Cold weather arrives after nationwide rain

Following the rain that fell across the country on Monday, temperatures are expected to drop significantly on Tuesday morning, with some areas likely to see morning temperatures below freezing and the first cold wave alerts. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast that the morning temperature in Seoul on Tuesday will drop to 3 degrees Celsius, which is 12 C lower than the previous day, marking the coldest weather this fall. In northern Gyeonggi Province and some parts of Gangwon Provinc

Nov. 6, 2023

Man arrested for assaulting woman for having short hair

A man in his 20s has been arrested by police for assaulting a female convenience store clerk for having short hair, according to police officials in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. According to police, the man allegedly told her that, “Since you have short hair, you must be a feminist. I’m a male chauvinist, and I think feminists deserve to be assaulted.” He proceeded to punch and kick the clerk, who was also in her 20s, causing sprains, ligament injuries and injury to her ea

Nov. 6, 2023

Patients resist plan to exempt doctors from criminal charges for mistakes

A government push to exempt doctors from facing criminal charges for medical errors has been met with resistance from patient and civic groups, who say it is already too difficult for injured patients and their families to seek redress. Korea is struggling to address severe shortages of doctors in vital fields such as pediatrics, obstetrics, and neurosurgery. Doctors argue greater legal protection should be part of any measures to address the issue, saying that fear of punishment is one of the r

Nov. 6, 2023

Breaking silence over drug allegations, G-Dragon appears for questioning

Breaking his silence since rumors began emerging nearly two weeks ago, Kwon Ji-yong, more widely known as G-Dragon of K-pop boy band Big Bang, showed up before police on Monday afternoon for questioning over alleged illegal drug use. The 35-year-old singer and rapper arrived at the Incheon Metropolitan Police building at around 1:20 p.m. to undergo an interrogation and drug test conducted by the drug crime investigation unit. “I have no relation to drug-related crimes. That is why (I came

Nov. 6, 2023

Nationwide reports spark escalating public fears of bedbugs

Fears of bedbugs are spreading nationwide, with some avoiding sitting on public transportation or visiting movie theaters, amid an increasing number of reported cases of bedbug appearances and damage. In South Korea, bedbugs were nearly brought to eradication following sweeping disinfection campaigns in the 1960s and the adoption of the powerful pesticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, in the 1970s. The country has, however, recently witnessed a surge in reports of bed

Nov. 6, 2023

S. Korean family fleeing Gaza departs for Seoul via Egypt

A South Korean family, who fled the besieged Gaza Strip to Egypt, left for Seoul earlier this week. The family of five, who had been living in Gaza for more than seven years, safely crossed into Egypt on Thursday via the Rafah border in an evacuation from the war-torn region. They are known to be a South Korean woman, her naturalized husband of Palestinian descent and their three children. Following a three-day stay in Egypt, the family departed Cairo International Airport late Sunday and is set

Nov. 6, 2023

Over 90 pct of cattle vaccinated against lumpy skin disease

More than 90 percent of cattle in South Korea have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease, the agriculture ministry said Monday, as there have been signs that the spread of the viral disease is letting up. The authorities have inoculated more than 3.11 million out of the country's 4.08 million cows so far to protect them against LSD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea reported its first-ever case of LSD on Oct. 20 and has since confirmed 78 cas

Nov. 6, 2023

[Graphic News] Number of delivery workers falls in post-pandemic era: data

The number of delivery workers has fallen this year, following sharp growth in recent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the number of cooks rose to an all-time high with people returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, data showed. The number of delivery workers fell by 24,000 during the January-June period to 426,000, marking the first on-year fall since 2019, according to Statistics Korea. The couriers and messengers industry had a total of 343,000 jobs in 2019, and the figure jumped to 371,00

Nov. 6, 2023

S. Korea, Thailand to work to resolve entry denial claims

South Korea and Thailand are to jointly address the growing number of undocumented residents of Thai nationality here in response to complaints of some regular Thai travelers being denied entry to Korea. Seoul's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that First Vice Minister Chang Ho-jin proposed holding a bilateral consular strategic meeting with Thailand to discuss "issues related to Thais' visa status in and entry into Korea," without elaborating on the timeframe. The proposa

Nov. 5, 2023

8 in 10 favor removing mandatory camera shutter sound: survey

Eight in 10 South Koreans think they should be able to decide whether to mute or enable their camera shutter sound on their phones, a survey showed Sunday. According to a survey conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission from Oct. 23 until Saturday on 3,476 respondents, 86.2 percent of those polled answered “yes” when asked if they think individuals should be able to adjust the camera shutter noise settings. Muting the camera shutter sound is disabled for all device

Nov. 5, 2023

Ex-fiance admits spanking fencing star’s nephew 'for discipline'

Jeon Cheong-jo, the former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee, has admitted to spanking Nam's teenage nephew "for discipline." The Seongnam Jungwon Police Station conducted an investigation into allegations of child abuse, intimidation and stalking involving Nam Hyun-hee's former fiance on Saturday. Jeon is alleged to have struck Nam's middle school-aged nephew approximately ten times on the buttocks with the handle of a child's golf club at Nam

Nov. 5, 2023

More chat with parents, greater chance of studying medicine, education

The more time high school students spent talking with their parents, the more likely they were to study medicine, education, art, music or physical education in college, a study showed. According to an analysis of a state-funded inquiry that tracked 1,297 students who were in their second year of high school in 2016, the more conversations they had with their parents about school and majors, the higher the probability of them going to college and choosing those majors over humanities, social a

Nov. 5, 2023

Bedbug fear spreads across Seoul

Authorities in Seoul are struggling to control the spread of bedbugs, as a total of 17 bedbug infestations have been reported in seven Seoul districts as of Sunday, according to local reports. The city has set aside 500 million won ($381,000) to prevent bedbug infestations from spreading, particularly in facilities vulnerable in terms of hygiene. As part of this initiative, the city will distribute checklists to residents to know if they’ve got an infestation in those areas. Last Thursday,

Nov. 5, 2023

Over 84% of cattle got vaccines against lumpy skin disease

More than 84 percent of cattle in South Korea have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease, with the country struggling with the rapidly spreading disease nationwide, officials said Sunday. Over 3.45 million cows out of the total 4.07 million here have received shots to protect them against LSD, which does not affect humans but is highly infectious and can lead to death, according to officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. So far, the country has confirmed 78 cases

Nov. 5, 2023

Actor Lee Sun-kyun makes 2nd appearance before police over suspected drug use

Actor Lee Sun-kyun of the 2020 Oscar-winning movie "Parasite" appeared before police a second time on Saturday to undergo questioning over his suspected drug use. Lee, 48, arrived at the Nonhyeon police station in Incheon, west of Seoul, together with his attorney, to undergo questioning by the narcotic crimes investigation unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency. The actor has been accused of using marijuana and other illegal drugs at the home of a hostess working at a high-end

Nov. 4, 2023

S. Korea vaccinates over 76% of cattle against lumpy skin disease

More than 76 percent of cattle in South Korea have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease (LSD), officials said Saturday, as the country continues to battle the disease that can cause a drop in milk production. Over 3.1 million cows out of the total 4.07 million here have received shots to protect them against LSD, which does not affect humans but is highly infectious and can lead to death, according to officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. So far, the country h

Nov. 4, 2023

Arrest warrant issued for ex-fiance of Olympic fencing medalist

A Seoul court issued a warrant Friday to arrest the former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee on charges of fraud. The Seoul Eastern District Court granted the warrant for the suspect, citing the risk of flight and her inconsistent residence. Nam, the silver medalist in women's foil at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, broke up with her fiance Jeon Cheong-jo, who is 15 years younger than her, last week, days after revelations that Jeon was legally a woman and had been convicted multip

Nov. 3, 2023

"I am..." meme latest to go viral in bizarre saga surrounding fencing star

The bizarre saga surrounding former fencing champion Nam Hyun-hee’s brief engagement to a con artist is sizing up to be a collective loss, ranging from money lost to fraudulent investments to public shaming of the former sports star. But from the ashes of Nam’s obliterated reputation came an internet meme based on one of her former fiance’s text messages mixing English and Korean. In the message to a potential extortion target, Jeon Cheong-jo -- whom police reported has a woman

Nov. 3, 2023

Bedbug reports cause jitters across S. Korea

Amid the steady stream of bedbug reports nationwide, central and local government agencies have begun implementing measures to prevent the spread of the pests in the country. In mid-September, a student reported having been bitten by bedbugs in a dormitory at Keimyung University in Daegu. On Oct. 13, live bedbugs and larvae were found in a sauna in Seo-gu, Incheon. Bedbugs have also been reported in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul and Busan. The Busan Metropolitan Government a

Nov. 3, 2023

Man gets jail term for killing bedridden wife after years of caring for her

A man in his 60s has been sentenced to four years in prison for the murder of his terminally-ill wife, after taking care of her for over five years. According to the Seoul Central District Court, the mad was accused of killing the victim in April 2022. The victim was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2017, and was also suffering from dementia, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. After his wife's condition deteriorated and following a failed suicide attempt of his own, the accused r

Nov. 3, 2023