Police have arrested a 20-year-old male suspect for committing arson in an apartment complex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday. According to Ilsan Seobu Police Station, the man admitted to “deliberately starting the fire” in his apartment in Goyang City at around 8:20 p.m. Sunday. The fire spread rapidly throughout the living room, leaving the suspect’s father, 54, dead. More than 50 residents of the complex also had to evacuate the building.  (Herald DB)Fire department officials said the

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2018

A 4-year-old boy is dead and a 2-year-old girl seriously injured after being thrown from the balcony of the apartment where they lived, police said Friday. Police found the children in a flowerbed outside the apartment. The boy was dead, while the daughter was seriously injured. The mother’s body was found in another flowerbed shortly beforehand, by a deliveryman who initially reported the case to the police. (Yonhap)Police believe that the mother first strangled her son to death and took both c

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2018

Changwon Police arrested a man in his 50s on the charge of brutally raping a 6-year-old girl in December, SBS reported Wednesday.The suspect, who lives in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, is said to have taken the child to his car and sexually assaulted her. Following reports of the suspect and victim living in close proximity, local residents in Changwon have voiced their outrage at the horrific crime against the helpless child in their neighborhood.  (Yonhap)Upon his arrest, the man report

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2018

Seongbuk police arrested Tuesday a male suspect for allegedly stealing 238 smartphones worth 230 million won ($216,600). The 47-year-old man, surnamed Jang, is suspected of being involved in a series of thefts of smartphones and 8 million won of cash over one month starting in mid-November last year.  Security footage shows suspect committing theft. (Photo courtesy of Seongbuk Police Station/Yonhap)Police had received reports from smartphone stores in Gyeonggi Province. Jang allegedly broke into

Social Affairs Jan. 2, 2018

Police are investigating a fatal car accident in which a taxi driver allegedly ran over a family of three, leaving two injured and one dead, at a three-way intersection in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Monday at about 8:50 p.m. The suspect reportedly first crashed into a vehicle waiting at the traffic light. Following the crash, the driver ran into the family as they were crossing the road.  (Yonhap)One of the victims, a 49-year-old, suffered a serious injury due to the crash, and was

Social Affairs Jan. 2, 2018

A district court judge was found guilty of taking secret pictures of women‘s intimate body parts with a smartphone on the subway. The High Court found him guilty of secretly filming women and sentenced the judge to pay a fine of 3 million won ($2,790). He also faces disciplinary action, specifically a 4-month suspension from work due to “damaging one’s own dignity (as a judge).” (Yonhap)It is said that the judge, a son of an opposition party lawmaker, was discovered secretly filming women three

Social Affairs Dec. 27, 2017

Orion, the manufacturer of Choco Pie, has rolled out Dessert Choco Pie -- an upgraded version of the snack that was launched in 1974.  (Orion)Choco Pie is popular in Korea to the extent that some call it a “national snack.”The new product comes in four flavors: original, caramel salt, cacao and red velvet. Red Velvet Choco Pie -- the most noticeably different -- is made of two pieces of round chocolate sponge, soft white marshmallow and strawberry cream.  (Orion)According to an industry insider,

Industry Dec. 20, 2017

Dear Cloud's vocalist Nine9 revealed the late Jonghyun’s painful suicide note on his Instagram on Tuesday.Following is the unofficial English translation of Jonghyun‘s suicide note in Korean. (Yonhap/Nine9`s Instagram)---------------------------------------------------I was broken from the inside.The depression slowly chipped me away, finally devouring me. I could not beat the negativity. I hated myself. Even though I tried so hard demanding my memories that kept getting cut off to ‘wake up,’ al

Performance Dec. 19, 2017

Police arrested two male suspects in their 20s without detainment for allegedly inhaling large quantities of nitrous oxide in capsules on Wednesday. Neighbors had initially called the police on Monday at around 12 a.m., after hearing “loud club music blasting from the second floor” of their multi-family residential building in Nonhyeong-dong. The police officers, dispatched from Gangnam Police Station, arrived to the scene to discover the two men, surnamed Choi and Kim, sitting on the bed, facin

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2017

Rep. Min Byung-doo of the ruling Democratic Party said Wednesday that the National Assembly Member’s Prize will be awarded to three middle school students for exhibiting good citizenship behavior after they helped an elderly man who had fallen down from cold shock. The three award winners -- Uhm Chang-min, Jeong Ho-kyun and Shin Sei-hyun -- attend Jeonnong Middle School. Rep. Min will be sending them the award sometime next week. Uhm and his friends reported having discovered the elderly man, ly

Social Affairs Dec. 13, 2017

Director Jeong Hyo-min of JTBC reality show “Hyori’s Bed & Breakfast” announced Tuesday the show is on the lookout for the next guest and helper at Lee’s home on Jeju Island for the second season. The production staff said they have “a few people in mind to fill IU’s shoes.”Singer IU, who had been the guest and helper at Lee’s Jeju home throughout the first season of the show, received a lot of love from fans for her dedication as Lee‘s helper. The singer will not be joining the second season of

Television Dec. 13, 2017

Cheongju Police revealed Tuesday that the 37-year-old suspect caught last Thursday on alleged charges driving under the influence and fleeing the scene is an administrative court civil servant from a district court in North Chungcheong province. According to the police, the suspect had initially ran his car into two parked vehicles -- a Grandeur and K5 sedan -- in front of the Cheongju District Court on Nov. 7 at 11:41 p.m. The suspect fled the scene and was caught after crashing his car into a

Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2017

Following a dispute over wages, a convenience store owner in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, called police on a female temporary worker, 19, and accused her of stealing plastic bags from the store on Monday. Police arrested the female suspect on the alleged theft without detainment, after security footage showed her taking the bags. The suspect reportedly stole 50 plastic bags, priced at 20 won (1.8 cents) each, after her shift ended on Dec. 4 at 11:50 p.m. After doing a routine run-throug

Social Affairs Dec. 11, 2017

Kakao Friends has jumped on the bandwagon of releasing a “special product,” as consumers lined up to purchase its limited character edition “Winter Ryan.” The company announced Friday that this year‘s newest, limited Ryan doll is now sold out. Its price tag was 59,000 won ($52) per doll. Consumers raved about the doll’s cuteness as it comes with a red or navy long, padded coat, thus calling Winter Ryan the “Padded jacket Ryan.”  "Winter Ryan" in red or navy padded coat(Kakao Friends)It may be fa

Industry Dec. 8, 2017

Following PyeongChang long padded coats’ huge success in sales, Lotte Department Store set out to extend the popularity to “PyeongChang sneakers,” with pre-orders exceeding 30,000 in six days.Pre-orders for PyeongChang sneakers began on Dec. 1 and will be available until Thursday. In the six days since pre-orders began, more than 20,000 people have requested the now in-demand item. Lotte Department Store announced Thursday that it has already sold 60 percent of the total 50,000 pairs available.

Industry Dec. 7, 2017