Private education fees for preschoolers, kindergarteners up 38%: study

Private education spending among households with preschoolers or kindergarteners has increased by 38 percent in the last five years, a report showed Sunday. According to a report published by Kim Hye-ja, a researcher at the Korean Educational Development Institute, on the relationship between social awareness and educational expenses, the average spending on private education for preschoolers and kindergarteners jumped from 162,000 won ($121.71) in 2018 to 224,000 won in 2022, up 38.3 percent th

Sept. 17, 2023

1 in 5 ticketed Seoulites neglect parking fines; highest offender receives 752 fines in 5 years

One in 5 drivers in Seoul to have been ticketed has unpaid parking violation fines, resulting in an accumulated unpaid sum of 11.3 billion won ($8.5 million), the city of Seoul reported. According to data released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday, the capital city witnessed approximately 1.42 million parking violation instances during an eight-month period from January to August this year. A total of 55.2 billion won was levied in fines, but approximately 20 percent, amounting to

Sept. 17, 2023

Statue of Korea's first Catholic priest officially unveiled in Vatican

A statue of Korea's first Catholic priest, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon (1821-1846), was officially unveiled at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican during a Mass on Saturday, the anniversary of his martyrdom. The 3.8 meter-high marble statue was erected at a niche of St. Peter's Basilica, making it the first Asian saint's statue to be installed at the universal headquarters of the Catholic Church. Created by Korean sculptor Han Jin-sub, the statue wears a traditional Korean hat, ca

Sept. 17, 2023

Italy's invasive blue crab has Korean seafood fans excited

An Italian crustacean infestation is fanning culinary excitement in Korea, with a local seafood importer reaching out to Italy for possible imports. Italy's northern Adriatic coast has been dealing with an invasive crab species called the Atlantic blue crab in recent years, with the species wreaking havoc on the country’s ecosystem and causing millions of dollars worth of damage. First introduced through the bilges of foreign vessels several years ago, the Atlantic blue crab found a h

Sept. 16, 2023

Trains operate at nearly 80 pct capacity on 3rd day of rail strike

An ongoing strike by unionized rail workers entered its third day Saturday, forcing passenger trains to operate at just less than 80 percent capacity nationwide. The Korean Railway Workers' Union began its first strike in four years Thursday, demanding improved working conditions and an expansion of the KTX bullet train service to Suseo Station in southern Seoul, which is exclusively used by another high-speed railway service called SRT. The ministry said the national train operation rate w

Sept. 16, 2023

State audit agency to begin inspection of hosting of World Scout Jamboree next week

The state audit agency said Saturday it will launch a comprehensive inspection next week into the country's hosting of the World Scout Jamboree last month after the event faced much criticism for poor preparations. The 12-day event, which kicked off Aug. 1, underwent significant challenges, including a heat wave and a powerful typhoon, which forced the relocation of around 40,000 participants from a campsite in Saemangeum, a reclaimed wetland on the southwestern coast, to various parts of t

Sept. 16, 2023

Cases of teachers treated for depression rise 180% in four years: data

The number of cases of teachers getting treated for depression has risen by about 180 percent over the past four years, data showed, another worrying sign that teachers are being pushed to the brink in and outside the classrooms. According to data from the National Health Insurance Service obtained by Rep. Shin Hyeon-young, the number of cases of teachers getting treated for depression surged 179.4 percent to 158,066, up from 88,127 in 2018. Similarly, the number of cases involving anxiety disor

Sept. 15, 2023

Mother throws poopy diaper at daycare center teacher

A mother allegedly threw a poopy diaper at a daycare center teacher, complaining that her son had been abused. On Sunday, the teacher at the daycare center located in Sejong City visited a hospital where the mother’s child was hospitalized. The teacher said that she visited the hospital to apologize for the scar on the child's neck. The child got hurt while fighting with other children at the daycare center, so the teacher went to the hospital to apologize, she said. But when she arri

Sept. 15, 2023

Korea to establish surveillance system in wake of toxic humidifier disinfectant case

Health authorities announced on Friday plans to launch a real-time surveillance system to prevent future health disasters akin to the toxic humidifier disinfectant case, a string of lung disease outbreaks linked to chemicals found in humidifier disinfectants between 2006 and 2011. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced it has allocated 735 million won ($553,000) in the upcoming year's budget to create the Integrated Health Risk Information Management System. The

Sept. 15, 2023

Mom found guilty of stalking daughter, sentenced to six months in prison

A woman in her 50s has been sentenced to six months in prison and two years of probation for continuously harassing her adult daughter. The harassment included sending hundreds of abusive text messages and making unwanted visits, which constituted trespassing. Daejeon District Court documents outline the extensive nature of the harassment, which occurred from December 2021 to May 2022 and involved 306 text messages and 111 phone calls. The messages initially contained ordinary requests, such as

Sept. 14, 2023

[Herald Interview] What venture capital firms look out for in turbulent times

Venture capital houses have long found themselves leaning toward startups that offer business models featuring technologies that shape a better future for the next generation. Even during times of economic uncertainty, the investor appetite for business models that address issues of the future shows no signs of abating. Lim Sung-hoon, general partner of venture capital firm D3 Jubilee Partners, is one of the investors looking out for future environmental technologies that address problems surrou

Sept. 14, 2023

Bus driver given 6 years for deadly school zone accident

A bus driver who struck and killed an 8-year-old boy at a school zone crosswalk in May in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, was given a 6-year sentence in court on Thursday. “As a bus driver who had been driving the same route for three years, the defendant was aware that the location (of the incident) was a school zone with a right-turn traffic light, and that it was frequented by students attending an elementary school nearby,” said the Suwon District Court. “The accident could have

Sept. 14, 2023

Offices, homes of reporters searched over alleged 2022 election meddling

The South Korean prosecution on Thursday raided the offices and homes of news reporters who allegedly delivered fabricated news reports in an apparent attempt to discredit President Yoon Suk Yeol during his presidential campaign last year. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office dispatched staff to carry out a search and seizure at the offices of broadcaster JTBC and investigative news outlet Newstapa, as well as homes of two Newstapa reporters Han Sang-jin and Bong Ji-wook. Bong was

Sept. 14, 2023

Morning-after pill most prescribed drug in telemedicine

More than half of the drugs prescribed through non-face-to-face treatment were those not covered by national insurance, which has raised concerns among pharmacists about possible blind spots in telemedicine operations, according to the Korea Pharmaceutical Association. When 1,142 pharmacists were asked what drugs were dispensed during a telemedicine pilot program from June to August this year, of the total prescriptions, 34.6 percent were emergency contraceptives, followed by acne treatment drug

Sept. 14, 2023

Korea to shut down foreign worker support centers despite labor expansion

Even as the government recently announced its plans to increase the number of E-9 visas for workers of foreign nationality to the largest number ever next year, the institutions that directly support foreign workers' lives in Korea are set to be abolished, as next year's budget for them has been completely cut for the first time in 20 years. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, there will be no government budget for the Korea Support Center for Foreign Workers for 2024. T

Sept. 14, 2023

Seoul city hosts startup festival 'Try Everything'

The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s global startup festival, “Try Everything,” took off on Wednesday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in eastern Seoul. Scheduled to be held until Sept. 15, up to 1,500 startup companies were in attendance, along with 220 domestic and overseas venture capital firms. Since hosting “Start-Up Seoul: Tech Rise” in 2019, the city government has hosted the startup festival “Try Everything” every September. Under the slogan, “Sta

Sept. 13, 2023

Waning commitment? Govt. moves to abandon plan to reduce disposable cups

The South Korean government appears to be reconsidering its earlier plan to introduce a disposable cup return program by 2025, in spite of the country’s proliferation of cafes and their widespread use of single-use cups. Designed by the previous Moon Jae-in administration, the deposit-refund system for plastic cups mandates cafe and restaurant owners to impose a surcharge of 300 won ($0.23) on each takeaway cup, eligible for a refund upon return of the used cup. Ahead of its scheduled nati

Sept. 13, 2023

Rail strike set to begin Thursday

A strike by the Korean Railroad Workers' Union is to begin Thursday morning, raising concerns over transportation and logistics turmoil. According to unionized workers at the state-run Korea Railroad Corp., also known as Korail, the union will go on a four-day strike from 9 a.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Monday. The strike is the union's first since November 2019. Members voted 64.4 percent in favor in a strike ballot at the end of August. The railway union's requests include the expansi

Sept. 13, 2023

Foreign detainees need more freedom: Human rights commission

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has issued a recommendation that detention centers for foreign nationals should improve and increase provisions for detainees, including computer and internet access, the time allowed for exercise outdoors and the ability to bring in food from outside. In a recommendation issued Wednesday to an unspecified detention center for foreign nationals, the commission said there is an urgent need to improve provisions in these areas to guarantee foreign nati

Sept. 13, 2023

Seoul to subway maps to get revamp for foreigners, visually impaired

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that it would update its subway map design to give riders a more comprehensive overview of the system. The city government claimed that foreigners in Korea often find the current map challenging to use and understand. The new subway map design will use a new layout that the city says will help riders understand multiple routes and transfer stations. The colors and patterns differentiating routes will also be upgraded, allowing travelers to navigat

Sept. 13, 2023