Drinks at Starbucks will sell for half price during the company’s 17th year anniversary event period this week, Starbucks Coffee Korea announced on Wednesday.The “Happy Hour” event will be held from Thursday to Saturday, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at more than 900 Starbucks stores nationwide in Korea. (123RF)Exceptions to the event are stores at leisure complexes Vivaldi Park Ocean World and Phoenix Park, as well as expressway service station Majang Premium. Non-barista-made drinks such as Starbu

Industry July 20, 2016

A man was arrested for stealing 7,000 won ($6) from a restaurant, Gwangju Bukbu Police said on Tuesday. According to the police, the 32-year-old surnamed Song went through a great deal of trouble to break in and steal the money from a fried chicken restaurant in Buk-gu, Gwangju, at around 5:20 a.m. on July 12.  (Gwangju Bukbu Police)Song covered his head with a yellow plastic bag, jumped over a wall, picked a lock and removed a safe from the restaurant. He accidentally dropped the safe while run

Social Affairs July 19, 2016

A caretaker at nursery in Seoul was indicted for habitual abuse of children under her care, Dongbu District Prosecutors said Tuesday. The 31-year-old surnamed Shin is accused of hitting seven children around the age of four multiple times between March and May, according to the prosecutors.The youngest victim was two years old.  (123RF)Shin allegedly used her hands, a wooden stick, toys and a food tray to hit the children who did not follow her instructions to take a nap or have a meal.She was r

Social Affairs July 19, 2016

A bus driver is being held responsible for an accident Sunday on the Yeongdong Expressway that claimed four lives and injured 37 people. Police in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, said Tuesday that the driver, aged 57, is presumed to have driven past the regulated maximum speed level. (YTN News Capture)Blackbox recordings showed that the bus sped at 105 kph while the traffic law regulates vehicles on expressways to keep to a maximum speed of 100 kph and safety distance of 100 meters. Bang is also

Social Affairs July 19, 2016

A construction worker died in a sudden building collapse in Hongeun-dong, Seoul, Monday. The 57-year-old victim surnamed Baek was found unconscious 4 meters from the building exit after a six-hour rescue effort, according to the Seodaemun-gu Fire Department. Baek was taken to hospital but did not survive.  (YTN News YouTube Capture)Seodaemun-gu Fire Department had deployed 175 rescue operators to save Baek. However, the operation only began after cutting off the electricity in the adjacent area.

Social Affairs July 19, 2016

A building collapsed in Hongeun-dong, northeastern Seoul, Monday, leaving a construction worker trapped in the rubble. The three-story building had been undergoing reconstruction when it collapsed at around 2:05 p.m.　 (YouTube Capture)A 57-year-old construction worker surnamed Baek is reportedly still buried in the wreckage.The fire department is conducting a rescue operation. Two workers and a resident have been taken to hospital with injuries caused by the collapse.By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@h

Social Affairs July 18, 2016

Two foreign women who raced through the streets of Sinchon naked were booked without detention and banned from leaving the country under charges of public display of obscenity, according to police on Monday.  (YouTube Capture)One of the women is from Australia while the other is from the U.S. They are both 21. They had stripped and ran through the popular district on the night of July 7 as a drunken prank. The Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police identified the women as one-month summer school exchange stu

Social Affairs July 18, 2016

A group of men and women who coerced runaway teenagers into prostitution were arrested by the police, Monday. South Jeolla Province’s Gwangyang police said it booked a total of 11 people on charges of arranging prostitution. Among the booked 11, four were arrested, six were transferred to the prosecutors without detention and one who ran away was put on a wanted list. According to the police, the men and women, some of them married couples, are accused of recruiting six runaway girls aged betwee

Social Affairs July 18, 2016

A 10-year-old girl fell in to a coma due to a glitch in medical support gear while being transported via helicopter, according to a story shared on a community bulletin in North Jeolla Province, July 12.Written by the parent of the girl, the story claimed that the fire department‘s helicopter used to take the girl to a bigger hospital lacked an oxygen supply, which gravely exacerbated her medical condition.  (Yonhap News stock image)The patient was to change from a hospital in South Jeolla Provi

Social Affairs July 18, 2016

The mother of an elementary school student was booked without detention under accusations of hitting her child’s school teacher, according to the Gyeonggi Hwasung Dongbu Police on Sunday. The police said the accused had allegedly assaulted the school nurse by grabbing her hair and slapping her in the face on July 11.  (Yonhap)The accused had reportedly cited the school nurse’s “curt attitude” as the reason behind her actions. She told the police that she had visited the school nurse to ask for d

Social Affairs July 17, 2016

A 25-year-old mother has received a suspended sentence of six months for deserting her newborn, said the Gwangju District Court on Sunday. The woman gave birth to a baby boy at home in December and then abandoned the newborn at a public bathroom at a park nearby her house.  (123RF)The court said the woman had committed the crime to cover up her having been pregnant out of wedlock. The court said it took into consideration that the woman had wished for the baby to be rescued, leaving him at a pla

Social Affairs July 17, 2016

Inside the courtrooms of the International Criminal Court and in local communities, we are hearing the voices of those who have survived some of the world’s most heinous crimes. Stories of tremendous loss. Stories of human suffering that could have – and should have – been prevented. “I lost my entire family.” “I have lost my dignity.” “The only hope I have left is for justice.” New ICC President Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi (Argentina) ©ICC-CPI​　In our own lifetimes, in conflicts unfoldin

Viewpoints July 17, 2016

A 45-year-old male teacher, accused of molesting his student two years ago, has been handed over to the prosecution, according to Gyeonggi Province’s police on Wednesday. The Gyeonggi Namyangju Police said he had offered to drive a female pupil home in August 2014, taken her to a secluded road and touched her inappropriately. (123RF)He is being accused of repeating the offence over three times. The pupil had kept the incident to herself for two years before finally telling her parents recently.

Social Affairs July 13, 2016

A fire broke out at a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Central Seoul, at around 2:35 a.m. on Wednesday, forcing 32 people at the restaurant and an adjacent hotel to evacuate. Ten were foreign visitors to Korea.  (123RF)The fire was extinguished a little over an hour later. There was no report of casualties.The fire department tentatively concluded that the fire started from an ignited gas stove. The affected area of Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu has been featured on a number of Korean media outlets as being th

Social Affairs July 13, 2016