The Korean government said Monday that it will help drug users willing to receive treatment and provide them with customized drug rehabilitation programs. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it has launched a pilot project named the "Judicial-Treatment-Rehabilitation Linkage Model," which is aimed at providing appropriate treatment programs to those who want to be rehabilitated and at preventing recidivism. The pilot project will be carried out by the Ministry of Health and Welfare

Seafood safety fears spread despite Seoul's claim of scientific proof; fishers worry about Koreans losing appetite for marine produce

Along with the increasing number of self-service stores, related crimes, including theft and vandalism, have become rampant in recent years with the majority of cases involving teenagers, a report showed Monday. According to a report titled “A Study on Crimes at Unmanned Stores and Countermeasures,” published by the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, a total of 1,640 shoplifting incidents took place in Seoul from September 2020 to January 2022, which indicates that 96 cases

The bust of a routine scam on a popular secondhand marketplace platform in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province has led to the additional arrest of a previous unlawful user of cannabis, and uncovered in the process a complex web of illegal activity. On March 9, a fraud report was first made at Cheonan's Seobuk Police Station. In the report, a buyer claimed they were defrauded after trying to purchase vouchers for Seoul Pay — a mobile payment service run by the Seoul Metropolitan Govern

More than 60 foreigners have been nabbed in North Gyeongsang Province on charges related to drug abuse and illegally staying in the country, local police said Sunday. The police agency in the southeastern province said they carried out a special crackdown on neighborhoods with large numbers of foreign workers and apprehended 68 people, including 27 who were arrested on charges of distributing and using drugs. The suspects include 43 Thai nationals and two South Korean nationals, who are suspecte

Weather forecaster warns of heat-related illnesses

Chinese public security authorities have placed South Korean midfielder Son Jun-ho under formal arrest on suspicion of having taken a bribe, following the expiration of his detention period, local media outlets reported on Sunday, citing a source familiar with the case. The midfielder, who played at last year’s FIFA World Cup, and plays for Shandong Taishan in the Chinese Super League, has been detained in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning since mid-May on bribery charges. &q

The number of young people taking time off without seeking jobs or studying is on the rise, official statistics showed Sunday, as Korea struggles to tackle the world's lowest birth rate and a rapidly aging society. The number of employed people in their 20s declined 63,000 year-on-year in May to reach 3.83 million, marking a consecutive seven-month slump since November last year, according to Statistics Korea. The number of unemployed individuals also decreased by 67,000 compared to the p

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo has urged for the dismissal of the city's top police official for what he labeled giving "unlawful" permission to the city's Pride parade, where some 1,500 participants celebrated in the city's downtown on Saturday and advocated for the rights and acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. "Permission to assemble does not translate into permission to violate others' rights," Hong, the conservative m

In South Korea, which is renowned for its fervent pursuit of education, the number of parents opting for private education for their infants and preschool children is rapidly increasing, data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Institute of Child Care & Education, a survey conducted last year among parents of 2,393 infants and preschool children aged 0 to 6, revealed that 21.9 percent of respondents provided private education to their children within the past three months. This figure re

Police officers and local government officials engaged in an unprecedented clash just hours before an annual queer festival in the southeastern city of Daegu on Saturday. The tension between the two sides was palpable as they converged upon the bustling shopping district of Dongseongno early in the morning, with one side attempting to prevent the festival organizers from illegally occupying roads, while the other worked to ensure the safety of the "legitimate" rally. A massive contin

South Korea is expected to see more precipitation this summer. With “jangma,” or the monsoon season, just around the corner, concerns have been growing fast not just because of the possibility of heavy rainfall ruining the hard-earned summer holidays but because of lessons learned from last year. The country was deluged with severely heavy rains last year, leaving nine dead, hundreds in Seoul displaced and over 2,800 buildings damaged. This year, experts advise not to panic, even if

Operations of some trains, including KTX bullet trains, were being delayed due to an electricity outage on a railway line connecting Seoul with satellite cities north of the capital, according to reports quoting authorities on Friday afternoon. The electricity supply on the Seoul-bound track was abruptly cut off at 12:35 p.m., according to the Korea Railroad Corp. As the train operator blocked the affected track, the schedules of some KTX and regular trains that depart from Goyang, Gyeonggi Prov

More than 70 middle school students on four buses were injured in a rear-end collision as they were returning from a school trip in Gangwon Province on Friday, according to reports. After the accident, those who sustained serious injuries were taken to nearby hospitals. The buses were involved in a collision with three trucks and a sedan on an interchange in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, police said. The police said the driver of one of the school buses was falling asleep while driving.

The search continues for a purported alligator in an otherwise idyllic village in the southern city of Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, after five people reported sightings of the reptile in a slow-moving stream that encircles the rural town. Despite having found no trace of a reptile, the city is not letting its guard down as of Friday, with four officials dispatched to monitor the vicinity of the purported sighting. It also plans to conduct a drone search of the area, officials said. &ldquo