Local distributors Homeplus and Lotte Mart came under fire over the weekend for promoting Oxy Reckitt Benckiser products as a boycott against the company continues to spread amid the ongoing probe into its toxic humidifier disinfectant. The supermarket chains reportedly promoted sales of household items including Oxy’s stain remover OxiClean, toilet-cleaning gel Easy Off Bang, fabric softener Ch...

Located 30 kilometers south of Seoul, Suwon is the largest metropolis of Gyeonggi Province. Besides being home to a World Heritage site and some 1.1 million residents, it is also known as the “city of filial piety.” King Jeongjo, who reigned during the Joseon Dynasty from 1777 to 1800 as the 22nd king, wanted to build a “utopian city” to remember his ill-fated father Prince Sado –- who was vict...

Kang Ji-hye, 34, the mother of a 4-year-old boy, runs a wedding shop in Gangnam, Seoul. Her business requires her to work during weekends and even on national holidays. Her husband goes to work at a manufacturing firm six days a week. After Kang heads to work at 8 a.m., her son Dong-woo is taken care of by a nanny she hired three years ago. For Kang, this year’s Children’s Day will not be so di...

The probe into toxic humidifier disinfectant is quickly gaining momentum, as the prosecution is set to start consultations with the victims on compensation this week. Questions, however, persist over the direction of the investigation, the current legal system and the government’s role in the tragedy that has led to more than 200 deaths allegedly caused by using the products. “We are going to h...

Following Oxy Reckitt Benckiser’s first-ever public apology for its toxic humidifier disinfectant blamed for the loss of 103 lives, the prosecution said Friday that it will investigate related officials in the U.K.-based headquarters. According to the special probe team, executives and researchers at the U.K. headquarters were found to have ordered the Seoul office to destroy evidence related to...

At 6:50 a.m., a group of people with eyes half-closed make a long line outside Seoul Station. “This is quite usual (to wait in a long line). Even if the bus is packed, I will still hop on and ride the bus standing for the entire 40 minutes,” said Jeong Hye-ryoung, who commutes to Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province for work every day. Like Jeong, as many as 24,000 or 12.5 percent of bus commuters in th...

Located near the serene Bukhansan National Park in northwestern Seoul, the April 19 National Cemetery is home to 199 victims who sacrificed their lives in the April Revolution of 1960. Thousands of students had marched from Korea University to the presidential office on April 19, 1960, calling for the resignation of then-president Syngman Rhee to overthrow the autocratic First Republic of South ...

Household products manufacturer Oxy Reckitt Benckiser allegedly destroyed evidence related to humidifier disinfectant blamed for the loss of some 140 lives, when the prosecution launched a probe in late February, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said that the firm is suspected of deleting a number of materials and safety data sheets written from 2001 to ...

Prosecutors said Sunday that they would specifically investigate a professor at Seoul National University for allegedly receiving money from a disinfectant maker in exchange for overlooking toxicity test results. According to a group of researchers from SNU who were summoned for questioning earlier this month, several researchers had opposed the product test request by Oxy Reckitt Benckinser, cl...

The final voter turnout for the parliamentary election hit 58 percent, slightly lower than the originally anticipated 60 percent mark, but the highest since 1996, with a noticeable jump among 20- and 30-somethings. The National Election Commission said 24.4 million out of 42.1 million eligible Korean voters cast their ballots, the highest in 20 years when 63.9 percent of voters turned out. It wa...

More than 24 million of 42.1 million eligible voters headed out to pick the country’s 20th National Assembly at some 14,000 voting stations across the nation Wednesday. Worried that bad weather in the morning may influence voter turnout, public officials drove cars attached with speakers around communities to air announcements from the National Election Commissions to encourage voting. “To remi...

Well-known faces such as hallyu star Lee Young-ae and veteran singer Tae Jin-ah joined last-minute campaign efforts this week for Wednesday’s general election, drawing mixed reactions from voters. On Monday, actress Lee Young-ae, known for her role in the famous TV drama “Dae Jang Geum,” took part in ruling Saenuri Party’s Rep. Chung Jin-seok’s canvassing in South Chungcheong Province. Rep. Chun...

Officer worker Kim Dong-min, 34, who tied the knot in January, had long dreamed of mornings with his wife. He imagined that she would wake him up with a cup of coffee, prepare breakfast and pack him a box of fruits for a snack. In reality, his wife wakes up, grabs juice from the refrigerator and rushes to the office while touching up her makeup on the subway. “I think it would be too boring to s...

The Central Government Complex in downtown Seoul, which recently came under fire for allowing a civilian break-in due to lax security, is facing further backlash as the government allegedly destroyed related evidence and covered up the disgraceful incident. According to police authorities, passwords written on a wall -- which a 26-year-old civil servant aspirant used to sneak into the office -- ...

The government vowed Thursday to overhaul the entire security system at government complexes in the wake of multiple break-ins by a civilian last month. The Interior Ministry announced it will fortify security levels by forming four separate task forces -- for security management, security personnel, computer security and service measures -- joined by private security experts. It also immediate...