Day care centers plummet, senior facilities soar amid demographic shift

Day care centers declined by nearly 2,000 in 2023, while facilities for seniors increased by more than 3,000, reflecting Korea’s continued aging society, data showed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of day care centers fell by 1,969, from 30,923 in 2022 to 28,954 last year. The overall decrease was mainly driven by declining private and family day care centers. Private day care centers decreased by 840 from 9,726 to 8,886, while family day care centers

July 25, 2024

District prosecution chief briefed on first lady's questioning before report to prosecutor general 3hrs later

The chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office was briefed on last week's questioning of first lady Kim Keon Hee more than three hours before he reported it to Prosecutor General Lee One-seok, sources said Thursday. The revelation came after the top prosecutor expressed frustrations that he had been in the dark about Saturday's questioning of Kim over a luxury bag scandal for some 10 hours, and ordered an inspection into what happened. The inspection is expected to focus on

July 25, 2024

Crowded public transport, long commutes top stressors for Seoul, Gyeonggi workers: survey

Workers living in Seoul identified crowded public transportation as their biggest stressor, according to a survey conducted on Wednesday. The survey, carried out by online recruiting company Job Korea, polled 1,010 people nationwide on the current status of work commutes this month. The survey revealed that the average commute from home to work takes 48.4 minutes per day. By region, those living in Gyeonggi Province had the longest average commute at 58.2 minutes, followed by Seoul residents at

July 25, 2024

4-year prison term sought for actor Yoo Ah-in over drug charges

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a four-year prison term for actor Yoo Ah-in on charges of habitually abusing illegal drugs. The 37-year-old actor, whose latest works include the dark fantasy Netflix series "Hellbound," faces charges of illegally using propofol, a medical anesthetic, under the pretext of cosmetic procedures on 181 occasions between 2020-2022. He was also accused of abusing three other medical anesthetic drugs, including midazolam and ketamine. Charges against him also

July 24, 2024

Lawmaker suggests special law to combat YouTube slander

A ruling party lawmaker on Wednesday addressed the need for legislation to crack down on defamatory YouTube content, citing recent controversy over the blackmail of a popular mukbang star. During a confirmation hearing for Lee Jin-sook, nominee for Korea Communications Commission chair, Rep. Shin Sung-bum pressed for her views on the issue, noting it has inflicted immense harm on the victims. The discussion was prompted by a recent incident involving Tzuyang, a renowned mukbang content creator w

July 24, 2024

Seoul vows W106.5b to support youth exiting foster care

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it would spend 106.5 billion won ($76.9 million) over the next five years to help youth transitioning out of foster care or child care institutions to adjust to independent living, becoming the first local government to do so in South Korea. The city government’s plan includes providing job consultation services, raising independent living capabilities, subsidizing living costs and providing additional help in adjusting to society

July 24, 2024

Over half of Korea's outpatient visits last under 5 minutes: study

Over half of outpatients in South Korea spent under five minutes with their doctor during medical appointments last year, a study showed Wednesday. The study, commissioned by the Health Ministry and conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, gathered responses from 14,910 individuals between July 24 and Sept. 22 last year. Its findings show that 55 percent of respondents reported spending less than five minutes with their doctor, with 17.6 percent saying consultations lasted

July 24, 2024

Largest doctors' group pulls plug on joint committee

South Korea's largest doctors' group said Wednesday that it has decided to pull the plug on a joint committee launched last month to take unified action against the government's planned medical school expansion, after other groups called on it to disband. The Korean Medical Association issued a statement stating that the committee would cease operations after Friday, when its forum to discuss how to salvage the country's health care is scheduled to take place. "The decis

July 24, 2024

Police close message board following coercive probe allegations

A local police station recently shut down an open message board on its website after a barrage of complaints concerning allegations of an officer's coercive investigation into a wrongly accused man. As of Wednesday, the page that had previously functioned as a general forum accessible to anyone has disappeared from the website of the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station that serves the city of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Users are referred to a government-run website for placing police complain

July 24, 2024

Assembly panel defers 'yellow envelope bill'

The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee on Wednesday decided to defer a decision on a pro-labor bill that aims to limit companies from making claims for damages against legitimate labor union disputes. National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jung Chung-rae said that the decision was put on hold, citing the need for further discussions due to differences between the ruling and opposition parties. The National Assembly passed a similar bill last year, but P

July 24, 2024

Rape evidence caught in reflection of washing machine lid

A rape case that could have remained unresolved due to a lack of evidence has instead led to the indictment of the suspect, after investigators found that the sexual attack had been reflected in the lid of a washing machine. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office recently commended five cases for their outstanding use of forensic investigation in the second quarter of this year. Among the five were a Gangneung prosecutor's indictment of a rape suspect accused of six sexual attacks on his fo

July 24, 2024

Victim in Taekwondo studio child abuse case dies

A 5-year-old child hospitalized due to alleged abuse by a taekwondo instructor in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, died Tuesday. The child had been in intensive care in Seoul since July 12, after he suffered cardiac arrest at the taekwondo studio. The boy was reportedly squeezed into a rolled matt upside down for around 20 minutes by a 30-something male instructor of the studio before he was rescued. The instructor is alleged to have ignored the victim's calls for help, and to have tried to delet

July 24, 2024

Students boycott class, calling for teacher's return

Local education authorities said Tuesday that a group of students at an elementary school in North Gyeongsang Province has been refusing classes for days in support of their teacher who has been feuding with a parent. The 23 students in the provincial city of Chilgok refused to attend class from July 16 to the commencement of summer break on July 19, according to the Gyeongbuk Office of Education. The parents of the students said they will not attend second-semester classes until the children&

July 24, 2024

Education ministry intensifies scrutiny of advanced tutoring programs

The South Korean Education Ministry announced Tuesday a comprehensive crackdown on advanced learning programs across the country’s private academies, particularly those offering high-school level curricula to young children. The initiative, running from July 3 to Aug. 30, aims to clamp down on "pre-curriculum learning" in these tutoring institutions known locally as hagwons. Many hagwons offer intensive college-prep courses for elementary students, exposing them to advanced sub

July 23, 2024

Landmark ruling boosts same-sex couples' confidence in S. Korea

Same-sex couples in South Korea are expressing hope for the improvement of LGBTQ+ rights here, on the coattails of last week's Supreme Court ruling that recognized the legal rights of a same-sex couple for the first time ever. In the landmark ruling, the country's top court ruled that the plaintiff, So Sung-wook, should be eligible for spousal coverage under the National Health Insurance Service subscription of his male partner, Kim Yong-min. The court stated in its ruling that same-se

July 23, 2024

Korea to roll out blueprint for medical reform

The government said Tuesday that it would roll out a blueprint for medical reform in late August, renewing its commitment to overhauling health care despite strong resistance from the medical circle. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong made the remarks during a government response meeting, highlighting that the medical reform committee launched in April has made tangible progress in tackling the problems of the country's medical system that have remained unsolved after 31 committee meetings with

July 23, 2024

Supreme Court nominee faces criticism over daughter's stock gains

Supreme Court justice nominee Lee Suk-yeon’s daughter was found to have made a profit 63 times higher than her original stock investment by selling her shares to her father, according to data released Tuesday. According to official documents Lee submitted to Rep. Huh Young of the Democratic Party, Lee’s daughter, identified by her last name Cho, sold 400 stock shares of a cosmetics R&D firm to her father for 385 million won ($277,636) in May 2023. The 400 shares were part of a to

July 23, 2024

What are the charges faced by Kakao founder?

The founder of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp. was detained Tuesday on charges of stock price manipulation related to the firm's takeover of K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment last year, prosecutors said. The Seoul Southern District Court granted the prosecution’s request for a pretrial detention warrant for Kim Beom-su, also known as Brian Kim, on charges of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, citing concerns about evidence destruction and flight r

July 23, 2024

YouTuber apologizes over her actions related to 'housing fraud'

YouTuber Darcie on Tuesday apologized for her actions on what she had initially described as "housing fraud incident," which many people perceived as her trying to shift her own losses from a scam onto another victim. "I'm ashamed to admit that I failed to recognize the severity of the housing fraud issue, and made the mistake of referring to my personal experience as one. I apologize for the inaccurate depiction of my experience," she said in an apology posted via her

July 23, 2024

Bodies of two men wash ashore on west coast beach

The bodies of two men were found at a beach in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, the Boryeong Coast Guard said Tuesday. The two men, both identified to be 49-year-old residents of Boryeong, were found dead at around 10:57 p.m. Monday at Doksan Beach in the small coastal city. Officials suspect that they died due to an accident that occurred while they were doing "haerujil," or traditional barehanded fishing. Haerujil refers to shining a light at nighttime and catching the fish that

July 23, 2024