Ruling party slams main opposition’s delay in anti-spy law revision

The ruling People Power Party on Tuesday denounced the main opposition’s delay in passing the revision to the country’s espionage law, which aims to broaden the scope of activities that are punishable. The revision to Article 98 of the Criminal Act, floated by the ruling party earlier this year, seeks to change the wording of the legislation defining subjects punishable by law, from “a person who acts as a spy for an enemy country” to those from “a foreign nation.&r

PoliticsDec. 3, 2024

KBS show sanctioned for mocking short, overweight, bald men

A KBS2 variety show was penalized by South Korea’s media regulator for comments mocking obese and bald men. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) said Monday that it has imposed legal sanctions at a "caution" level to the show "Boss in the Mirror" for an episode that aired on July 2, after hearing statements from the program’s representatives. Under the KCSC's disciplinary actions, "caution" is the fourth highest of the seven-tier sys

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

State health insurance to fully subsidize C-sections

The state-run health insurance will fully subsidize the cost of Caesarean sections starting next year, the South Korean government said Tuesday. The revision of the Enforcement Decree of the National Health Insurance Act on full-coverage of the C-sections has been passed at the Cabinet meeting, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. At present the state insurance covers 95 percent of C-section costs, compared to 100 percent of natural births. With the final process of the legislation c

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

Parliament to review petition to uncensor images of crime suspects

The National Assembly will review an open petition calling for the release of uncensored images of those suspected of violent crimes, after the petition received over 50,000 signatures on the online parliamentary petition page, making it eligible for official deliberation. According to the Assembly, the petition was forwarded to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday after it was signed by 54,244 people online from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1. A petition with over 50,000 signatures must be delib

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

South Korean military to get ‘low-cost, stealthy’ cardboard drones

The South Korean military plans to introduce cardboard drones, dubbed “cheap stealth” because they are inexpensive and invisible to radar. According to the Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday, the military is set to finalize a contract to purchase the cardboard drones around the end of this year. Approximately 100 cardboard drones are to be supplied to the Drone Operations Command by early next year, the Defense Ministry said. “Drones have emerged as a game changer in moder

DefenseDec. 3, 2024

Man arrested for murder, using victim's fingerprints to secure loan

A man has been arrested and referred to the prosecution on charges of killing a stranger and using the victim’s fingerprints to obtain a loan via smartphone, Korean police revealed Tuesday. The victim in his 30s was killed on Nov. 12 at his studio flat, in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. According to authorities, the suspect, also in his 30s, had no prior connection to the victim. The suspect confessed to the police that he had been wandering around the multipurpose building where the

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

30 residents evacuated after apartment fire in Daegu

A fire caused by a butane gas explosion in a Daegu apartment led to 30 residents being evacuated on Monday. The fire began at 8:59 a.m. after a portable stove gas canister exploded while the resident was boiling gomtang, or beef-bone soup. The flames reached several stories high, causing 21 residents in other units to evacuate. Nine residents were rescued by firefighters. Some residents complained about headaches, difficulty breathing and eye sores caused by smoke inhalation, but no deaths were

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

80% of suspects in deepfake crime cases are teens: NPA

An overwhelming majority of the suspects in sex crimes using deepfake technologies are teenagers, police data showed Tuesday. According to the National Police Agency, 80.8 percent of the 573 suspects caught this year were in their teens, as of Nov. 30. Of those, 94 were under the age of 14, who are immune from criminal punishment under the Article 9 of the Criminal Act. Eighty-seven suspects were in their 20s, 17 in their 30s, three in their 40s and three in their 50s. South Korean police on A

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

S. Korea, Kyrgyzstan ink Comprehensive Partnership

The leaders of South Korea and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday inked the Comprehensive Partnership at the summit in Seoul, elevating the bilateral ties for the first time since the two established their diplomatic relations 32 years ago. President Yoon Suk Yeol received Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, the first Kyrgyz leader to have visited South Korea in 11 years. Yoon and Japarov last held bilateral talks in September 2023 on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Yoon said duri

PoliticsDec. 3, 2024

S. Korea sees rise in smokers, obesity rates last year

South Korea saw a rise in smokers and obesity rates last year, according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey on Tuesday. According to the report, 32.4 percent and 6.3 percent of men and women, respectively, were smoking cigarettes, with a particular increase in women in their 20s and 50-something men. The figures were each a 2.4 percent and 1.3 percent increase from 2022. If e-cigarettes are included, the percentage of adults using tobacco products, went up to 38.9 percent for men, a 2

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

Ministry mulls tougher health warning labels for alcohol

South Korea is mulling introducing tougher health warnings on alcohol container labels to raise awareness on alcohol-related risks, according to officials on Tuesday. The move comes after Rep. Nam In-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, also a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, suggested updating the warning labels to make them more effective in delivering the risks of alcohol consumption. Amid calls for stronger warning labels, the Health Mi

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

Seoul mayor cancels overseas trip due to rail workers' strikes

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has canceled his overseas business trip to respond to strikes planned by subway and railway workers later this week, the city government said Tuesday. Oh's one-week business trip to India and Malaysia, scheduled to begin Wednesday, has been canceled as citizens are expected to be inconvenienced by walkouts by unionized KORAIL and Seoul Metro workers, set to begin Thursday and Friday, respectively, the government said in a release. The union of KORAIL, the KTX and regu

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

Seoul urges N. Korea to 'unconditionally' release detained S. Koreans

The unification ministry on Tuesday called on North Korea to "immediately and unconditionally" release Choi Chun-gil, a South Korean missionary detained in North Korea and five other nationals on the occasion of marking 10 years since his arrest. Choi is among six South Koreans who have currently been in detention for years in North Korea, including two other missionaries -- Kim Jung-wook and Kim Kook-kie. Choi was arrested in December 2014 and sentenced to hard labor for life on the c

North KoreaDec. 3, 2024

Running frenzy has orthopedic clinics smiling

When Yoo Ji-na, a novice runner, visited a local orthopedic clinic for knee pain after completing her first 10-kilometer race, she couldn’t shake the odd feeling of being warmly welcomed by the clinic’s doctor and staff. Even before she had a chance to explain in detail how the pain started and developed, the doctor was already pinpointing the likely cause: "A lack of muscle strength in your thighs and glutes, especially the gluteus medius." He was seeing a growing number

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

38 Vietnamese tourists go missing in Jeju

A group of Vietnamese tourists who entered South Korea through the southern island of Jeju last month has disappeared, authorities said Tuesday. The 38 people were among a group of some 90 tourists who arrived in Jeju from Nha Trang, Vietnam, on a chartered VietJet Air flight on Nov. 14, according to the Jeju Tourism Organization. The 38 disappeared at the final stop of their itinerary before their scheduled departure on Nov. 17, while the rest of the group boarded the return flight. Visitors to

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

Presidential official eyes possible resumption of consultative body on doctors' walkout

A senior presidential official said Tuesday that a now-disbanded consultative body on a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors could be reopened, but urged relevant parties to make more efforts to resolve the medical impasse. Jang Sang-yoon, senior presidential secretary for social policy, made the remark during a radio interview with broadcaster KBS, two days after the consultative body, which involved the ruling party, the government and doctors' groups, broke up as they failed to narrow di

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2024

Russia used some 60 N. Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine war: report

Russia is believed to have used some 60 ballistic missiles provided by North Korea in the war against Ukraine, a Ukrainian media outlet has reported, citing its intelligence authorities. Andrii Chernyak, the representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine's defense ministry, shared the analysis in an interview with Radio Svoboda, according to a report by local media outlet RBC on Monday. Chernyak confirmed that the Russian army had launched about 60 KN-23 ballistic missiles at Ukraine

Foreign AffairsDec. 3, 2024

S. Korea, Germany vow 'united, firm' response to NK-Russia military cooperation

Senior diplomats of South Korea and Germany have agreed to work closely to ensure a "united and firm" response against growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun shared the commitment with Thomas Bagger, the state secretary of Germany's Federal Foreign Office, during their bilateral talks in Berlin on Monday, the South Korean ministry said in a release. Kim is on a two-nation sw

DefenseDec. 3, 2024

N. Korea's weather agency officials visit Russia

A delegation of North Korean weather agency officials has left for Russia, the North's state media reported Tuesday, as Pyongyang and Moscow have been expanding cooperation in various fields. The delegation, led by Kim Jae-hyok, director of the State Hydro-Meteorological Administration, departed Pyongyang on Monday, the Korean Central News Agency said, without disclosing other details. The delegation plans to visit Moscow, St. Petersburg and Vladivostok as part of efforts to implement an ag

North KoreaDec. 3, 2024

N. Korea to convene key party meeting in late Dec. weeks ahead of Trump's inauguration

North Korea has decided to convene a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea late this month, state media reported Tuesday, amid anticipation as to what message the North will send toward US President-elect Donald Trump. The WPK's politburo decided Monday to hold the 11th plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the WPK in late December, according to the Korean Central News Agency. It did not specify the date for the meeting. The meeting will be held to "revie

North KoreaDec. 3, 2024