On July 17, a freshman at Inha University in Incheon, was formally arrested on charges of raping and causing the death of his schoolmate. Shocked that such a terrible crime took place inside the campus, people demanded that the suspect’s identity be disclosed, but police decided not to reveal it on the grounds that the suspect’s charge does not belong to the six major crimes subject to personal information disclosure. The decision reignited a decades-long controversy over the discl

South Korea’s Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong said on Sunday evening that the country could consider implementing ride-sharing services like Uber to fight off the country’s dire nighttime taxi shortage. During a speech posted to his personal YouTube channel, Won said the government would first try other measures to relieve the taxi shortage and, if unsolved, may introduce car- and ride-sharing services as “last resort.” Uber entered South Korea in 2013, but withdrew

Military Manpower Administration commissioner considers ‘alternative service’ for BTS

Around a fortnight ago, emergency operators in North Chungcheong Province received a call from a driver who suffered second-degree burns while driving. The cause of the accident? Trying to enjoy a bowl of hot noodles while driving on the freeway, for some reason. What seems to be a random act of foolishness is actually linked to the leading cause of traffic accidents and deaths in South Korea: failure to drive safely. Article 48 of the Road Traffic Act stipulates every drivers’ duty of

President Yoon Suk-yeol has decided not to travel to provincial regions for this week's vacation and will instead remain in Seoul to mull how to navigate through the current political turmoil, officials at the ruling party and the presidential office said Monday. The decision came as Yoon's approval ratings have been unusually low -- below 30 percent in some surveys -- for a president less than three months in office, as the economic situation worsens and leadership turmoil deepens at

Opposition is growing among teachers and parents alike to the government's plan to move up the elementary school starting age by one year to 5 starting as early as 2025. Reporting this year's key policy plans to President Yoon Suk-yeol last week, the education ministry said it will soon begin discussions on the plan to lower the school starting age from the current 6 to 5 and implement it in 2025 at the earliest upon social consensus. Through the plan, the government seeks to take on m

President Yoon Suk-yeol will send a special envoy to the inauguration of incoming Colombian President Gustavo Petro and deliver his wish to work closely with the new government, Yoon's office said Monday. The delegation, headed by Rep. Park Duk-hyum of the ruling People Power Party, will attend the inauguration ceremony on Aug. 7 and extend Yoon's congratulations. "President Yoon will deliver his special congratulations on the inauguration of President Petro through the delegation

North Korea's defense minister has sent to his Chinese counterpart a message touting the Chinese military's achievements on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of its founding, Pyongyang's state media said. Ri Yong-gil's message to Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe came as China commemorated Monday's anniversary for the inception of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). In the message, Ri congratulated the Chinese PLA for safeguarding its country's so

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating sank below 30 percent in the wake of the embarrassing disclosure of a controversial text conversation with the ruling party floor leader, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 1,003 voters nationwide conducted by pollster Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), 28.9 percent said Yoon was doing well on state affairs, down 3.3 percentage points from the previous week, while those who gave a negative assessment rose 4 percentage points from a week ago

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 50,000 on Monday on fewer virus tests during the weekend, but the number of seriously ill patients reached a two-month high amid a virus resurgence fueled by a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country added 44,689 new COVID-19 infections, including 436 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 19,820,739, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure sharply fell from the previous day's 73,589 due mainly to f

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained at zero for the third consecutive day, according to its state media Monday. No new fever cases were reported over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency anti-epidemic headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of July 5, the death toll stood at 74, with the fatality rate at 0.002 percent.

Seoul will take cautious, case-by-case approach to gradually expand trilateral military drills

Yoon, who vowed to repair relations with Tokyo, strives to find solutions related to impending liquidation

Four corpses, presumably North Korean flood victims, found in July

A proposal to allow all children to enter elementary school one year earlier at 5 years old, starting as early as 2025, has been met with support and criticism from the education sector. On Friday, Education Minister Park Soon-ae directly reported the reform of the school system, which would require amending the country’s education law, to President Yoon Suk-yeol at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. Yoon ordered Park to push for the reform “immediately,” a