Court to deliver verdicts for Yongsan Ward office chief, ex-Yongsan police chief over Itaewon crowd crush

A Seoul court is set to deliver verdicts Monday for the Yongsan Ward office chief and a former chief of the Yongsan Police Station over the deadly 2022 crowd crush in the district of Itaewon. Park Hee-young, head of the Yongsan Ward office, and former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-jae were indicted last year over allegations that they failed to take steps to prevent the crowd crush that left 159 people dead on a Halloween weekend in the Itaewon nightlife district on Oct. 29, 2022. The Seou

Sept. 30, 2024

Prosecutors question CEO of Qoo10 over e-commerce insolvency incidents

Prosecutors on Monday grilled an e-commerce tycoon believed to be at the center of the large-scale insolvency incidents involving online shopping platforms TIMON and WeMakePrice. Ku Young-bae, CEO of the Singapore-based Qoo10 Group, the parent company of TIMON and WeMakePrice, underwent questioning as a fraud and embezzlement suspect at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in the morning. He entered the prosecution office at 8:55 a.m. after telling reporters that he will faithfully unde

Sept. 30, 2024

Media regulator notes 'significant progress' in talks with Telegram over handling of deepfakes

The South Korean state telecommunications watchdog on Sunday noted "significant progress" in its recent talks with Telegram over the handling of deepfake content on the encrypted messaging app. The Korea Communications Standards Commission added that its chairman, Ryu Hee-lim, is scheduled to announce the results of those talks with Telegram on Monday. "We met with Telegram's top security officer and others in a third country on Friday and Saturday," a KCSC official said

Sept. 29, 2024

Prosecutors investigating nature of e-commerce platforms' payments to parent firm

Prosecutors investigating two beleaguered e-commerce platforms' payment delays to vendors are now trying to determine the nature of huge sums of money changing hands between those firms and their parent company, legal sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office secured a management consulting agreement between Qoo10 and their e-commerce affiliates, TMON and WeMakePrice, in June 2023. Under the deal, those affiliates were required to pay the S

Sept. 29, 2024

Gov't agencies discuss preparedness for Typhoon Krathon

The interior ministry held a meeting Sunday with relevant agencies to discuss preparedness for an approaching typhoon. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min presided over the meeting, where attending officials reviewed emergency plans and safety measures with Typhoon Krathon expected to affect the southern island of Jeju and other southern regions, plus the eastern province of Gangwon this week. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the typhoon will likely pass near Taipei on Wednesday with a ma

Sept. 29, 2024

Express Bus Terminal, Gangnam stations lead subway crime statistics

Seoul’s subway system, which serves 7 million passengers daily, recorded a total of 3,516 crimes in 2023, a 4 percent rise from the previous year, police data revealed. Misappropriation of lost property made up 42 percent of all crimes with 1,408 cases. Sexual assault accounted for 36 percent with 1,230 cases, and theft 25 percent with 855 cases, according to the data made public Sunday by Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea. The released data did not include comparative figu

Sept. 29, 2024

‘Korea crossed the line too far’ disgraced singer’s lawyer cries foul after 3rd visa denial

Once a superstar in the 1990s K-pop scene, Korean American singer Steve Yoo strongly criticized South Korea’s recent refusal of his visa request. It is the third time his visa application has been denied. The singer, also known as Yoo Seung-jun, posted a statement written by his lawyer Ryu Jeong-sun on his Instagram account on Saturday. According to the statement, the South Korean consulate general in Los Angeles recently refused a visa to Korea for Yoo. Yoo has now been unable to enter Ko

Sept. 29, 2024

Suspected mpox patient denied tests for hours by multiple hospitals

A man showing symptoms of mpox was denied tests for 10 hours, with multiple medical institutions refusing to admit him for testing, local media reported Saturday. According to reports, the patient was receiving treatment for fever and difficulty breathing at a hospital in South Jeolla Province on Sept. 17, when blisters appeared on his hands and feet. Suspecting the blisters to be a symptom of mpox, medical workers at the hospital recommended he get tested for the virus immediately. The man then

Sept. 29, 2024

[Legal updates in Korea] How 'car camping' could now get you fined

● Updated law: Parking Lot Act What it does: Prohibits camping, cooking and lighting fires in public parking lots Took effect: Sept. 20 Punishment: Fine up to 500,000 won ($379.33) In recent years, “chabak,” or the trend of camping in one's car, has become a major trend in South Korea. While it has provided travelers with the benefits of convenient and flexible camping compared to pitching and sleeping in a tent, it has also contributed to a surge in fire hazards. Recent actio

Sept. 29, 2024

45% of unregistered foreigners entered Korea on visa waivers: data

Nearly 45 percent of the over 423,000 unregistered foreign nationals living in South Korea had originally entered the country under its visa waiver program and overstayed their permitted period of stay as of the end of 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Justice released Sunday in a report created by Rep. Song Seog-jun of the ruling People Power Party. The data in the report said 16.9 percent of the more than 2.5 million foreign national residents in Korea were unregistered as of the en

Sept. 29, 2024

Immigration policy must go beyond labor supply: experts

South Korea needs to shift its perspective on immigration beyond merely viewing immigrants as a solution to labor supply issues, experts said at a forum in Seoul last week. Emphasizing that any successful immigration policy must account for cultural, social and legal integration, Moon Jae-wan, president of the Korea Migration Law Association, said that overlooking the wider contributions of immigrants was a flawed approach. "In a rapidly changing global landscape, we must recognize immigr

Sept. 29, 2024

KMA chief under pressure after surveyed doctors refuse to back him

The leader of South Korea's largest doctors association is under pressure after the majority of a group of members surveyed expressed no confidence in him. In a survey of Korean Medical Association members run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 27 by several high ranking KMA officials, more than 77 percent of the participants expressed no confidence in the group's president, Lim Hyun-taek, according to the medical community on Sunday. Figures on the number of members surveyed were not made public

Sept. 29, 2024

Two kids' smartwatch strap products on AliExpress 121 times over lead limit

Two children’s smartwatch straps sold on Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress were found to contain lead levels 121 times higher than the national safety limits, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday. The safety test results were released on 16 products, including smartwatch straps for children, pacifiers and pacifier clips sold on AliExpress and Temu. The city government revealed that two types of smartwatch straps sold on AliExpress exceeded the country’s lead safety le

Sept. 28, 2024

Suicide attempts spike among youth in Korea

The suicide rate among individuals under 20 has spiked in recent years in South Korea, with mental health disorders and interpersonal conflicts cited as the main cause. The proportion of those under 20 who had to go to the emergency room after attempting suicide jumped from 35 percent out of a total of 21,545 people in 2019, to 43.3 percent out of 30,665 people in 2023, according to Health Ministry data provided to Rep. Park Hee-seung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. In partic

Sept. 28, 2024

4 in 10 illegal aliens entered S. Korea without visas last year: data

Four in 10 foreigners who illegally stayed in South Korea last year entered the country without visas and stayed beyond the visa-free period, data from the justice ministry showed Saturday. The number of illegal aliens in South Korea came to 423,675 as of the end of last year, accounting for 16.9 percent of the total foreigners staying in the nation, according to the data cited by Rep. Song Seong-jun of the ruling People Power Party. Of the illegal aliens, the number of those who arrived in Sout

Sept. 28, 2024

Most teen sex offenders get away with slap on wrist

Out of over 3,000 juvenile offenders who were found guilty of sex offenses and placed under juvenile law protection, only 143 were sent to juvenile detention centers, a report showed Friday. According to the Supreme Court's judicial yearbook, a total of 3,701 juveniles were tried for sex crimes out of the 50,094 juvenile protection cases filed last year. Among them, 2,963 were placed under probation after judges found them guilty. When one under age 19 commits a crime, law enforcement agenc

Sept. 27, 2024

S. Korea to inject W10tr by 2027 to reorganize tertiary hospitals

South Korea will use 10 trillion won ($7.6 billion) of health insurance financial reserves by 2027 to reorganize tertiary hospitals to reduce nonessential medical care functions and enhance their critical care, the government unveiled Friday. Tertiary hospitals operate as general hospitals that provide highly specialized medical services for treating serious diseases under the Medical Services Act. The government will increase the proportion of severe medical treatment in tertiary hospitals from

Sept. 27, 2024

Four individuals face charges over illegal surrogacy 13 years ago

A surrogate mother, an infertile couple and a broker, have been sent to prosecution for indictment over an illegal surrogacy arrangement involving a payment of 50 million won ($37,890) from 13 years ago. The Gwangju Bukbu Police said Thursday that the surrogate mother, who is in her 30s, the couple in their 50s, and the surrogacy broker were referred to the prosecution without detention. The four are accused of violating South Korea’s Child Welfare Act. According to police, the surrogate m

Sept. 27, 2024

Man sentenced to 1 year, 8 months for stealing from elementary school classrooms

A man in his 50s was sentenced on Friday to one year and eight months in prison for breaking into elementary school classrooms and stealing cash and gift cards. The Daejeon District Court found the 56-year-old man guilty of theft, citing two separate incidents. The first occurred on April 17, when the man entered a classroom for first and second graders at an elementary school in Ulsan at approximately 2:15 p.m. He searched through lockers and wallets, stealing about 450,000 won ($340) in cash a

Sept. 27, 2024

Sales of ADHD medication disguised as 'smart drugs' skyrocket during test period

Illegal sales of prescription ADHD medication to students have been on the rise in South Korea recently, and government data Friday showed that such distribution soared before the crucial Suneung mock test. The local authorities spotted 669 cases of illegal sales of such medications to students from Aug. 4-14 in a special illegal drug distribution inspection targeting college applicants, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety data submitted to Rep. Han Ji-ah of the ruling People Pow

Sept. 27, 2024