Nearly half of women say they dread running into strangers when commuting at night, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs’ research showed Wednesday. According to the state-funded think tank’s study on social integration, 46 percent women replied they have been afraid when encountering passersby at night. On the other hand, only 12.57 percent of the men said they have experienced such fe...

Yoon Ji-oh, who claimed to have been a witness to the sexual abuse and corruption scandal surrounding late actress Jang Ja-yeon, is facing a lawsuit from people who donated funds to help pay for her protection, according to a law firm Wednesday. The Seoul-based law firm Law & Us said the donation totaled around 10 million won ($8,500), collected from some 370 individuals. On March 18, Yoon post...

Police are to conduct an on-the-scene inspection in a murder case involving ex-spouses. The crime allegedly took place May 25-27. The suspect, 36-year-old Koh Yu-jeong, was arrested last Saturday on suspicion of murdering her former husband at a pension on Jeju Island and disposing of his body in the sea en route from Jeju to Wando, an island off the coast of South Jeolla Province. Police escor...

A schizophrenic man was sentenced to jail for assaulting civilians and police officers, according to Busan District Courts on Wednesday. The court’s criminal division said the man, 32, received 10 months in prison for violating laws on obstruction of official duties, public indecency and bodily injury. The convict assaulted pedestrians on two occasions, in December 2017 and February 2018. He wa...

Police are investigating a 24-year-old man for threatening his ex-girlfriend with nude photos he took without consent. Gwangju Nambu Police Station said Wednesday the man was arrested on charges of violating the law on sexual crimes. He is suspected of stripping his ex-girlfirend, 21, against her will and taking photos at a motel in Gwangju at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 23. The suspect then threate...

A 40-year-old man is being investigated for assaulting his upstairs neighbor in their apartment’s elevator, Sangju Police Station said Tuesday. The incident occurred May 23 at an apartment in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province. Police said an argument over noise between floors seems to have snowballed into physical violence. The victim, a 44-year-old woman, suffered a broken nose and cheekbone ...

Disposable cups used for dine-in orders at cafes and fast-food restaurants dropped by 72 percent following the introduction of a government-led agreement to cut down on single-use products last year, the Ministry of Environment said Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Environment survey of 21 coffeehouse and fast-food brands, disposable cups discarded at stores declined from 206 tons in July l...

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is starting a YouTube series to encourage people to eat less salt and sugar. The series will feature cooking shows with low-salt and low-sugar recipes, as well as on-site evaluations of the salt and sugar content of packaged foods and restaurant dishes. (Yonhap) Ahead of the series’ launch, the Food Safety Ministry held a healthy diet forum Monday. Reducin...

Korea’s biggest music-streaming firm Melon is being investigated on suspicions of swindling billions of won in music royalties, Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office said Monday. According to officials, its cyber investigation unit raided Kakao M’s headquarters, which housed the music-streaming company’s former operator Loen Entertainment, located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on May 27. Melon is ...

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has secured 1.3 billion won ($1.1 million) for developing care robots for the elderly and disabled, the ministry said Monday. The ministry-affiliated National Rehabilitation Center held a care robot symposium Monday in the Gangbuk district of Seoul, ahead of the launch of the care robot research and development project. The multiphase project will commence thi...

The Health Ministry said Tuesday it is planning to ban flavored cigarettes, require plain packaging for tobacco products and increase health warning requirements as part of its measures to curb tobacco consumption. During a committee meeting for national health promotion policy Tuesday, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said the ministry intends to “root out an environment conducive to smoking” wit...

Marking the 100th anniversary of its founding, Save the Children has launched a global campaign reminding people that wars take a severe toll on children. As part of the campaign, the Korea chapter of the children’s charity is holding a photo exhibition at Cheonggye Plaza in downtown Seoul from Friday to Tuesday under the theme of “Stop the War on Children.” Portraits of children at refugee cam...

The government will switch the operating system of its computers from Windows to Linux, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Thursday. The Interior Ministry said the ministry will be test-running Linux on its PCs, and if no security issues arise, Linux systems will be introduced more widely within the government. (Yonhap) The decision comes amid concerns about the cost of continuing to...

Police have nabbed 93 people for online drug dealing in a two-month crackdown between March 11 and May 13, conducted jointly by the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Of them, 58 are charged with possessing and using drugs, 18 with advertising drug dealings, and 17 with distributing drugs. According to the police, 26 percent of online drug dealing cases were scams ...

The police said Thursday that 14 people in Busan have been booked on suspicion of selling counterfeit luxury goods. According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, the retailers are suspected of selling luxury brand knockoffs at Gukje Market, a market located in the port city’s central district. The police said the suspects operated the business undercover, on the upper floors of buildings w...