A 69-year-old man who assaulted his disabled wife and threatened her with a wooden stick was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, a local court said Monday. The defendant surnamed Choi has been charged with physical abuse against a disabled person and "special threat," which Article 284 of the Criminal Act defines as imposing a threat with a weapon and can be punished by up to seven years in prison or a 10 million won ($7,500) fine. Investigators found that Choi

Social Affairs Jan. 23, 2024

South Korea recently implemented a system mandating owners or would-be owners of particularly aggressive dogs to have their pet ownership permitted by their regional government, as part of the measure to prevent accidents involving pets. The two-part measure for "maenggyeons," or aggressive dogs, will be effective starting in April 27. Those wishing to own any of five breeds of dogs categorized as "aggressive" by the ordinance of the Animal Protection Act must receive a permi

Social Affairs Jan. 23, 2024

South Korean police on Tuesday raided the Incheon police agency over allegations of leaks related to the drug investigation into actor Lee Sun-kyun, whose death in December sparked criticism of how the case was handled. A media outlet that revealed detailed information about the Lee case also being investigated, reports said, with the focus on whether the police had given them the information. Investigators from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency on Monday procured evidence from the Inc

Social Affairs Jan. 23, 2024

A fire that broke out late Monday at a traditional market in South Chungcheong Province left 227 shops damaged with no casualty reported, South Korean fire authorities said Tuesday. Officials believe the flames broke out at around 11:08 p.m. in the seafood section of a market in Seocheon-gun, a town on the western coast of the peninsula which is some 165 kilometers south of Seoul. It took some 361 firemen a little over two hours to extinguish the fire that triggered a level 2 emergency response

Social Affairs Jan. 23, 2024

South Korea's Supreme Court on Monday confirmed a lower court ruling that asking person with a disability if that disability made them "extra sleepy" is an act of discrimination. In a recently-confirmed ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the plaintiff had been discriminated against by the Hwaseong city government by being asked if his mental disability, or the medication he takes because of it, makes him particularly prone to sleepiness. The plaintiff applied in 2020 for a grad

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2024

The South Korean government said on Monday that it has decided to abolish a policy mandating twice-a-month breaks for large discount stores, citing the change as one intended for the convenience of the people. The Office for Government Policy Coordination held a civic-government discussion in Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul, where it narrowed down a number of potential changes to be made. These included allowing large supermarkets to take their two monthly obligatory breaks on weekdays and allowing them

Economy Jan. 22, 2024

A 23-year-old South Korean man alerted his neighbors in an apartment fire in Seoul last week, helping all 95 residents to escape to safety, local media reported Monday. On Thursday a fire broke out on the 14th floor of an apartment building in Banghwa-dong of Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, at 6:30 a.m., with no casualties except four minor cases of smoke inhalation. A report from local daily Dong-A Ilbo revealed that this was thanks to heroic efforts by a resident named Woo Il-yeong. According to th

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2024

A Gwangju court acquitted a 30-year-old South Korean man for the death of his girlfriend, who had tried to cross a highway while drunk after their argument, officials said Monday. Gwangju District Court recently ruled the defendant not guilty of death by negligence charges, regarding the November 2022 death of his girlfriend. The victim and the defendant had gotten into an argument, which included a physical altercation, on the side of the Honam Expressway connecting South Jeolla and South Chung

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2024

South Korean police said Monday that a woman in her 20s was hit by a metro train, breaking her leg, after jumping onto the tracks at Hannam Station in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The woman, who was reportedly drunk at the time, climbed over a fence erected around the station and ran toward the platform at around 11:50 p.m., in what officials presume was an attempt to catch the Gyeongui–Jungang Line train. She was hit by the arriving train and fractured her leg, so was taken to a nearby hospital for

Social Affairs Jan. 22, 2024

K-pop group IVE member Jang Won-young has been embroiled in a legal battle against a local YouTuber, who recently appealed a court sentence ordering her to pay financial compensation for uploading videos with falsehoods concerning the popular star. Jang's lawyer told local media late Wednesday that the YouTuber, surnamed Park, appealed the case after the civil court handed the ruling last month. The 19-year-old K-pop star and her agency Starship Entertainment have also filed criminal char

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2024

South Korean fire authorities recently conducted a test to recreate an apartment fire, through which they demonstrated that one of the most effective ways to reduce damages was by simply shutting the front door of one's home if a fire breaks out there. In a bid to promote the fire safety procedures recommended by the authorities, the Busan Metropolitan City Fire & Disaster Headquarters held the mock test in which they actually set a fire to a four-story residential building in Nam-gu, B

Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2024

Every district in Seoul except Gangnam had fewer childbirths in 2023 than the year before, recent data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety showed. Of the 25 district offices in the South Korean capital, only Gangnam recorded an increase in the number of childbirths, by 13.53 percent, for last year. All other districts had fewer newborn babies than in 2022, with five districts marking double-digit drops. The districts of Eunpyeong-gu, Jongno-gu, Gangdong-gu, Yangcheon-gu and Seongdong-gu rec

Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2024

A total of 10,185 government officials in South Korea made more than 20 million won ($15,000) in annual income in addition to their salaries in 2023, National Health Insurance Service data showed Friday. The data, provided by Rep. Choi Hye-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, revealed that 0.67 percent of the 1.51 million civil servants currently enrolled in the National Health Insurance program are paying monthly premiums based on their income and assets. The monthly premium

Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2024

South Korean prosecutors on Thursday requested the death penalty for Choi Won-jong, the 23-year-old man on trial for a stabbing rampage last year near Seohyeon Station in Bundang-gu, Gyeonggi Province, that killed two and injured a dozen people. "Two women lost their lives because of (Choi), and the pain suffered by the bereaved families and the injured cannot be described with words," the prosecution told the Suwon District Court at the hearing, also requesting that Choi be monitored

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2024

Local police found evidence to believe that a man in his 50s who died after swimming under the influence, had in fact been forced to swim by another man. Officials said Thursday that Changwon District Prosecutor's Office indicted a man in his 40s on charges of coercion, extortion and death by negligence. The suspect is believed to have coerced the victim and another man in his 50s to follow to abide by his will. According to investigators, the three men had consumed 22 bottles of soju b

Social Affairs Jan. 18, 2024