Jeju Island experienced its hottest-ever tropical night Wednesday, with an overnight low temperature of 29.7 degrees Celsius. The figure is the highest nighttime low recorded for the island since data was first compiled in 1973. The island’s previous record was 29.4 degrees Celsius on July 23, 2017. From 6 p.m. Wednesday to 3 a.m. Thursday, Jeju Island’s temperatures ranged between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius. The morning temperature was around 30 degrees Celsius until 8:30 a.m. bu

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2020

Heavy rainfall continued for a sixth day Thursday, with the capital region and nearby provinces reporting additional property damage and one death. From 6 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Thursday, the capital, Seoul, and nearby Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces received as much as 690.5 millimeters of rain, mostly accompanied by thunderstorms and strong wind, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The weather agency said the rain can be expected to slo

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2020

Emergency rescue and recovery efforts were underway Wednesday in areas that saw a respite amid days of heavy downpours, with the weather agency predicting more rain to come through next week. The death toll from the five-day rain streak, which started Saturday and poured as much as 670 millimeters in Seoul and Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong and Gangwon provinces, stood at 15, with 11 others still missing, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.

Social Affairs Aug. 5, 2020

The Ministry of Justice is pushing for amendment to the Civil Law to abolish parents’ right to physically discipline their children in a bid to better protect children from abusive parents.  The plan is to delete the Article 915, which has been interpreted by some as giving legal grounds for corporal punishment. The clause itself does not say anything about the use of physical force as a means of discipline.  “Through the revision, we expect to contribute to forming an en

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2020

Damage and casualties continued to rise Tuesay, as a heavy downpour that started over the weekend extended to a fourth day. 　 By 4 p.m. Tuesday, the torrential rains in capital Seoul and provinces Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong and Gangwon had left 14 dead, 12 missing, and seven injured, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. A man who went missing in a manhole Monday was found dead Tuesday morning and another man was found dead in Gapyeong, r

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2020

SEJONG – No loud, cheerful celebrations could be found last Wednesday in the planned administrative capital of South Korea, as heavy rain forced people to stay indoors and those who were out in the streets had their faces covered to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. But an atmosphere of hope and anticipation was tangible in this city, some 130 kilometers south of Seoul, which came into being only in 2012. Built from scratch with a grand vision of replacing overcrowded Seoul as the

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2020

Torrential rains that pounded much of the country over the weekend and Monday are expected to continue, putting authorities on high alert to further damage to regions that have already seen significant casualties and property damage. At least six are dead and several are unaccounted for since the rains began, as heavy rain prompted flash floods and landslides. The combination of a typhoon, the North Pacific High and pockets of cold, dry air moving in from the north is locking the monsoon fron

Social Affairs Aug. 3, 2020

A local court has started reviewing whether to issue an arrest warrant for Lee Man-hee, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, over allegations that he and his religious sect obstructed the government’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The Suwon District Court is expected to reach a decision later Friday or early Saturday. The court previously issued arrest warrants for Shincheonji’s three senior officials who are also accused of obstructing contact tracing efforts.

Social Affairs July 31, 2020

Authorities are concerned of a possible virus uptick in the summer vacation season after they saw a number of new COVID-19 cases traced to a group of people who went camping in Gangwon Province. Six campers were confirmed to have the novel coronavirus Thursday after a group of 18 -- six families of three each -- went on a three-day camping trip to a site in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, last weekend. Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warne

Social Affairs July 30, 2020

Four out of 10 lawmakers belonging to the conservative opposition faction own multiple homes, and their real estate holdings are worth more than twice as much as those of their peers in the ruling party, a civic group said in a report Tuesday. The Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice analyzed home ownership information for 103 lawmakers from the United Future Party and its satellite party, the Future Korea Party. It found that 41 lawmakers, 39.8 percent, have two or more homes. 　 Fi

Social Affairs July 28, 2020

All of South Korea’s regular water purification centers are free of larvae or bugs, an Environment Ministry inspection has found, amid public worries that the country may be experiencing a tap water contamination crisis. The Ministry of Environment said in a press briefing Tuesday that all 435 regular water treatment facilities in Korea had been inspected and no bugs or other foreign organisms were found in their water reservoirs or distribution lines. A small number of larvae were disc

Social Affairs July 28, 2020

Seven-year-old Chae Ye-won’s first experience with school was through a TV screen in April, in the middle of the first coronavirus outbreak in Korea. Three months later, on Monday, the elementary school first-grader was still at home watching the same TV channel. Her school opened in May, but nothing much has changed -- except on Tuesdays, when she goes to school to meet her teacher and the half of her classmates who were assigned odd numbers like her. “I hate to see this continu

Social Affairs July 27, 2020

Jeju Island is having its longest-ever monsoon season, with rain falling on the island almost every two days. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday, the island province started its rainy season June 10, making Monday its 48th day. That is the highest number since 1998, when the island’s monsoon season lasted 47 days. The national weather agency expects the island’s summer rainy season to wrap up soon, possibly after Tuesday. 　 The length of a monsoon sea

Social Affairs July 27, 2020

More than half of Koreans are not convinced the proposed relocation of the country’s administrative capital from Seoul to Sejong would help stabilize the overheated real estate market, a poll showed Monday. In a Realmeter survey of 500 adults nationwide, 54.5 percent replied they do not agree that the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s idea of moving major government offices to Sejong, about 120 kilometers south of Seoul, would serve as a solution to soaring property prices in Seoul

Social Affairs July 27, 2020

With heavy rainfall expected again this week, authorities are on high alert to prevent further damages during the monsoon season, especially down south. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety called an emergency meeting Sunday as the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast torrential rains in Busan, Gangwon Province, and other regions that have yet to recover from a recent downpour. The weather agency issued a special warning about landslides in Busan due to loose soil after the area got

Social Affairs July 26, 2020