A middle school student who kidnapped and raped a woman in an elementary school playground has been handed over to the prosecution. Nonsan Police Station in South Chungcheong Province announced Wednesday that a 15-year-old middle school student had been taken into custody and that they had asked prosecutors to charge him with robbery and rape, bodily injury resulting from robbery and larceny. Police also sought charges for traffic offenses and additional crimes related to the sexual assault. The

President Yoon Suk Yeol has named Lee Jong-seok as the nominee for the President of the Constitutional Court of South Korea on Wednesday, according to Yoon's office. Lee is currently one of the nine justices at the Constitutional Court. He started his role there in 2018 and now has one year left in his term. Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki told reporters Wednesday that it had not yet been decided if the nomination of Lee means that his term as a justice would be extended. Both Yoon a

In 5 years, diverse employment opportunities will emerge in digital age, says former social science dean

A debate about the legality of disclosing the names of victims who perished in a crowd crush in Itaewon, a commercial district in central Seoul, has persisted for a year following the tragic incident, with authorities yet to reach a conclusion. The Personal Information Protection Commission has been looking into complaints that two online news outlets breached the law on personal information protection by disclosing the list of victims. On Nov. 14 last year, the progressive news sites Mindlenews

A drunk, undressed man in his 40s was apprehended by police for threatening a restaurant owner. On Tuesday at around 10:25 p.m., the man allegedly entered a restaurant in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, wielding scissors and a bottle of soju, demanding a knife from the restaurant owner. He was completely undressed, revealing tattoos on his lower body, and reportedly caused a disturbance in the restaurant. Upon arriving at the scene, police subdued him with a stun gun and subsequently arrested him. It

The union members of Seoul Metro, the operator of Seoul Subway Line Nos. 1 to 8, will go on strike next month to protest management's workforce reduction plan, the union said Wednesday. The walkout, which is set to take place on Nov. 9, a Thursday, comes after the two sides failed to reach an agreement over the dispute after conducting 10 rounds of negotiations, since the initial round on July 11. “Seoul City’s plan to reduce and restructure the workforce will ultimately threate

Police in Incheon are searching for a man for possible child endangerment, following reports of an individual riding a motorcycle with a child without any protective equipment. Incheon Gyeyang Police Station received a report at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday of a motorcyclist holding a child using only one hand at the Gyeyang-gu three-way intersection, according to local media reports. The child was reportedly not in a baby carrier. South Korea's Road Traffic Act states that all drivers with motor vehi

More than half of South Koreans were opposed to allowing people to bring their pets to national cemeteries despite the country’s growing number of dog and cat owners, a poll showed. In the poll of 1,005 adults aged 19-69, 54 percent said they were against allowing pets at national cemeteries, while 32.9 percent said they are for such visits if the pets are in carriers. Only 12.8 percent said they approve of allowing pets at national cemeteries in the poll commissioned by the Veterans Minis

Experts suggest economic, social hardships may lead young people to look to past

A woman walking around in a box in southern Seoul's popular Gangnam has sparked criticism online. On Friday, an online community posted a thread titled "Real-time Apgujeong Box Girl," showing pictures of a woman who appeared to be wearing only a cardboard box in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu. She could be seen guiding men's hands through holes on either side of the box, apparently to allow them to touch her breasts. Responses to the thread varied widely. Some people responded wi

Supporters of Israel took to the streets in Seoul on Tuesday, urging Hamas militants to stop their killing of civilians, as war continues to escalate between the two sides. The Solidarity with Israel rally, hosted by the Korea-Israel Friendship Association and the Israel Forum civic groups, took place near the Gwanghwamun Station, in central Seoul, following two pro-Palestinian rallies last week. The rally was attended by Israeli Ambassador to Korea Akiva Tor, Korea-Israel Friendship Association

Of 187 fatal incidents involving E-9 foreign workers, only 1 employer banned

One suspect from a Tajik duo, who allegedly robbed a money exchange store in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in late August, was arrested in Tajikistan after nearly a month on the run, South Korean police revealed Tuesday. According to Pyeongtaek Police, the 34-year-old male suspect, whose name was withheld, was arrested in his home country by local authorities on Sept. 25. He was accused of stealing 85 million won ($62,800) in US and Korean bills from the exchange store at around noon on Aug. 30

The number of cyclist deaths in cycling accidents came to 91 last year, rising by 30 percent from a year prior, Ministry of the Interior and Safety data showed Sunday. The number of deaths from such accidents in 2021 amounted to 70. With the increase, the proportion of overall traffic accident deaths accounted for by such cases rose to 3.3 percent, up from 2021's 2.4 percent. Of the 91 cyclist deaths, 40 were from solo accidents while 49 were in collisions between cyclists. Two cyclists die

The possibility of a strike became reality, as a majority of Seoul Metro union members voted for a strike plan to counter staff cuts, the collective negotiation team announced Monday. As Seoul Metro operates Seoul Subway Line Nos. 1 to 8 and a portion of Line No. 9, tensions are rising over the possible inconvenience to commuters. The collective negotiation team -- comprising representatives of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade U