Bird watchers in Ulsan have reported sightings of two tundra swans, marking the first time the rare bird species has been found within the city, authorities said Monday. The birds were found looking for food in the fields of Onyang-eup and Onsan-eup in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, on Feb.7, according to the Ulsan Metropolitan Government. The swans were first caught on camera by Lee Jae-ho, a member of the local youth bird watchers' club, who later accompanied photographer Yun Gi-deuk to photograph the

Social Affairs March 4, 2024

South Korean government on Monday refused to give in to doctors' protests against its plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota, as the threat of the mass suspension of medical licenses for striking trainee doctors loomed over the country. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said the government is moving to take "irreversible" measures against trainee doctors who left work, warning of suspensions of their medical licenses for at least three months. "If (the li

Social Affairs March 4, 2024

An average South Korean spends about 40 hours a month using YouTube on smartphones, a local report showed Monday, as the video-sharing platform's popularity on its mobile platform proved to be higher than in any other country across the globe. Market analysis firm Wiseapp/Retail/Goods analyzed the apps used by South Koreans via Android and iOS mobile operating systems, which, combined account for roughly 98 percent of smartphones in the country. They found that the combined number of hours

Technology March 4, 2024

Of all the South Korean employees who reported having received bonuses from their companies in 2022, individuals in the top 0.1 percent got an average of 685.26 million won ($513,000) each, a National Tax Service report showed Saturday. According to a report made public by Rep. Yang Gyeong-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, 9.79 million South Korean workers reported receiving bonuses, with the median figure among them being 4.34 million won. While the median figure marked an i

Social Affairs March 3, 2024

Roughly four out of 10 South Korean female employees said they have received less in wages from their employer due to their gender, a survey showed Sunday. Local civic group Gabjil 119 surveyed 1,000 employees across the country about gender discrimination in work-related issues such as wages or promotions. It showed 40.6 percent of the female respondents said they have been unfairly penalized in wages because of their gender, which was nearly double the 21.8 percent of men who said the same. Th

Social Affairs March 3, 2024

YouTube videos carrying fake news about controversy-ridden soccer star Lee Kang-in are thought to have generated up to 700 million won ($523,000) in profit in the two weeks after his alleged altercation with Son Heung-min became public, a report by an advertising consulting firm claimed Sunday. Lee, a 23-year-old player for Paris Saint-Germain, was subject to nationwide criticism when it was reported that he had allegedly fought with the South Korean national men's soccer team captain Son H

Social Affairs March 3, 2024

A member of a South Korean gang who was under investigation for instigating an assault on a YouTuber has been found dead, a local media outlet reported Sunday. The body of the 30-something-year-old suspect was found inside a motel in Gyeonggi Province, according to a Channel A report. The man was being investigated by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on suspicion of instigating an attack against a YouTuber who uploaded critical content about his organization. Police did not disclose d

Social Affairs March 3, 2024

Actor Lee Jae-wook, who recently confirmed rumors that he is in a romantic relationship with Karina of aespa, warned Thursday that he would take strong legal action against groundless rumors circulating online. Lee's agency CJes Studios said via a public statement that it was notified of "ill-intended, insulting online posts, which contain false claims and defame Lee." "It is a severe infringement of human rights, and our company will file criminal and civic charges against (

Television Feb. 29, 2024

South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday requested a 30-year prison term for a 29-year-old woman indicted for beating her son to death, with the same punishment sought for her two acquaintances who took part in the abuse. Officials from Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office requested the court to sentence the mother, her 30-year-old male acquaintance and her 27-year-old female acquaintance for the charge of death resulting from child abuse. Such an offense is punishable with five years to life

Social Affairs Feb. 29, 2024

The Korea Communications Standards Commission on Thursday decided to block two parody videos of President Yoon Seuk Yeol, a week after it blocked a viral fake compilation video of the South Korean leader. The KCSC convened a meeting earlier in the day and passed the decision to block two doctored videos of Yoon from a 2022 speech which made it appear as if he was confessing to corruption and incompetence. The decision was based on the Regulations for the Review of Information and Communications,

Social Affairs Feb. 29, 2024

Boiling and filtering tap water can drastically reduce the level of plastic particles in it, a study by China-based research team published Wednesday said. Scientists from the Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University conducted a study in which they observed the effect of boiling mineral-rich water, to see if it could lead to reduced human intake of nano/microplastics (NMPs). The researchers took multiple samples of tap water from the Guangzhou region, contaminated with varying levels of

Food Feb. 29, 2024

A survey by a US-based think tank on Thursday showed growing criticism of how democracy is working across 24 nations, with a median of 59 percent expressing dissatisfaction with how their democracy is functioning and a small minority even being open to a form of military rule. Between Feb. 20 and May 22, 2023, the Pew Research Center surveyed 30,861 adults in 24 countries including South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Sweden,

Politics Feb. 29, 2024

A man who abandoned a car he was driving after it caught fire was apprehended Thursday by Incheon police, who found him in the sauna of a local bathhouse. According to Incheon Seobu Police Station, the suspect in his 20s was found at the bathhouse around 2:15 a.m. in the city's Seo-gu district. The suspect is believed to have fled the scene after his car caught fire at around 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Police found several canisters of butane fuel in the car, which was still burning when offic

Social Affairs Feb. 29, 2024

With a growing number of industries becoming digitalized to cut costs and boost efficiency, the potential of cyber security measures and software-defined vehicles has been a hot topic for carmakers across the world. Fescaro, a leading cybersecurity specialist, seeks to spearhead the change with its all-in-one cybersecurity solutions customized to meet the needs of its clients, in accordance with changing international standards. The European Union in 2022 introduced cybersecurity regulations, ma

Industry Feb. 28, 2024

Graduates of universities with higher admission requirements make as much as 50 percent more than the graduates of lower-ranked universities, a study by a state-run think-tank showed Tuesday. In the study released by the Korea Development Institute, researchers sorted South Korean universities into five groups based on the grades they required in the state-run college entrance exam Suneung. Schools in group one required the lowest Suneung grades while group five schools required the highest gr

Social Affairs Feb. 27, 2024