South Korea's Justice Ministry announced Friday plans to ease visa requirements in an apparent move to attract more Chinese tour groups. Starting Sunday, a group of three or more composed of Chinese primary or secondary students and at least one adult leading the group will be permitted to travel to Korea without visas for up to 30 days, as long as they get approval from Korea's consular offices in China. Also, stopover passengers from China will be able to go on a short trip outside the airport

Social Affairs April 28, 2023

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea elected Rep. Park Kwang-on as its new party floor leader at its general meeting of lawmakers on Friday. Known for his dovish approach to balancing divisions within the party, the lawmaker representing the Suwon-jeong electoral district earned more than half of the total 169 votes of the Democratic Party lawmakers registered at the National Assembly. The election was among four candidates, with three viewed as being close aides of the outspoken party

Politics April 28, 2023

The percentage of children from multicultural families entering university has sharply fallen behind the total figure for all kids in South Korea, data showed Thursday. As of 2021, 4 in 10 multicultural kids were admitted to higher education institutions, according to data suggested by the Prime Minister's Office. This showed a contrast from the nationwide general figure, as over 70 percent of Koreans advanced to higher education. The gap between the figure for Koreans overall and that of multic

Social Affairs April 27, 2023

First lady Kim Keon Hee's solo engagements as a humanitarian and cultural promoter have garnered the media spotlight during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the United States this week. Kim on Wednesday held talks with Cindy Warmbier, mother of Otto Warmbier, who died in 2017 after being imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year for allegedly stealing a propaganda banner during his trip to Pyongyang, according to a spokesperson of President Yoon Suk Yeol'

Politics April 27, 2023

Hankook Steel & Mill's co-Chief Executive Officer was sentenced to one year in prison Wednesday for his failure to prevent an outsourced employee's death at an industrial site. The 69-year-old surnamed Sung, who led the company alongside Ha Jong-sik, was the first individual in South Korea to be sent to prison for the failure to ensure workplace safety. The worker was in his 60s when he was killed in March 2022 at a Hankook Steel & Mill plant in Haman-gun, South Gyeongsang Province. Sung

Social Affairs April 26, 2023

Chaos and fear gripped South Korean evacuees on their return home, a journey which was not easy. Kim Hyun-wook, a 32-year-old international aid worker, was in the middle of the crossfire for the past 10 days until the South Korean government reached out to him as part of a rescue operation that ended Tuesday. At first, Kim thought he could stay safe inside his home in Sudan, although he heard the news about the conflict. That hope soon faded with the exchange of gunfire right in front of his hou

Foreign Affairs April 25, 2023

A group of 28 South Korean nationals returned home from strife-torn Sudan on Tuesday afternoon, as part of a five-day evacuation operation that involved cooperation with the US, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The group aboard a KC-330 multirole tanker aircraft arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at 3:57 p.m. South Korea was the first country in Asia to have completed the rescue mission, according to a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on c

Foreign Affairs April 25, 2023

You Seung-gyu, after finishing high school, isolated himself, staying holed up at home for about five years in his 20s. Fulfilling military duty did not stop his isolation. He didn't look for a job and disconnected himself from society until 2021. It was a rehabilitation program provided by the Seoul branch of Japanese social enterprise K2 International Group that helped him step out of his home. The 30-year-old has been lending a helping hand to other socially isolated individuals here for

Social Affairs April 24, 2023

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo expressed South Korea's bid to expand development aid in Africa as he received his Eswatini counterpart Cleopas Dlamini, the prime minister's office said in a statement Friday. Han stressed Seoul's willingness to take the relationship between Korea and African countries to the next level, in line with President Yoon Suk Yeol's announcement in November to host a special summit of South Korea and African countries, according to the prime minister

Social Affairs April 21, 2023

The fallout from a housing rental scam affecting thousands of South Koreans is likely to persist at least until next year, signaling a need for prompt action to prevent a spillover, Land Minister Won Hee-ryong said Friday. "The government forecasts more problematic (multiyear) housing rental contracts made during the previous administration to be uncovered throughout this year and also into the first half of next year, so the ministries are working to jointly set out countermeasures,"

Social Affairs April 21, 2023

A South Korean court ordered the Korea Electric Power Corp. to compensate 8.7 billion won ($6.6 million) to 60 people who were affected by a 2019 wildfire that killed two people in Goseong County, Gangwon Province. The payout is a third of the 26 billion won the victims were seeking in compensation for damages, as the court held the state-run utility firm only partly responsible for the wildfire. The victims, calling for Kepco's full compensation, had earlier rejected an arbitration offer in Nov

Social Affairs April 20, 2023

South Korea's prosecution service on Thursday indicted eight home furniture manufacturing companies and 14 individuals for undermining fair competition in related bids. Such anti-competitive activities allegedly took place in some 780 apartment construction projects spanning nine years until 2022, bringing the total volume of the furniture projects to 2.3 trillion won ($1.73 billion), according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The eight companies, including Hanssem, H

Social Affairs April 20, 2023

The Yoon administration has invited lawmakers to cooperate on legislation to minimize the impact of phishing attacks. Phishing attacks attempt to dupe victims into providing information or money. At a meeting at the Government Complex Sejong, a pangovernmental entity on Wednesday discussed how to swiftly pass revision bills designed to prevent them. Phishing attacks have become increasingly sophisticated. For example, an increasing number of phishing attacks first identify the bank account numbe

Social Affairs April 19, 2023

South Korea on Tuesday vowed harsher crackdowns on drug trafficking activities at all fronts by ramping up punishment, monitoring and education through a pan-governmental push. The plans reviewed at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday in the presidential office will be aimed at stamping out teenage drug use, President Yoon Suk Yeol said during the meeting. Yoon said he finds it "alarming" to see that illegal drugs are easy to find among adolescents, leaving them in jeopardy. "A decade befor

Social Affairs April 18, 2023

Main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday delivered a public apology for concerns over intensifying allegations that illicit, unreported funds were distributed in envelopes containing cash at the party's convention in 2021. The Democratic Party of Korea chairman said he has asked his predecessor Song Young-gil, a suspected beneficiary of the alleged illicit campaign financing scheme, to return to South Korea. "I'm extending my words of apology for causing concern and le

Politics April 17, 2023