Abandoned golden retriever recovering well: group

A golden retriever that was recently found severely injured after being abandoned is recovering well, a local animal protection center said Thursday. The Gangreung-based shelter Miso-Sarang posted a picture update of the dog now named Daru, saying the shelter is wrapping up the fundraiser it held to cover the dog's medical costs. According to the group, Daru was found abandoned near a freeway rest area in Gangreung, Gangwon Province, last week. The dog was lying on its back and its body w

June 21, 2024

N. Korean defectors send anti-Pyongyang leaflets again to N. Korea

A North Korean defectors' group said Friday it has sent more balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea the previous day, after the North warned of counteractions against such a leaflet campaign and Seoul's propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts. The Fighters for a Free North Koreasaid it sent 20 balloons carrying some 300,000 leaflets, USB sticks and US dollars across the border on Thursday night in the border city of Paju. The group said the USB sticks contained hit K-drama

June 21, 2024

Arrest warrants issued for 2 accused of defaming Yoon in media interview

Two men were arrested Friday on charges of defaming President Yoon Suk Yeol in a media interview engineered to discredit him as a presidential candidate, following a Seoul court's issuance of arrest warrants. Kim Man-bae, a journalist-turned-property developer, and journalist Shin Hak-lim are accused of engineering a media interview that falsely suggested Yoon's involvement in a high-profile development corruption scandal. The interview, conducted in September 2021, was published by Sh

June 21, 2024

Doctors launch pan-alliance committee

South Korean doctors launched a pan-alliance committee comprised of medical professors, junior doctors, students, and community doctors Thursday, seeking to take unified action against the government's plan to expand medical school quotas. "The medical circle's demands, including rediscussing the quota hike, remain unchanged. If the government dismisses such, the committee will collect the opinions of hospitals and clinics nationwide on staging walkouts and discuss them during its

June 20, 2024

Korean universities seek to lure more foreign students

YEONGJONGDO, Incheon -- As more and more universities in South Korea face financial crises due to a shrinking student population, four-year colleges are eyeing attracting and educating international students to secure successful operations of their institutes. A survey result conducted with some 130 presidents of universities showed such a trend, where 52.7 percent of respondents were interested in securing foreign students, which came as the third on the agenda of their interests, following fin

June 20, 2024

S. Korea to expand visa, job options for foreign students

South Korea seeks to adopt plans that will make it easier for its some 163,000 international students to live and work here, including expanding the visa types and job options offered to them, officials said Thursday. In a bid to plug job vacancies across key industries here, the government plans to allow foreign students who graduate in Korea to apply for E-9 nonprofessional employment visas, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination and Prime Minister’s Secretariat. The

June 20, 2024

Scorching heat to continue, but rain expected over weekend

Hot temperatures from Wednesday continued into Thursday, and are expected to continue into the weekend, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Thursday. Heat wave advisory warnings that had been issued in 92 regions across South Korea consinued through Thursday. Four cities in Gyeonggi Province -- Gapyeong, Goyang, Yongin and Anseong -- raised their heat warning level to the second-highest level in the four-tier system. While the first-level heat wave alert is issued when th

June 20, 2024

Innovation, cooperation key to Korea's export strategy: Industry vice minister

Exports are vital for South Korea to generate national wealth, and boosting them requires a collaborative effort between the government and businesses, First Vice Industry Minister Kang Kyung-sung said at the Global Business Forum in Seoul on Wednesday. “As Korea remains one of the world's most export-dependent industrialized nations, more exports mean more people living well. Therefore, the raison d'etre of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is to increase exports,"

June 20, 2024

Woman indicted for filming judges, police with camera hidden in glasses

A woman in her 30s, who is undergoing criminal trial for firing a gas-powered self-defense weapon at a doctor, is now facing additional charges for secretly filming her interrogations and court proceedings According to the prosecution in Daegu on Wednesday, the suspect, detained and prosecuted in the assault case, has been indicted for violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act by filming the hearing using glasses fitted with a hidden camera. The woman was apprehended at a Daegu cl

June 20, 2024

Top court dismisses doctors' call to halt gov't's med school quota hike move

The Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down an injunction filed by doctors seeking to stop the government from raising the number of medical school admissions, a ruling expected to affect several similar pending court proceedings. The top court upheld and finalized the appellate court's decision to reject the injunction filed by trainee doctors and medical professors calling for the suspension of the government plan to increase the medical school quota by 2,000 starting next year. The court

June 19, 2024

Man, now father of two, says he regrets killing mom 13 years ago

A man who at age 18 killed his mother and lived with her decaying body for eight months in a shocking matricide case in 2011 spoke of regrets over his actions, appearing on a TV program on Monday. The ex-convict, now in his 30s and a father of two children, said he is preparing for the time when he will have to tell his kids the truth. “If there are any 18-year-olds going through similar situations as I did, I hope they do not make the same decisions I did,” he said on a show that ai

June 19, 2024

Anyang transforms from commuter town to smart city

The city of Anyang, located in the heart of Gyeonggi Province, has now set a new course in aiming to become a globally recognized smart city through innovative development, the mayor says. Due to its proximity to Seoul, Anyang was once regarded primarily as a commuter city. However, it now wants to position itself as a self-sufficient city. "Anyang aims to enhance its competitiveness by swiftly incorporating the 'fourth industrial revolution' technologies. This will ensure the saf

June 19, 2024

Surge in spam messages sparks calls for authorities' response

Spam text messages promoting stock investment information, gambling, shopping and loan services have surged this year, data shows, while authorities have struggled take appropriate measures. According to data released by Rep. Hwang Jung-ah from the Democratic Party of Korea, obtained from the Korea Communications Commission, approximately 168 million text messages received via smartphones were identified as spam between January and May. The five-month tally surpassed the figure for the correspon

June 19, 2024

Woman injures nurse who was 'too nice' to her husband

A woman in her 30s has been taken into custody after she attacked a hospital nurse with a knife for being "too nice to her husband," police said Wednesday. The suspect is accused of attacking the victim at 12:57 p.m. Tuesday at a hospital on Jeju Island, according to the Jeju Dongbu Police Station. The victim, who was attending to the suspect's husband, sustained a 1.5-centimeter-long cut to her neck and received emergency medical treatment. The suspect told police that the nurse

June 19, 2024

Korea hit by hottest June day on record

Wednesday was expected to record the hottest day in June since weather records started to be kept in many cities nationwide. As of 3 p.m., Wednesday, the heat had broken several daytime temperature records across the country, including in Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province saw daytime temperatures reaching as high as 37.7 C, recording the highest June temperature in the city since 2010. Gwangju's daytime temperatures reached

June 19, 2024

Will striking doctors go the distance?

Observers expressed skepticism on Wednesday about the likelihood of doctors being able to sustain their current walkout indefinitely, citing the financial strain on those who run their own clinics and the logistical challenges of rescheduling treatments. Physicians who run local clinics are unlikely to join the move due to the financial impact they would bear if they shut down their practices and the potential loss of trust from their patients, they said. Fewer than 10 percent joined the previou

June 19, 2024

Lovebugs swarm cities as summer arrives

Parts of the Greater Seoul area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, have once again come under attack this year by swarms of the newly emerging summer nuisance referred to as "lovebugs," stoking a significant surge in complaints from residents in the area. First spotted in northwestern Seoul and Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in 2022, swarms of lovebugs have spread to appear from eastern Seoul, such as Dongdaemun-gu and Seongdong-gu, to Gangseo-gu in the far southwestern area of

June 19, 2024

Drunk man commits assault over installing AC for security guards

The South Korean police said Wednesday it is investigating a Busan man for assaulting the head of the residents' association at his apartment complex, over the association's decision to install an air conditioner in the complex's security guard's office. According to Busan Saha Police Station, the suspect in his 60s punched the victim after a residents' association meeting at around 7:30 p.m. on June 11. The group had just decided to repaint the walls of the apartment

June 19, 2024

600 international students gather at ISF Spring 2024 job fair

Sejong University announced the successful completion of the ISF Spring 2024 career fair, held on May 9 at its campus in Gwangjin-gu, northern Seoul. This event, designed to aid international students seeking jobs in the country, will return in November. A total of 30 prominent companies, including Hanwha Foodtech, Hyosung Goodspring, and FG Korea, the operator of Five Guys in Korea, took part in the fair to conduct job interviews with international students. Additionally, the fair welcomed st

June 19, 2024

Police seek arrest warrant for Army officers over death of recruit

Police on Tuesday requested an arrest warrant for two Army officers who are under investigation for their part in the recent death of a recruit. Investigators at the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency requested the warrant for an Army captain and a lieutenant, the commander and second-in-command for the company the deceased soldier had been part of. The two are being investigated for alleged death by occupational negligence and abuse of power, and had been summoned by Gangwon police since June 13

June 19, 2024