A rape case that could have remained unresolved due to a lack of evidence has instead led to the indictment of the suspect, after investigators found that the sexual attack had been reflected in the lid of a washing machine. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office recently commended five cases for their outstanding use of forensic investigation in the second quarter of this year. Among the five were a Gangneung prosecutor's indictment of a rape suspect accused of six sexual attacks on his fo

Social Affairs July 24, 2024

Local education authorities said Tuesday that a group of students at an elementary school in North Gyeongsang Province has been refusing classes for days in support of their teacher who has been feuding with a parent. The 23 students in the provincial city of Chilgok refused to attend class from July 16 to the commencement of summer break on July 19, according to the Gyeongbuk Office of Education. The parents of the students said they will not attend second-semester classes until the children&

Social Affairs July 24, 2024

Same-sex couples in South Korea are expressing hope for the improvement of LGBTQ+ rights here, on the coattails of last week's Supreme Court ruling that recognized the legal rights of a same-sex couple for the first time ever. In the landmark ruling, the country's top court ruled that the plaintiff, So Sung-wook, should be eligible for spousal coverage under the National Health Insurance Service subscription of his male partner, Kim Yong-min. The court stated in its ruling that same-se

Social Affairs July 23, 2024

YouTuber Darcie on Tuesday apologized for her actions on what she had initially described as "housing fraud incident," which many people perceived as her trying to shift her own losses from a scam onto another victim. "I'm ashamed to admit that I failed to recognize the severity of the housing fraud issue, and made the mistake of referring to my personal experience as one. I apologize for the inaccurate depiction of my experience," she said in an apology posted via her

Social Affairs July 23, 2024

The bodies of two men were found at a beach in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, the Boryeong Coast Guard said Tuesday. The two men, both identified to be 49-year-old residents of Boryeong, were found dead at around 10:57 p.m. Monday at Doksan Beach in the small coastal city. Officials suspect that they died due to an accident that occurred while they were doing "haerujil," or traditional barehanded fishing. Haerujil refers to shining a light at nighttime and catching the fish that

Social Affairs July 23, 2024

Government data showed Monday that the number of visitors at major theme parks in South Korea has rebounded, approaching pre-COVID-19 figures. The annual headcount for those who visited Everland, the largest theme park and zoo here, marked 5.88 million in 2023. In the same year, 5.19 million people visited Lotte World and 1.33 million went to Seoul Land, according to the Tourism Knowledge and Information System operated by the state-run Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. Both Everland in Yon

Travel July 22, 2024

An online community dealing with information about administrative actions related to drunk driving has sparked debate, with many decrying the forum members for sharing know-how to obtain leniency after being caught in the crime. The webpage on Naver, South Korea's largest search engine, has well over 80,000 members as of Monday. People in the group are sharing personal experiences related to drunk driving, hit-and-run incidents and other violations of the Road Traffic Act. Categories of t

Social Affairs July 22, 2024

Popular South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung told a local media outlet that he recently resigned as a goodwill ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency due to a barrage of politically charged attacks against him. Speaking with local Hankyoreh newspaper, the 51-year-old said he had been accused of using the post for political reasons. He was named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador for South Korea in 2015. "There had been unrelenting political attacks against both the organization and myself, implying that

People July 22, 2024

An overwhelming majority of the child victims in sex crimes perpetrated by a family member were aged 13 or younger when they were first victimized, a parliamentary report showed Sunday. The National Assembly Research Service compiled a report based on its survey of the four juvenile protective facilities for the victims of sex crimes by family members, which were established in 2010. Of the 316 children and teens currently under protection, 115 -- or 36.4 percent -- were first subject to the c

Social Affairs July 21, 2024

The primary victim in an infamous 2004 gang rape case by high school boys discussed the case in a rare interview with a local media outlet that aired Saturday, explaining to the public the pains she had to endure due to the horrid incident and secondary damages that followed. The victim, referred to as Kim, not her real name, in a recent episode of "Unanswered Questions" on SBS said she had been living in fear of retribution from the 44 alleged perpetrators of the incident in Miryang

Social Affairs July 21, 2024

The number of South Koreans without a job or seeking a job marked an all-time high in the first half of this year, government data showed Sunday. According to Statistics Korea, there were 4.058 million people in the country with a college degree who were considered an "economically inactive population," which refers to those aged 15 or over who are unable to or unwilling to work. This includes students, homemakers, those preparing for state exams for government official posts and peo

Economy July 21, 2024

The parent of an elementary school student recently filed a child abuse claim against her child's former teacher, a Seoul teachers' union said Thursday, after sending a threatening letter to the teacher regarding the teacher's daughter. The parent in question filed the complaint over alleged child abuse Wednesday, two days after being questioned by police for the threat letter sent last year, according to the Seoul branch of the Korean Federation of Teachers Unions. She claimed

Newsmaker July 20, 2024

A young woman under the delusion that the world and her father were fake was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering her father, a local court said Thursday. Ulsan District Court found the defendant in her 20s guilty of killing an ascendant, for which the Criminal Act stipulates a harsher punishment than for murder. She was also ordered to wear an electronic tracking anklet for 10 years after release. The court pointed out that killing one's parent is an extreme act against humanity

Social Affairs July 18, 2024

Recent government data showed Thursday that the number of involuntarily unemployed people in South Korea reached 1.24 million in June, marking a 16.9 percent increase from the same month last year. According to a report by Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the figure for June actually marked a substantial decrease compared to 1.89 million in January, and a slight increase from 1.23 million in May. But this year's monthly figures have risen considerably

Economy July 18, 2024

A 28-year-old firefighter is being hailed a hero after a video of him saving a woman who was hanging from the balcony of a high-rise building went viral. Firefighter Shin Gang-min saved a woman in her 30s who was hanging from the railing of a 13th-floor apartment unit in Wansan-gu, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province on Tuesday. The woman had climbed over in an attempt to take her own life, which the Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters learned of after receiving a report at around 5:46 p.m. After the police s

Social Affairs July 18, 2024