A man accused of dousing his daughter and wife with gasoline and setting them on fire is in custody, police said Monday. Local police and firefighters were called Sunday at around 10 p.m. to a village in Haenam, South Jeolla Province on report of a fire. Upon arriving, they found the house of the 65-year-old suspect, surnamed Park, on fire. They discovered later he had purposely set his family members on fire after a severe argument with his wife. Park’s 16-year-old daughter died after being tak

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2016

Some 90 elementary students who showed signs of food poisoning during a school trip were rushed to a hospital, the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education said Monday. Busan Metropolitan City Office of EducationThe students had complained of stomach ache, high fever and diarrhea. About 220 students had gone on a three-day school trip Wednesday to Gangwon Province. Authorities are investigating what food or beverage could have caused the poisoning, the government body said. An official report

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2016

A mother is in custody under the charge of choking her son to death, police said Monday. Daegu Dongbu Police are investigating the suspect, 42, known by her surname Jeon, in connection with the death of her 7-year-old son Friday. The suspect allegedly took the elementary school kid to a motel in Daegu and choked him to death on the bed, police said. (Herald DB)After she carried out the crime, she took him back to her apartment and was spotted by her husband, who reported the case to police immed

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2016

In South Korea, there were 221 police officers per 100,000 citizens as of July -- or one police officer per every 452 citizens, the National Police Agency said Friday. The coverage is quite low in comparison to other advanced nations. In Germany, each law enforcement officer guarded 305 citizens in July, about 1.5 times less the coverage in South Korea. Paris had 322 citizens per each police officer during the same month, followed by London with 421 citizens and the US with 427. (Herald DB)Front

Social Affairs Oct. 21, 2016

A man who was lying on the road drunk was killed by a driver who could not avoid running him over, police said Friday. The 42-year-old victim surnamed Hong had been drinking heavily before he walked into the road in the Namgu District of Ulsan on Thursday around 12:20 a.m.Local police said the driver, Lee, could not spot the lying man on the ground and ran over him.  (Herald DB)“Lee was not driving drunk at that time of the accident,” police said. “We are working to verify details regarding the

Social Affairs Oct. 21, 2016

The number of crimes committed by non-Koreans in South Korea is on the rise, police said Thursday. 　The National Police Agency said the number of reported crimes committed by foreign nationals was 25,570 cases in the first half of this year. That figure translates into more than 4,200 criminal cases per month.Criminal charges filed against foreign nationals jumped nearly 44 percent to 38,355 last year compared to 26,663 in 2013, due mostly to an increase in cases of assault and traffic offenses.

Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2016

진행자: 조혜림, Kevin Lee Selzer1. 최순실 딸 정유라의 이화여대 특혜 의혹 논란 기사 요약: 박근혜 대통령 측근 최순실씨의 딸 정유라씨가 이화여대 입학과정에서와 재학 중에 특혜를 받았다는 논란이불거지며 이화여대 총학생회와 교수진이 최경희 총장의 사퇴를 요구했다. 　아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638President of Ewha Womans University under pressure to resign　[1] Calls for Choi Kyung-hee to resign come amid mounting controversy that Jeong Yoo-ra, daughter of Park’s long-term friend Choi Soon-sil, was giv

Podcast Oct. 19, 2016

South Korea’s top streamer, known as “Daedoseogwan” (‘Great Library’ in English), has left the country’s biggest video-sharing platform, AfreecaTV, over profit-sharing conflicts.The 38-year-old streamer, whose real name is Na Dong-hyun, gained fame by streaming online game plays on AfreecaTV. Na has so far attracted 113 million viewers on AfreecaTV since 2011, emerging as one of the most sought-after streamers here. He also has 1.3 million YouTube subscribers. Na Dong-hyun, who uses the alias “G

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2016

A law school student who had been caught three times for secretly taking upskirt photos was sentenced to one year in prison without probation, Seoul Central District Court said Tuesday. The court ruling came after the 32-year-old law school student, surnamed Han, was caught taking photographs of female shoppers in Seoul’s Jongno district on July 30. (Herald DB)He had used his smartphone to take photos of more than 100 women at a shopping mall. This is the third time Han has been indicted. He had

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2016

Police have caught three men accused of distributing child pornography on the internet, according to cybercrime investigation authorities. The cybercrime agency of Busan Police Station said Wednesday that they were currently investigating the suspects who are charged with spreading around 30,000 videos containing illegal pornography, many of which involved underage teens.  Busan Police StationAmong the suspects is a 31-year-old website operator who made the videos available on five different web

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2016

Another case of an explosion of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 replacement device was reported Tuesday, following an announcement that the firm would be halting its production. The incident took place at Chungbuk University in northern Chungcheong Province. A Note 7 belonging to a college student surnamed Kim, 21, became “overheated and blew up.”  A college man says his phone blew up from his pocket.Kim who publicized the issue with video footage via social media said he “found it emitting smoke from h

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2016

An announcement on a Japanese railway line has rekindled debate about discrimination against foreigners, following a recent case of a sushi restaurant accused of serving excessive amounts of wasabi to Korean customers in Osaka. According to Japan’s Kyodo news agency Monday, a Nankai Electric Railway conductor made an inappropriate comment about foreign passengers during an announcement aired on a train bound for Kansai International Airport Station.During the announcement, the conductor said, “W

Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2016

Teenagers who engage in extreme dieting are exposed to greater suicide risks, a study shows. Researchers at Yonsei University in Seoul said on Monday that children in middle and high school who were obsessed with dieting, fasting, or binge eating, and the use of unprescribed medication are twice more likely to commit suicide than those on a normal diet. The study’s result came after they had reviewed the previous survey from the Minister of Health and Welfare in 2014, which surveyed around 70,00

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2016