F-4 visa holders account for nearly a third of reported foreign worker deaths: report

Nearly 1 in 3 foreign workers whose deaths were reported as work-related last year held F-4 visas for people of Korean descent, according to Labor Ministry data reported Monday by Nocut News. Of 112 reported deaths involving foreign workers in 2025, 35 involved F-4 visa holders, or 31.3 percent. They also accounted for 2,182 of the 7,271 nonfatal cases reported by employers. F-4 holders had the highest count in both categories among the visa groups listed in the data. The figures come from indus

2026-09-28 17:07:00:00

Newlywed debt grows heavier, with 1 in 4 borrowers owing W300m: data

Nearly one in four newlywed couples with loans in South Korea owed at least 300 million won ($220,000) in 2024, more than four times the share eight years earlier, government data showed. The figure rose from 5.3 percent in 2016 to 24 percent in 2024, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The data covers couples in their first marriage who had been married for no more than five years. The median outstanding balance among those with loans reached 179 million won in 2024, up 5 percent

2026-09-28 14:00:02:00

Man caught stealing food robs longtime acquaintance

A man in his 60s has been sentenced to four years in prison for robbing and injuring a longtime acquaintance after the victim returned home to find him inside, court officials said Monday. The Uijeongbu District Court found the man guilty of robbery resulting in bodily injury over the July 6 attack at the victim’s home in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province. The defendant, who was unemployed and struggling financially, had repeatedly entered the home without permission to steal food, using a key he h

2026-09-28 12:38:05:00

Thrifty plans or major carriers? Choosing mobile service in Korea

If you have a residence card and a Korean bank account or credit card, you can usually sign up for a long-term mobile plan. The harder question is which kind to choose. South Korea has three major network operators: SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus. They offer extensive retail networks, device financing, membership benefits and bundles linking mobile service with home internet and television. The alternative is a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. Known in Korean as “altteulpon,” or budget mob

2026-09-25 09:00:00:00

School violence reviews have nearly doubled since 2021: report

Education committees' reviews of potential school violence have increased every year from 2021 to 2025, Ministry of Education data showed Wednesday, despite related reports decreasing since 2023. Deliberative committees at regional education offices that deal with school violence reviewed 29,405 cases of potential school violence last year, according to ministry data released by Rep. Kim Hee-jung of the main opposition People Power Party. This marked an increase of 87.9 percent from the 15,653 c

2026-09-23 11:57:15:00

Is skinny worth it? Korea's weight-loss obsession and the health risks it brings

Ive's Jang Won-young is one of the hottest K-pop icons today. Standing 173 centimeters tall and weighing only 48 kilograms, Jang’s tall, slim figure is the subject of admiration and envy for many across the country. But Jang’s apparent body mass index of 16 kg per square meter indicates that, at least from the perspective of her physique, she could be subject to multiple health risks related to low weight — an issue faced by many women across the country. Some 6.2 percent of South Korean women i

2026-09-23 11:14:25:00

Standoff deepens as chief justice rejects request for new nominee

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de on Tuesday rejected Cheong Wa Dae’s request to recommend a new candidate for Korea’s top court, escalating a standoff over the chief justice and the president's respective powers in appointing Supreme Court justices. Cheong Wa Dae immediately expressed “deep regret” for Jo’s position, which it labeled as unconstitutional. Jo announced his decision 25 days after President Lee Jae Myung declined to forward the nomination of Son Bong-gi, a senior judge at the D

2026-09-22 15:23:11:00

Korean city kept migrant workers’ passports to ‘stop them from leaving’: report

For more than four months, officials in the southwestern Korean city of Jeongeup held the passport of a seasonal worker from the Philippines. The worker was among 60 foreign nationals whose passports were retained by the city government to prevent them from leaving their assigned workplaces, according to an SBS report Tuesday. Jeongeup, located in North Jeolla Province, participates in a government-run program that brings foreign nationals to Korea for short-term work during peak farming and fis

2026-09-22 11:30:21:00

Nearly half of Koreans living alone lack close connections

Nearly half of people living alone in Korea have few confidants and rarely meet others, revealing a significant gap in their social preparation for old age, a report showed Tuesday. Among single-person households, 46.2 percent were classified as having “low-intimacy” relationships, meaning they had few people with whom they could share personal feelings, rarely met others and reported low satisfaction with their social connections. The figure was 18.4 percentage points higher than the 27.8 perce

2026-09-22 11:12:25:00

Comedian arrested for allegedly assaulting designated driver

A comedian has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a designated driver inside a moving vehicle while intoxicated, police said Monday. The Seoul Seocho Police Station booked the man without detention on suspicion of assaulting a driver under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. He was arrested at the scene at around 1 a.m. Sunday after police received a report. The suspect, identified only by his surname Kim, is a comedian who debuted through broadcaster KBS’ open recruitme

2026-09-22 10:38:29:00