The zookeeper who took care of Fu Bao since her birth told the giant panda's fans in South Korea not to worry about the recent unusual behavior she has been displaying after leaving her birthplace to depart for China earlier this month. Kang Cheol-won, known as "panda grandpa" or "Kang Bao," said the bear's recent behaviors, such as rolling around the cage, are not likely to be symptoms of health issues. He addressed Fu Bao's fans in a video interview conducted

Travel April 12, 2024

  Wednesday’s general election concluded in a resounding victory for the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which took 175 seats of the National Assembly's 300 seats while the ruling People Power Party scraped up 108. While Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung celebrates what he called "a great victory of the people," the prospect of him becoming a front-runner for the next presidency is murkier than what the landslide victory may suggest. With Lee winning his own c

Politics April 11, 2024

South Korean police said Thursday they are investigating the deaths of two women and two men at a hotel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, with preliminary findings indicating the women were murdered by the men, who later jumped to their deaths from the building. Officers at Paju Police Station were investigating the case of a missing woman, which led them to a hotel in Yadang-dong, Paju on Wednesday. They tracked the victim to the hotel and knocked on the door of the room where the two men were stayin

Social Affairs April 11, 2024

A man has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and assaulting a woman and leaving her unconscious in a parking lot in North Jeolla Province, police said Thursday. Jeonju Deokjin Police Station is investigating a suspect in his 20s on possible charges of bodily injury resulting from robbery and other yet-unspecified sex crimes against the victim. The victim was found at around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in a parking lot in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju. The victim had been bleeding from injuries on her face and

Social Affairs April 11, 2024

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and its satellite party are expected to get close to two-thirds of the 300 seats in the National Assembly in Wednesday's general election, marking an overwhelming victory over the ruling party, joint exit polls conducted by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS showed. The Democratic Party and the Minjoo Union Party are projected to win between 183 and 197 seats, while the ruling People Power Party and its satellite People Future Party are expected to w

Politics April 10, 2024

  South Koreans on Wednesday went to the polls for the 2024 general election, selecting the lawmakers to represent them in the 22nd National Assembly. With stakes running high, a number of incidents at polling stations across the country were reported. Here are a few of the events that took place on the election day.   Father disapproves of daughter's vote, tears up ballot   A 52-year-old man and his 22-year-old daughter went to a polling station in Samhak-dong, Gunsan, North Jeo

Politics April 10, 2024

April 10, 2024, 5 p.m. The nationwide voter turnout for the 2024 general election continues to be higher than the numbers at the same time in the previous parliamentary election, marking 64.1 percent as of 5 p.m. The figure was 1.5 percentage points higher than the 62.6 percent turnout at 5 p.m. during the 2020 general election. The final turnout of the previous parliamentary election was 66.2 percent. Votes submitted in the two-day early voting period last week, which saw a record turnout of

Politics April 10, 2024

Wednesday is officially Election Day for the 22nd session of the National Assembly, and it is also a day off for workers in South Korea, as the law mandates significant election days to be state-designated public holidays. After exercising their right to vote at the polls, many people nationwide went out to enjoy the warm spring weather, visiting parks, palaces and other attractions. Here are some of photos of Seoul residents enjoying the day off on Election Day.

Social Affairs April 10, 2024

April 10, 2024, 2 p.m.   The nationwide voter turnout for the 2024 general election on Wednesday was 56.4 percent as of 2 p.m., 3.4 percentage points higher than the 53 percent recorded at the same time in the previous 2020 general election. The figure includes votes submitted in the two-day early voting period last week, which saw a record turnout of 31.28 percent of the electorate. Voter turnout for the election has been higher than the last general election for both the 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Politics April 10, 2024

The Supreme Court recently ordered the reinstatement of South Korean citizenship for siblings born to a Chinese immigrant, who had been denied citizenship due to an administrative error that happened before their birth. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in their administrative lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice, in which they challenged the ministry's 2019 decision that they were not South Koreans. The siblings were born in 1998 and 2001 to a South Korean man and a Chinese-b

Social Affairs April 10, 2024

A citizen's petition for Seoul to fund a loan from China of the giant panda Fu Bao was posted on the metropolitan government's website on Monday, days after thousands of South Korean fans said their tearful goodbyes to the beloved panda on April 3. On the Sangsangdaero Seoul website, an online platform for citizens to make suggestions to the Seoul metropolitan government, a person surnamed Kim suggested that Seoul should finance a loan of Fu Bao so that she can be housed at the Seoul G

Travel April 10, 2024

A young man who assaulted a female convenience store clerk because she had short hair was sentenced to three years in jail Tuesday. The Jinju branch of the Changwon District Court found the defendant in his 20s guilty of attacking the female victim and another man in his 50s who tried to stop the assault. The assailant was also ordered to pay 2.5 million won ($1,800) in compensation to the owner of the convenience store, and 10 million won to the male victim for the severe injuries he sustained.

Social Affairs April 9, 2024

A 68-year-old man who returned a pile of cash he had found inside a discarded treadmill was commended Tuesday by local police. Ansan Sangrok Police Station presented a certificate of appreciation to Jeon Jang-pyo, a resident of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, who found 48.7 million won ($36,000) in cash inside the broken machine at around 3:51 p.m. on Sunday. He reported his discovery to the police, who checked the surveillance footage to find that a woman in her 60s and another man had thrown away th

Social Affairs April 9, 2024

The number of South Koreans living alone rose above the 10 million mark for the first time in March, data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety showed Tuesday, as more older people opt to live alone than ever before. Approximately 10.02 million households consist of one individual, accounting for 41.8 percent of the 24 million total households in the country, according to the ministry. The figure marked a slight increase compared to 9.98 million in the previous month. Among the single-person

Social Affairs April 9, 2024

South Korean police are investigating a case in which three young men fled without paying for their three hour, 40-minute taxi ride, local media reported Tuesday. According to Yonhap News Agency, the police have acquired the DNA evidence of the suspects left on the seat they sat on, along with the black box footage of the car that shows all of their faces. Officers also have their phone numbers, which they used to hail the cab through the Kakao T application. The incident occurred at around 1:30

Social Affairs April 9, 2024