S. Korea's Busan making last-ditch efforts to bring World Expo on voting day

The vote for the host city of the 2030 World Expo is set to take place in Paris on Tuesday, with South Korea's southeastern city of Busan making last-ditch efforts to pull off an upset in the competition against two other candidates. The host country will be selected by the member states of the Bureau International des Expositions, the body responsible for overseeing the global event that can generate economic benefits and jobs, during its general assembly later in the day. Busan is contend

PoliticsNov. 28, 2023

US says N. Korean actions along DMZ increasing risk of military tensions, miscalculations

North Korea's actions taking place along the inter-Korean border are raising the risk of military tensions and miscalculations, a State Department spokesperson said Monday, as the recalcitrant regime began reinstalling guard posts and heavy firearms there. Seoul's defense ministry has said that North Korean troops were spotted installing temporary guard posts and carrying weapons inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, after Pyongyang declared it would not be bound by

North KoreaNov. 28, 2023

N. Korea says spy satellite took photos of White House, Pentagon, key US naval base

North Korea said Tuesday the country's military spy satellite has taken photos of the White House, the Pentagon and nuclear aircraft carriers docked at a US naval base. Leader Kim Jong-un viewed the photos on Monday and Tuesday when he received an operations report from the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration, according to the official Korean Central News Agency said. He observed satelite photos of the White House and the Pentagon taken at 11:36 p

North KoreaNov. 28, 2023

TBS appeals to Seoul to hold off on slashing support

Public broadcaster Traffic Broadcasting System, or TBS, appealed to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Metropolitan Council to postpone their plan to eliminate their financial support for the radio station through an official statement on Monday. “We are facing the crisis of being forced to close down completely following the city council passing the ordinance that abolished support for TBS from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, currently effective starting next year,” said

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Former Hungarian ambassador receives Gwanghwa Medal

The South Korean government awarded the former Hungarian ambassador to Seoul, Mozes Csoma, with the Gwanghwa Medal, in Budapest on Nov. 8, said Karoli Gaspar University in a press release on Friday. The award recognizes Csoma's contributions to diplomatic service and his role in fostering diplomatic ties between Hungary and South Korea. The Gwanghwa Medal, the highest level of the Order of Merit for diplomatic service, acknowledged his dedicated efforts in promoting friendship between the t

Foreign AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Korea to start hiring E-9 visa foreign workers in restaurants

Unskilled foreign workers will be allowed to work in restaurants across South Korea starting next year, as the government plans to increase the quota for E-9 visas, officials said Monday. The plan, however, will remain in test trial until further confirmation. “Korean restaurants in 100 areas across the country (including Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Incheon) will be allowed to hire unskilled foreign workers as employees (starting next year) as a test trial,” Ministry of Employment and La

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

S. Korea's English proficiency slips 13 notches to 49th

South Koreans’ English proficiency in 2022 worsened from the previous year, descending 13 spots in an annual report by the Swedish education corporation Education First. South Korea stood in 49th place in the “2023 English Proficiency Index,” based on the test results of 2.2 million adults from 113 countries who took EF’s English certification test “EF Standard English Test” in 2022. The previous year, the country ranked in 36th place among non-English speakin

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Two dead in Gyeongju construction site collapse

A major accident occurred at approximately 11:10 a.m. on Monday at a construction site in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. According to local news reports, a pillar collapsed during the construction of a bridge over a dam reservoir, resulting in eight construction workers falling into the waters below. One worker was injured in the incident, while two others were pronounced dead at the scene. Five workers managed to escape the accident unharmed, authorities confirmed. Following the incident,

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Speculation grows over Yoon's looming Cabinet shakeup

Speculation is growing over how the reshuffle of President Yoon Suk Yeol's Cabinet will play out with less than five months left before the parliamentary elections, widely seen as a litmus test of public support for the conservative leader. More than half of the 19 members of the Cabinet are likely to be replaced over the course of the next month, according to ruling party sources cited by media reports Monday. The Cabinet reshuffle will be carried out along with a presidential office shake

PoliticsNov. 27, 2023

N. Korea reinstates DMZ guard posts

North Korea has started to restore guard posts within the demilitarized zone, which had previously been demolished in accordance with the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement while bringing military personnel and firearm equipment back to the posts, Seoul said Monday. Movements to restore the military posts have been detected since Nov. 24, one day after North Korea declared a complete annulment of the Sept. 19 military agreement, the Defense Ministry in Seoul said in a statement. South Korea�

DefenseNov. 27, 2023

12 foreigners nabbed on suspicion of drug use

Gwangju Police said Monday it has apprehended 12 foreigners, including illegal immigrants, on suspicion of using narcotic substances at a local foreigner-only karaoke, known locally as "noraebang." The suspects, whose identities were withheld, are suspected of taking ketamine inside a noraebang in Usan-dong, Gwangju, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's drug investigations unit. The majority of the suspects were Vietnamese nationals who had gathered for a birthday

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Gangnam teen investigated for assaulting deliveryman with golf club

In a shocking incident of violence in the wealthy district of Gangnam, Seoul, a teenager was arrested on Nov. 11 for attacking a deliveryman with a golf club in broad daylight. The assailant, identified only as a high school student, is now facing aggravated assault charges. The incident came to light when the victim's dashboard camera footage was shared on YouTube on Nov. 24. The video shows the teen, dressed in shorts and carrying a backpack, striking a deliveryman on a motorcycle with a

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

1 in 8 commercial flights exposed to pathogens: KDCA

One in 8 commercial flights entering South Korea was found to be contaminated with pathogens that cause intestinal infectious diseases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday. The pathogens were detected through hygiene inspections on 58 out of 493 direct international flights from July 31 to Nov. 14 this year, according to the agency. Among the pathogens detected was E. coli, which causes diarrhea. Transmitted by food or water contaminated with animal or human feces,

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Windfall tax on banks and urban infra refurbishment

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on the Protection of Financial Consumers Proposed by Rep. Kim Sung-joo (Democratic Party of Korea) ● Persisting high prices and interest rates have benefited certain financial companies at the expense of financially vulnerable people and small-business operators. This amendment requires financial companies with a net interest margin exceeding 120 percent of their average net interest income over the past five years to pay up to 40 percent of the excess

PoliticsNov. 27, 2023

American investigated for ‘teeth grinding’ graffiti across Yongsan

An American in his 30s was caught by the police for writing “igari,” which means bruxism -- more commonly known as teeth grinding -- on at least 155 public facilities and properties in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. The Yongsan police said Monday it was investigating what it called the “igari graffitist,” who wrote "igari" in both Hangeul and English on tunnels, power poles, roads and buses among others, after nabbing him on Oct 25. He is also suspected of writing t

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Travel ban on G-Dragon lifted; police says 'open to all possibilities'

Police said Monday that they have not ruled out drug use allegations concerning G-Dragon, despite lifting travel restrictions on the K-pop icon after a detailed narcotics analysis of his biological samples came back negative. An official of the National Police Agency said in a regular press briefing that the officials are "open to possibilities until the investigation reaches its conclusion" on the G-Dragon probe. "If the circumstances clearly point to drug use, it wouldn't b

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

'HR weeds out women' online post sparks furor

An anonymous online post about an allegedly misogynistic hiring process at a company is sparking a furor here, where gender-related issues have repeatedly sparked controversy. The anonymous writer, who posted it on Sunday, claimed to be part of the hiring process at their company, and that their policy is to eliminate all applicants who graduated from women's universities. "It's not like we exclude all women but if (the applicant) is from a women's college, we don't even

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

High school seniors spend W4m for essay tutoring: data

South Korean high school senior students spent some 4 million won ($3,060) on average last year to receive tutoring on the college entrance essay test to learn how to write a good composition, government data showed Monday. They also paid more than 1 million won annually for college admissions counseling. According to data released by the Education Ministry and Statistics Korea on students’ private education spending in 2022, the average monthly expenditure for 12th graders who engaged in

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

5 Chinese nationals detained in Jeju for gambling debt-related false imprisonment

Jeju Seobu Police detained five Chinese nationals for the false imprisonment of a fellow Chinese national concerning a gambling debt of 50 million won ($38,000) on Monday, authorities confirmed Thursday. According to police, the victim had initially borrowed the sum for gambling purposes, agreeing to a 10 percent interest rate. However, the suspects allegedly increased the interest to 20 percent three days later, with which the victim refused to comply. When the victim refused to sign a new debt

Social AffairsNov. 27, 2023

Poetic lauder of North Korean regime faces jail term in the South

A man in his 60s has been sentenced to a 14-month jail term for praising the North Korean regime in an award-winning poem published on the North Korean state-run news site Uriminzokkiri. The Seoul Central District Court on Monday found the 68-year-old South Korean guilty of violating the National Security Act when he submitted an anti-state poetry piece to the North Korean mouthpiece in September 2016. The court sentenced him to 14 months in prison and imposed a one-year suspension of qualific

North KoreaNov. 27, 2023