ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province/JINDO, South Jeolla Province -- Time appears to stand still in a classroom in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The classroom is one of several replica classrooms built in memory of the students and teachers of Danwon High School who lost their lives on a school trip to Jeju Island on April 16, 2014, aboard the Sewol ferry. It is filled with the desks, chairs, blackboards, windows and doors used by the teachers and students before the ferry sank off Jindo in South Jeolla Provinc

Social Affairs April 15, 2024

Prosecutors will raise rewards up to 100 million won ($72,200) for reporting drug crimes and assisting in apprehending offenders, according to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Sunday. The significant increase, rising from the previous range of 1 million to 50 million, was announced in response to the recent surge in drug crimes with the aim to block and prevent further criminal activities. According to the Prosecutors' Office, the compensation given may be higher than 100 million wo

Social Affairs April 14, 2024

Public elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul will voluntarily observe "Educational Community Safety Week" in memory of the victims of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, marking a decade since the tragic event, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Sunday. The Seoul Education Office will distribute educational materials related to the Sewol ferry tragedy to all public schools in the city during this year’s “National Safety Day” week from April 1

Social Affairs April 14, 2024

The Korea Herald has compiled the English names of the winners of the 2024 general election's results by constituency provided by the National Election Commission on Thursday. -- Ed.  

Social Affairs April 11, 2024

Wednesday’s general election was to pick the 300 members for the next four-year session of the National Assembly, but voters who spoke with The Korea Herald said their ballots extend beyond the next parliament, embodying their hopes and expectations for Korean politics as a whole, with President Yoon Suk Yeol included. Here are their voices. ‘It's all a mess’ says 87-year-old voter leaning on cane Cherry blossoms had burst into full bloom just outside a Hangangno-dong

Politics April 10, 2024

A far-right YouTuber arrested for installing illegal cameras at voting stations and vote-counting venues nationwide has been handed over to the prosecutors, police in Nonhyeon, Incheon, said Friday. The police found that the suspect installed illegal cameras in a total of 41 locations and recovered the cameras at 36 locations through further investigations. In three of the remaining five locations, the cameras had already disappeared. In the other two locations, the suspect confessed that he had

Social Affairs April 5, 2024

The South Korean police have deployed around 2,000 police officers for the first time to monitor closely the entire process of transferring early voting ballots from the constituencies where they were submitted to their actual constituencies. The Korean National Police Agency announced the deployment on Friday, coinciding with the commencement of the two-day early voting period for the April 10 general election. In South Korea, voters who partake in the early voting process can vote at whichever

Social Affairs April 5, 2024

South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook stated that children in North Korea face grave human rights abuses, including receiving the death penalty for distributing South Korean dramas, during a UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday. During the UNSC Briefing on Children and Armed Conflict, Hwang mentioned that children in North Korea face “egregious human rights violations,” despite North Korea being a signatory country to the Convention on t

Foreign Affairs April 4, 2024

Seoul Metro, the operator of subway lines 1 to 8, announced Tuesday that it will replace all fabric seats on its subway trains with reinforced plastic chairs by 2029 to keep the trains clean from bedbugs and other pollutants. According to Seoul Metro, fabric chairs account for 54 percent, or 1,955 subway cars of all seats on Seoul’s subway trains. On the other hand, reinforced plastic chairs account for 29 percent of Seoul’s subway trains, while stainless steel seats account for 17 p

Social Affairs April 2, 2024

South Korea's Air Force on Monday revealed that it is exploring the possibility of replacing patrol dogs with four-legged robots or robotic dogs, as the number of military dog handlers is expected to decrease due to a reduction in troops. The Air Force intends to initiate a feasibility study to assess whether robotic patrol dogs can effectively supplant traditional breeds such as shepherds and Labrador retrievers at major air base facilities, while maintaining the integrity of the patrol an

Social Affairs April 1, 2024

The Korean National Police Agency stated Monday that it will begin to strictly respond to false police reports that waste police resources by increasing fines. Currently under the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act, making a false police report through the 112 hotline is punishable by a fine of up to 600,000 won ($445), imprisonment or both. False police reports are also punishable as obstruction of justice under the criminal code. Additionally, if a false police report results in a significant wa

Social Affairs April 1, 2024

The Korean National Police Agency will crack down on the main crimes committed by foreign nationals from Monday until June 30, the agency said Sunday. According to the police agency, the main crimes include fraud, gambling, drug-related crimes and crimes involving foreign national workers based at construction sites. In addition, according to the agency's statistics, the number of criminals that are of foreign nationality that have committed what are deemed the four major crimes here -- mur

Social Affairs March 31, 2024

Illegal spycams were discovered at approximately 40 locations nationwide, including polling stations and vote counting venues designated for early voting ahead of the April 10 general election, according to officials from Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon on Saturday. A suspect appeared for a review of his arrest warrant at the Incheon District Court on Sunday, after police had announced Friday that the suspect in his 40s had been apprehended on Thursday for allegedly installing cameras inside

Social Affairs March 31, 2024

Unionized bus drivers in Seoul went on their first general strike in 12 years Thursday morning, but withdrew the protest later the same afternoon after reaching an agreement with the city over wages. At 3:20 p.m., the Seoul Metropolitan Government officially announced it had reached a new wage deal with the union and the Seoul Bus Transportation Business Association. According to the deal, the drivers will see a 4.48 percent wage increase and receive up to 650,000 won ($480) in holiday benefits.

Social Affairs March 28, 2024

As the season of cherry blossoms approaches in Seoul, the Songpa-gu district office is gearing up to host its annual cherry blossom festival at Seokchon Lake Park from Wednesday to Sunday. The park, which spans 2.6 kilometers, is filled with almost 1,100 cherry blossom trees. According to the district office of Songpa-gu, the lake has been around for 50 years, with cherry trees donated by Lotte -- which operates establishments in the district including a theme park on an island in the lake -- an

Social Affairs March 27, 2024