The Great Train Express commuter rail line connecting Seoul and surrounding cities will begin operating its first leg Saturday, with the eventual goal of bringing several cities in Gyeonggi and Gangwon Province within commuting range of the nation's capital. The first leg of the GTX-A will run between Suseo Station in southern Seoul and Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. The 34.9-kilometer route will open when the 5:30 a.m. train en route to Dongta

Yoon, on test ride, declares commuter transport revolution for S. Korea

South Korean authorities have found illegal spycams at polling stations across the country for the upcoming parliamentary election, with a local YouTuber under investigation on charges of installing some of them. Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon said Friday that the suspect in his 40s is believed to have installed the cameras inside nine polling stations in Incheon and the South Gyeongsang Province city of Yangsan. Police apprehended the suspect on Thursday, based on the surveillance footage a

South Korean police on Friday said it is investigating five people on the suspicion of abducting a man, who was rescued by police after jumping out of their car to escape. The suspects kidnapped the victim at around 1 a.m. on March 20 in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul, according to Jungwon Police Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The leader of the kidnapping ring got acquainted with the victim, who possesses substantial wealth, and lured him out for a drink with the intent to abduct him. After

A crosswalk with devices for child safety has been implemented in front of an elementary school Nam-gu, Busan, in a bid to reduce traffic accidents involving children. The Nam-gu district office installed what it calls a "smart crosswalk" on the road in front of Yeonpo Elementary School, which had been infamous for frequent car accidents due to its narrow sidewalk and an adjacent downhill slope that led to cars speeding across it. The main feature of the crosswalk is a device that deac

Lee Jong-sup, South Korea’s ambassador to Australia, on Friday has given up the post less than a month after he was appointed. The former national defense minister’s offer to step down follows a controversy over his his taking on the job while still under investigation over the death of a marine in July last year. President Yoon Suk Yeol approved his resignation later the same day, according to his press office. Twenty-year-old Corporal Chae Su-geun died when he was swept away by an

The owner of a tangerine orchard has been detained for deliberately poisoning birds on Jeju Island, police said on Friday. The owner faces charges of violating the Wildlife Protection and Management Act after injecting pesticides into tangerines with a syringe, leading to the deaths of approximately 200 birds, including birds like the bull-headed shrike and the light-vented bulbul. This act was carried out in the orchard in Namwon-eup, Seogwipo City. The arrest followed reports to the local po

Weather agency raises Seoul yellow dust alert to 'caution,' advises wearing mask, avoiding rain

The government's ongoing push for medical reform is for the people, and it cannot be subject to negotiations, the health ministry said Friday, effectively rejecting the medical community's call for modifying the state plan to markedly raise medical school enrollment quota. More than 90 percent of the country's 13,000 trainee doctors have been on strike in the form of mass resignations since Feb. 20 to protest the government's decision to increase the medical school enrollment

A divided UN Security Council failed Thursday to extend the mandate of the expert panel charged with monitoring the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea, in an unprecedented move likely to undermine global efforts to curb Pyongyang's nuclear and missile threats. The council failed to adopt a new resolution meant to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts by another year as Russia vetoed it amid its call for an annual extension of UNSC sanctions against Pyongyang. The panel's mandate i

The environment ministry said Thursday it has issued yellow dust advisories for parts of the country, including the greater Seoul area, as fine dust caused by sandstorms is expected to blanket the country. The ministry said the advisories have been issued at the "attention" level, the lowest in its four-notch warning system, for the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon, South Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang provinces as of 5 p.m. The national weather agency said yellow dust has been de

Capital grapples with morning commute chaos, as 98% of buses halted operations

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for the assault and attempted murder of his former girlfriend, who broke up with him before the attack. The defendant in his 30s was found guilty of attempted murder, special bodily injury on another, special intimidation, stalking and intrusion upon habitation, and was also ordered to complete 40 hours in a stalking treatment program. The court dismissed the appeals made by the defendant, who cl

Local police on Thursday said it is investigating a South Korean man in his 50s on suspicion of murdering his wife, a Vietnam-born woman who had become a naturalized Korean following her marriage. The suspect is believed to have stabbed the victim to death while she was sleeping in their home in Yangsang, South Gyeongsang Province, at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Yangsan Police Station. The suspect then drove his car to the downtown area and turned himself in to the police at 7:43

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Thursday said it will put more responsibility on non-custodial mothers and fathers to bear child-rearing expenses by having them pay the government directly for the expenses covered by the state in advance. Under the advance payment of child-rearing expenses system, the state pays unpaid child support to the custodial parent first and then collects the outstanding amount from the non-custodial parent later. As early as next year, the new single-paren