Nearly half of all fatal hit-and-run accidents in the past five years were caused by drunk or unlicensed drivers, National Police Agency data showed Tuesday. Out of 420 hit-and-run deaths from 2019-2023, 50.2 percent, or 211 people, were hit by drivers who were driving without a license or under the influence of alcohol, according to data submitted to Rep. Jo Eun-hui of the ruling People Power Party. During the same period, 30.5 percent of the 49,562 people injured from hit-and-run cases involve

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2024

A 35-ton fishing vessel capsized off the coast near Gunsan, a southwestern port city in North Jeolla Province, resulting in the deaths of three people onboard, the Korea Coast Guard said Monday. The Coast Guard successfully rescued all eight people from the capsized vessel. However, three of them -- the Korean captain, the Korean chief engineer and an Indonesian sailor -- were transferred to hospitals but later pronounced dead. The remaining five survivors, which include three Vietnamese and two

Social Affairs Sept. 16, 2024

The approval rating for President Yoon Suk Yeol has dropped to its lowest level since he took office in May 2022, a poll showed Monday. The survey, conducted by Realmeter and commissioned by a local news outlet, showed Yoon's positive rating at 27 percent, down by 2.9 percentage points from the previous week. The previous record low was 29.3 percent in the first week of August 2022. It marked the third consecutive week that Yoon's approval rating has fallen below 30 percent. The survey attribute

Politics Sept. 16, 2024

K-pop boy group Seventeen will release its 12th EP on Oct. 14, the group's agency Pledis Entertainment said Monday. Titled "Spill the Feels," the album marks the 13-member group's first release in six months following its best-of album "17 is Right Here." Ahead of the album launch, Seventeen will kick off its "Right Here" world tour in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, from Oct. 12-13. The tour will continue in the United States, Japan and other Asian count

Culture Sept. 16, 2024

North Korea will hold a key parliamentary meeting next month to mainly amend the country's constitution, state media reported Monday, after its leader Kim Jong-un called for the constitutional revision to define South Korea as its primary foe. The 11th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly will be convened in Pyongyang on Oct. 7, according to the Korean Central News Agency. In an SPA meeting in January, the North's leader called for revising the constitution to define Sout

North Korea Sept. 16, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday visited police and fire stations to encourage police officers and firefighters who are working for public safety during the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, his office said. Yoon visited Gwanak Police Station and Gangseo Fire Station in Seoul, where he was briefed on the situation on officers on duty during the holiday and expressed his thanks for their hard work, according to presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon. Yoon said since he took office, he has stressed

Politics Sept. 16, 2024

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was safe after a shooting occurred near his golf course in Florida on Sunday, in what investigators see as an apparent assassination attempt against the former president. The shooting took place shortly before 2 p.m. near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, where Trump was golfing. In a fundraising email, Trump said that he was "safe and well," according to CNN. His campaign and the US Secret Service also confirmed that he wa

World News Sept. 16, 2024

North Korea on Sunday launched balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea for the second straight day, the South's military said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the latest launches, noting the balloons could travel toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, and the broader capital area. The launch came after the North flew around 50 trash-carrying balloons toward the South from Saturday night to early Sunday, with about 10 trash bundles landing

North Korea Sept. 15, 2024

The top South Korean baseball league surpassed the 10-million mark in attendance Sunday, clearing yet another milestone in its record-breaking season. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said its 10 clubs have now combined for over 10 million fans after four games Sunday. Prior to Sunday, the league's attendance sat at 9,943,674. The KBO established a single-season attendance record Aug. 18 with 8,475,664 fans, eclipsing the previous mark of 8,400,688 from 2017. Fans have kept flocking to

Baseball Sept. 15, 2024

Kim Dong-wan, who was known as the country's first weathercaster, died Sunday at the age of 89, the state weather agency said. Kim began working as a weather forecaster for what is now the Korea Meteorological Administration in 1959. In the 1970s, he started giving weather forecasts at then broadcaster TBC, using catchy phrases, such as "heat that feels like a fly is falling asleep," to grab listeners' attention. He later worked for broadcaster MBC starting in 1982 and made w

People Sept. 15, 2024

North Korea sent more balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Saturday, the South's military said, just three days after it floated similar balloons southward. In a message sent to reporters at 10:26 p.m., the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North's balloons could travel to Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul, warning the public of falling objects and asking people to report balloons to the military or police. On Wednesday, North Korea sent around 20 balloons likely carrying

North Korea Sept. 15, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Sunday that addressing the issue of family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War is "the most pressing task." Yoon made the remark in a speech read on his behalf by Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho at a ceremony marking the second Separated Families Day. "The issue of separated families is the most pressing task we must resolve," Yoon said, noting that around 3,000 of the 130,000 applicants for government-arranged reunions die every year wit

Politics Sept. 15, 2024

A heat wave watch was issued for all parts of Seoul on Sunday, the first time it was issued this late in the year, according to the weather authorities. A heat wave watch is issued when the highest sensible temperature is expected to reach 33 C or higher for two or more consecutive days or when major damage is anticipated from the heat. Other parts of the country, meanwhile, including Gongju and Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province, and Yongin and Anseong in Gyeonggi Province, were issued he

Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2024

Nearly 2,000 separated family members in South Korea died in the first eight months of this year without having an opportunity to reunite with their loved ones in North Korea after being separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, government data showed Sunday. A total of 1,961 applicants for government-arranged reunions for separated families died in the January-August period, raising the total number of such people to 96,352, according to the data from the unification ministry. As of end-August, arou

Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2024

Naver Corp.'s mobile map application has begun providing real-time service on natural disaster information starting this week, the company said Sunday. Naver Map now provides information about earthquakes, typhoons, heavy snow and rain downpours affecting South Korea on its app based on sources from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and other weather authorities, according to the company. In detail, users can check information about earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.5 or higher

Companies Sept. 15, 2024