S. Korean family fleeing Gaza departs for Seoul via Egypt

A South Korean family, who fled the besieged Gaza Strip to Egypt, left for Seoul earlier this week. The family of five, who had been living in Gaza for more than seven years, safely crossed into Egypt on Thursday via the Rafah border in an evacuation from the war-torn region. They are known to be a South Korean woman, her naturalized husband of Palestinian descent and their three children. Following a three-day stay in Egypt, the family departed Cairo International Airport late Sunday and is set

Nov. 6, 2023

Over 90 pct of cattle vaccinated against lumpy skin disease

More than 90 percent of cattle in South Korea have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease, the agriculture ministry said Monday, as there have been signs that the spread of the viral disease is letting up. The authorities have inoculated more than 3.11 million out of the country's 4.08 million cows so far to protect them against LSD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea reported its first-ever case of LSD on Oct. 20 and has since confirmed 78 cas

Nov. 6, 2023

[Graphic News] Number of delivery workers falls in post-pandemic era: data

The number of delivery workers has fallen this year, following sharp growth in recent years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the number of cooks rose to an all-time high with people returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, data showed. The number of delivery workers fell by 24,000 during the January-June period to 426,000, marking the first on-year fall since 2019, according to Statistics Korea. The couriers and messengers industry had a total of 343,000 jobs in 2019, and the figure jumped to 371,00

Nov. 6, 2023

S. Korea, Thailand to work to resolve entry denial claims

South Korea and Thailand are to jointly address the growing number of undocumented residents of Thai nationality here in response to complaints of some regular Thai travelers being denied entry to Korea. Seoul's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that First Vice Minister Chang Ho-jin proposed holding a bilateral consular strategic meeting with Thailand to discuss "issues related to Thais' visa status in and entry into Korea," without elaborating on the timeframe. The proposa

Nov. 5, 2023

8 in 10 favor removing mandatory camera shutter sound: survey

Eight in 10 South Koreans think they should be able to decide whether to mute or enable their camera shutter sound on their phones, a survey showed Sunday. According to a survey conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission from Oct. 23 until Saturday on 3,476 respondents, 86.2 percent of those polled answered “yes” when asked if they think individuals should be able to adjust the camera shutter noise settings. Muting the camera shutter sound is disabled for all device

Nov. 5, 2023

Ex-fiance admits spanking fencing star’s nephew 'for discipline'

Jeon Cheong-jo, the former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee, has admitted to spanking Nam's teenage nephew "for discipline." The Seongnam Jungwon Police Station conducted an investigation into allegations of child abuse, intimidation and stalking involving Nam Hyun-hee's former fiance on Saturday. Jeon is alleged to have struck Nam's middle school-aged nephew approximately ten times on the buttocks with the handle of a child's golf club at Nam

Nov. 5, 2023

More chat with parents, greater chance of studying medicine, education

The more time high school students spent talking with their parents, the more likely they were to study medicine, education, art, music or physical education in college, a study showed. According to an analysis of a state-funded inquiry that tracked 1,297 students who were in their second year of high school in 2016, the more conversations they had with their parents about school and majors, the higher the probability of them going to college and choosing those majors over humanities, social a

Nov. 5, 2023

Bedbug fear spreads across Seoul

Authorities in Seoul are struggling to control the spread of bedbugs, as a total of 17 bedbug infestations have been reported in seven Seoul districts as of Sunday, according to local reports. The city has set aside 500 million won ($381,000) to prevent bedbug infestations from spreading, particularly in facilities vulnerable in terms of hygiene. As part of this initiative, the city will distribute checklists to residents to know if they’ve got an infestation in those areas. Last Thursday,

Nov. 5, 2023

Over 84% of cattle got vaccines against lumpy skin disease

More than 84 percent of cattle in South Korea have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease, with the country struggling with the rapidly spreading disease nationwide, officials said Sunday. Over 3.45 million cows out of the total 4.07 million here have received shots to protect them against LSD, which does not affect humans but is highly infectious and can lead to death, according to officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. So far, the country has confirmed 78 cases

Nov. 5, 2023

Actor Lee Sun-kyun makes 2nd appearance before police over suspected drug use

Actor Lee Sun-kyun of the 2020 Oscar-winning movie "Parasite" appeared before police a second time on Saturday to undergo questioning over his suspected drug use. Lee, 48, arrived at the Nonhyeon police station in Incheon, west of Seoul, together with his attorney, to undergo questioning by the narcotic crimes investigation unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency. The actor has been accused of using marijuana and other illegal drugs at the home of a hostess working at a high-end

Nov. 4, 2023

S. Korea vaccinates over 76% of cattle against lumpy skin disease

More than 76 percent of cattle in South Korea have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease (LSD), officials said Saturday, as the country continues to battle the disease that can cause a drop in milk production. Over 3.1 million cows out of the total 4.07 million here have received shots to protect them against LSD, which does not affect humans but is highly infectious and can lead to death, according to officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. So far, the country h

Nov. 4, 2023

Arrest warrant issued for ex-fiance of Olympic fencing medalist

A Seoul court issued a warrant Friday to arrest the former fiance of Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee on charges of fraud. The Seoul Eastern District Court granted the warrant for the suspect, citing the risk of flight and her inconsistent residence. Nam, the silver medalist in women's foil at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, broke up with her fiance Jeon Cheong-jo, who is 15 years younger than her, last week, days after revelations that Jeon was legally a woman and had been convicted multip

Nov. 3, 2023

"I am..." meme latest to go viral in bizarre saga surrounding fencing star

The bizarre saga surrounding former fencing champion Nam Hyun-hee’s brief engagement to a con artist is sizing up to be a collective loss, ranging from money lost to fraudulent investments to public shaming of the former sports star. But from the ashes of Nam’s obliterated reputation came an internet meme based on one of her former fiance’s text messages mixing English and Korean. In the message to a potential extortion target, Jeon Cheong-jo -- whom police reported has a woman

Nov. 3, 2023

Bedbug reports cause jitters across S. Korea

Amid the steady stream of bedbug reports nationwide, central and local government agencies have begun implementing measures to prevent the spread of the pests in the country. In mid-September, a student reported having been bitten by bedbugs in a dormitory at Keimyung University in Daegu. On Oct. 13, live bedbugs and larvae were found in a sauna in Seo-gu, Incheon. Bedbugs have also been reported in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul and Busan. The Busan Metropolitan Government a

Nov. 3, 2023

Man gets jail term for killing bedridden wife after years of caring for her

A man in his 60s has been sentenced to four years in prison for the murder of his terminally-ill wife, after taking care of her for over five years. According to the Seoul Central District Court, the mad was accused of killing the victim in April 2022. The victim was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2017, and was also suffering from dementia, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. After his wife's condition deteriorated and following a failed suicide attempt of his own, the accused r

Nov. 3, 2023

Yoon says fake news threatens freedom, elections at AI Safety Summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday said spreading false information through fake news may "harm freedom and democracy" in the era of generative artificial intelligence, at the AI Safety Summit with world leaders. Yoon took part in the global AI Safety Summit hosted by Britain through video call to discuss methods of global cooperation on the safe use of AI and the importance of establishing governance, according to the presidential office on Friday. “With the rise of generative

Nov. 3, 2023

More pension should be paid to impoverished seniors: Human rights commission

South Korea's human rights commission has ruled that low-income older people should receive more pension benefits, as Korea's rate of elderly poverty is the world's worst. In its official recommendation issued Friday to the health and labor ministers, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea stated there is an urgent need to protect the human rights of older people by launching immediate measures to reduce elderly poverty. As of this year, older people in Korea in the bottom

Nov. 3, 2023

Man wins W1.4b, putting to bed legal battle surrounding wife’s death

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed that a man in his 50s surnamed Park is eligible to receive 1.2 billion won ($900,000) in compensation for the death of his wife, surnamed Kim, as well as an additional 240 million won in compensation for the delay in receiving an initial payout, which should have been awarded in 2020. The ruling follows the top court's previous ruling which found Park guilty of causing death by negligence in 2020. The prosecution at the time had sought murder charges

Nov. 3, 2023

About 70% of cattle receive shots against lumpy skin disease

About 70 percent of the cattle nationwide had received vaccines for lumpy skin disease, officials said Friday. As of Thursday, some 2.8 million out of 4 million cattle nationwide, or 68.8 percent of the total, have received vaccine shots, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea plans to complete the vaccination program by Nov. 10, although authorities anticipate additional infections down the road as it takes around three weeks for cattle to develop antibodi

Nov. 3, 2023

More mosquitoes in Seoul this fall: report

Despite winter being just weeks away, a number of people living in Seoul have been complaining about mosquitoes still bothering their daily life. Kim, a Seoul housewife in her 50s, has had trouble sleeping recently due to persistent mosquitoes, even as the cool autumn weather sets in. "I thought I had caught them all and tried to go to sleep, but another mosquito started buzzing around my head," she complained. "I get bitten by mosquitoes immediately when I go for an evening walk

Nov. 2, 2023