Police and forensic authorities have ruled out starvation as the most probable cause of the recent deaths of a father and baby, whose bodies were found side by side in a studio apartment in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. With no evidence suggesting a break-in, police had first suspected that the father most likely died after suffering from an illness, while his son died of starvation, citing the lack of signs that the kitchen had been used and their emaciated bodies. Initial autopsy

Social Affairs May 9, 2018

 A woman filed a complaint against her former boyfriend for alleged dating violence and abuse that lasted for months, Gwangju police said Tuesday. The move came after she shared the extent of her injuries via social media that she claimed resulted from his violent acts, According the Gwangju Dongbu Police Station, the victim was called into the station Tuesday to give her statements. The victim alleged that her ex-boyfriend had physically assaulted her on several occasions since July last year.

Social Affairs May 8, 2018

A father and son were found dead in their studio apartment in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, police said Tuesday. A neighbor called police last Thursday afternoon to report a “strange odor” coming from the apartment. Dispatched police officers said they found the 28-year-old father and 16-month-old son dead side by side after they forced the door open. The father had been unemployed for some time prior to his death, according to police. YonhapPolice said they found no evidence of breaking and

Social Affairs May 8, 2018

An elderly man in his 80s died from the impact of a Korail-operated train in Donghae, Gangwon Province, police said Tuesday. The 82-year-old victim, surnamed Kim, was hit by the Mugunghwa train en route to Jeongdongjin Station near Samunjae tunnel at 5:36 a.m. Tuesday.  YouTubeAccording to the police, Kim, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, had been living at a nursing home in the area. Police believe that the victim could not hear the incoming train, despite the train horn, as he was c

Social Affairs May 8, 2018

Seoul’s Seocho District unveiled on Monday its plans to transform the cooling towers and vents located near Gangnam Station exits into works of art.The large-scale ventilation fans and cooling towers that are located near exits 9 and 10 will be specifically used in the making of “Seocho Windy Hill,” according to Seocho authorities.  The wind tower is pictured. (Seocho District-Yonhap)The wind tower will be three meters wide and 15 meters high. Attached to the backside, a mobile structure will be

Social Affairs May 7, 2018

The Ulsan District Court has ordered a man in his 50s to serve a one-year jail term for obstructing police officers in the execution of duty, according to court officials Monday. The 54-year-old man was initially booked on the suspicion of injecting methamphetamine in Busan on Nov. 21, 2015. According to Busan Gangseo Police Station, the suspect faked a urine drug test by switching the sample with another person’s urine that was hidden inside a condom. 123RFHe was indicted on the obstruction cha

Social Affairs May 7, 2018

The number of people petitioning on the Blue House website for more severe punishment for child rapists and pornographers surpassed the 200,000 mark Thursday, which may force the presidential office to respond to the matter, reports said.　 Cheong Wa Dae has pledged to give a response to petitions that have gained more than 200,000 signatures in a month. The above petition was posted on April 15 and had garnered 202,467 supporters as of 3:10 p.m. Thursday. Titled “Help save our children who fall

Social Affairs May 3, 2018

A mother in her 20s is being probed under suspicion of abandoning the body of her infant boy in a shopping bag, Gyeonggi Hwaseong police said Thursday. The 26-year-old suspect, surnamed Kim, is accused of abandoning her baby boy inside a shopping bag, shortly after she gave birth to him, at her fifth floor studio apartment rooftop in Osan, Gyeonggi Province in mid-March. According to police, Kim showed detailed planning of the crime, citing the second time she returned to the site in order to wr

Social Affairs May 3, 2018

In South Korea, May is the month celebrated across the nation for families to show appreciation for one another. With Parents’ Day just around the corner, flower shops receive greater bundles of orders for flower gifts to be presented to parents. (Shot and edited by Park Ju-young / The Korea Herald)Taking on a fresh perspective on flowers, owner-artist Jung Jun-ho of “Peony Pepe” flower shop is one of a few up-and-coming male florists in the nation. Compared to other Western cultures where flori

Culture May 3, 2018

An elementary school teacher in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, has come under fire for allegedly forcing two students to slap one another as part of a punishment, Gumi education authorities said Tuesday. According to the Gumi Office of Education, the physical education teacher is accused of telling two sixth-graders to play rock-paper-scissors and then making the winner slap the other person. The teacher had reportedly made the students do so whenever they lost a sports competition. Parents ha

Social Affairs May 1, 2018

A fire broke out late Monday night at a packaging printer factory in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province and was finally extinguished after six hours, fire authorities said Tuesday. It is said the fire started at approximately 11:26 p.m. Monday and extinguished at 5:50 a.m. Tuesday. No casualties were reported. Yeoju authorities issued a one-phase warning, calling on some 80 firefighters and 37 firefighting vehicles to the site. The fire department of the city said that the fire burnt through ten buildings

Social Affairs May 1, 2018

A man in his 20s was given a suspended jail term and ordered to pay a fine for manufacturing more than a hundred bottles filled with fake hard liquor gathered from client’s leftovers, the Busan District Court said Monday. The 29-year-old bar employee in Daegu was sentenced to serve 10 months in prison suspended for two years and pay the collected penalty of 2.2 million won ($2,061). The defendant faced charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act and Trademark Act after police discovered that he

Social Affairs April 30, 2018

After the two Koreas agreed to push for measures aimed at ending hostilities and seeking denuclearization at the end of the inter-Korean summit on Friday, the Korean public is highly anticipating the possibility of a school-organized field trip to North Korea. A field trip to North Korea offers an opportunity for the two Koreas to make meaningful exchanges in the education sector, the Gwangju Office of Education said Monday.  Gwangju Office of EducationPrior to the inter-Korean summit that was h

North Korea April 30, 2018

Singer Heize showcased a strong new look via her photo shoot with fashion and culture magazine Dazed on Friday. In the photos released by Dazed, Heize appealed to the public with her unique fashion sense, wearing vivid red thigh-high boots and matching red-tinted eye makeup. Along with her thigh-high boots, she wore a mini white dress underneath a dark blue silk jacket.  Dazed DazedIn another photo, the singer appeared chic in a sleeveless blue dress, lined with yellow, matched with a white jack

Arts & Design April 29, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju appeared to be fascinated with the novel method of eating dessert served at the summit banquet, according to local media outlets. Mango mousse was the choice of dessert to be served to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, his wife Kim Jung-sook, Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju. Due to the hard exterior, the dessert could not be eaten with a fork or spoon.President Moon reportedly showed Kim Jong-un how to eat the seemingly complex dessert.

North Korea April 29, 2018