An off-duty firefighter stopped what could have become a sizeable forest fire by extinguishing a barn fire that he encountered on his way home, a local fire station said Monday. Lt. Han Jeong-hyeon of the Hwacheon Fire Station was driving home at around 6:30 p.m. on Friday when he saw smoke rising near a mountain in Sinbuk-eup of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. The 42-year-old firefighter headed toward the site, where he found an senior man trying to extinguish a fire in his barn. The elder man w

Social Affairs Aug. 27, 2024

A recent survey indicated that the majority of single people in South Korea would like to get married, but also showed concerns over various issues, including finances and child care. Lifeplus FemTech Research Institute, an affiliate of Hanwha Insurance, conducted a survey on what unmarried men and women in the Greater Seoul area -- Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province -- thought about marriage. Of the 1,000 people between ages 25 and 39 who participated in the survey, 79 percent of men and 63

Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2024

  Recent progress in video technology has had some alarming effects in South Korea, as a growing number of tech-savvy youngsters are using deepfake technology to produce sexual images of people without their consent, often of their peers. A recent report showed that there had been 180 criminal cases related to deepfake images last year. Ninety-one of the 120 people punished in those crimes were teenagers, according to a report compiled by Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the ruling People Power Party, w

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2024

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continued to increase in the third week of August, according to the most recent tally Thursday, but at a lower growth rate than weeks before. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 1,464 people were newly hospitalized with the disease between Aug. 11 and Aug. 17, marking a 7.2 percent increase compared to 1,366 new patients in the previous week. The figure by the state-run agency refers to the patients admitted to one of 22

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2024

A 15-year-old boy recently rescued a man suffering from a sudden drop in blood sugar at a Daejeon convenience store when he did some quick thinking and fed the man sugary snacks. Local News 1 reported Thursday that the man had lost consciousness at 8:20 p.m. on Aug. 17 at a convenience store inside the Daejeon World Cup Stadium while he was waiting in line. The man suffered from hypoglycemia and heat exhaustion which caused him to collapse. Song Min-jae, a student at an Incheon middle school,

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2024

A 79-year-old man who caused an explosion and fire at a dental clinic Thursday in Gwangju had done so out of dissatisfaction with the clinic, according to local police. The suspect had told police investigators that he committed the crime because he was discontent with the dental treatment he received, local media outlets reported Friday, citing officials at Gwangju Seobu Police Station. The incident occurred at 1:14 p.m., when the suspect set off an explosion with a makeshift device in the rece

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2024

A man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of causing an explosion that led to a fire at a dental clinic in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. The suspect, 79, brought a makeshift explosive comprised of four canisters of butane gas and a container with flammable material to the reception area of the clinic, located on the third floor of a building in Seo-gu, western Gwangju. He set fire to the material at 1:14 p.m. Thursday, setting off a chain of explosions that forced some 90 people to

Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2024

South Korean rescue officials said Wednesday that a pregnant woman recently gave birth inside an ambulance after four hospitals refused to take her in because they lacked the necessary medical staff or beds in their emergency rooms. According to Jincheon Fire Station in North Chungcheong Province, the woman called an ambulance at 1:31 a.m. on Aug. 15 after she went into labor. The rescue workers reached out to the four nearest hospitals in Cheonan and Cheongju, but all four said they did not h

Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2024

The state-run consumer protection agency said Thursday that it has received 203 complaints about weight-loss drugs since 2021, raising caution about using such medications. The number of requests for government intervention on consumer damages related to antiobesity medication has been on the rise, from 17 in 2021 to 44 in 2022, 85 in 2023 and 57 from January to June of this year, according to the Korea Consumer Agency. The number of such complaints in the first half of this year increased, comp

Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2024

Lawmakers are seeking to impose stricter penalties for illegal operation of electric-powered scooters, on the coattails of safety concerns sparked by a series of accidents, including one involving K-pop superstar Suga. The controversy surrounding what are legally defined as electric-powered bicycles and electric kick scooters erupted earlier this month, when the BTS member was caught driving an e-scooter while under the influence of alcohol. The incident fueled ongoing concerns over the safety o

Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2024

The eating habits of people living in Seoul have shifted towards consuming more meat, fewer vegetables and less fruit in the past decade, a study by the city-funded Seoul Institute showed Thursday. Seoul residents were eating 33.2 percent less fruit and 26.2 percent more meat in 2021 compared to in 2012, according to the study. Specifically, fruit consumption fell from 181.4 grams a day per person to 12.8 grams a day, while meat consumption rose from 110 grams per day per person to 149.1 grams a

Social Affairs Aug. 22, 2024

A 49-year-old woman has been given a one-year jail term, suspended for two years, for attacking a man and a woman under the false belief they were stalking her, court officials said Wednesday. In a recent ruling from the Seoul Northern District Court, the suspect was found guilty of violence and special bodily injury on another in two attacks, against a 44-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man with mental disabilities She was also ordered to be on probation. On Sept. 16 last year the defendant at

Social Affairs Aug. 21, 2024

A man in his 20s was arrested for making a fake bomb report and robbing a convenience store, South Korean police said Wednesday. The suspect called the police via 112 at around 7 a.m. Tuesday from Pyeongnae-dong, Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, and said he installed an explosive device inside the nearby PyeongnaeHopyeong station. He then went into a convenience store and threatened a store clerk with a weapon, stealing 90,000 won ($67) in cash. Police officers searched the station, but did not f

Social Affairs Aug. 21, 2024

South Korea's east coastal cities recently extended the availability of lifeguards at official beaches, in light of people continuing to visit them even after they officially closed following the summer vacation period. The city governments of Gangneung and Donghae said they will continue to have lifeguards posted to some beaches for visitors, even after they have closed for this year's summer vacation season. Regional governments operate "haesuyokjang" -- referring to seasid

Social Affairs Aug. 21, 2024

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his coworker, police said Tuesday. The suspect, who was identified as a Thai national in his 30s, is believed to have stabbed a fellow Thai coworker in his 60s in the neck in a foundry dormitory in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province around 10:40 p.m. on Monday. The two workers were found to be living and working in South Korea unregistered. The victim was fatally stabbed in the neck and died while receiving emergency medical treatment at a near

Social Affairs Aug. 20, 2024