Court orders state to pay W10m to Moroccan asylum seeker for mistreatment

A local court ordered the government to pay 10 million won ($7,500) in compensation to the Moroccan asylum seeker who was detained in the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center for months beginning in March 2021 and suffered inhuman treatment there. The Seoul Central District Court delivered the ruling Thursday, about three years after the incident occurred at the detention center, during which the detainee was hog-tied, with his hands and feet bound behind his back. The Moroccan man originally a

May 9, 2024

YouTuber fatally stabbed on livestream by another YouTuber in Busan

A YouTuber in his 50s was apprehended after killing another YouTuber who was livestreaming in Busan, police authorities said Thursday. As per the Busan Metropolitan Police, the victim in his 50s was fatally stabbed while livestreaming on YouTube to his approximately 4,000 subscribers during a visit to the Busan District Court for a legal trial. The suspect, also in his 50s and identified as an acquaintance of the victim, is known to be a YouTuber as well. His channel has about 8,000 subscriber

May 9, 2024

Court rules surgery not mandatory for legal gender change

A recent court ruling has declared it unlawful for the first time to require gender-affirmation surgery as a prerequisite for legally changing one's gender. Judges at the Yeongdong branch of the Cheongju District Court recently granted permission to five people who have not undergone gender reassignment surgeries to change their legal gender from male to female on their family registers. The decision was confirmed by the court on Thursday. The individuals, originally registered as male at b

May 9, 2024

University president proposes strategies to thrive in AI-driven era

President of Taejae University Yeom Jae-ho on Wednesday underscored the profound impact Artificial Intelligence has been having and the essential attitudes individuals must cultivate to thrive in the evolving AI era. Speaking at The Korea Herald’s Global Business Forum in Seoul, the president of South Korea's first future innovation university, said this was an era of "VUCA" -- Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity. Despite this rapid transformation, Yeom highlighte

May 9, 2024

Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately

A teenager and a police officer were rescued from the Han River Wednesday after they fell from a bridge while the officer was attempting to prevent a suicide attempt. The Yeouido patrol unit of the Yeongdeungpo Police Station received a report at around 7:24 p.m. that a woman was hanging off the railing of the Mapo Bridge over the major river in central Seoul. Ten officers were immediately dispatched to the site, where a 17-year-old girl was hanging off the railing of the bridge over the river

May 9, 2024

Arrest warrant issued for medical student for allegedly killing girlfriend after breakup

A Seoul court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for a medical school student on charges of killing his girlfriend in Seoul earlier this week for allegedly breaking up with him. The 25-year-old, only identified by his surname Choi, who goes to a prestigious medical school in Seoul, was arrested without warrant on Monday for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death on the rooftop of a building in southern Seoul around 5 p.m. on Monday. The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant af

May 8, 2024

Yoon’s mother-in-law to be released on parole

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s mother-in-law, who is currently serving a one-year jail sentence for forgery, will be released some two months early, said the Justice Ministry on Wednesday. Choi Eun-soon, the 77-year-old mother of first lady Kim Keon Hee, will be released 10 a.m. on May 14, a day ahead of Buddha’s birthday, considering various factors including her age, health condition and good behavior while incarcerated, according to the ministry’s nine-member Probation and Parole

May 8, 2024

S. Korea to let doctors with foreign licenses practice

The Health Ministry said Wednesday that it would allow those holding foreign medical licenses to practice medicine in South Korea to help cope with a health care crisis exacerbated by a walkout by junior doctors. The ministry said it would make revisions to the enforcement regulation of the Medical Service Act, adding “medical support” to the list of tasks that foreign medical license holders can perform to address the shortage of medical personnel in the event of a medical disaster

May 8, 2024

Court confirms 10-year jail term for drug smugglers

The Gwangju High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced two men to 10 years in prison for smuggling 12 kilograms of methamphetamine into the country. The two suspects, Malaysian nationals in their 30s and 40s, were found guilty of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, particularly the section on narcotics and psychotropic drugs. "Considering the amount of smuggled drugs and severe nature of drug-related crimes, the sentence seems to be app

May 8, 2024

Man returns checks found in old clothing, then donates reward

A man found bank checks worth 50 million won ($36,600) and helped return them to their owner, then donated the reward money that the owner gave him to the local government. According to Saha-gu Office in Busan, a resident named Cha Sang-jae recently found the checks inside an old piece of clothing that he came across and reported it to the police. The checks were revealed to have belonged to the father of Wi Seong-han, who passed away two years ago. Wi, a resident of Seoul, had thrown the clothi

May 8, 2024

Why femicide and dating violence are growing issues in S. Korea

In recent months, a wave of murders targeting ex-girlfriends has not only sent shock waves across the country but has also raised questions about why these incidents occur and how such a crime can be prevented. The murder of a woman in her 20s by her boyfriend on Monday atop a building near Gangnam Station in Seoul, which occurred following her request to end the relationship, tragically mirrors a distressing trend of similar incidents. The suspect, whom the authorities only identified as a 20-s

May 8, 2024

Ministry warns of admissions freeze if it halts expansion plan

The Ministry of Education warned Wednesday of punitive measures, including the suspension of student admissions, as a potential consequence for Pusan National University if it persists in halting its medical school enrollment expansion plan. Expressing regret over the school's decision on Tuesday to suspend the increase of medical seats, the ministry emphasized that each university must adhere to the allocation of medical school seats as determined by the education minister in accordance wi

May 8, 2024

Homosexuality neither sin nor heresy: UMC

The US-based United Methodist Church said it does not see homosexuality as a sin or heresy, countering the accusations leveled at the global denomination by a coalition of Korean Protestant churches. “The Bible says homosexuality is a sin and consecrating gay clergy amounts to heresy,” President Jung Seo-young of the Christian Council of Korea said in a statement Saturday, made in response to the UMC decision to lift its 40-year-old ban on ordaining gay clergy Wednesday. “The U

May 8, 2024

Young Korean doctors seek plan B: cosmetic dermatology or overseas

Amid an intensifying medical standoff between the government and the medical community over a plan to increase the medical student quota starting next year, some young Korean medical residents are contemplating switching their tracks to cosmetic dermatology or pursuing their careers overseas. A junior doctor majoring in the essential medical field, who wished to be unnamed, told The Korea Herald that he recently attended a conference on skin care and plastic surgery hosted by the Korean Academy

May 8, 2024

Alert of 70 'fierce dogs' on loose in Daejeon turns out to be just 2

An emergency text message warning that 70 fierce dogs were on the loose in Daejeon on Wednesday morning turned out to be an overstatement, as only two small dogs had escaped from a local breeding facility. At around 10:00 a.m., the city's Dong-gu District Office sent out an emergency alert message to residents, stating that 70 “fierce dogs” had escaped from a nearby dog breeding farm at 9:44 a.m. The message urged residents to "avoid approaching the affected area and evacua

May 8, 2024

School turns snack bar into screen golf zone, used by students only 3 times

A Seoul high school recently set up a screen golf facility inside its premises which is mostly used by the staff, sparking complaints from students and their teachers over whether it was a proper use of school funds. According to a report by local broadcaster MBC, the school based in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul shut down the school's snack bar after the government enforced social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The area was turned into a screen golf zone that is not regularly open to st

May 8, 2024

Police seek arrest warrant for med student who killed girlfriend

Police said late Tuesday they plan to seek an arrest warrant for a medical school student in his 20s accused of killing his girlfriend on a building rooftop near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul. The Seoul Seocho Police Station said the suspect, whom the authorities only identified as a student at one of the top medical schools here, was detained after allegedly stabbing his girlfriend multiple times and murdering her on the rooftop around 5 p.m. on Monday. The suspect later admitted to his cri

May 8, 2024

Man stabs woman and her son amid financial dispute, killing 1

A man in his 80s has been apprehended for stabbing a woman and her son at an apartment complex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul on Tuesday. According to Seoul Suseo Police Station, the suspect allegedly stabbed a woman in her 50s and her son after raiding their home in Gaepo-dong at 8 a.m., Tuesday morning. The woman was quickly transferred to the nearest hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, but was later pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. The son is currently being treated at the ho

May 7, 2024

Dead man's confession of gang rape rejected as evidence

The Supreme Court recently overturned a lower court ruling that found three men guilty of group rape, based on the written confession left by another man before his death. South Korea's highest court said the note left by the deceased cannot be used as evidence of the sexual crime in a criminal case, saying its credibility has not sufficiently been verified. The deceased, who died at his apartment in Seoul in 2021, had apologized in what is thought to be a suicide note that he and three oth

May 7, 2024

Seoul mayor proposes mutual economic cooperation with Dubai

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon proposed to forge mutual financial and economic cooperation with Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, during the Dubai Fintech Summit held there on Monday. In his keynote speech, “Seoul - A Global Economic Innovation Hub,” Oh highlighted the city’s strengths as a global financial center, a leader in innovative finance and a digital financial hub. He also outlined Seoul's strategic direction to become one of the top five global cities

May 7, 2024