The South Korean police are investigating a man in his 60s who falsely reported that his girlfriend was missing after she didn't return his calls. Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul is questioning the man on a charge of violating the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act, Article 3 of which states that falsely reporting a missing person's case is punishable by a fine of up to 600,000 won ($432) or 29 days in a detention center. At around 9:19 p.m. on April 13, the suspect reported to the p

Social Affairs April 17, 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently turned down a citizen petition to fund a loan from China of Fu Bao, the beloved giant panda who is the first of its kind to be born in South Korea. The petition was posted on April 8, urging the city to re-loan Fu Bao so that she may be housed at the Seoul Grand Park, in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The park is funded and operated by Seoul. However, the city said it would be better for Fu Bao to stay in China, where she was sent earlier this month. &quo

Travel April 17, 2024

Police on Wednesday morning were talking to a man standing atop a Han River bridge, trying to persuade him to come down. As of 10:00 a.m., the unidentified man is standing on the upper structure of the Hangangdaegyo bridge in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, apparently threatening to jump. Local police said he is protesting against the government, and has been on the bridge since 5:50 a.m. Police and rescue authorities are attempting to persuade him to come down, but the man is refusing to coopera

Social Affairs April 17, 2024

A recent revision of ordinances related to hiring police officers will allow anyone who is not completely colorblind to join the police, the National Police Agency said Tuesday. The Korean National Police Commission on Monday passed the law revision that would allow those with color vision deficiency to apply to become police officers. The revision will go through the deliberation process at the Ministry of Government Legislation, after which it will be finalized and become effective as early as

Social Affairs April 16, 2024

A recent survey on married couples in their 20s and 30s have shown that 65.4 percent of them have experienced a severe decline in contentment of their marriage. The survey was conducted on 500 married women last month by a local matchmaking company Duo, to see how many of the young South Korean couples go through "gweontae-gi," which roughly means a period when a couple find each other tiresome. It is similar to the seven-year itch in the Western culture, a belief that happiness in lon

Social Affairs April 16, 2024

A 33-year-old man who saved a woman suffering from an acute case of epilepsy while driving was commended by the city rescue authorities on Monday. Jeon Ji-hun received a certificate of appreciation from the Ulsan Nambu Fire station for his role in saving a 50-something-year-old driver in Nam-gu, Ulsan, on March 28. At around 10:26 p.m., her car had stopped in the middle of the road, not responding to honking of other cars for a full three minutes. Jeon, who was driving the car behind her, steppe

Social Affairs April 16, 2024

An employee of a state-run company who recorded his boss swearing loudly inside the office has been cleared of criminal charges, a local court said Monday. The 35-year-old defendant had been accused of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, which bans anyone from recording or listening to a conversation of other people that was not public. The boss in question claimed that the recording was a private conversation with a specific employee, who was not the defendant. The prosecuti

Social Affairs April 15, 2024

K-pop megastar Jungkook has launched an Instagram account exclusively for his dog Bam, which reached over three million followers as of Monday. The 26-year-old member of the boy band BTS introduced the account through the global fan communication platform Weverse, saying that he is going to "brag about his baby." The account currently has seven posts, all of the singer's Doberman who he first revealed to the public in 2021. The account name is "bowwow_bam" -- not to be c

K-pop April 15, 2024

A South Korean woman was recently sentenced to six months in prison for causing a disturbance during a court hearing, in which she cursed at a prosecutor who requested a jail term for her son. Seoul Northern District Court found the defendant in her 50s guilty of contempt of court and special obstruction of public duty for her actions in August last year. The August hearing was for the defendant's son, who was being tried for special intimidation, which refers to intimidation with a weapon

Social Affairs April 15, 2024

Female beneficiaries of the national pension in South Korea were on average receiving 390,845 won ($282) a month as of November 2023, compared to 756,898 won for their male counterparts, according to the National Pension Service on Monday. The steep gender disparity is attributed to female workers being subscribed for less time overall than men, which is mainly due to career interruptions from factors like childbirth and child care. The benefits of the state-run pension program are proportionate

Social Affairs April 15, 2024

A South Korean court said Monday it has ruled against parents who sued a hospital for their son's brain damage stemming from emergency medical treatment for a viral infection. In a civil suit against an Incheon-based hospital, Incheon District Court ruled that there was no evidence to prove negligence on the medical staff's part or their responsibility in what turned out to be a delay in proper treatment. "The records show that the medical staff consistently observed the boy'

Social Affairs April 15, 2024

About 52.3 percent of South Koreans do not want to know about the past romantic relationships of their current partner, a recent survey indicated. Local matchmaking company Duo surveyed 300 unmarried men and women across the country from March 15-18 to see what they thought of the past relationships of their current romantic partner. On why they chose not to know about their boyfriend or girlfriend's past relationship, 56.1 percent said "they were not interested," 17.2 percent sai

Social Affairs April 13, 2024

South Korean police have found evidence suggesting that two men, who died after jumping from a hotel room, had planned and carried out the murder of two women whose bodies were found inside the same hotel. Local media recently reported details of the case which happened in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Police looking for a missing woman traced her to a hotel room, which had been occupied by the two men. The men jumped to their deaths shortly after the visit from police. The missing woman and anothe

Social Affairs April 12, 2024

A government survey showed Friday that 3.1 percent of adults and 2.6 percent of teenagers in South Korea have used illegal drugs at least once. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducted the survey on 3,000 adults and 2,000 teenagers across the country to study drug awareness among local residents. In the survey, illegal drugs refer to substances defined as such by the Narcotics Control Act, which includes marijuana, LSD, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and prescribed opioids. The survey a

Social Affairs April 12, 2024

A total of 2,545 complaints related to drunk people in Seoul subway stations were submitted between January and March of this year, the subway system's operators said Friday. Seoul Metro said it is conducting a campaign in anticipation of an increase in alcohol-related incidents on Seoul subways, noting that the number of complaints for such incidents increased by 76 compared to the same period the year before. The two-month campaign will take place in April and May at 34 stations across th

Social Affairs April 12, 2024