Vietnamese teen investigated for abandoning newborn

South Korean police said Thursday a recently born girl was found inside the bathroom of an underground shopping district, and that the mother is under investigation for abandoning the baby. The child was found inside a bag placed in the bathroom of the shopping district in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, at around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The child was in good health, and still had the umbilical cord attached. The child was taken to a nearby hospital for medical care. Police used surveillance footage to

Nov. 21, 2024

Labor union, farmers' association stage large-scale rally in downtown Seoul

South Korea's largest umbrella labor union and the farmers' association held a massive rally in central Seoul on Wednesday against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, causing traffic congestion, officials said. An estimated 6,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the general association of national farmers, simply known as Junnong, staged a joint rally in downtown Seoul, lashing out at the Yoon government for causing economic hardships for farmers and the p

Nov. 20, 2024

Nearly half of pines at Seoraksan face extinction due to global warming: study

Nearly half of the Korean pines, a tree species emblematic of the nation, are at risk of dying at Seoraksan, a recent study revealed Wednesday. The research, conducted by the Korea National Park Service, examined the state of pine forests across five national parks -- Seoraksan, Odaesan, Chiaksan, Taebaeksan and Sobaeksan -- utilizing satellite imagery, aerial photographs and on-site patrol data. The findings revealed significant pine tree dieback, with 480 trees affected in Taebaeksan, 41 in

Nov. 20, 2024

Porsche driver appeals six-year jail term for DUI killing teen

A man in his 50s who caused a fatal crash while speeding under the influence of alcohol has appealed a six-year prison sentence, according to a court on Tuesday. The Jeonju District Court handed down a jail term of six years with a fine of 1 million won ($718) on charges of drunk driving and violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents to the defendant in September. The defendant filed an appeal, arguing that the six-year prison term is too heavy. In respo

Nov. 20, 2024

Labor, farmer groups stage large-scale rallies in central Seoul

South Korea‘s labor groups, including one of the nation’s two major umbrella unions, held a rally Wednesday calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the largest umbrella labor union in the country, and the Korean Peasants League called for Yoon's resignation, claiming he has failed to address the plummeting rice prices and has excessively used low-tariff and duty-free imports, which they argue undermines local agricultural stabi

Nov. 20, 2024

Binding plastic pollution treaty unlikely: ministry

With less than a week left for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution at its fifth and final session, the Ministry of Environment told the press Wednesday that reaching a deal “could be difficult.” "Out of the five scheduled rounds of negotiations, four have been completed,” said an Environment Ministry official. “However, the process remains deadlocked due to sharp conflict between cou

Nov. 20, 2024

S. Korea sees second-highest immigration surge in OECD

Immigration of a permanent type to South Korea jumped by 50.9 percent last year, the second biggest surge among the 38 member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In an OECD report titled “International Migration Outlook 2024,” released last week, a record 6.5 million people moved to the 38 high-income countries committed to democracy which make up the OECD last year, up 10 percent from 2022. The United States was the top destination country, adding

Nov. 20, 2024

Illegal gambling franchise busted, over 700 under investigation

South Korean police said Wednesday they are pursuing criminal charges against 715 individuals related to a nationwide illegal gambling operation, which is thought to have brought in around 100 billion won ($72 million) in revenue. Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested seven individuals suspected of running a poker-themed bar franchise with 15 local branches across the country that conducted an illegal gambling operation from March 2021 to April this year. The others are being investigated wi

Nov. 20, 2024

Supreme Court hands down maximum prison term for 'jeonse' fraudster

A 50-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for orchestrating a massive real estate scam that defrauded 229 tenants out of 18 billion won ($13 million) in deposits entrusted to her under the "jeonse" lump-sum lease system. The Supreme Court’s First Division upheld a lower court’s ruling on Wednesday, confirming the 15-year prison sentence for Choi, who was convicted of fraud and other charges. This marks the Supreme Court's first definitive ruling in a larg

Nov. 20, 2024

Korea to extend paid leave for miscarriage, stillbirth

South Korea will extend paid leave for women who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth before the 11th week of pregnancy, doubling the current allowance from five to 10 days. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that it has announced partial amendments to the related laws, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, Employment Insurance Act, and Labor Standards Act, which will be open for public consultation until Dec. 30. These changes are slated to take effect on Feb. 23,

Nov. 20, 2024

10-year jail term finalized for Rolls-Royce hit-and-run

The Supreme Court on Wednesday finalized a 10-year prison term for a hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian by driving his Rolls-Royce onto a sidewalk while under the influence of drugs. The accident happened in near Apgujeong Station in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul in August 2023. The victim, aged 27, was on her way home after working a part-time job. She died in November last year. He then left the scene without taking any measures to deal with the accident. The 28-year-old driver, identif

Nov. 20, 2024

'Don't fear failure, pursue what you love,' says Faker

South Korean gamer Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok advised youth not to fear failure, noting that the journey is crucial to success. "Success is equated with being the best and winning in the professional world, so I always strived to win," Lee, a five-time winner of the League of Legends World Championship, said during a keynote speech during the 2024 Future Dialogue for Global Innovation event held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. However, Lee said failure taught h

Nov. 20, 2024

Man kills 'violent' grandfather; grandmother asks court for leniency

A man under trial in South Korea for killing his grandfather has claimed that the victim had frequently abused his grandmother, while the grandmother in question has requested a lenient punishment for her grandson, saying "she would gladly give her own life for it." Prosecutors asked the Seoul Eastern District Court to sentence the 23-year-old man accused of killing his grandfather to 24 years in prison, in a court hearing Tuesday. They said that, although the defendant said his grandf

Nov. 20, 2024

Monk jailed for threatening teen with ax

Seoul court said Wednesday that it had sentenced a 10-month prison term for a monk, who threatened to cut off the injured leg of a high school student with an ax for no apparent reason. Seoul Central District Court found the 63-year-old defendant guilty of special intimidation -- meaning it involved a weapon or collective force. The verdict was a result of an appellate case regarding two separate threats the defendant made with a weapon. The defendant in April of last year approached a high scho

Nov. 20, 2024

Assigning trans boy to girls' room is discrimination: human rights body

A school assigning a female-to-male transgender student to stay in the girls' room on a school trip is discriminatory, the state-run human rights body said Tuesday. The National Human Rights Commission said Tuesday it recommended the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to provide a comprehensive education policy that can attend to the needs of LGBTQ+ students and allow diversity in the classroom. The NHRC's decision was in response to a complaint filed in February by a student at

Nov. 20, 2024

Criminal ring accused of posing as soldiers, UN officials to swindle W1.4b in romantic scam

An international fraud ring is accused of perpetrating a romantic scam against 14 victims, assuming the fake identities of US soldiers, UN officials and foreign students, Seoul police said Tuesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it has forwarded the case of the criminal organization with a 44-year-old Russian leader to the prosecution for fraud charges. The Russian leader and eight others have been placed under physical detention. They are believed to have swindled a total of 1.4 bi

Nov. 20, 2024

[Graphic News] 70% of S. Koreans believe couples can live together without tying the knot: survey

Nearly 7 in 10 South Koreans believe that couples can live together without getting married, and almost 40 percent support having children without getting married first, a government report showed, signaling a substantial shift in perceptions around marriage and having children. The report was based on a survey, conducted by Statistics Korea in May 2024, involving 36,000 respondents aged 13 years and older. The survey is conducted biennially. The findings showed that 67.4 percent of respondent

Nov. 20, 2024

[Campus Now] Women's colleges in crisis: Blasted for gender bias, coed transition proposals

Confronting their biggest challenge in a century, South Korea's women’s universities are embroiled in controversies that have led some to question their relevance in a society where gender equality in education is increasingly seen as having been achieved. The issue gained significant attention recently when students at Dongduk Women’s University, one of South Korea’s seven remaining women’s colleges, protested against the school's consideration of a transition

Nov. 19, 2024

Arrest warrant sought for new mother who killed infant twins

Police are seeking an arrest warrant for a woman in her 40s accused of killing her recently born 7-month-old twins, citing the stress of caring for them alone, officials said Tuesday. The suspect was taken into custody on Monday after she called police at 12:40 p.m. to turn herself in. Earlier in the day, the woman allegedly suffocated the infants with a blanket at around 8:30 a.m. in their home in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, while her husband was at work, according to Yeosu Police. Authoritie

Nov. 19, 2024

Police to push for licenses for personal mobility devices

Police are pushing to introduce driver’s licenses dedicated specifically for personal mobility devices, such as electric scooters or motorized bicycles, according to the Korean National Police Agency. “The agency is planning to derive a reasonable proposal by January next year at the latest, after conducting surveys and consultations with related agencies and organizations by the end of this year,” a KNPA official told the press on Tuesday. Currently, three methods are being co

Nov. 19, 2024