Prosecutors on Friday sought a death sentence for a 30-year-old man accused of killing two of his former girlfriends. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the defendant surnamed Choi allegedly murdered the two women on separate occasions in July and December of last year. Choi had reportedly planned the murders and made purchases of the weapons beforehand. He also sent text messages to the victims’ families to pretend the women were alive in order to avoid getting caught,

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2018

American supermodel Tyra Banks unleashed her “inner Army” as she shared Thursday a photo with the K-pop megastar group BTS on social media following the group’s appearance on “America’s Got Talent.” Along with the photo, the host of the show did not hesitate to express her love for the group. She described BTS as being “already legends, smizing masters, fierce and fine fellas, wig snatchers, enormously talented, genuinely kind, sexy and the biggest boy band on the planet.”  Tyra Banks and BTS on

Performance Sept. 14, 2018

A foreign worker from Cambodia died at a railway construction site in Gangseo-gu, Busan, on Thursday after being hit by an excavator, police said Friday. According to Busan Gangseo Police Station, an excavator operator on site found the victim’s body on the ground, crushed beneath chain tires, around 3:40 p.m. Thursday. The 32-year-old victim sustained fatal injuries to the neck, chest and stomach.  (Yonhap)The man reportedly entered South Korea on a work visa three months ago and had been worki

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2018

A 4.5-ton cargo truck collided into two vehicles on the side of the Gyeongbu Express Highway en route to Seoul from Daejeon, killing one person. The fatal crash occurred around 12:05 a.m. Thursday near the Biryong Junction in Daejeon. Police said the 4.5-ton truck rammed into the victim’s 1-ton cargo truck and another 25-ton trailer truck.  (Yonhap)The 25-ton truck driver told police that the victim had stopped him to complain of damages due to “an object that fell from the 25-ton truck.” They w

Social Affairs Sept. 13, 2018

Twelve graduates of a college in Seoul allegedly tried to dodge South Korea’s mandatory military service by intentionally gaining too much weight to pass the physical exam, the Military Manpower Administration said Tuesday. The authorities say the 12 men ate high-calorie foods such as pizza and hamburgers five times a day in an effort to become overweight and fail the physical. One gained 30 kilograms in six months, the authorities said. According to the Military Service Act, all able-bodied men

Social Affairs Sept. 12, 2018

A teacher at a middle school in Gwangjin, Seoul, has come under fire after a handful of students alleged that he made lewd, sexist comments during class, education authorities said Tuesday. Students shared their experiences anonymously via post-it notes and stuck them all over the campus, accusing one teacher of sexual harassment and sexism. Students at the middle school posted sticky notes all over campus as a protest against sexual sexism and inappropriate comments from teachers. (Yonhap)Accor

Social Affairs Sept. 11, 2018

“Okay, Google. How much time left on the laundry?” Google Korea on Tuesday presented its Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers at a company event in Hannam-dong, Seoul ahead of its official release date of Sept. 18. Its new artificial intelligence voice assistant helps users search the web, listen to music, check their calendars, set reminders and many other tasks to make life more convenient. The smart home device also boasts a “voice match” feature that can recognize up to six distin

Technology Sept. 11, 2018

An intoxicated man driving a trailer truck was restrained by authorities five hours after ramming his vehicle into a police car and the guard rail near the Busan-Geoje Fixed Link, police said Tuesday. The driver, in his 50s, had driven his truck into a vehicle operated by the Geoga Bridge maintenance company and the guard rail before he was found by police around 11:52 p.m. Monday, according to Busan Police Agency. The driver had initially called to request help around 11:30 p.m., sounding “very

Social Affairs Sept. 11, 2018

In the digital health care industry, a host of startups such as Astera, Humanscape and MediBloc are introducing new health care services and platforms based on blockchain technology. But South Korea’s smart health care sector has yet to reach the level of growth seen in the US and China, due mainly to strict regulations on cloud services and related technology. As data can only be stored at medical institutions in Korea, patients cannot retrieve their medical information easily and must go to a

Technology Sept. 11, 2018

Police are investigating an allegation that three male students at a middle school in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, raped another student.A 14-year-old male student and his two friends from school are accused of sexually assaulting their female peer on several occasions, according to Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency. They are also accused of groping her on other occasions.  (Yonhap)The three boys also reportedly took pictures of the victim’s body with their smartphones and threatened to expose

Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2018

A Seoul court sentenced a man to 10 years in prison, Monday, for stabbing his former roommate to death earlier this year following a row over unpaid rent. The Seoul Central District Court handed the prison term down to the 35-year-old man, identified only by his surname, Kim. According to court records, Kim was accused of stabbing the victim multiple times inside a home they had shared in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Jan. 17.  (Yonhap)The two had been friends for 10 years, the court heard, and had a

Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2018

A local court on Tuesday meted out a suspended prison term for a day care worker and imposed fines on two other employees and the head of the day care center for repeatedly abusing children under their supervision. The Uijeongbu District Court sentenced a 22-year-old day care worker to four months in jail, suspended for two years. The court also ordered her to perform 120 hours of community service. The court handed down fines of 5 million won ($4,492) each to the head of the day care and a 33-y

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2018

Violent incidents among multicultural families have failed to see a decline, as the numbers of migrant spouses and naturalized citizens have increased over the past few years, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker said Monday. After conducting an audit of data compiled by the Korean National Police Agency, Rep. Lee Jae-jung, a member of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, said around 3,202 suspects were arrested between 2014 and the first half of 2018. There were

Social Affairs Sept. 3, 2018

A man in his 40s has been arrested for allegedly threatening to report sex workers to authorities and then stealing their cash in Wanwol-dong in the Seo district of Busan, police said Monday. Busan has a red-light district in Wanwol-dong, where “glass houses” with women on display line the dark alleys. Women usually sit on high-backed chairs against a mirrored back wall that conceals a private bedroom.  A brothel in the red-light district of Wanwol-dong, Busan (Yonhap)According to the Busan Seob

Social Affairs Sept. 3, 2018

(Zadig & Voltaire)Singer Lee Hyo-ri looked chic and casual in stills that were recently made public after her photo shoot for fashion magazine Elle. (Zadig & Voltaire)In the photos, taken by husband Lee Sang-soon, Hyo-ri rocked different signature looks, combining pieces from French brand Zadig & Voltaire’s 2018 Fall-Winter collection. With the beautiful natural surroundings of Jeju Island as a backdrop, the singer posed in a gray jacket and vintage flower-patterned skirt while sitting on the gr

Arts & Design Aug. 31, 2018