Out of over 3,000 juvenile offenders who were found guilty of sex offenses and placed under juvenile law protection, only 143 were sent to juvenile detention centers, a report showed Friday. According to the Supreme Court's judicial yearbook, a total of 3,701 juveniles were tried for sex crimes out of the 50,094 juvenile protection cases filed last year. Among them, 2,963 were placed under probation after judges found them guilty. When one under age 19 commits a crime, law enforcement agenc

South Korea will use 10 trillion won ($7.6 billion) of health insurance financial reserves by 2027 to reorganize tertiary hospitals to reduce nonessential medical care functions and enhance their critical care, the government unveiled Friday. Tertiary hospitals operate as general hospitals that provide highly specialized medical services for treating serious diseases under the Medical Services Act. The government will increase the proportion of severe medical treatment in tertiary hospitals from

South Korea on Friday pledged to continue its cooperation with Japan's incoming government in order to maintain "positive momentum," following the ruling party's election of former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as leader, setting him up to become the country's new prime minister. "We will continue to work closely with the new Japanese cabinet to ensure the positive flow of South Korea-Japan relations," said a senior presidential official, who spoke on the c

South Korea should make it easier for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s elites to switch sides and stir change, Lee Il-gyu, who was Pyongyang’s counselor of political affairs in Cuba, said Friday. “South Korea should engage not only North Korea’s general public but also its elites to elicit change from within North Korea,” he said at a forum hosted by the Institute for National Security Strategy, a National Intelligence Service think tank, at the National Assembly i

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Friday it has completed the five-day business trip to Washington DC held earlier this month, reasserting Korea-US economic partnership. The AmCham delegation comprising senior executives from key member companies, such as LG Energy Solution and Posco Holdings, met with US senators and representatives from 12 states and 10 US government organizations including the White House National Economic Council (NEC) and the Office of the Vice President. Throu

The Busan International Film Festival is one of the most popular and vibrant cinematic events in Asia. With its glamorous red carpet, a massive lineup of international films and a picturesque setting by the sea, it draws cinephiles, filmmakers and journalists from across the globe. Behind the dazzle, however, lies a complex, sprawling experience that can be difficult to navigate. The first rule of survival at BIFF is: Wear comfortable shoes. While the allure of dressing up for screenings or wa

Tours to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom might resume for Korean nationals in October, more than a year after former US soldier Travis King's crossing into North Korea suspended tours there. According to a source from the state-run National Institute for Unification Education, which operates the tour programs for Korean nationals, it is working with the United Nations Command on preparations for the tour program, which facilitates visits to the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone a

A surrogate mother, an infertile couple and a broker, have been sent to prosecution for indictment over an illegal surrogacy arrangement involving a payment of 50 million won ($37,890) from 13 years ago. The Gwangju Bukbu Police said Thursday that the surrogate mother, who is in her 30s, the couple in their 50s, and the surrogacy broker were referred to the prosecution without detention. The four are accused of violating South Korea’s Child Welfare Act. According to police, the surrogate m

South Korean energy, retail and construction giant GS Group said Friday it hosted its GenAI Connect Day workshop at its Yeoksam headquarters to share global trends in artificial intelligence. The event was jointly organized with LlamaIndex, a San Francisco-based company specializing in AI services for large language model applications. In Silicon Valley, LlamaIndex is acknowledged as one of the key innovators in the generative AI industry. Pierre-Loic Doulcet, founding engineer of LlamaIndex, an