The number of violent crimes developing from apartment noise disputes rose 10-fold from 2016 to 2021, a report by a local civic group showed Wednesday. There were 11 court cases of violent crimes that were related to noise feuds between neighbors in 2016, but the number increased every year, reaching 114 in 2020, according to the analysis of the local courts' verdicts by released by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice. It dipped slightly back down to 110 the following year. &q

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2023

A 50-something woman who threw objects out the window of her 18-floor apartment and shouted "I'm seeing God," has been committed to a psychiatric facility, police said Wednesday. Officers of Gimpo Police Station on Monday received reports from residents of a residential-commercial complex in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, that a woman was throwing items like bags and a cellphone out of her window. The woman had blocked the entrance to her home with clothes and other items, refusing t

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2023

A man in his twenties who killed two cats on the same day he adopted them has been sentenced to eight months in prison for animal cruelty, Changwon District Court said Tuesday. The defendant was accused of killing the cats inside his car at a parking lot in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province in September last year, and mutilating their remains. The man had adopted the cats just hours before killing them. A police investigation found his motive to be contempt toward cats, which was sparked by stra

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2023

A top-rated, left-leaning news program formerly on broadcaster TBS has received an official warning for calling President Yoon Suk Yeol's English use "pretentious" last year, a matter decided by the state censor on Monday afternoon. The Korea Communications Standards Commission decided to issue a warning, which is the lowest of the statutory sanctions that can be issued by the state-run body. Any broadcaster that receives such a punishment can be penalized by the KCSC when applyin

Politics Dec. 5, 2023

A 49-year-old has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a man in a drink driving incident, exceeding the Supreme Court's sentencing guidelines. The Incheon District Court on Tuesday handed down the sentence on account of the victim suffering from extensive pain due to his injuries before his death, and the defendant not being forgiven by the victim's family. The sentence is within the legally permitted limit, but higher than the range of punishment recommended by the state i

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2023

With the third season of Netflix dating reality show "Singles Inferno" ready to release next week, one participant grabbing the eyes of local basketball fans is Lee Gwan-hee, a brash, outspoken and somewhat-controversial guard playing for the Changwon LG Sakers of the Korea Basketball League. Lee’s appearance will mark the first time an active professional athlete will appear in the wildly popular show, and fans of the mildly liked KBL are wondering if the publicity will help boo

Television Dec. 5, 2023

The Chuncheon District Court on Tuesday ruled that Gangwon Police were justified in a recent decision to suspend an official for comparing his female subordinate to a barmaid. The plaintiff, who had been serving as the unit leader at a police office in Gangwon Province, had told the subordinate that "local bars would have far more customers if someone like you worked there" in 2021. He also alluded to sexually suggestive lyrics from a song and boasted to her about seeing an exposed fem

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2023

An anonymous memo was found Tuesday claiming that a bomb had been planted at Hongdae subway station, but after a search, police found no evidence of an explosive device. Police said subway officials received a report around 5:05 a.m. of a note found in a men's bathroom in the station, saying, "I'll install a bomb. You'll suffer." Police blocked off the station bathroom area, where they conducted a search until 7 a.m. Station functions were maintained during the search. S

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2023

High income has become the top reason elementary and middle school students choose becoming a medical doctor as their desired career path, a study by a state-run research institute showed Thursday. The scholars at the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training analyzed government surveys on students across the country and compared the responses of students who said they hoped to become a doctor in the 2018 and 2022 reports. The data was from the joint annual survey conducte

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

A 30-something man currently on trial for physical abuse against his girlfriend has been nabbed for allegedly attacking the victim again, this time with a weapon. Ulsan Dongbu Police said Thursday that the suspect has been arrested after attacking the victim at around 12:30 a.m. at an apartment in Ulsan. The suspect fled the scene in a car after calling the police to report that he knocked her unconscious. Officials arrived on the scene to find the victim bleeding from her abdomen. She was taken

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

A 60-something man in Busan in the early hours of Thursday fell out of the bed and injured himself, shaken not by the 4.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked nearby Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province but ironically by a state-issued emergency mobile alert about the tremor. The man, who lives in Haeundae-gu, Busan, received the notification, together with its loud warning alarm, on his phone at 5:39 a.m. and fell, injuring his face, resulting in him getting rushed to a nearby hospital for medical t

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

The photo capturing the moment when giant panda Fu Bao's twin sisters were born has been selected as one of Time magazine’s Top 100 Photos of 2023. The list, announced last week, includes the photo of the mother Ai Bao with her newly-born female twin pandas taken on July 7 after their birth. It marked the first time twin pandas were born in South Korea after their older sister Fu Bao became the first giant panda to be born in the country. Fu Bao and her giant panda family are among th

Culture Nov. 30, 2023

A coalition of civic groups in Paju, northern Gyeonggi Province, said Thursday that they oppose plans to bury the remains of Chun Doo-hwan, a former president who rose to power through a military coup, in the city. The family of the former military strongman is seeking to bury Chun's remains in Jangsan-ri, in accordance with his last wishes to be buried in a place with a view of North Korea. "Residents of Paju have been fiercely proud of the new era of reconciliation between South an

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

A waste disposal center in Yesan-gun, South Chungcheong Province has come under fire for refusing to hire a woman, local media reported Wednesday. During a meeting of Yesan-gun's Resident Support Council, a 69-year-old female member and resident of the district asked what the qualifications for the post of resident monitor were. But a high-ranking member of the group answered that they cannot hire women. Resident support councils are groups formed by regional governments to aid functions re

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023

A dog shot and severely injured by an arrow has made full recovery and will head for his new home in New York at 8:35 p.m. tonight, a Jeju Island-based animal protection group said Wednesday. According to Hondidorang, the dog, who received the name Cheonji, has been adopted by an American woman in her 30s, who took in another stray dog in the past. The decision was made Nov. 22 after a monthlong deliberation, the group said. Cheonji, formerly a stray, made headlines in August 2022 when he was

Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2023