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Anti-corruption watchdog engages foreign business leaders to boost investment climate
The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission of Korea held a policy roundtable on Thursday aimed at creating a more favorable environment for foreign investment and business operations in Korea. Chaired by Ryu Chul-whan, the commission has hosted 15 such roundtable events since 2008 with executives from foreign chambers of commerce in Korea. The sessions serve as a platform to hear directly from foreign companies about the challenges they face and to share the Korean government’s latest anti-
April 17, 2025 -
Man arrested in killing of 5 family members
A man in his 50s suspected of killing five of his family members via strangulation has officially been arrested, after a local court issued the warrant for his detention Thursday afternoon. At around 5:15 p.m. Suwon District Court issued the warrant, citing risks of flight or destruction of evidence. In an incident that sent shock waves throughout the country, the suspect allegedly killed five members of his family at around 9:55 a.m. on Tuesday at his home: his parents, wife and two daughters.
April 17, 2025 -
South Korea reverts 2026 medical school quota to previous level
The South Korean government announced Thursday that it will freeze the medical school admissions quota for the 2026 academic year at 3,058 students — rolling back last year’s expansion that added 2,000 spots and triggered fierce opposition from the medical community, including mass classroom boycotts and junior doctors taking leave en masse. The decision was made with "careful consideration," according to Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, accepting university leaders’ calls
April 17, 2025 -
126 booked after yearlong crackdown on hagwon irregularities: police
After 20 months of investigating irregularities linked to the Suneung college entrance exam, South Korean police have charged 126 individuals and referred 100 of them to prosecutors, according to the National Office of Investigation on Thursday. The investigation began following a request from the Ministry of Education in July 2023, leading to a full-scale probe in August. In June 2023, the South Korean government announced reforms to the Suneung exam, including the removal of so-called, excessi
April 17, 2025 -
Field trips vanish from Korean schools as teachers fear legal risks
Field trips are fast disappearing from South Korean schools — not because students don’t want to go, but because their teachers are increasingly afraid to take them. A tragic accident in 2022, where an elementary school student was fatally struck by a reversing bus during a school outing in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, triggered a national reckoning. In February this year, a local court found the supervising teacher guilty of death by occupational negligence, sentencing them to six months in prison
April 17, 2025 -
Sinan salt farm owner convicted of forced labor serving on county council: report
A salt farm owner in Sinan-gun, South Jeolla Province, who was convicted of assaulting a worker and withholding 60 million won (approximately $42,200) in wages, is currently serving as a member of the county council, according to local reports Thursday. The individual in question was involved in a notorious forced labor case that drew national outrage in 2014, known locally as the “Sinan salt farm slavery” case. At the time, police rescued two men with disabilities who had been confined, beaten
April 17, 2025 -
University student council suspends group for calling Yoon 'leader of insurrection'
A university in Seoul recently attracted controversy after it suspended a student group for alleged political bias, taking issue with the group decrying disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol as the "leader of an insurrection." The student council at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies last week declined the ratification of its affiliated community library, which is funded by the student council but had been granted autonomy in its operations. The decision effectively suspended the library's oper
April 17, 2025 -
Nearly 1,000 caught for deepfake sex crimes; 93 percent in teens and 20s
A total of 963 have been accused of committing sex crimes using deepfake technology in the seven-month crackdown conducted by the police, 93.1 percent of whom were in their teens and 20s. The National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency on Thursday announced the result of their investigation from Aug. 28, 2024 to March 31, 2025, in which they caught 669 teens, 228 in their 20s, 51 in their 30s, 11 in their 40s and four aged 50 and above on suspicion of using the artificial i
April 17, 2025 -
North Gyeongsang Province wildfire damage doubles to nearly 90,000 hectares
A joint government survey revealed Thursday that the scale of forest damage caused by recent wildfires in North Gyeongsang Province was nearly double the initial estimate released by the Korea Forest Service. According to the investigation by local governments and related authorities, including the Korea Forest Service, the wildfires that raged from March 21 for nearly 10 days across Uiseong, Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok in North Gyeongsang province scorched nearly 90,000 hectares
April 17, 2025 -
South Korea's gender equality index falls to all-time low
The South Korean government announced Thursday that the National Gender Equality Index in 2023 was 65.4, down 0.8 from the previous year and marking the lowest figure in 13 years, since the inaugural survey in 2010. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family tallies the nation's overall gender equality by quantifying the equality rate in various realms of society, based on the Framework Act on Gender Equality, with 100 meaning a complete equality between two genders. The 2010 figure had been 66.
April 17, 2025 -
Actual damage from North Gyeongsang wildfires is 2 times govt. estimate
The total area of woodland burned by the massive wildfires that ravaged North Gyeongsang Province last month is twice the initial estimate of the state Korea Forest Service, officials said Thursday. According to a government-led joint investigation, roughly 90,000 hectares of land were damaged by a wave of forest fires that swept across five cities and counties in North Gyeongsang Province in March. Initially, the forest service had put the estimated damage at 45,157 ha, or roughly half the actu
April 17, 2025 -
Govt. set to announce med school quota rollback to resolve 14-month standoff
The government is set to announce Thursday its decision on the 2026 medical school enrollment quota, with the figure expected to return to the pre-increase level of some 3,000 two years ago in a bid to resolve a 14-month standoff with trainee doctors and medical students. Since February last year, thousands of trainee doctors have left their jobs and medical students have refused to attend classes in fierce protest against the government's push that increased medical school admissions by 2,000 t
April 17, 2025 -
Missing worker at collapsed subway construction site found dead
A laborer who went missing when a subway construction site near Seoul collapsed was found dead Wednesday, according to the local fire department. The fire authorities discovered the construction worker 21 meters underground at 8:03 p.m. and retrieved his body at around 8:11 p.m. The man was located not far from a shipping container that had been used by workers as a shelter, where the authorities had expected to find him. "There was a lot of soil and the recovery process was difficult. The conta
April 16, 2025 -
Worker rescued from construction collapse site in 6 days
GWANGMYEONG -- A worker was rescued six days after having been trapped following the collapse of a subway construction site, fire authorities said Wednesday. The construction site for the Sinansan Line collapsed Friday, causing a section of the road above ground to cave in and damaging several buildings. Rescue workers had been working almost around the clock to find the 50-something worker who was the only person still missing after the accident. Workers had dug 21 meters into the ground, with
April 16, 2025 -
Police officer dies after being shot during firearms training
A police officer died after being shot during a firearms training session in Busan, local police said Wednesday. According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, the incident occurred at approximately 12:20 p.m. at its indoor range in Daejeo-dong, Busan. The victim, a police constable in their 20s, suffered a gunshot wound to the head while participating in the exercise. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but died about four hours later. The victim was a member of a mobile unit under t
April 16, 2025