Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency brought in a total of 82 people for smuggling, selling and taking the drug yaba. Police also found methamphetamine, cannabis and ecstasy. Yaba is a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine that originates in Thailand. All 82 of the suspects are Thai nationals. Out of 82 suspects, one is accused of smuggling, 33 are accused of distributing, and 48 are accused of purchasing the drug from January last year to May this year around Seosan, South Chungcheong Provi

Social Affairs June 8, 2023

A middle school student has been arrested for throwing firecrackers at a police patrol division in Daegu on Wednesday. According to Daegu Gangbuk Police Station, the student is accused of throwing a set of firecrackers at a police outpost located in Buk-gu, a district located in northwestern Daegu, at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He ran away right after but was caught by the police within 10 minutes. No one was injured due to the firecrackers, but parts of the sidewalk near the patrol division were da

Social Affairs June 7, 2023

Anyang Manan Police Station said Wednesday it had arrested a man in his 30s for murdering his father, after he threw away his diary. The man is suspected of stabbing his father several times while he was sleeping, at around 8:54 p.m. on Tuesday. After he committed the crime, he called the police and said that he had “killed his father.” The man said that he had committed the crime due to a sudden rush of anger. The police plan to seek a warrant for his further detention after further

Social Affairs June 7, 2023

A drug ring accused of selling synthetic cannabinoids by passing them off as e-cigarettes to teenagers has been arrested by the police, said Yongin Dongbu Police Station on Monday. The four suspects are currently detained on suspicion of carrying out an elaborate drug distribution scheme from March to May around Yongin and Suwon of Gyeonggi Province. They are also accused of selling other drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy. The leader of the ring first bought synthetic cannabinoids worth 5 milli

Social Affairs June 7, 2023

A meth user was arrested Sunday after he sought police assistance in locating a bag of methamphetamine that he had lost. According to Gwangju Bukbu Police Station, the suspect, a man in his 40s, had accidentally dropped a white plastic bag containing meth and 1 million won in cash. After realizing that the bag was missing, he went to the nearest police station and stated that he was “in search of a white plastic bag” he had lost. The police, which was holding the man’s plastic

Social Affairs June 5, 2023

“I’d like to quit my job” It's a phrase that numerous workers have likely rehearsed silently in their minds on more than one occasion. However, the challenge lies not only in mustering the courage to vocalize these words in front of superiors, but in ensuring one's resignation is taken seriously, not brushed off as a mere complaint, and being let go without too much hassle. Kwon, a 27-year-old who works at a packaging company, is experiencing such difficulties now.

Hashtag Korea May 28, 2023

On May 8, a 49-year-old man died after falling from the balcony of his apartment in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. According to the police, the man, a resident on the 15th floor, appeared to have accidentally fallen while attempting to shake dust off his carpet. The tragic incident is the latest example of what Koreans refer to as "death by falling while shaking a comforter," which claims lives nearly every year. In 2021, a woman in her 60s fell to her death from an apartment in Jincheon, No

Social Affairs May 28, 2023

In just six days, a certain YouTube video has garnered an impressive 352,000 views and counting. It may seem like the YouTube debut of a popular TV star. However, these numbers belong to Cho Min, the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, whose life took a dramatic turn when her admission to a graduate school of medicine here was revoked after she had already graduated and passed the state medical licensing exam. Launched on May 12, her YouTube channel, "minchobae," has only on

Social Affairs May 18, 2023

The Lotus Lantern Festival, or Yeondeunghoe, will be held for three days starting Friday in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, celebrating Buddha's 2,567th birthday, which falls on May 27 this year. This year's festival promises to be the biggest ever, as it is the first full-scale festival since Yeondeunghoe was officially inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2020. This year marks the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that people will be abl

Culture May 17, 2023

Investigators have identified two suspects who allegedly desecrated the grave site of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's leader Lee Jae-myung’s parents, said officials at the North Gyeongsang Provincial Police on Sunday. The two male suspects, aged 83 and 70, are accused of digging holes around the grave in Bonghwa-gun, North Gyeongsang Province and burying six stones painted with some Chinese characters in them. The 83-year-old is said to be known for his expertise in fe

Politics May 14, 2023

The number of illegal drug-related forensic analysis requests received by the National Forensic Service in the first four months of this year was up over 30 percent from a year earlier, local media reported Wednesday. Citing a senior researcher of the state-run crime lab, Kookmin Ilbo reported that from January to April the NFS received a total of 24,242 such cases, including drug screenings and post-mortem narcotics tests. This marks an increase of 33.8 percent from the corresponding period in

Social Affairs May 10, 2023

Internationally acclaimed soprano Jo Su-mi will embark on a five-city tour in June, performing in Gongju and Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province; Ulsan; Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province; and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Titled “2023 Jo Sumi Concert: In Love,” the tour will kick off at the Gongju Culture and Art Center on June 8. The tour will continue at the Dangjin Culture and Art Center on June 10, at the Ulsan Culture and Arts Center on June 25, at the Seongnam Arts Center on

Performance May 7, 2023

This weekend, along with the arrival of Children's Day and warmer weather, there are a variety of options on offer. Among the many choices, this week's "Well-curated Weekend" introduces a drone light show at the Han River, the "Museum of Innocence" and the Myeongdong Festival. 500 drone light show over Han River Seoul is set to light up the night sky with a spectacular drone show featuring over 500 drones this week. As part of the “Seoul Festa 2023” ce

Culture May 5, 2023

The Plaza introduces carnation cakes and bouquets The Plaza presents carnation cakes and bouquets in celebration of the "family month" of May. Boulangerie the Plaza, the hotel’s French bakery and cafe, is selling carnation cakes for 58,000 won. Reservations can be made on Naver and through the restaurant reservation app Catchtable. Carnation bouquets, baskets and vases can be bought at the hotel’s flower shop, Xystum. Visitors must make a prior reservation through Naver. Ca

Food May 5, 2023

The Ninth Gyechon Classic Music Festival, organized by Chung Mong-koo Foundation and Korea National University of Arts, is set to return from May 26 to 28 at Gyechon Village in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. The festival will bring back its three-day schedule following pandemic-caused disruptions in recent years. In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was held online only and last year, the festival was a two-day affair. Three different concerts are scheduled over the thr

Performance May 1, 2023