13 airplane fires caused by batteries 2020 to 2024: data

Government data showed Sunday that Korean airlines had suffered 13 airplane fires between 2020 and 2024 caused by batteries for electronic devices, as related safety concerns gain renewed attention in the wake of an aircraft fire last month. There were 13 cases caused directly by batteries carried onboard by passengers — one in 2020, none in 2021 and 2022, six in 2023 and six last year — according to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport data provided to Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the main op

Feb. 9, 2025

150 students at all-female university take time off in protest of coed transition plans

At least 150 students at Dongduk Women's University have taken a time off education to protest the school's plans to transition into a coeducation school. Local broadcaster JBTC reported Sunday that 56 students have decided to take a semester off this year, with 89 more planning to take two semesters off. One student was quoted as saying that since the university is run by a private foundation, she believed not paying the tuition would be the most effective way to reduce the school's main source

Feb. 9, 2025

Fishing boat sinks off southern coast, 3 dead, 6 missing

A fishing boat crewed by 14 people sank off the southern coastal city of Yeosu, some 320 kilometers south of Seoul, in the early hours of Sunday, leaving at least three dead. The Yeosu branch of the Korea Coast Guard is currently searching for six crew members of the 239-ton trawler Seogyeong who remain unaccounted for. The search is focused within a five-kilometer radius of where the boat is believed to have sunk, 17 kilometers east of Habaekdo Island. Officials found seven crew members shortly

Feb. 9, 2025

7 out of 10 Korean workers plan to get a new job this year: survey

About 70 percent of surveyed South Korean workers said they plan to change jobs this year, an online job recruitment platform reported Thursday. The survey of 1,467 employees by Saramin found that those with assistant manager-level posts were most likely to seek a job change, as 76.2 percent of them said they plan to move to a new company, followed by 71.4 percent of those with general manager titles and 70.4 percent of those in manager posts. Respondents with executive-level jobs were least lik

Feb. 8, 2025

Constitutional Court should be 'smashed' if it upholds Yoon's impeachment: human rights commissioner

Kim Yong-won, the controversy-ridden standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, said Wednesday that the Constitutional Court should be destroyed if it confirms the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. "If the Constitutional Court impeaches the president against the will of the people, who have sovereignty, the people must smash the court to pieces and complete destroy it without a trace," Kim wrote on Facebook page Wednesday night. Suspended from presidential duti

Feb. 6, 2025

Insurrection trials begin for Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged accomplices

The criminal trials began Thursday for high-ranking officials and former military commanders suspected of playing a part in the alleged insurrection under President Yoon Suk Yeol. The Seoul Central District Court held the first preparatory hearings in the trials of Choi Ji-ho, the commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-shik, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, at 10 a.m. The two are being investigated for insurrection and abuse of power in relation

Feb. 6, 2025

Democratic Party leader says his trial will be swift, denies delay tactics

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday that the ongoing trial on his election law violation charge would be conducted without delay, addressing the suspicion that his recent complaint over a lower-court ruling last year was a bid to delay the legal proceedings. "The trial will be concluded swiftly without any delay," Lee told reporters as he entered the Seoul High Court for a hearing of an appellate trial concerning his accused violation of the Public O

Feb. 6, 2025

Man who threatened bomb attack in relation to Yoon's impeachment turns self in

A man in his 40s who wrote in a comment on YouTube that he was preparing a homemade bomb and would "dedicate his life" to an unspecified cause has turned himself in to the police. Officials at the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said Tuesday they are investigating the suspect for intimidation, punishable by up to three years in prison or a 5 million won ($3,400) fine under Article 283 of the Criminal Act. The suspect is believed to be behind a comment written at around 11 p.m. Monday on

Feb. 5, 2025

Yoon Suk Yeol's confidant gave order to blow up own agents: brigadier general

Noh Sang-won, the former commander at the Korea Defense Intelligence Command under investigation for his role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched imposition of martial law, once ordered the blowing up of his own men with explosives, an Army brigadier general formerly under Noh's command said Tuesday. Brig. Gen. Park Min-woo, who served at the KDIC under Noh, told the National Assembly that Noh used to give orders that "were based on movie screenplays." During Park's time as the deputy chief of

Feb. 5, 2025

92% of South Koreans concerned about political conflict in society: survey

Of all the conflicts in society, South Koreans are most concerned about political conflict between progressives and conservatives, a 2023 report by a state-run think tank showed Wednesday. In Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs' survey of 3,950 people aged 19-75 conducted between June and August 2023, 92.3 percent of the respondents said they thought the political conflict between progressives and conservatives was a serious issue, slightly up from 87 percent who thought so in the 2018

Feb. 5, 2025