stance that Russians coming to the country to avoid being drafted in the war in Ukraine would not qualify as refugees. In a message to reporters on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice said it would appeal Incheon District Court’s Feb. 14 decision that two of the three Russian men who arrived here in October should be allowed the chance to apply for refugee status here. “The Justice Ministry has decided to appeal the court’s

March 1, 2023

Spending on private education hits record high last year

Among household consumption expenditures last year, expenses for children's private education increased by nearly 20 percent year-on-year, recording the highest since 2019. In addition to inflation, the demand for private education appears to have increased due to concerns about gaps in the education system during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Statistics Korea, spending on children’s private education by married couples averaged 363,641 won ($280) per month, up 18.3 percent from

March 1, 2023

Study confirms COVID-19 transmissible between dogs

A South Korean research team has confirmed Wednesday that some COVID-19 variants -- delta and omicron -- can be transmitted between dogs. Although there have been many reports on the transmission of the coronavirus from humans to dogs, this is the first study that proves transmission of the virus among dogs. A joint research team, led by Professor Song Dae-sub of Seoul National University's College of Veterinary Medicine and researcher Yoo Kwang-soo of Jeonbuk National University, unveiled

March 1, 2023