An underpass has been flooded by water overflowing from the Miho River in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, rescue workers said Saturday. The number of people trapped in the tunnel is unclear. As of 9 p.m. police said 11 people have been reported missing, and confirmed 15 vehicles including a public bus to be trapped in the underpass. Gungpyeong 2 Underpass in Osong-eup was submerged around 8:40 a.m. Saturday after the banks of the river collapsed and water flooded into the four-lane tunnel.

Social Affairs July 15, 2023

Five unmanned marine weather observation devices, known as ARGO Float, will be dropped into the sea southwest of Jeju Island to gather environmental data on typhoons, the weather agency said Thursday. ARGO Float is a rocket-shaped climate monitoring device used in the international joint marine observation project promoted by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the World Meteorological Organization. Currently, more than 3,800 vehicles are in operation in the world's oceans. W

Social Affairs July 13, 2023

The 25th World Scout Jamboree, set to be held on reclaimed land of Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province next month, will welcome 43,000 teenagers from 150 countries around the world, including 29 Ukrainian teens, the Gender Ministry said Tuesday. The world Scouting event for young people aged between 14 and 18 takes place Aug. 1-12. "Twenty-nine teenagers from Ukraine who are still suffering from the pain of war, will participate, and 33 teenagers will come from Uruguay, which is located on

Social Affairs July 11, 2023

South Korea has been rocked by volatile weather dubbed a “Goblin Monsoon" by local media, with heavy rain and heat waves alternating in a short period of time over recent weeks. This is due to the effects of low pressure that create unpredictable rain clouds, but is not a new phenomenon, the weather agency said Tuesday. Over the last few weeks, rain clouds have come and gone nationwide, moving away quickly after raining over small areas. These rainy periods are then followed by heat w

Social Affairs July 11, 2023

A voice audio data analysis model will be implemented by police from September in voice phishing investigations, the Interior Ministry announced Monday. The model is expected to speed up investigations by rapidly analyzing the voices of perpetrators, the ministry added. The model, jointly developed by the Interior Ministry and the National Forensic Service in February, is the world's first voice analysis model that specializes in voice phishing data. The model is also the world's first

Social Affairs July 10, 2023

The Education Ministry has asked police to investigate cases of inappropriate ties between private education institutions and officials overseeing Korea's annual college entrance exam, after it received hundreds of reports on alleged misconduct by hagwon, authorities said Friday. It received a total of 325 reports during a two-week reporting period that ended Thursday, 81 of which were classified as "private education cartels" and 285 as "irregularities," the ministry sa

Social Affairs July 7, 2023

The Minister of Employment and Labor called for an end to the nationwide strike by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Friday, blasting the industrial action as politically motivated. Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik held an emergency meeting Friday morning to counter a nationwide strike by the KCTU and pointed out that some of the union demands do not fit the legal requirement that they should relate to working conditions. "The Labor Union Act allows workers to engage in struggles for the

Politics July 7, 2023

South Korea saw a record number of days with thunder and lightning in June, while the monthly average temperature was the fourth warmest ever recorded, the weather agency said Thursday. Lightning struck 3.5 days across the country last month on average, surpassing the June average of 1.9 days, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The national average temperature last month was 22.3 degrees Celsius, marking the fourth-hottest June since 1973. The year 1973 is the standard for var

Social Affairs July 6, 2023

More than 90 percent of those who were assaulted by their spouses or lovers said they had never asked for outside help, and more than half said they did not fight back, a government survey showed Wednesday. The percentage of people who have experienced any kind of violence by a spouse or a co-habitant partner -- including physical, sexual, economic, and emotional violence -- was 7.6 percent, down 1.2 percentage points from the 2019 survey, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Social Affairs July 5, 2023

Hot weather has continued throughout the country with tropical nights appearing in Seoul and several other regions, but heavy rain is expected to cool the country for a moment, the weather agency said Tuesday. The heavy rain advisories had been issued in Seoul and surrounding areas, Gyeonggi Province, islands in the West Sea and Chungcheong Province as of 6 p.m. The Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon Province, Chungcheong Province, and Jeju Island will receive 50 to 100 mm of rain, while the east

Social Affairs July 4, 2023

The Veterans Ministry will revoke national merit titles from independence fighters who supported Kim Il-sung, the former leader and founder of North Korea's communist regime. "Who would give credence to independence activists who once contributed to the creation of Kim Il-sung's North Korean regime or to the communist revolution, rather than to the construction of a liberal democratic Republic of Korea?" said Park Min-shik, the minister of patriots and veterans affairs, on hi

Politics July 3, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a restructuring of the Unification Ministry, saying it is "not a ministry that supports North Korea," according to a statement from his press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, on Sunday. "The Unification Ministry has functioned like a support organization for North Korea, and this must change," Yoon said. He made the remarks during a discussion with Unification Ministry officials, including new minister nominee Kim Young-ho, who was appointed last wee

Politics July 2, 2023

South Korea is set to establish a dedicated anti-human trafficking bureau in a bid to address international criticism over its handling of the issue, according to sources and news reports on Sunday. According to reports, the anti-human trafficking bureau, which will be known as the Department of Rights and Rescue, will operate with a total of seven temporary employees within the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The new bureau will be in charge of supporting human trafficking victims and f

Social Affairs July 2, 2023

Heavy rain, accompanied by gusts of wind, thunder and lightning, was set to spread nationwide through Friday due to the northward movement of the monsoon front. As of 3 p.m. Thursday, heavy rain advisories have been issued in the Seoul metropolitan area, inland Gangwon, Chungcheong, North Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast very heavy rain of 30 to 60 millimeters per hour nationwide by Friday, calling for extra caution as the ground has been already

Social Affairs June 29, 2023

So Sung-uk, 32, met his spouse Kim Yong-min, 33, 10 years ago when they were fulfilling their alternative military service as social service agents. They fell in love like any other couple, decided to live together, and promised to spend the rest of their lives together. But the two men faced a series of challenges as a married couple. Not only did they face a lack of acceptance from their families during the first few years, but they also encountered frequent hurdles in their daily lives becaus

Social Affairs June 29, 2023