Court orders damages for exposing partner’s affair but finds no link to suicide

A Korean court ordered a person who exposed a romantic partner’s affair in workplace group chats to pay 19 million won ($14,200) to the partner’s bereaved family. However, it also ruled that the disclosure was not legally responsible for the partner’s subsequent death by suicide. The Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court partially ruled in favor of the family on Aug. 13, according to a ruling reported by Herald Business on Wednesday. The defendant learned in February 2023 that their partner

2026-09-09 13:35:27:00

Over half of Korea’s corporate nightlife tab went to hostess bars

South Korean businesses and organizations charged 551.6 billion won ($415 million) to corporate cards at nightlife venues last year, with more than half of the money spent at high-end hostess bars known locally as room salons. The figure accounted for 0.3 percent of the 204.66 trillion won in total corporate-card spending in 2025, according to National Tax Service and Credit Finance Association data obtained by Rep. Moon Jin-seok of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Room salons, where hostes

2026-09-09 13:14:43:00

Korea offers incentives to expand AI across government

South Korea plans to reward civil servants who put artificial intelligence to work, including through points that apply to consideration for promotions and cash incentives, as it seeks to build a government workforce capable of developing and deploying AI tools. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety unveiled the measures at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday as a follow-up to the government’s broader plan announced in August to introduce AI-based work systems across major branches of government. The me

2026-09-08 13:52:53:00

Half of unemployed young Koreans report burnout

More than half of unemployed young adults in South Korea have experienced burnout, compared with about a third of those with jobs, according to an analysis released Monday. Among unemployed people aged 19-34, 52.7 percent reported experiencing burnout, 1.6 times the 32.4 percent recorded among employed people in the same age group, the Federation of Korean Industries said. The business lobby’s analysis was based on microdata from the 2024 Survey on the Lives of Young People conducted by the Offi

2026-09-07 12:31:59:00

Heat-related deaths in Korea nearly quadruple in five years

South Korea recorded 34 suspected heat-related deaths through August, nearly four times the nine reported in 2022, as the country endured its third-hottest summer on record. The annual toll rose to 32 in 2023 and 34 in 2024 before falling to 29 last year, according to Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency data obtained by Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea. A total of 138 deaths were recorded over the five years. The increase has coincided with an unprecedented run of extre

2026-09-07 11:49:22:00

Dementia rate of over-65s expected to rise to 10% by 2040

More than 1 in 10 South Koreans aged 65 and older are projected to suffer from dementia in 2040 as people live longer, a Ministry of Health and Welfare analysis showed Sunday. The ministry said the dementia rate for over-65s, which fell from 9.17 percent in 2020 to 9.09 percent in 2025, is thought to rise again, reaching 10.34 percent by the end of the next decade. By 2050, the dementia rate for this age group is forecast to be 11.81 percent. The analysis is based on the population projection an

2026-09-06 12:41:05:00

Almost all unsolved missing cases involve adults without dementia

Over 90 percent of all missing person cases that went unsolved since 2022 involved adults, according to a National Police Agency data released Sunday, as disappearance and death of a Jeju woman brought the country's system under public scrutiny. There were 1,727 unsolved missing person cases from 2022 to July, this year, according to the NPA data revealed by Rep. Lim Ho-seon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Of those, 1,596 were adults without special needs. South Korea sends out nationwi

2026-09-06 11:53:18:00

Pastor branded child in her care a demon, days before he died of abuse

The 11-year-old boy who died last month at a church in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was found to have been subject to severe abuse by his pastor, who reportedly publicly called him "a demon" while keeping him bound to a bed. A local broadcaster SBS on Saturday aired a detailed report about the case, in which a 62-year-old pastor and the boy's grandmother are being investigated for child abuse leading to death. The broadcaster reported that the boy was entrusted to the pastor's care from

2026-09-06 11:16:52:00

5 otter families found along Seoul’s Han River

Eurasian otters are making a comeback in Seoul’s Han River, decades after the endangered species disappeared from the capital’s stretch of the waterway. A new DNA survey identified 27 otters along the river and its tributaries, up from 15 in a city-commissioned survey four years ago, a state-run institute said Thursday. The National Institute of Biological Resources identified the animals by analyzing DNA from 106 fecal samples collected at 27 locations between January and April. Twenty-one otte

2026-09-03 14:03:08:00

Movie theaters must provide audio, visual aids for people with disabilities: Supreme Court

Movie theaters must provide assistance for people with visual or hearing impairments, South Korea's top court said Thursday, taking sides with four plaintiffs who said not having such aids is discriminatory to people with disabilities. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the second-instance court decision that ruled partially in favor of the plaintiffs. It took issue with the Seoul High Court ruling that said assistance for people with visual or hearing impairments should be mandated only fo

2026-09-03 11:32:56:00