Son Myung-jin, a housewife in her 40s living in Mapo, northwestern Seoul, is worried about the city's plan to build a new waste incinerator in her neighborhood. In August, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it would build the new plant in 2026 on the site of a parking lot near the existing waste incinerator, called the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility, to begin operations in 2030. According to the city government, the new incinerator plant will be built underground and the exis

Social Affairs Jan. 30, 2024

South Korea experienced an average of 31.4 meteorological drought days in 2023, ranking 27th since records began in 1974, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Friday. Korea’s southern region recorded an average number of 36.6 meteorological drought days, while the central region recorded 26 days on average. Meteorological drought is determined based on the degree of dryness or rainfall deficit and the duration of the dry period. In the southern region, the winter of 2021 had signif

Social Affairs Jan. 26, 2024

The Ministry of Environment announced its plan to launch an AI-powered early warning system for floods starting in May, ahead of this year's summer flood season, in a bid to enhance public safety. The announcement comes in the wake of deadly floods last year, which saw the inundation of an underpass in the city of Osong, North Chungcheong Province, resulting in 14 fatalities. "To ensure a golden time for the prevention of casualties through 'smart forecasting,' we will expand

Social Affairs Jan. 26, 2024

As a cold continental high pressure extends from northern China, temperatures will remain below freezing nationwide on Wednesday and continue until Friday morning, said the Korea Meteorological Administration. In the central region, eastern parts of North Jeolla Province and inland regions of North Gyeongsang Province where a cold wave warning has been issued, temperatures were recorded to be as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius, while other regions’ temperatures recorded as low as minus 5 C

Social Affairs Jan. 24, 2024

Lee Sang-il was elected mayor of Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in July 2022, and has demonstrated several achievements that earned him the nickname, “President of Yongin,” according to observers and insiders. While South Korea is divided into central and local governments, Lee excelled across all categories in terms of his authority, personal connections and performance results, insiders said, quoting Lee's office. Korea designates cities with a population of 1 million or more as s

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2024

Out of the many policies the city of Yongin announced last year, the news about the city’s semiconductor cluster being selected as a specialized complex by the government was selected as Yongin’s top news report of 2023 among citizens, city government officials and reporters based in the city. In a survey conducted by Yongin Special City, 12,140 survey respondents chose the top five best news reports about the city’s policies out of 26 reports that were selected previously by t

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2024

Seoul Metro, the operator of subway line Nos. 1 to 8, will conduct a crackdown on fare evasions until Feb. 2. The municipal-owned corporation will conduct a special crackdown on all 275 subway stations running on Line Nos. 1 to 8. Considering the trend in the number of passengers using subway stations, the crackdown will involve Seoul Metro stationing its staff and security officers in 30 stations where a high number of fare evasion cases were recorded and where preferential transportation cards

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is looking into restoring Donuimun, one of the Four Great Gates of Seoul, the city government said Monday. Donuimun, also known as the West Gate or Seodaemun, is one of a series of historic gates around Seoul. It served as the opening to the Fortress Wall of Seoul that surrounded the city during the Joseon era. However, Donuimun was destroyed in 1915 during the 1910-1945 Japanese occupation of South Korea to make way for trams and has not been rebuilt since. It

Social Affairs Jan. 15, 2024

A pet owner nuzzles her puppy Tico after months apart in a heartwarming video uploaded to YouTube on New Year’s Day. But this is no ordinary reunion. Tico died in November 2022. The puppy in the video is a clone made to replace her. For some viewers, this last detail adds a bitter aftertaste to the touching scene. Animal rights advocates have expressed concern over what cloned dogs go through, and what the surrogate mothers to the cloned pets have to go through to meet the desires of a sin

Social Affairs Jan. 14, 2024

An admissions consultant based in Seoul's affluent southern neighborhood of Daechi-dong, a hub of South Korea's private education sector, has been under investigation by police for allegedly collecting billions of won from parents as donations to universities, according to the police. The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said Thursday that the suspect worked as an admissions consultant in Daechi-dong and allegedly swindled three parents out of money from 2020-2022. Daechi-dong i

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2024

Seoul will host “Seoul Smart Life Week” on Oct. 7-9 as part of the city’s plans to build an international platform to promote companies with innovative technologies and lead future technology trends. During the 2024 Seoul Innovation Forum in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that the city government has built a three-year plan to host a global business event to share advanced technologies by securing sales and investment of innovative companies based in Seo

Social Affairs Jan. 11, 2024

The number of people aged over 70 has surpassed the number of those in their 20s for the first time since national demographics have been compiled, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety on Wednesday. According to the ministry, as of Dec. 31, 2023, South Korea’s total population was 51.32 million, a 0.22 percent decrease from the year before. The population numbers for those aged 70 and up stood at 6,319,402, while those in their 20s stood at 6,197,486. Until 2022, the number of

Social Affairs Jan. 10, 2024

Police decided not to disclose the personal information of the suspect who stabbed Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung during the opposition leader’s visit to Busan on Jan. 2. Following a Personal Information Disclosure Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency decided that the 67-year-old suspect, identified by his surname Kim, did not meet the legal conditions for disclosure. Kim was formally arrested by the police on charges of attempted murder

Social Affairs Jan. 9, 2024

Seats will be removed from some Line No. 4 subway cars from Wednesday as a pilot project to relieve congestion during morning rush hour, Seoul Metro announced Tuesday. The organization decided to test its new seating plan on Line No. 4 as it often experiences high congestion levels during rush hour. After comprehensive reviews regarding subway car congestion levels and the subway cars' surrounding environment, seats will be removed from the third subway car on Line No. 4 trains. In November

Social Affairs Jan. 9, 2024

A special bill aimed at establishing an independent space and aerospace agency is set for a vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday after receiving approval at the committee stage Monday. The National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee has approved the bill necessary for the government to establish a new space agency, tentatively named the Korea Aerospace Administration. If approved by the Assembly, the new agency will function as the Korean counterpart to

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2024