Government ponders on designating Oct. 2 as special holiday

The government is considering designating Oct. 2 as a special one-off holiday, a presidential office official said on Friday. The consideration comes to bridge this year’s Chuseok holiday, which will run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 and National Foundation Day, which is on Oct. 3. If Oct. 2 is designated as a special holiday, an extended holiday of six days will be created. "We received a proposal from the ruling People Power Party to designate a special holiday," the official told Yo

Aug. 25, 2023

Absentee mother’s claims for son's life insurance money sparks renewed calls for ‘Goo Hara law’

Last week, the Busan High Court recommended a settlement in a legal dispute over a deceased sailor's inheritance that broke out between his mother and older sister. The mother, however, refused the court order to hand over 42 percent of his son's insurance money to the sister, despite leaving her children at a young age and being out of touch for 54 years. The news sparked outrage across the country and reignited talks for the legislative change to exclude parents that abandoned thei

Aug. 25, 2023

Rape-murder suspect claims he no intention to kill

The 30-year-old suspect behind last week's rape and murder of a female teacher in southern Seoul claimed Friday he had no intention of killing the victim, as he was referred to the prosecution for further investigation. The suspect, Choi Yun-jong, is accused of fatally beating and raping the victim he randomly picked on a hillside hiking trail in Seoul's southern district of Sillim last week. The victim, known only as an elementary school teacher in her 30s, was seriously injured and d

Aug. 25, 2023

Govt. to seek damages from online murder threat suspects

The Ministry of Justice said on Thursday that the government would seek damages from suspects behind the online murder threats amid a surge in such cases. The government sees the instances as obstruction of official duty that "wastes police resources" and "taxpayers' money," it said in a statement. The Justice Ministry has yet to initiate civil court proceedings in a bid to seek "a considerable amount of compensation" from the individuals, alongside criminal procedu

Aug. 24, 2023

Supermarket parking lot roof partially collapses in Songdo

The concrete roof of a supermarket parking lot partially collapsed in Songdo, Incheon, though no casualties were reported, officials said Thursday. The roof of the underground parking lot at Homeplus’ Songdo branch collapsed at around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Incheon city government officials and the local discount retail chain said. There were no casualties reported as of Thursday, but some have claimed property damage involving their vehicles parked near the damaged site at the time of th

Aug. 24, 2023

Seoul to help women freeze their eggs

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that it will provide up to 2 million won ($1,511) to 300 women who wish to freeze their eggs via cryopreservation from Sept. 1, as a part of the city government‘s measure to tackle the falling birth rate. All women of Korean nationality residing in Seoul who are of childbearing age -- between ages 20 and 49 -- are eligible to apply if they have resided in Seoul for more than six months and are looking to have children now or sometime in the f

Aug. 24, 2023

Enter the contest to name Everland's newborn panda twins

Everland, the largest theme park and zoo in South Korea, located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is running a naming contest for its newly born twin pandas, which will be selected through a poll and unveiled in autumn when the twins turn 100 days old. Submissions can be made via a Google form shared on Everland's online community, or by commenting on a community post shared on Everland's YouTube channel. The contest instructions require participants to provide names for both pandas along

Aug. 24, 2023

Heatwave to return on weekend after rain

Despite the rain that has fallen across the country this week, hot weather is likely to return this weekend, according to Korea's weather agency on Thursday. The rain, which began falling Wednesday, expanded across the country Thursday as the North Pacific High receded. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the total amount of precipitation from Wednesday to Friday morning will be 50 to 100 mm in southern Gyeonggi Province, 20 to 80 mm in Seoul and remaining parts of the cap

Aug. 24, 2023

Fire breaks out at Gangnam hotel, no casualties reported

A fire broke out at the former Le Meridien Seoul hotel that was being redeveloped in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, authorities said. The fire started at 12:46 p.m. on the roof of the building near Sinnonhyeon Station, according to Gangnam Fire Station. Authorities confirmed that the fire was completely put out in about an hour, after 171 firefighters and 51 fire trucks were deployed to the scene. The hotel was closed in February 2021 for redevelopment and no casualties have been reported. Eigh

Aug. 24, 2023

Beware of snakes in September, emergency services warn

Emergency services are urging caution against snakebites as September, the peak month for such incidents, approaches. According to the South Gyeongsang Province Fire Department, a total of 2,372 snakes were captured in the province over the last three years, with nearly 500 caught in September alone. The fire department explained that there is an increase in outdoor activities such as hiking in September due to cooler weather. During this time, snakes also display heightened aggression as they a

Aug. 24, 2023

PM urges transparent info-sharing as Japan releases radioactive water

The South Korean government assured its people of safety as Japan began sending out treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima plant on Thursday, while urging Tokyo to commit to transparent information sharing, as protests from the fisheries industry and public concerns continued. "The IAEA, international academic circles in the field of nuclear energy and nuclear experts here together say that there is no reason for Koreans to worry if Japan releases the water according to the a

Aug. 24, 2023

Over 200 suspects nabbed for writing online murder threats

Over 200 people have been apprehended nationwide for posting murder threats on various online sites over the past month amid increasing violent crimes targeting random people, the Korean National Police Agency said Thursday. The KNPA said it has nabbed 216 suspects on charges of writing such threats as of 9 a.m. Thursday and put 21 of them under arrest. The number of online threats and apprehensions increased by seven and three, respectively, from the previous day, it added. A suspect was arrest

Aug. 24, 2023

[Graphic News] Cigarette sales in S. Korea slightly down in H1

Sales of cigarettes in South Korea moved down 0.6 percent on-year in the January-June period, data showed. South Korean smokers purchased 1.77 billion 20-cigarette packs in the first half, falling from 17.8 billion packs posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Heat-not-burn tobacco products took up 16.5 percent of the market, advancing from 14.8 percent posted for all of 2022. Meanwhile, the government collected 5.7 trillion won ($4.4 billion) in taxes from cigar

Aug. 24, 2023

PM says int'l lawsuit will be filed if Fukushima water release goes beyond standards

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday the government will stay ready to file an international lawsuit if Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant goes beyond the standards. Han made the remarks during a meeting with reporters as Japan is reported to be discussing releasing the treated radioactive water as early as 1 p.m. Thursday. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will always remain ready to lodge a suit internationally if the rel

Aug. 23, 2023

Sillim rape-murder suspect identity revealed

The police have disclosed the identity and personal information of the suspect who is accused of raping and beating a woman to death in Seoul’s Sillim-dong as 30-year-old Choi Yoon-jong, Wednesday. By South Korean law, the police can disclose the identity of a suspect in a criminal case after the Personal Information Disclosure Committee agrees to reveal a suspect's personal information including their photo, name and age. However, problems have arisen in the past since there are no r

Aug. 23, 2023

Government removes 11,000 undocumented immigrants in June, July

On Wednesday, South Korea's Justice Ministry reported that nearly 11,000 undocumented immigrants were removed from the country through either deportation or voluntary departure between June 12 and July 31, a move that highlights the Yoon Suk Yeol government's focus on stricter immigration enforcement. The 50-day crackdown was conducted jointly by five central government agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tra

Aug. 23, 2023

[Housing Talk] Requirements, support measures for jeonse fraud victims

Jeonse refers to a system unique to Korea in which a lessee gives a lessor a large refundable deposit instead of paying monthly rent. Under a typical two-year jeonse contract, a lessor would return the deposit upon expiration of the contract. If the expected interest on the deposit is less than the monthly rent, as is often the case, a jeonse contract can be financially advantageous to the lessee. However, there are many cases of jeonse fraud, where scammers usually buy houses with money from th

Aug. 23, 2023

Schools to run response team to handle parents' complaints

A team that responds and handles parental complaints led by a school principal will be piloted at all schools starting next semester, the Ministry of Education said during a policy briefing Wednesday. Under the new policy, all communication from parents and carers -- including complaints, as well as informing teachers of the students' absence or tardiness -- will have to go through the school's response team from September. Parents could also be reprimanded for complaining to teachers

Aug. 23, 2023

Korea to downgrade COVID-19 to flu level

Korea will reclassify COVID-19 to the same category as the seasonal flu starting Aug. 31, health authorities said Wednesday. COVID-19 will go down from class 2 to class 4, the lowest infectious disease category which comprises diseases such as the seasonal flu, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, gonorrhoea and syphilis, that the government considers manageable with stability. The decision was based on the declining number of infections and stabilization of the quarantine situation. The daily average o

Aug. 23, 2023

Korea plans to revive police conscription to fight crime

South Korea announced Wednesday that it sought to revive the recently abolished conscripted police system to strengthen the state's crime prevention capabilities. According to the announcement, which came amid the recent surge of crimes seemingly targeting random people, the government plans to add up to 8,000 conscripted police within nine months. "In order to enhance (the police's) capability to prevent the occurrence of crimes, the government will proactively move to reintroduc

Aug. 23, 2023