[KH Explains] Can humans catch lumpy skin disease?

Despite efforts being made by South Korean cattle farmers and the government to contain the outbreak of lumpy skin disease, concerns are growing over the contagious viral infection. Authorities and officials stressed that the disease does not affect the human body, assuring consumers that all food products related to cattle are safe. As of Monday morning, a total of 61 cases of lumpy skin disease were reported since the first case was confirmed on Oct. 20 in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. A

Oct. 30, 2023

Nearly 1 in 3 senior pensioners look to employment to make ends meet

Almost 1 in 3 senior pension recipients expressed a desire or need to work to cover their living expenses, data showed Monday. According to data released by Statistics Korea, within a demographic of 7.78 million people aged between 55 and 79 eligible for pensions as of May this year, 61.6 percent expressed a preference for employment, with the largest portion of them at 31.9 percent seeking additional income to sustain their living. Approximately 24 percent of those who expressed a desire to wor

Oct. 30, 2023

Most elite earners live in or near Seoul

Nearly 80 percent of the top earners in South Korea reside in the Seoul metropolitan area, data showed Monday, highlighting the concentration of good job opportunities in this region. According to tax agency data released by Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the number of the top 1 percent of earners in the country was 199,591. Their average annual income was 317 million won ($234,500) in 2021. Among those, 77.1 percent of them, said they work in Greater Seoul, w

Oct. 30, 2023

Some 8,000 homes to relocate as Seoul's Hannam neighborhood undergoes redevelopment

Over 8,000 households in Seoul's Hannam neighborhood will begin vacating their homes Monday as part of a redevelopment project that will turn the sprawling residential area into high-rise apartments, ward officials said. The approximately 386,000-square-meter area, spanning parts of Hannam-dong and Bogwang-dong in Yongsan Ward, was initially designated for redevelopment in 2003 as part of a bigger urban renewal project in the ward. And the final development implementation plan was approved

Oct. 30, 2023

Man booked for possession of machete ahead of Halloween

Police have booked a man for the possession of a machete in what he claimed was part of a Halloween costume over the weekend, officials said Monday. The 38-year-old man dropped the knife while drinking at a bar near Seohyeon Station in Bundang, south of Seoul, before picking it up and leaving the bar at 8:22 p.m. Sunday. The bar's owner noticed the weapon and alerted police. Police searched the area and apprehended him about 30 minutes later. During questioning, the man claimed he was carry

Oct. 30, 2023

Gov't to complete vaccination of cattle by Nov. 10 to prevent spread of lumpy skin disease

The government plans to complete nationwide inoculations of cattle by Nov. 10, officials said Monday, as health authorities were struggling to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease. South Korea has distributed vaccines for 2.43 million cattle so far, with an additional batch of 2.1 million doses set to arrive here Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said. So far, South Korea has confirmed 61 LSD cases since the first-ever outbreak of the viral infection on Oct. 20. Au

Oct. 30, 2023

Seoul mayor marks 1st anniversary of Itaewon tragedy with pledge to build safe city

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has vowed to ensure safety across the South Korean capital as South Korea marked the somber anniversary of the deadly crowd crush in the city Sunday. Oh attended the main memorial event near Seoul City Hall commemorating the 159 people killed in the crowd crush in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, during Halloween celebrations. In his Facebook post Sunday, Oh said he'd visited the bustling Hongdae district in western Seoul on Saturday evening, noting

Oct. 29, 2023

Opposition leader vows to get to truth on 1st anniversary of Itaewon crowd crush

The main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung vowed Sunday to get to the truth about the deadly Itaewon crowd crush and work to hold those accountable to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Lee made the pledge during a memorial event held to mark the first anniversary of the deadly crowd crush that took the lives of 159 people during Halloween celebrations in the popular hangout district of Itaewon. "It has been one year since 159 universes, and 159 worlds collapsed, bu

Oct. 29, 2023

[From the Scene] Calls for investigation, apology mount a year on from Itaewon tragedy

On the first anniversary of the Itaewon crowd crush that claimed 159 lives, bereaved families, civic groups and citizens gathered for a memorial service and march, demanding a thorough investigation and a formal apology from the government. The Itaewon Disaster Citizens’ Task Force and the Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families group hosted the event Sunday, with the march starting from the site of the disaster near Itaewon Station and proceeding to Seoul Plaza. Wearing purple jackets symboliz

Oct. 29, 2023

Police slap travel ban on suspected con artist, ex-fiance of fencing star

South Korean police said a travel ban on Jeon Cheong-jo, an alleged con artist who was briefly engaged to former Olympic medalist Nam Hyun-hee, has been issued, as details surrounding the relationship between the swindler and the embattled sports hero continue to emerge. According to Songpa Police Station, the Justice Ministry recently authorized the police request to ground the 27-year-old Jeon, who is being accused of multiple counts of extortion. Jeon is suspected of swindling money from the

Oct. 29, 2023

Korean doctors see income surge amid intensifying physician shortage

Amid a shortage of physicians and the second-lowest doctor-to-population ratio among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, South Korean doctors have seen a substantial increase in their income, making them some of the highest earners in the medical field across surveyed OECD nations. The Korean government plans to address the country's doctor shortage by increasing medical school enrollment quotas, a move prompted primarily by a market structure that limits

Oct. 29, 2023

Seoul Digital Foundation unveils plan to deploy AI for subway passenger behavior monitoring

The Seoul Digital Foundation announced three different projects to utilize artificial intelligence in public facilities and services during a press conference Thursday. The three projects were announced under three categories: safety, popularization and morality. Under safety, the Seoul Digital Foundation announced that they would work with Seoul Metro to build an artificial intelligence-based system to monitor and track unusual behavior among subway passengers by 2025. This follows the series o

Oct. 29, 2023

‘Parasite’ actor Lee Sun-kyun submits drug test samples

South Korean actor Lee Sun-hyun on Saturday appeared before police in connection with allegations of drug use, and submitted hair and urine samples for drug testing. The 48-year-old tested negative in a rapid drug test that was also taken Saturday, while submitting his phone for evidence. The National Forensic Service is slated to conduct the test, result of which is expected about a month later. Lee, known for his appearance in the Academy-winning 2019 picture “Parasite,” did not ma

Oct. 29, 2023

Teachers hold rally, demand revision of controversial law

South Korean teachers held a rally Saturday calling for the parliament to revise the current law that can hold them accountable for child abuse for disciplinary action at schools. Around 120,000 teachers took to the streets near the National Assembly, demanding that revising the Child Welfare Act is a fundamental step to protect teachers' rights. "Article 17 of the act that bans emotional abuse is becoming a sharp blade of lawsuit and accusation against teachers seeking to engage in ed

Oct. 28, 2023

[Photo News] Pet park at Gimpo Airport

On Thursday, the Korea Airports Corporation opened a pet-exclusive resting area called Pet Park at Gimpo International Airport for the first time in a domestic airport in South Korea. Pet Park is an 8,000 square-meter facility located on the eastern side of the domestic terminal at Gimpo Airport in Seoul's Gangseo-gu. It offers various pet amenities, including a dedicated walking path, large dog-shaped sculptures, a photo zone, and a small dog playground. The small dog playground features d

Oct. 28, 2023

[Weekender] The dedication of marrying oneself: Why some Koreans throw 'sologamy' weddings

Kim Seul-ki, a manager at Lush Korea, has publicly declared her commitment to singledom by holding a solo wedding. “Now that everyone knows I’ve declared sologamy, questions about my marital status just naturally dissipated. It’s very satisfying and I can’t think of any negative sides to it,” Kim, 39, said, recalling her marriage to herself last year. “It made me feel like my perspective on life and my values could be accepted as they are,” she added. Ki

Oct. 28, 2023

[Photo News] Commemoration for Itaewon tragedy in Gwangju

Marking the first anniversary of the deadly Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon, some bereaved families of the victims, alongside local civic groups, held a demonstration on Saturday morning at Gwangju Park in Gwangju. During the event, the demonstrators paid respect to the victims and called for the enactment of a special act enabling a comprehensive investigation into the Itaewon tragedy. On October 29, 2022, the Saturday night ahead of Halloween, 158 died and many others were injured in a narrow

Oct. 28, 2023

Police to question actor Lee Sun-kyun on drug use suspicions

INCHEON (Yonhap) -- Police will summon actor Lee Sun-kyun of the Oscar-winning "Parasite" on Saturday for questioning on suspicions of his drug use. Lee has recently been booked for investigation on charges of using illegal drugs in violation of the Narcotics Control Act. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency plans to conduct a drug test when he shows up for questioning to determine whether he used illegal drugs and, if he did, how often and what kinds. On Friday, the police imposed

Oct. 28, 2023

Photos fencer's con artist ex-fiance used to fool victims

Jeon Cheong-jo, the con artist whose bizarre stories shook up South Korea this week, had used photographs of himself surrounded by bodyguards to trick his victims into believing that he belonged to a high-profile chaebol family, a local district councilor told The Korea Herald on Friday. Two days after Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee announced on Monday that she would marry Jeon in January, a local celebrity news outlet disclosed court verdicts that showed Jeon had been sentenced to jail t

Oct. 27, 2023

Woman sentenced for abandoning dead newborn in shopping mall toilet

The Busan District Court on Friday has sentenced a woman in her 20s who left her dead newborn in a shopping mall restroom in October of last year to six years in prison. The mother is accused of giving birth in the bathroom of her home on Oct. 4 last year and not making any attempts to save the baby from falling into the toilet water, with the newborn suffocating as a consequence. Prosecutors believe there were no actions taken such as the mother to save her child. The following day, the woman d

Oct. 27, 2023