Vice ministers from various government agencies will hold a meeting this week to address growing safety concerns over electric cars, following the recent explosion of an electric sedan in an underground apartment parking lot, the government said Monday. The Office for Government Policy Coordination is set to preside over the vice ministerial meeting on Tuesday as part of the government's plan to announce a set of measures to prevent electric car fires early next month, according to offici

As South Korea prepares to implement the world's first artificial intelligence-powered, tablet-based digital textbooks in 2025, concerns over privacy violations and students' over-reliance on digital devices continue to stir controversy. Amid growing concerns, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho reaffirmed the importance of turning classrooms "digital" on Monday at a briefing with reporters at the Korea Institute of Educational Facility Safety, pledging full support to teachers as t

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday vetoed a set of broadcasting bills sponsored by the main opposition that seeks to reduce his administration’s clout over public broadcasters, a week after the opposition-controlled parliament passed the contentious revisions. Upon returning from a weeklong summer vacation that wrapped up Friday, Yoon approved a Cabinet motion that requested the president to strike down four bills designed to tweak the governance structure of the Korean Broadcasting System,

Kim Hyoung-suk, the new chief of the Independence Hall of Korea, has refused to step down on Monday, despite accusations from critics that he is unfit for the position due to his alleged controversial view of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea. Kim, a former conservative professor, who took office as the chief of the national museum dedicated to the country’s independence movement, denied the claims that he is a supporter of the New Right political movement that justifies Japan

A local civic group recently revealed its analysis of 46 consultation cases involving employees of small businesses, the majority of which were related to what the employees saw as wrongful dismissal from work. The Workplace Gapjil 119 looked into their consultations in 2023 involving employees of workplaces of fewer than five workers and found that 27 of them were cases related to dismissal. In one such case, the employee was fired after packing their own lunch instead of eating with co-worke

Over 200,000 international students came to South Korea for studies in the first six months of this year, setting a new half-year record, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, 204,000 foreign students entered South Korea for studies from January through June, a 50.6 percent increase from the same period last year. This is the first time that the half-yearly number of student arrivals has exceeded 200,000, though the total number of students at universities here has

A woman who shared her experience of undergoing an abortion at 36 weeks of pregnancy via YouTube could face criminal charges, along with the doctors who performed the operation, Korean police said Monday. “The YouTuber and the doctors of the hospital where she underwent the surgery are being investigated as criminal suspects,” a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official told reporters on Monday. In the since-deleted video, a woman who described herself as 24 years old claims to have

South Korea will stage the first government-wide drill against North Korean nuclear attack scenarios as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield, an annual joint and combined exercise with the United States. The UFS this year is set to take place from Aug. 19 to 29, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command on Monday. The South Korean JCS said alongside the military exercises, the government will hold a first-ever drill training officials and staff

Yoon's shake-up draws criticism from opposition parties as 'revolving door appointments'

Concerns about a resurgence of COVID-19 are again gripping South Korea, as the country has been witnessing an alarming increase in patients. The uptrend is likely to continue throughout the end of this month, health authorities here said Monday. Just as many are taking summer breaks, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has seen a stark rise in recent weeks, with those admitted to 220 hospitals nationwide for the virus standing at 861 in the first week of August -- the highest numbe

Tropical nights continue for 22 days in Seoul

A man on the run from the law turned himself in to police two days after he fled officers while shielding himself with a female hostage, who turned out to be his romantic partner. Changwon District Prosecutors' Office said Monday that the suspect in his 50s had turned himself in at around 11:05 p.m. the night before, after police contacted him and persuaded him to do so. He had been on the run since April, when he was supposed to return to prison after being temporarily released for medic

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon voiced strong confidence in the city's ability to host a profitable and successful 2036 Summer Olympics, citing Seoul's well-established infrastructure and robust public safety measures as key factors that would contribute to the event's success. In a Facebook post on Sunday titled "Again, the Seoul Olympics," Oh reiterated his commitment to bringing the Olympics back to Seoul, a pledge he first made two years ago. After visiting the Paris Olympics

The Philippines and South Korea are on the verge of establishing a strategic partnership, said Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo in an interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday. Philippine Foreign Secretary Manalo was in Seoul to meet Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul. The talks focused on expanding cooperation in areas such as supply chains and climate change. Both sides also emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, an

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took swipe at South Korean media reports on flood damage in the North in an apparent attempt to divert public attention from the emergency situation, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday. During a visit to flood-hit areas of Uiju County in the northwestern province of North Pyongan last week, Kim lashed out at South Korean media reports that floods in areas along the Amnok River generated massive casualties. Kim rebuked South Korean media outlets as the m