A South Korean civic group on Monday said it has filed a complaint against a local writer alleging she has defamed Han Kang, the first Korean and first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. The group, Citizens' Solidarity for the Eradication of Deeply-rooted Corruption, accused Kim Gyu-na of a "politically-motivated and personal attack against an individual that not only exceeds the limits of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution, but also goes beyond bound

A South Korean court said Tuesday it handed down a sentence of five years in jail to a man for the attempted murder of another man living next door, who had asked him not to smoke inside the home. The defendant, in his 20s, was found guilty of attempted murder by the Daejeon District Court. On June 20 of last year the convicted man had been smoking inside his home in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, when his 40-year-old neighbor -- with whom he shared a wall -- reportedly said, "Excuse m

A recent report reveals that the sales gap between convenience stores and department stores has narrowed to less than 1 percentage point. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, convenience stores accounted for 16 percent of sales in the first half of the year compared to department stores’ 16.6 percent. In contrast, large supermarkets held an 11.3 percent share of sales. Convenience stores surpassed large supermarkets in annual sales for the first time in 2021 and have

More than 1,000 convicts sentenced to prison were found to be avoiding imprisonment by hiding overseas last year, data showed Monday. According to Ministry of Justice data from 2019 to 2023 released by Rep. Jang Dong-hyuk of the ruling People Power Party, as of last year, a total of 6,075 criminals sentenced to incarceration had absconded either domestically or overseas. The figure increased from 4,405 in 2019 to 5,911 in 2022. Of the total number of fugitives, 1,014 were on the run in other c

A family of nine siblings received a new home in Yeongdong-gun North Chungcheong Province, thanks to support and contributions from the provincial government, organizations and businesses. North Chungcheong Province on Saturday announced the completion of a new house for the family of 11 with five sons and four daughters, and held a celebration ceremony. The family was featured in the KBS TV series “Donghaeng” in May, where their poor living conditions went on air. At the time, the

Nearly 40,000 babies were lost to miscarriages or stillbirths in the first half of this year in South Korea, government data distributed a lawmaker's report showed Monday. From January to June, there were 39,295 miscarriages and 121 stillbirths, according to the National Health Insurance Service data submitted to Rep. Baek Jong-heon of the ruling People Power Party. A miscarriage is defined as the loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, while stillbirths are defined as the loss of

Amid nationwide elation over South Korean novelist Han Kang being awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature, one of her works has stirred debate for being "deemed harmful to youths." The controversy ignited after Han's "The Vegetarian" was found to be among the 2,528 books removed from some 2,490 elementary, middle and high school libraries in Gyeonggi Province last year for being detrimental to students. Among them were not only Han Kang's book, but also "Bl

President Yoon Suk Yeol urged police on Monday to step up their efforts to crack down on crimes affecting ordinary people, as well as new types of crimes emerging from advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. Yoon expressed concerns over new crimes enabled by AI, as well as illegal drugs and online gambling, during a commemorative speech marking the 79th Police Day. “To keep the public safe, the police must develop faster, become more proactive (and implement more scientific tec

The head of a senior citizens' association in South Korea proposed on Monday that the government raise the standard age classifying people as senior citizens from the current 65 to 75, arguing it is necessary to address the country's demographic imbalance. "Currently, the senior citizen population is about 10 million, but the figure is expected to double to 20 million in 2050," Lee Joong-keun, the new chief of the Korean Senior Citizens Association said during his inauguratio

24/7 hotline, 'Loneliness-free Week,' counseling planned

South Korea is expected to see a drop in temperature this week, following nationwide rain showers in the middle of the week, according to the state weather agency on Monday. Temperatures in Seoul on Monday morning registered 11.3 degrees Celsius, along with 11.8 C in Incheon, 10.1 C in Daejeon, 12.9 C in Gwangju, 16.1 C in Ulsan and 12.7 C in Daegu, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Daytime highs ranged between 18 and 24 C. Some parts of northern Gyeonggi Province and mountainous are

Police have rounded up 474 people connected to deepfake sex crimes so far this year, the Korean National Police Agency said. Police received 921 reports related to deepfake sex crimes between January and Oct. 14, and they have arrested 474 suspects during this period, according to the NPA. Over half of the reports, or 476 cases, were filed after police launched an intensive crackdown on such crimes in late August after the issue made national headlines following a string of similar cases on Te

Conclusion follows probe launched after complaint of mandatory religious activities violating student rights

Seoul Cyber University has signed a dual degree agreement with California State University, San Bernardino, the US school's first such deal with an online educational institution. The primary focus of the agreement is the creation of a dual degree program between Seoul Cyber University and CSUSB. Under this program, students will spend two years studying at Seoul Cyber University's School of Business and two years at CSUSB, earning degrees from both institutions. Notably, this is the f

A woman in her 90s and her son in his 60s were found dead in their apartment in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, according to police on Saturday. Namyangju Bukbu Police Station received a report at around 4 p.m. on Friday from the woman’s older son that both his mother and younger brother were dead. Upon arriving at the scene, police found the elderly woman and her son deceased in separate rooms. The older son, who had lived with his now-deceased mother and brother for 12 years, told police t