A far-right YouTuber arrested for installing illegal cameras at voting stations and vote-counting venues nationwide has been handed over to the prosecutors, police in Nonhyeon, Incheon, said Friday. The police found that the suspect installed illegal cameras in a total of 41 locations and recovered the cameras at 36 locations through further investigations. In three of the remaining five locations, the cameras had already disappeared. In the other two locations, the suspect confessed that he had

Social Affairs April 5, 2024

The South Korean police have deployed around 2,000 police officers for the first time to monitor closely the entire process of transferring early voting ballots from the constituencies where they were submitted to their actual constituencies. The Korean National Police Agency announced the deployment on Friday, coinciding with the commencement of the two-day early voting period for the April 10 general election. In South Korea, voters who partake in the early voting process can vote at whichever

Social Affairs April 5, 2024

South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook stated that children in North Korea face grave human rights abuses, including receiving the death penalty for distributing South Korean dramas, during a UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday. During the UNSC Briefing on Children and Armed Conflict, Hwang mentioned that children in North Korea face “egregious human rights violations,” despite North Korea being a signatory country to the Convention on t

Foreign Affairs April 4, 2024

Seoul Metro, the operator of subway lines 1 to 8, announced Tuesday that it will replace all fabric seats on its subway trains with reinforced plastic chairs by 2029 to keep the trains clean from bedbugs and other pollutants. According to Seoul Metro, fabric chairs account for 54 percent, or 1,955 subway cars of all seats on Seoul’s subway trains. On the other hand, reinforced plastic chairs account for 29 percent of Seoul’s subway trains, while stainless steel seats account for 17 p

Social Affairs April 2, 2024

South Korea's Air Force on Monday revealed that it is exploring the possibility of replacing patrol dogs with four-legged robots or robotic dogs, as the number of military dog handlers is expected to decrease due to a reduction in troops. The Air Force intends to initiate a feasibility study to assess whether robotic patrol dogs can effectively supplant traditional breeds such as shepherds and Labrador retrievers at major air base facilities, while maintaining the integrity of the patrol an

Social Affairs April 1, 2024

The Korean National Police Agency stated Monday that it will begin to strictly respond to false police reports that waste police resources by increasing fines. Currently under the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act, making a false police report through the 112 hotline is punishable by a fine of up to 600,000 won ($445), imprisonment or both. False police reports are also punishable as obstruction of justice under the criminal code. Additionally, if a false police report results in a significant wa

Social Affairs April 1, 2024

The Korean National Police Agency will crack down on the main crimes committed by foreign nationals from Monday until June 30, the agency said Sunday. According to the police agency, the main crimes include fraud, gambling, drug-related crimes and crimes involving foreign national workers based at construction sites. In addition, according to the agency's statistics, the number of criminals that are of foreign nationality that have committed what are deemed the four major crimes here -- mur

Social Affairs March 31, 2024

Illegal spycams were discovered at approximately 40 locations nationwide, including polling stations and vote counting venues designated for early voting ahead of the April 10 general election, according to officials from Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon on Saturday. A suspect appeared for a review of his arrest warrant at the Incheon District Court on Sunday, after police had announced Friday that the suspect in his 40s had been apprehended on Thursday for allegedly installing cameras inside

Social Affairs March 31, 2024

Unionized bus drivers in Seoul went on their first general strike in 12 years Thursday morning, but withdrew the protest later the same afternoon after reaching an agreement with the city over wages. At 3:20 p.m., the Seoul Metropolitan Government officially announced it had reached a new wage deal with the union and the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association. According to the deal, the drivers will see a 4.48 percent wage increase and receive up to 650,000 won ($480) in holiday benefits.

Social Affairs March 28, 2024

As the season of cherry blossoms approaches in Seoul, the Songpa-gu district office is gearing up to host its annual cherry blossom festival at Seokchon Lake Park from Wednesday to Sunday. The park, which spans 2.6 kilometers, is filled with almost 1,100 cherry blossom trees. According to the district office of Songpa-gu, the lake has been around for 50 years, with cherry trees donated by Lotte -- which operates establishments in the district including a theme park on an island in the lake -- an

Social Affairs March 27, 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday unveiled plans to transform a major part of the city north of the Han River into a new economic center, one that is "up to the level of Gangnam." During the briefing, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the city government plans to redevelop areas of Seoul north of the Han River by easing regulations placed on residential and commercial areas that are more than 30 years old, turning them into high-tech industrial clusters and new residential areas w

Social Affairs March 26, 2024

An ophthalmologist in his 40s from Pusan National University Hospital died in his home early Sunday morning, according to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday. On Sunday at 4:30 a.m., police officials received a call that the doctor was found unconscious in his home. When emergency medical services reached the doctor’s home, he did not have a pulse nor was he breathing, according to police officials. The doctor was immediately taken to the Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital n

Social Affairs March 25, 2024

Up to 40 millimeters of rain is set to fall in most regions of South Korea from Friday afternoon, to persist nationwide through Saturday morning, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Friday. As a pressure trough approaches from the northwest, the KMA forecast that rain will begin to fall from Friday afternoon in Greater Seoul -- which includes the capital alongside Incheon and Gyeonggi Province -- Gangwon Province, the Chungcheong Provinces, western regions of the Jeolla Provinces and Je

Social Affairs March 22, 2024

The South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection has initiated an inquiry into allegations that the Defense Ministry and other government agencies neglected to verify the demolition of front-line guard posts, which North Korea was supposed to undertake according to the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement. According to both the BAI and the Defense Ministry on Friday, an inspection began Monday, following an earlier audit request from the nonprofit organization Korean Retired Generals and Admirals

North Korea March 22, 2024

Seoul ranked 10th out of 133 cities in the 35th edition of the Global Financial Centers Index report, released Thursday afternoon, overtaking Paris, Beijing and Tokyo. The index has been published biannually since 2007 in March and September by the Z/Yen Group, a London-based think tank, in collaboration with the China Development Institute, to evaluate the international financial competitiveness of cities globally. The GFCI report is compiled based on five evaluation criteria -- human capital,

Social Affairs March 21, 2024