Police retract plan to ease school zone speed limit during nighttime

Police said Wednesday it will maintain the number of school zones on a trial run with a relaxed speed limit at night, in an about-face of its earlier announcement that it will apply the same rule across the country starting next month. The abrupt retraction came only a day after the police said the school zone speed limit will be eased to up to 50 kilometers per hour from the current 30 kph during the night and early morning hours, and it will be applied nationwide. "The school zone speed

Aug. 30, 2023

S.Korea's fertility rate marks record low in Q2 of 2023

South Korea's fertility rate has dropped to a record-low 0.70 in the second quarter of 2023, according to the latest government report, in yet another stark indicator of the deepening demographic crisis in a nation already grappling with the world's lowest birth rate. According to the monthly demographic and census report released on Wednesday by Statistics Korea, the country's statistics body, there were 56,087 newborn babies in the second quarter, a 6.8 percent drop from the sam

Aug. 30, 2023

S. Korea hits reset on Saemangeum basic plan after Jamboree debacle

  Proposals to develop the Saemangeum, a reclaimed tidal flat area in North Jeolla Province, have been sent back to the drawing board after the projects' budget for next year has shrunk by nearly 80 percent compared to this year. Plans by 2030 to build an airport, a sea port and highways, among other infrastructure facilities, as part of the basic plan running through 2050 on the site, which is two-thirds the size of Seoul, are to be "completely overhauled," officials said. It cam

Aug. 30, 2023

Pet salon's handling of dog sparks abuse claims

A controversy has opened up over whether a dog was abused at a pet grooming salon in Wonju, Gangwon Province. Animal protection group Korea Animal Rights Advocates said on social media on July 29 that they analyzed CCTV footage from the salon and found evidence of the owner using a leash to inflict pain on the dog, named Gibok. KARA asserted it was an act of animal abuse. The footage shows a man, who appears to be associated with the salon, dragging Gibok using a leash for about 20 minutes. Gibo

Aug. 30, 2023

Korea ends free COVID-19 testing

As South Korea reclassifies COVID-19 to the same category as the seasonal flu starting Thursday, coronavirus tests will still be available, but will no longer be free of charge to everyone, health authorities said Wednesday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has announced that COVID-19 will go down from class 2 to class 4, the lowest infectious disease category, bringing changes to state policies that have provided COVID-19 testing for free and discounted medical benefits for more

Aug. 30, 2023

Korea’s first future innovation university to open next month

Taejae University, South Korea’s first future innovation university, is set to open with 32 students on Monday. The college is a benchmark of US-based Minerva University, an online institution with no home campus that requires every student to travel to seven countries to complete their degree. It is also Korea’s second four-year accredited cyber college, following only Konyang Cyber University, which launched its program in 2012. Students at Taejae University will start their first

Aug. 30, 2023

Banning kids from department store resting area discriminatory: NHRC

The National Human Rights Commission said Wednesday that banning a child below 10 years old from a department store’s VIP resting area discriminates against children. The state human rights watchdog ruled that restricting children under 10 in such spaces based on age is not legitimate, citing Article 11 of the Constitution, which guarantees “equality for all citizens.” In March last year, a mother of a 100-day-old child filed a petition to the NHRC after she was denied entry in

Aug. 30, 2023

Overseas Korean teens explore their roots in K-Diaspora

Overseas Korean teens whose families originate from North Gyeongsang Province on Monday visited the provincial government and Hahoe Folk Village in Andong as part of K-Diaspora, a program for people of Korean ethnicity living overseas to explore their Korean roots. According to K-Diaspora, there are over 7.5 million overseas Koreans living in over 193 countries, and those between the ages of nine and 24 number about 2 million. Forty-four teens from the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, South Africa

Aug. 30, 2023

Speed limits in "school zones" to be partially lifted

Nighttime and early morning speed limits in "school zones" – child protection zones on roadways adjacent to schools – will be raised to 50 kilometers per hour from the current 30 kph starting from Sept. 1, the National Police Agency of South Korea announced on Tuesday. Effective from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., the new speed limit aims to accommodate traffic during times when fewer students are present on the streets. The decision follows last year's pilot testing in specific ar

Aug. 29, 2023

A look into next year's budget for welfare, defense

Defense South Korea's Defense Ministry has proposed to raise expenditures by around 17 percent to advance the development of an indigenous three-axis defense system, aimed at countering North Korean missile and nuclear threats and retaliating in the event of an attack. Total defense spending is estimated at approximately 59.6 trillion won ($45.1 billion), a 4.5 percent increase from last year, according to the ministry. An estimated 41.8 trillion won is earmarked for expenditures related to

Aug. 29, 2023

Divorcees say they could've been more generous or caring in past marriages

Divorced singles looking for new relationships regretted not having been more generous and kind toward their partners during their marriages, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey of 516 divorcees (258 men and 258 women), conducted by South Korean matchmaking agencies Only U and Bien-Aller, the highest percentage of male respondents at 29.1 percent said they should have been "more generous" in their past married life, while 32.2 percent of female respondents regretted not hav

Aug. 29, 2023

Korea to arm police officers with less lethal handguns

Tens of thousands of South Korea's police officers dedicated to crime deterrence and the patrolling of neighborhoods will be armed with new less-lethal handguns, as part of nationwide efforts to curb crimes without obvious motives, President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The government expects the new measures to help law enforcement strengthen policing efforts, while serving as an alternative to conventional weapons to avoid police brutality. "All of the police o

Aug. 29, 2023

Man arrested after killing teen daughter and son in Gimhae

A man was arrested on Tuesday after a failed attempt to take his own life after killing his two children. Gimhae Jungbu Police Station announced Tuesday that a man in his 50s is being investigated on charges of murdering his two children on a hill in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. According to the police, the man is suspected of murdering his two children -- his 17-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son -- in his vehicle. The daughter's teacher reported the teenager's absence from s

Aug. 29, 2023

Seoul Olympic Stadium to be turned into multifunctional space

The Seoul Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul, built for the 1988 Summer Olympics and a go-to concert venue for big-name singers, will turn into a multifunctional site that could house various sports and cultural events. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said that the sports complex will undergo three years of renovation starting Tuesday, and that the new space will welcome visitors in December 2026. The estimated budget for the renovation project is 360 billion won ($270 million). Under t

Aug. 29, 2023

Public concern grows over self-defense weapons used for crime

Public calls have risen for the need for tougher regulation of weapons intended for self-defense after a rape and murder in Seoul’s Sillim-dong on Aug. 17, in which the attacker punched a woman using brass knuckles he purchased online. The woman was declared dead two days after the incident, enraging the public even further. Brass knuckles are metal bands that are worn over the fingers to concentrate a punch’s force into a smaller area. Although tentative autopsy results revealed t

Aug. 29, 2023

Ministry asks for more surveillance cameras in crime-prone areas

Considering the recent rise in “mudjima” crimes, or “don’t ask why” crimes that have no obvious motive, the Ministry of Interior and Safety called for local governments’ cooperation in preventing such crimes during a joint meeting held on Monday. During the meeting, the ministry requested more surveillance cameras to be installed in crime-prone areas around the country, such as alleyways. The ministry also announced the nationwide need to implement a “Cr

Aug. 28, 2023

Seoul turns to catering services to boost seafood consumption

The South Korean government and politicians are scrambling to assure the public of the safety of consuming seafood amid growing concerns that Japan's 30-year plan to release radioactive water in northeastern Japan could be detrimental to the quality of seafood sourced from waters off the Korean Peninsula. Later this week, the government, the ruling People Power Party, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and meal service providers for corporations, including Samsung Wellstory, Ourho

Aug. 28, 2023

Online vendors sued over Kim Jong-un T-shirts

An online vendor has become embroiled in legal action for selling T-shirts featuring a smiling image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a case highlighting the polarized perspectives of South Koreans towards their northern neighbor. Six right-wing activist groups have filed a joint civil lawsuit against two individual sellers, with e-commerce giants Naver and Coupang also named as defendants for displaying the product on their platforms. According to the complaint submitted to the Seoul Metr

Aug. 28, 2023

Coast Guard investigating body of woman found at sea

An unidentified woman’s body was found at sea near Gyodongdo, an island of Incheon bordering North Korea along the coastline. The Korea Coast Guard announced Monday it had received a report at around 10 a.m. on Sunday of a person who had drowned in the sea near the pier. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition and was found wearing both top and bottom garments. The Coast Guard initially identified the woman as a man, but later made a correction. The Coast Guard believes the body

Aug. 28, 2023

Man stabs 4 at bar, killing one

A man, 55, has been apprehended for going on a stabbing rampage at a bar in Geumho-eup, Yeongcheon city, North Gyeongsang Province on Sunday night, killing one person and injuring three others. According to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency on Monday, the suspect allegedly stabbed another man, 64, in the chest, who died while being transferred to the hospital. Three others sitting with the man also suffered injuries to the shoulder, wrist and left arm. When asked why he committed the crime,

Aug. 28, 2023