The government will focus its efforts on preventing further loss of human lives during periods of heavy rain and heat waves for the upcoming summer season, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said Tuesday. The Interior Ministry convened a joint meeting on the same day with officials from the Ministry of Environment, the National Fire Agency, the Korean National Police Agency and local governments to discuss strategies for preventing human casualties from natural disasters during the summer seaso

Social Affairs May 14, 2024

South Korea and the European Union share great opportunities for further cooperation in addressing climate change and its impacts not only on a bilateral level but also across the broader Indo-Pacific region and beyond, EU Ambassador to South Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez said. "For the EU, the Republic of Korea is one of the key like-minded partners in the context of climate and environment, with the shared values and common goals against the climate crisis," Castillo Fernandez sai

Social Affairs May 13, 2024

Police in South Korea arrested a man under suspicion of involvement in the murder of a Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand, according to the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency on Monday. According to police officials, a Korean man in his 20s was apprehended at his home in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, on Sunday evening and placed under emergency arrest for allegedly murdering a man and abandoning his body. The police had been tracking the suspect’s whereabouts after learning that he had

Social Affairs May 13, 2024

Concerns surrounding the disclosure of the personal information of convicted criminals and those suspected of having committed crimes have been mounting in South Korea, sparked by the recent revival of a name-and-shame website known as "Digital Prison," around four years after it was shut down by South Korean authorities. The debate was triggered by the unauthorized release of the personal details of a 25-year-old man surnamed Choi, who is accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death on

Social Affairs May 12, 2024

A man in his 80s has been apprehended for stabbing a woman and her son at an apartment complex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul on Tuesday. According to Seoul Suseo Police Station, the suspect allegedly stabbed a woman in her 50s and her son after raiding their home in Gaepo-dong at 8 a.m., Tuesday morning. The woman was quickly transferred to the nearest hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, but was later pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. The son is currently being treated at the ho

Social Affairs May 7, 2024

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon proposed to forge mutual financial and economic cooperation with Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, during the Dubai Fintech Summit held there on Monday. In his keynote speech, “Seoul - A Global Economic Innovation Hub,” Oh highlighted the city’s strengths as a global financial center, a leader in innovative finance and a digital financial hub. He also outlined Seoul's strategic direction to become one of the top five global cities

Social Affairs May 7, 2024

Four out of 10 South Koreans have no intention of getting married or have not put thought into it, according to a report released by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy on Thursday. The committee unveiled the findings of a survey on perceptions regarding marriage, childbirth and child care, which targeted 2,011 men and women aged 25 to 49 nationwide. According to the report, 39.1 percent of the respondents aged between 25 and 49 answered that they do not want to get

Social Affairs May 3, 2024

A bill proposed by the ruling People Power Party last year to incorporate the city of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, into Seoul currently faces termination due to not being introduced even to a parliamentary subcommittee, according to the National Assembly on Friday. According to the National Assembly’s Bill Information website, no further discussions regarding the Special Act on the Change of Jurisdiction Between Gyeonggi Province and Seoul have been made since the bill was presented by Rep. C

Social Affairs May 3, 2024

Seoul's "high-altitude" regulations that control building heights near mountains and major facilities are poised to be relaxed for the first time since their adoption over 50 years ago. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that the city’s Urban Planning Commission signed and approved an amendment to reorganize high-altitude regulations on Wednesday. High-altitude regulations are a part of Seoul’s city management plan, which sets a maximum height limit f

Social Affairs May 2, 2024

As South Korea is predicted to soon become a super-aged society, more than half of the population with disabilities were found to be age 65 or above for the first time in 2023, said the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday. According to the Health Ministry’s report released on Tuesday, up to 2.65 million of the total population were registered as having some sort of disability. The total population was 51.71 million as of last year according to Statistics Korea. Out of the number of p

Social Affairs April 30, 2024

Parks near the Han River in Seoul will play host to 120 cultural, leisure and recreational events, including a sleeping contest and a space-out competition, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday. Starting with the 2024 Han River Festival in May, the city government announced during Monday’s press briefing that the festivities will last until the end of the year. According to city government officials, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to host 25 percent more events

Social Affairs April 29, 2024

Officials from large and small firms, business experts and government officials gathered at the ReWorld Forum 2024 in Seoul on April 24 to exchange ideas on how South Korea should realize RE100 and work toward decarbonization. RE100 is the global corporate renewable energy initiative of businesses committed to achieving 100 percent renewable electricity. According to the SDX Foundation, the non-profit organization responsible for hosting the event, the forum saw around 400 participants. ReWorld

Social Affairs April 29, 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Sunday that it will provide housing subsidies to couples who don’t own houses and who have newborns from 2025, to mitigate the trend of couples forgoing parenthood due to the city's high housing costs and enable more married couples with newborns to continue living in Seoul. Under the program, the city government revealed its plan to provide financial support of 300,000 won ($218) per newborn per month for a maximum duration of two years. Th

Social Affairs April 28, 2024

When the Dongdaemun Design Plaza first opened its doors in March 2014, the structure, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, was met with mixed reviews. Replacing a baseball stadium built in 1959 and another sports stadium dating to 1925 nestled in the fashion retail district of Dongdaemun, the DDP faced criticism for its perceived lack of harmony with its surroundings, with some likening it to "a spaceship that crash-landed in Seoul." Now, a decade after it opened, the DDP has finally s

Social Affairs April 27, 2024

The Korea Coast Guard announced that it will transfer a 3,000-ton patrol vessel to Ecuador after signing a memorandum of understanding with its defense minister on Thursday. According to the Coast Guard, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Giancarlo Loffredo signed the memorandum with the KCG to transfer the decommissioned patrol vessel -- the KCG3001 -- and visited the vessel mounted in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, to review the handover process. The KCG3001 was the first 3,000-ton patrol vessel used

Foreign Affairs April 25, 2024