Seoul pleads public to trust government, plans to expand spending to promote seafood safety amid growing fears

Over 200 people have been apprehended nationwide for posting murder threats on various online sites over the past month amid increasing violent crimes targeting random people, the Korean National Police Agency said Thursday. The KNPA said it has nabbed 216 suspects on charges of writing such threats as of 9 a.m. Thursday and put 21 of them under arrest. The number of online threats and apprehensions increased by seven and three, respectively, from the previous day, it added. A suspect was arrest

Sales of cigarettes in South Korea moved down 0.6 percent on-year in the January-June period, data showed. South Korean smokers purchased 1.77 billion 20-cigarette packs in the first half, falling from 17.8 billion packs posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Heat-not-burn tobacco products took up 16.5 percent of the market, advancing from 14.8 percent posted for all of 2022. Meanwhile, the government collected 5.7 trillion won ($4.4 billion) in taxes from cigar

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday the government will stay ready to file an international lawsuit if Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant goes beyond the standards. Han made the remarks during a meeting with reporters as Japan is reported to be discussing releasing the treated radioactive water as early as 1 p.m. Thursday. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will always remain ready to lodge a suit internationally if the rel

The police have disclosed the identity and personal information of the suspect who is accused of raping and beating a woman to death in Seoul’s Sillim-dong as 30-year-old Choi Yoon-jong, Wednesday. By South Korean law, the police can disclose the identity of a suspect in a criminal case after the Personal Information Disclosure Committee agrees to reveal a suspect's personal information including their photo, name and age. However, problems have arisen in the past since there are no r

On Wednesday, South Korea's Justice Ministry reported that nearly 11,000 undocumented immigrants were removed from the country through either deportation or voluntary departure between June 12 and July 31, a move that highlights the Yoon Suk Yeol government's focus on stricter immigration enforcement. The 50-day crackdown was conducted jointly by five central government agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tra

Jeonse refers to a system unique to Korea in which a lessee gives a lessor a large refundable deposit instead of paying monthly rent. Under a typical two-year jeonse contract, a lessor would return the deposit upon expiration of the contract. If the expected interest on the deposit is less than the monthly rent, as is often the case, a jeonse contract can be financially advantageous to the lessee. However, there are many cases of jeonse fraud, where scammers usually buy houses with money from th

New measures ban parents from calling teachers directly; document students infringing on teachers' authority

All subsidies will be suspended, except for vaccination, medicine for elderly

South Korea announced Wednesday that it sought to revive the recently abolished conscripted police system to strengthen the state's crime prevention capabilities. According to the announcement, which came amid the recent surge of crimes seemingly targeting random people, the government plans to add up to 8,000 conscripted police within nine months. "In order to enhance (the police's) capability to prevent the occurrence of crimes, the government will proactively move to reintroduc

The Gwacheon National Science Museum will host a special super blue moon observation event on Aug. 31. A super blue moon is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs when the "super moon" and "blue moon" phenomena coincide. A super moon is a full moon that appears when the moon is at its closest approach to the Earth. It can be observed 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than an average full moon. A blue Moon is the second full moon to occur within a single month. This ph

Korean youth organization introduces mobile app to document litter-picking, compile trash database to help formulate solutions

Tokyo accepts 5 Yoon's requests including Korean expert's regular visit to IAEA branch

As a series of violent crimes targeting random people stokes public fears in South Korea, the government is mulling introducing a new form of life sentence -- one without the possibility of parole. The announcement claimed that the introduction was necessary to have a safe society and quell public fears about the growing threat of apparently motiveless crimes. A stabbing spree by a 33-year-old man in July killed one and injured three in broad daylight in southern Seoul. This was followed by a fr

The lights of key landmarks in Korea will be turned off for five minutes Tuesday night, including at Gwanghwamun and N Seoul Tower in Seoul, Busan's major bridge Gwangandaegyo and the landmark Cheomseongdae in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The event is to mark Energy Day, with an estimated 1.27 million people in South Korea taking part, which is more than twice the number of participants last year. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that lights-out events will start