Nearly 6 out of 10 South Koreans read less than one book in a year, a recent report by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism showed Thursday. According to the report, 43 percent of the population read at least one book between September of 2022 and August of 2023. This was down 4.5 percentage points compared to the previous results of the biennial study released in 2021, and was the lowest figure since the government commenced the study in 1994. The survey was conducted on 5,000 adults a

Social Affairs April 20, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating was at 23 percent to mark the lowest figure since he took office, a poll showed Friday, as the ruling party struggled to recover from its crushing defeat in the general elections held last week. The Gallup Korea poll, conducted on April 16-18 on 1,000 adults across the country, showed that positive assessment of Yoon's performance dropped 11 percentage points from the previous survey, which was taken at March 26-28 before the parliamentary election. The

Politics April 19, 2024

Police investigating the recent deaths of four people at a hotel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, have found more evidence to suggest the men had murdered the two women before killing themselves. The two men were found to have sent messages saying, "Shall we kill (them)?" "Yeah," right before overpowering the two women in the hotel room, according to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency. The case was first reported on April 11. The two killers had jumped to their deaths the

Social Affairs April 19, 2024

The South Korean police said it recently found and protected a severely malnourished mentally disabled man, after he made 360 calls to the 112 emergency services and hung up without saying a word. Jeju Dongbu Police Station tracked down the 40-something man dumpster diving at the Jeju International Airport on March 5, who was in extremely poor health due to not having eaten for days. Authorities have provided emergency medical care for the man, who has since been discharged and is staying at a s

Social Affairs April 19, 2024

The state-run organ agency said Friday that the bereaved family of a man who died from a rare condition had decided to donate his vital organs to help those in need of transplants. Jeong Su-yeon, who was 52, died last month at Inha University Hospital in Incheon, according to the Korea Organ Donation Agency. He had been suffering from Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease, a multisystem disease of presumed autoimmune causes that he was diagnosed with 20 years ago. His heart, lung, liver and k

People April 19, 2024

Busan police on Thursday arrested the operators of an illegal website that offered illegal gambling services mostly for teenagers, run primarily by teenagers. The cyber investigation unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested a man in his 20s on the charge of operating an illegal online gambling website. Also under investigation are 16 teenagers suspected to be operators of the site, including two suspected to be the founders. Officers believe that the website was created by two boys,

Social Affairs April 18, 2024

Three South Korean men under trial for stealing an expensive watch have pleaded for leniency, with one of the defendants claiming to have too low an IQ to have had a clear idea of what he was getting himself into. Jeju District Court on Wednesday held a hearing on a 19-year-old man who stole a Rolex watch worth about 19 million won ($13,800) in Jeju city, along with his two accomplices, both aged 20. The suspects were caught while trying to sell the watch at a pawn shop in another part of the ci

Social Affairs April 18, 2024

A court recently handed down a two-year prison sentence for a South Korean man for photocopying hundreds of counterfeit banknotes and gift certificates and scattering them through the window of his apartment building. The 43-year-old suspect surnamed Jo has been found guilty on charges including counterfeiting currency, counterfeiting valuable securities and defamation by the Seoul Northern District Court. "The nature of the crime is severe, in that (the defendant) infringed upon the credib

Social Affairs April 18, 2024

The Ministry of Justice is set to conduct a parole review next week, with President Yoon Suk Yeol's mother-in-law expected to be included among those up for consideration, local media outlets reported Thursday. The ministry is slated to hold a monthly session of the Probation and Parole Board next Tuesday, according to reports citing legal sources. Among the inmates undergoing the review will be Choi Eun-soon, the 77-year-old mother of first lady Kim Keon Hee. Choi has been incarcerated at

Social Affairs April 18, 2024

Jeong Cha-sun, the mother of student activist Park Jong-chul, whose death by torture sparked a nationwide pro-democracy movement in 1987, passed away at the age of 91 on Wednesday. The bereaved families of Jeong said she died at around 5:20 a.m. at a hospital in Gangdong-gu, eastern Seoul. Park Jong-bu, Jeong's oldest son, told local media outlets that she "passed away peacefully with a smile on her face." "I think it was because she thought she was going to be with her son,&

People April 17, 2024

About 1,700 religious people in South Korea were massacred by the North Korean military, pro-North groups, and other hostile forces around the time of the 1950-53 Korean War, the state-run independent investigative committee on past endeavors said Wednesday. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea have verified the complete list of religious people that had been killed across the country, based on records including the 1952 report by the now-defunct Bureau of Public Informatio

Social Affairs April 17, 2024

Yongsan Police Station in Seoul took into custody a man in his 50s for hanging an illegal banner and staging a five-hour protest on top of a Han River bridge on Wednesday morning. The man demanded that President Yoon Suk Yeol be granted emergency powers. The suspect climbed to the top of the metal structure of the Hangangdaegyo bridge in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul at around 5:40 a.m., hanging a banner saying, "I demand the government and the ruling party grant emergency powers (to the pr

Social Affairs April 17, 2024

The South Korean police are investigating a man in his 60s who falsely reported that his girlfriend was missing after she didn't return his calls. Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul is questioning the man on a charge of violating the Punishment of Minor Offenses Act, Article 3 of which states that falsely reporting a missing person's case is punishable by a fine of up to 600,000 won ($432) or 29 days in a detention center. At around 9:19 p.m. on April 13, the suspect reported to the p

Social Affairs April 17, 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently turned down a citizen petition to fund a loan from China of Fu Bao, the beloved giant panda who is the first of its kind to be born in South Korea. The petition was posted on April 8, urging the city to re-loan Fu Bao so that she may be housed at the Seoul Grand Park, in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The park is funded and operated by Seoul. However, the city said it would be better for Fu Bao to stay in China, where she was sent earlier this month. &quo

Travel April 17, 2024

Police on Wednesday morning were talking to a man standing atop a Han River bridge, trying to persuade him to come down. As of 10:00 a.m., the unidentified man is standing on the upper structure of the Hangangdaegyo bridge in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, apparently threatening to jump. Local police said he is protesting against the government, and has been on the bridge since 5:50 a.m. Police and rescue authorities are attempting to persuade him to come down, but the man is refusing to coopera

Social Affairs April 17, 2024