As a series of violent crimes targeting random people stokes public fears in South Korea, the government is mulling introducing a new form of life sentence -- one without the possibility of parole. The announcement claimed that the introduction was necessary to have a safe society and quell public fears about the growing threat of apparently motiveless crimes. A stabbing spree by a 33-year-old man in July killed one and injured three in broad daylight in southern Seoul. This was followed by a fr

Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2023

The South Korean government is looking to remove potential disparities in the way personal information of foreigners, including overseas Koreans, is handled between different government entities here. The approval of the revision of the Immigration Act at a Cabinet meeting on Monday will pave the way for entities in central and local governments to address administrative bottlenecks involving foreigners when it comes to crimes, taxation and disease control, as well as provision of welfare benefi

Social Affairs Aug. 21, 2023

Kim Kwan-jin, former defense minister under the conservative former Lee Myung-bak administration, was handed down a two-year jail sentence for instructing members of the ministry's Cyber Operations Command to write and distribute over 9,000 political comments online from 2011 to 2013 in a bid to sway public opinion during a period in which there were two national elections. The commuted sentence -- from the previous 2 1/3-year prison term by an appellate court in October 2020 -- had been wi

Social Affairs Aug. 18, 2023

Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung appeared Thursday for his fourth interrogation by prosecutors since his presidential election rival Yoon Suk Yeol took office, accusing the conservative government of attacking democracy. It was the leader of South Korea's main opposition party's first time appearing for questioning regarding allegations of his involvement in a land corruption scandal that took place in 2015 in Baekhyeon-dong, an affluent district of Bundang-gu in S

Politics Aug. 17, 2023

Moving forward from South Korea's dynamic seven decades, The Korea Herald identifies the seven most crucial challenges the nation must overcome for a sustainable and prosperous future. – Ed. Climate crisis becomes irreversible reality Climate change has long been considered a future disaster rather than a present threat by many Koreans. However, it has now become a largely irreversible reality, manifesting as a series of extreme weather events that significantly affect people'

Social Affairs Aug. 13, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing increasing calls to dismiss key ministers, including Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hyun-sook, over the mishandling of the World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum, on reclaimed land in Buan, North Jeolla Province. Lawmakers in South Korea are urging that ministers responsible for the event be removed from their posts once the jamboree -- which carries a price tag of 117 billion won ($88.7 million) -- ends as planned Saturday. "Primarily, an

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2023

The Korea Immigration and Integration Program's courses for foreigners residing in South Korea will no longer be provided free of charge for those who failed the course and try to retake it, the government said Wednesday. The Ministry of Justice said it would amend the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act before the end of this year to have retakers of the state-funded social integration courses to bear the cost of the courses. A pilot project to do so before determining the scope of f

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2023

A man in his 20s was caught hours after stabbing a teacher at a high school in Daejeon on Friday, police said. According to Daejeon Daedeok Police Station, the suspect entered the high school in Daedeok-gu around 10:03 a.m. and stabbed the teacher, aged 49, multiple times before fleeing. Around 200 police force was mobilized to catch the suspect. The man was nabbed some 8 kilometers away from the scene at around 12:20 p.m. The suspect reportedly entered the school claiming he was an alumni and a

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2023

A man in his 20s was caught holding sharp objects at Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul on Friday. According to the police, a man was arrested after the police received an emergency call at around 10:40 a.m. on Friday. The police confiscated two potential weapons from the man. A list of threats to commit copycat knife rampage crimes similar to the one in the Sillim neighborhood of Gwanak-gu, southern Seoul that killed one person on July 21, and another in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province that in

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2023

Two people are in critical condition as of Friday morning after a rampage in a shopping mall in Bundang, a wealthy neighborhood in southern Gyeonggi Province in the suburbs of Seoul, fire authorities revealed Friday. As of 6 a.m. Friday, two out of a total of 14 injured at the scene are at the risk of brain death, according to authorities. Among the injured, five were hit by the assailant's car driving onto the sidewalk near a shopping mall. The assailant then got out of his car and went in

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2023

A 49-year-old high school teacher was stabbed near a staff room of a school in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon by a person who infiltrated the school, according to the fire department on Friday. According to a witness, the suspect waited for the teacher to return outside the staff room for about an hour during a break. The suspect then followed the teacher on the way to the bathroom, and stabbed the teacher in the face, the left side of the chest and arm. The teacher remains unconscious and is in critical c

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2023

The story of a runaway US soldier to North Korea caught international attention last month, as he crossed the border a day after he was escorted to a South Korean airport to return to the US. On July 17, Pvt. Travis King, 23, was on his way to Texas to face expulsion from the military after he had been jailed for nearly two months in South Korea for assault. He was supposed to take a commercial flight from Incheon Airport to Fort Bliss in Dallas, Texas, but he walked out of the duty-free zone be

Social Affairs Aug. 3, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the Education Ministry on Tuesday to establish new school guidelines to protect teachers' rights from as early as the fall semester this year. He stressed that failing to address unruly behavior among children in classrooms is akin to giving way to violators of the law in the name of human rights. "Failing to discipline children who have refused to follow rules (in a classroom) for the sake of children's rights is no different than failing to punish criminals

Politics Aug. 1, 2023

US private equity firm Lone Star has appealed against an arbitration decision made by an international tribunal that sentenced the South Korean government to pay Lone Star $216.02 million in damages over the sale of a commercial bank decades ago, the Justice Ministry said on Monday. The government was notified of the appeal from the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes on Saturday, Korea Standard Time. Seoul said it would "thoroughly review" Lone

Social Affairs July 31, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol is looking to go on a weeklong vacation at a presidential vacation home in early August, according to the presidential office on Monday. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee are to go to the presidential retreat of Cheonghaedae in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, from Wednesday to Aug. 8. This, however, would not mean they will stay out of touch, leaving open possibilities for them to make public appearances during the vacation, through events like visiting remote areas of S

Politics July 31, 2023