An orb with a set of ears, blinky eyes and the voice and speech manners of a chatty child is making advances in dementia therapy at a hospital in Seoul. Named Bomy, the robot assists cognitive training for patients in the early stages, or at the risk of developing dementia. Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital’s Robot-assisted Cognitive Training Center opened its doors in April, and is heade...

As controversies surrounding his family peaked, Cho Kuk resigned as justice minister on Monday, but protests continued, both for and against President Moon Jae-in’s key aide. A pro-Cho group called Gaegukbon -- a Korean acronym for People’s Brawl Movement Headquarters -- kicked off its 10th demonstration at 5 p.m. Saturday, this time in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido. Its former gathe...

Court proceedings for recently resigned Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family began Friday. The trial preparation hearing for Cho’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, 57, was held at the Seoul Central District Court at 11 a.m. The pretrial hearing is intended to allow defendants to clarify their positions on the charges pressed against them. As defendants are not obliged to attend, Chung did not appear. Chun...

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk is returning to the faculty of Seoul National University School of Law. According to the school on Tuesday, Cho faxed a request to return to his teaching job at the school around 6 p.m. Monday. Earlier that afternoon, Cho announced his resignation as justice minister in a statement. President Moon Jae-in accepted the resignation at 5:38 p.m. Cho’s request was ap...

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Police said Tuesday that Lee Chun-jae, 56, has been booked in connection with a series of rape-murders in the 1980s and early '90s and his case will be referred to prosecutors despite the expired statute of limitations. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency confirmed in a press briefing Tuesday morning that Lee’s status was changed from “suspect” to “accused” as...

With Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s resignation on Monday, questions remain on the future course of prosecution reform -- a key Moon Jae-in agenda. In his resignation letter, Cho said he was a “kindling” to spark the fire of the reform drive, and that his resignation was necessary to complete the bigger goal of prosecutorial reform. The second reform draft hereleased on Monday morning centers on sc...

Justice Minister Cho Kuk resigned from his cabinet post Monday, after nearly two months of investigation by prosecutors into corruption allegations surrounding his family. Cho said in a statement that while “prosecution reform had been (his) life’s mission as a scholar,” “something inconceivable has happened,” and that his role was over. Cho’s wife Chung Kyung-shim was summoned for questioning ...

Cheong Wa Dae, the government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea said on Sunday the Justice Ministry is to announce a plan that would reduce the prosecution’s special investigation units Monday. Top Cheong Wa Dae officials, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, Justice Minister Cho Kuk and ruling party lawmakers held a meeting at the National Assembly Sunday afternoon to address the next step in the ref...

Court proceedings into the corruption scandal surrounding Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family are slated for later this week, a Seoul court said Sunday. According to Seoul Central District Court, the trial preparation hearing for Cho’s wife Chung Kyung-shim, 57, will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday. Chung is not expected to appear at the pretrial hearing, which defendants are not obliged to attend. ...

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Police are examining the possibility that they may have charged the wrong man 30 years ago for a rape and murder that occurred in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said in a briefing Thursday morning that Lee Chun-jae, who has confessed to a series of similar killings, might be responsible for the eighth of 10 rape-murders that t...

A Seoul court on Wednesday refused to issue an arrest warrant for Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s younger brother, Cho Kwon. Prosecutors had sought the warrant over allegations of bribery and embezzlement via a school foundation owned and operated by the family. The Seoul Central District Court said it would not authorize the arrest warrant in light of “the suspect’s health condition, his apparent ad...

Cultural understanding is key to multicultural marriages, says Justice Francisco P. Acosta, the chief of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas, a presidential commission based in the Philippines, is working with Seoul’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to protect rights of Filipino marriage migrants in South Korea. Speaking to The Korea Herald after a ...

An audit of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at the National Assembly saw a heated confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties Monday. The prosecutors in Seoul are leading a probe into corruption allegations surrounding Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family, even as he has refused to quit. Ruling Democratic Party lawmakers accused the prosecution of conducting a “political...

Some 800 instances of workplace bullying have been reported in two months since a new labor law against workplace harassment came into force on July 16. The number of complaints filed by employees against their companies totaled 794 as of Sept. 19, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said during a parliamentary audit session Friday. Verbal abuse was the most common type of misconduct reported,...

A large-scale rally calling for Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s resignation is expected to last all night. Hundreds of thousands gathered Thursday afternoon in Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, to protest the minister over spiraling corruption allegations against his family. The anti-Cho rally kicked off at around 1 p.m., and the protesters marched toward Cheong Wa Dae at around 4 p.m. only to be h...