The number of people consulting with the state-run counseling centers for domestic, sexual abuse and domestic conflicts was the highest on record last year, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family data showed Sunday. A total of 337,171 calls were made in 2023 to the national counseling centers for victims of domestic and sexual abuse, along with other forms of domestic conflicts and crimes such as stalking. The figure was up 15.1 percent from the previous year, according to the ministry's

Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2024

Gwangju court on Sunday said it has ruled against the parents of a high school student who challenged local education authorities for authorizing the boy's expulsion from a school, after he attacked a classmate with a weapon. The student in question attacked the victim with a stationery knife, which he attached to his hand with a glue, during a class trip to the Uleungdo Island in May of last year. He told police that he was "infuriated" that the victim was kicking his seat, and t

Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2024

A man was found to have hidden his dead father's body inside a freezer for over a year due to unspecified inheritance issues, local police said Sunday. Officials at the Icheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province are investigating a man in his 40s for violation of the Article 161 of the Criminal Act, which covers damaging, destroying, concealing or taking possession of a corpse. The suspect turned himself in on Friday to local police, who found the body of the deceased inside the suspect&#

Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2024

The city of Busan last week presented a certificate of appreciation to three handball players who rescued a driver pinned under the car after an accident. Kim Da-young, Shin Jin-mi and Jeong Ga-hee of South Korea's Division 1 H-League were commended last Thursday for providing assistance in the aftermath of a car accident at around 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 11. The three players found a car that had overturned after colliding with a guardrail in Yangsan city, South Gyeongsang Province, and blocked

Social Affairs Nov. 3, 2024

A retired labor union member at a prominent company in Ulsan has been arrested for fraud, police said Wednesday, after he allegedly convinced others to pay him in exchange for getting jobs for their children at the company. Officials of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency had the suspect, in his 60s, arrested and forwarded his case to the prosecution for fraud. He is accused of swindling a total of 500 million won ($363,000) from three acquaintances from March 2017 to January 2024, promising to

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2024

South Korea's largest doctors' association is set to hold a vote of confidence against its controversy-ridden president, who has been at the center of controversy for his comments and actions, as well as bribery allegations. The operating committee of the Korean Medical Association held an emergency meeting Tuesday evening and decided on an assembly of representatives on Nov. 10 at 2 p.m., with a motion of no confidence in KMA chief Lim Hyun-taek included in the agenda. They will als

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2024

South Koreans' most preferred length for an animated video is between 20 and 29 minutes, a report by a state-run content industry agency showed Wednesday. The Korea Creative Content Agency released the 2024 Animation Industry White Paper, in which they surveyed 3,500 Koreans between the age of 10 and 69 who watched an animated video regularly -- at least once in two to three months -- in the past year. When asked what was their most preferred length of an animation, 33.6 percent of the resp

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2024

Roughly half of public educational institutes across South Korea have at least one convicted sex offender living within a 1-kilometer radius, data showed Wednesday. Over half of the day care centers and high schools in the country -- 59 percent and 53 percent, respectively -- have one or more sex offenders living within 1 kilometer, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family data submitted to Rep. Baek Seung-a of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Some 51 percent of ki

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2024

A 15-year-old boy is being investigated for assaulting a senior citizen and causing his death. The Muan Police Station in South Jeolla Province said it is investigating the middle school student for death resulting from violence, punishable by up to three years in prison. The suspect is accused of using fatal violence against a neighbor in his 70s at around 5:40 p.m. on Oct. 13. The suspect told police that he punched the victim when he saw him arguing with his mother. The victim fell to the gro

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2024

Multiple people in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, aided in bringing jewelry thieves to justice, according to local police, chasing one thief on foot and also identifying him and his accomplice. The National Police Agency on Friday posted a video of their recent arrest, in which two men who stole gold jewelry with an estimated value of 35.7 million won ($25,800) were arrested. In the video posted on the NPA's official YouTube page, a customer apparently took a gold necklace while pretending t

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2024

Incheon International Airport Corporation said Sunday it is retracting a much-disputed plan to provide designated security lanes for celebrities in order to prevent overcrowding by onlookers, after a backlash from the general public and lawmakers against preferential treatment for famous people. Officials at South Korea's main gateway said the airport will not be implementing the plan to permit celebrities to use security lanes such as those for flight crews, diplomats and disabled passen

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2024

As many as 1.1 million Christians in South Korea participated in a mass rally in Seoul on Sunday to oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage and legislation of an antidiscrimination ordinance that has been floating around for over a decade. One of the largest religious gatherings in the country's history occurred across the country's capital in Seoul Plaza, Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul Station and Yeouido, with organizers claiming some 1.1 million participants, while police have estim

Social Affairs Oct. 28, 2024

A dispute has emerged surrounding Lim Hyun-taek, chair of South Korea's largest doctors' association, that he had alleged requested to be paid by a member doctor as a settlement for dropping a defamation lawsuit. Local media outlets here reported that Korean Medical Association chief Lim had recently sought to file a defamation suit against the member, who had criticized him online. The member, who is public relations director of the Seoul Medical Association, sent Lim a written lett

Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2024

Some 44.9 percent of the medical residents who resigned en masse to protest the government's medical school admissions hike have been rehired at other medical institutions, a Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed Thursday. Of the 9,163 residents who have walked of the job in the nationwide medical strike, 4,111 have been reemployed as doctors as of Sunday, according to the ministry data submitted to Rep. Kim Yoon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The data showed that

Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2024

A woman who filed around 2,000 false reports, petitions and complaints against the authorities has been arrested, Busan police said, as her case was forwarded to the prosecutors Thursday. According to the Busan Sasang Police Station, the suspect is accused of filing multiple complaints and petitions against 16 officers at the station from February to April. This included false claims of officers physically abusing or harassing her. She reportedly admitted to filing the false claims in the police

Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2024