A Russian national currently seeking refugee status in South Korea has been arrested on suspicion of growing cannabis at his home, the Korea Coast Guard said Sunday. The man in his 20s is accused of growing the plants at his home at a residential-commercial complex in Ulsan. He is also alleged to have smoked the home-grown marijuana multiple times. The drug unit of the Coast Guard had received a tip-off that the suspect was involved in a drug crime, and had managed to catch him in the act on Nov

Social Affairs Dec. 10, 2023

On Dec. 4, a fire broke out at a home in a residential-commercial complex in Jungnang-gu, eastern Seoul, killing a poodle that was home alone at the time. Fire authorities provisionally concluded that the fire was caused by the dog, who is thought to have inadvertently turned on the electric stove. The incident was the second fire in a week thought to be caused by a pet left home alone. The first fire was reportedly caused by a cat that accidentally turned on an electric stove in Geumcheon-gu,

Social Affairs Dec. 10, 2023

South Korean police investigating legal complaints filed by San Diego Padres' infielder Kim Ha-seong, who has alleged that he is being blackmailed over a fight that occurred two years ago, have been questioning witnesses including local professional baseball players who were present at the fight. According to Seoul Gangnam Police Station on Saturday, officials have called in for questioning several acquaintances of Kim, including teammates from when he played with the Kiwoom Heroes of the K

Baseball Dec. 10, 2023

A South Korean man in his 30s was fined 2 million won ($1,500) for throwing a pomeranian out of the second floor of a building, local court said Sunday. The dog in question survived the fall, but sustained severe injuries to its spine and nervous system, including paralysis of its hind legs. The Seoul Northern District Court recently handed the sentence to the defendant for violating the Animal Protection Act, which states that those inflicting pain on an animal without just cause shall be punis

Social Affairs Dec. 10, 2023

The National Pension Service said Friday that 1,035 retired couples across South Korea are receiving 3 million won ($2,300) or more through their combined pension plans, marking the first time the number of such couples has exceeded 1,000. The figure is significant as it means those in retirement are making close to what a couple would make on average while working. According to a Statistics Korea December 2022 report, the average nationwide income per person was 22.2 million won, roughly 1.85 m

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2023

Young South Korean couples without children cited intense competition among students and financial issues as why they decide to go childless, in a meeting with government officials held Thursday evening. The Ministry of Health and Welfare hosted six young couples who do not plan to have children at the meeting hosted in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, in a bid to acquire ideas for policies that will help tackle the issue of the faltering birth rate in South Korea. Several of the participants raised c

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2023

Singer Nam Tae-hyun recently joined the growing list of South Korean celebrities facing drug charges. The prosecution on Thursday requested a two-year prison term for the former member of the boy band Winner, while seeking 1 year and six months for reality show star Seo Min-jae on charges of alleged drug use. It is unclear what the future holds for the 29-year-old K-pop star, but his career had been mostly on hold since the array of controversies surrounding him. After being caught drunk driving

Social Affairs Dec. 9, 2023

Tradition, by definition, is a pattern or custom established over a long time. But the collaboration between Lee Jung-hyun, a musical instrument designer, and Ahn So-ra, a lacquer artisan, goes one step beyond preserving the time-honored practice of "ottchil," natural lacquering derived from the sap of staghorn sumac trees, blending Ahn's craft with Lee's invention in the lacquering of an electric guitar. "Rather than to keep the tradition going, I think what we're

Culture Dec. 9, 2023

A South Korean court on Friday handed a 12-year prison term to a 30-year-old Turkish woman, who stabbed her boyfriend to death after being repeatedly assaulted by him. The defendant has been charged with murder after she killed her boyfriend in Daegu in August. The crime had been spontaneous, as the victim physically assaulted her multiple times in the past and had been beating her up at the time of the crime. "The court took into account that the defendant had been physically assaulted by

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2023

Daegu prosecutors on Friday said that they have indicted a woman in her 30s, on the charge of falsely accusing men of rape after meeting them on a dating application. According to the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, the accused met six men on the app from October to December of last year and had consensual sexual relations with them. She then filed charges for rape or sexual assault against them. Officials found that she filed multiple charges of sex crimes to police in other regions, a

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2023

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres is embroiled in a dispute over allegations that he assaulted his former staff, with the Gold Glove-winning utility player claiming that he was blackmailed for a mere scuffle. It has been reported Thursday that the 28-year-old has filed charges for blackmail against Im Hye-dong, a retired baseball player who was briefly on Kim's team when they played for the Nexon Heroes in the Korean Baseball League. Im retaliated by telling the local media that he had b

Baseball Dec. 8, 2023

Adolescents using smartphones for more than four hours a day are at a higher risk of suffering from mental health issues, a South Korean study found Thursday. The study by researchers at Hanyang University Medical Center analyzed the data of 54,809 teenagers across the country to find the correlation between daily smart phone usage time and adverse outcomes such as stress, depression, suicide, substance use and smartphone overdependence. They used the data from the state-conducted Korea Youth Ri

Social Affairs Dec. 7, 2023

Chosun University said Thursday it is seeking to present an honorary bachelor's degree to Jeong Seon-yeop, a soldier who died while resisting the military coup of 1979 that resulted in former dictator Chun Doo-hwan rising to power. "We are seeking to present an honorary degree to honor the spirit of Sgt. Jeon, who perished while trying to resist the rebel forces," the university said. The degree is slated to be awarded in January, after a deliberation process and obtaining consent

People Dec. 7, 2023

San Diego Padres' infielder Kim Ha-seong has filed charges for alleged blackmail against a former teammate from his playing days in South Korea, local police said Thursday. Kim, 28, claimed that the yet-unidentified former baseball player coerced a large sum of money as compensation for his injuries from a fistfight at a bar in 2021, not long before he made his Major League Baseball debut. The charges were filed at Gangnam Police Station in Gangnam-gu, southern, Seoul, where the altercation

Baseball Dec. 7, 2023

A 41-year-old woman accused of coercing a close co-worker into prostitution over the course of three years has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by an appellate court on Wednesday, after a lower court sentenced her to 10 years. The defendant, who worked with the victim between October 2019 to September 2022, has been accused of forcing 2,500 accounts of prostitution on the victim, and pocketing the 500 million won ($380,000) profit made from the illegal acts. The police's investigation f

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2023