The annual number of accidents involving senior citizens on automated transportation devices including elevators, escalators and moving walkways has been increasing since 2020, a report by the state-run consumer protection agency showed Wednesday. A total of 1,507 such accidents involving the over-65s were registered at the Consumer Injury Surveillance System from 2020 to September of this year, according to the Korea Consumer Agency. The yearly figure for these accidents of the elderly increa

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2024

A South Korean media outlet on Wednesday reported that TV announcer-turned-model Kim Na-jung had reached out to the South Korean Embassy in the Philippines for help leaving the country, after confessing to officials there that she had used drugs. According to Edaily, the 32-year-old contacted the embassy on Tuesday for help citing an unspecified danger, and received assistance going to the airport from her hotel and onto the plane from Manila to Incheon. The embassy did not elaborate on what typ

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2024

Incheon police said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into possible animal cruelty case, after the body of a beheaded kitten was found the previous day. Officials at the Incheon Gyeyang Police Station received the report of the kitten at around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Police said it will investigate the surveillance footage of the area around the lot, to determine whether this is a case of animal cruelty or if the kitten had been killed by another animal. Another potential animal cruelty

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2024

The organs of a woman who died after suffering cardiac arrest have been donated to help seven individuals, the state-run organ donation agency said Wednesday. Lee Mi-jeong, who passed away last month at the age of 37, left her heart, lungs, liver, both kidneys and both eyes to be transplanted, according to the Korea Organ Donation Agency. She suffered critical cardiac arrest in July, which left her brain dead. The bereaved family of Lee said they saw organ donation as a way of keeping a part o

People Nov. 13, 2024

An overwhelming majority of middle and high school teachers nationwide worry that their basic rights may be violated when supervising the Suneung college entrance exam, a survey showed Monday. The Korean Federation of Teachers Unions conducted the survey on 4,654 teachers across the country, in which 88 percent of the respondents said they have been concerned about potential human rights violations during Suneung duties. The Ministry of Education requires to middle and high schools across the co

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2024

A recent survey by a local dating app showed that single South Koreans feel the urge to look for a romantic relationship mostly when they want someone on their side. Dating app Noondate conducted the survey of 16,792 men and women across the country who are not romantically involved with anyone, asking them when they feel like starting a romantic relationship. The leading answer for both sexes was "when I feel like I want someone to take my side," chosen by 48 percent of women and 39 p

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2024

Two medical officers of the Navy recently resuscitated an older woman who had lost consciousness after choking on tteok (rice cake), according to the Republic of Korea Navy. Lt. Lee Jin-ho and Petty Officer Choi Hwan-yeong, were visiting a phone repair center in Seogwipo City in Jeju Island last Wednesday when they found a woman in her 70s lying unconscious across the street. The two men had gotten off their ship to repair their phones after the salvage and rescue vessel Gwangyang of the Navy

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2024

A 26-year-old man is being tried for the murder of his girlfriend, in another case drawing attention to the issue of dating violence in South Korea. The suspect surnamed Kim is believed to have killed a 27-year-old woman surnamed Im, his girlfriend of two weeks, by stabbing her in the heart at his home in August. Kim, who turned himself in by calling the 119 emergency line, claims self defense. He told police that Im had attacked him with a knife, and unintentionally stabbed herself in the che

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2024

South Korean police said Monday they are investigating a man in his 40s for a murder in which he allegedly targeted another man in his 40s in a random robbery because "he looked wealthy." The suspect is charged with murder in the killing that took place Friday in the city of Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. He told investigators that he committed the crime to pay his gambling debts, and targeted the victim because he was drunk and looked to be a wealthy man. The suspect spotted the

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2024

A man in his 50s who called police and warned of a random knife attack was recently released with just a warning, local media outlets reported Monday. According to a News1 report, officials of the Ilsan Seobu Police Station arrested a man in his 50s at around 9:50 p.m. on Nov. 5 after he called the 112 police emergency number and said he would kill many people at a bus terminal. "I will kill everyone at the terminal with a knife. Come quickly," he reportedly told police. Officials foun

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2024

The Coast Guard on Monday expanded the area in which it is searching for the crew members who went missing last week when a fishing boat sank off the coast of Jeju Island, as another body found the day before brought the death toll to four. The Jeju Coast Guard said 47 boats and eight aircraft were mobilized in the day's search for the 10 missing crew members across an area measuring 64 kilometers by 28 kilometers. The search continued for a fourth straight day in the waters near the wrecka

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2024

An unexpected lighting failure that occurred during the 19th Busan Fireworks Festival on Saturday was caused by three teenagers, according to the event’s organizers on Sunday. The teens' unauthorized entrance into the control room for the festival led to the light failure, according to the organizing committee of the annual festival in the second-largest Korean city. The teens touched a cable connected to light controls on the bridge Gwangandaegyo while being escorted out by security,

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2024

The number of estimated drug users in South Korea has surged to over 400,000 this year, but several of the state-designated hospitals for drug addiction treatment have not treated a single patient this year. According to local DongA Ilbo newspaper, a Ministry of Health and Welfare report estimated that 400,530 people in South Korea are thought to have used illegal drugs this year. This figure is derived from the ministry's formula of multiplying by 30 the actual number of those investigated

Social Affairs Nov. 9, 2024

South Korean officials have confirmed the location of the sunken fishing boat off the coast of Jeju Island, but a tangled fishing net is making the search for the vessel difficult, Jeju Coast Guard said Friday. Officials from the Coast Guard held a briefing at 2 p.m. on the search and rescue operations for the crew of the 129-ton Geumseong which sank early Friday morning, leaving two of the 27 crew dead and 12 unaccounted for. Sixteen of the crew were Korean and 11 were of foreign nationality. U

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2024

South Korean prosecutors on Thursday requested an appellate court to hand a 25-year prison term to a 20-year-old over the death of a mentally disabled 18-year-old, who died after the accused pushed him into the sea for losing a game. Prosecutors want the defendant convicted of murder, after a lower court found him guilty only of a lesser offence. He pushed the victim into the sea in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, on Feb.1. The defendant lured the victim to the port by suggesting to go fishing,

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2024