Seoul saw its first ozone advisory of the year take effect Thursday in southwestern parts of the city. The advisory was issued at 3 p.m. in the city's seven southwestern districts, including Dongjak, Guro and Yangcheon Ward. The ozone advisory is issued when ozone concentration levels reach an hourly average of 0.12 parts per million (ppm). The average in the southwestern districts stood at 0.121 ppm at 3 p.m., according to the city. Ozone exposure can lead to respiratory diseases, especial

Flood control barriers will be installed in at least 20,000 flood-prone basement apartments in Seoul by June, the government said Thursday, as the country is expected to face more extreme summertime weather this year. The underground flats, also known as "banjiha," have been identified as most vulnerable to flooding under an ongoing government inspection of 220,000 banjiha that will end this month. It comes as the city is bracing itself for the rainy season as forecasts predict El Nino

Isolation upon diagnosis no longer mandatory. Testing recommendation for travelers gone.

Koreans excited to go back to mandate-free life but some are not ready

A teen has been arrested for forcibly inscribing a 22-centimeter-long tattoo on another teen. The Incheon Nonhyeon Police Department handed over the teenager to prosecutors for allegedly threatening a fellow middle school student and forcing him to get the tattoo, according to a YTN report on Thursday. The assailant faces charges of coercion and violating medical laws as tattooing and semi-permanent makeup can only be performed by medical professionals under current South Korean law. The victim

Light rain is expected in southern parts of South Korea this weekend, with some chance of showers in inland areas, the country’s weather agency said Thursday. In store next week is summer weather, with temperatures rising to 28 degrees in Seoul and 30 degrees in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, the Korea Meteorological Administration added. This is 4-5 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature for this time of year. The early-summer like weather is expected to continue until Tuesda

Actor Yoo Ah-in, who has been suspected of drug use, postponed his scheduled appearance before the Seoul Metropolitan Police on Thursday after finding a group of reporters waiting for him at the entrance of the police building. This is the second time he has postponed an appearance for police questioning. His first postponement was in March, when he complained that his summon date was leaked to the media. Yoo was scheduled to appear before the police at 10 a.m. to answer questions about his alle

A woman has won the first and second prizes in an annuity lottery after buying the tickets to cheer herself up after an argument with her husband. According to an interview she gave to Donghang Lottery, the operator of Yeongeum Bokgwon 720+, the winner, whose identity has been withheld, purchased the winning tickets at a shop in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, because she was “feeling down” and wanted to distract herself. After realizing that she has won, the first person she thoug

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday declared an end to almost all COVID-19 restrictions, including mandatory isolation. Yoon said during a COVID-19 response meeting that the seven-day mandatory isolation period for COVID-19 patients will be reduced to a recommendation of five days. Yoon also said the indoor mask mandate will be lifted everywhere except for hospitals with rooms for hospitalization, and the national crisis level for COVID-19 will be lowered from "serious" to "alert.

Despite government policies to boost births, women feel disadvantaged at work for pregnancy, child care responsibilities

Police arrested two Kazakhstan nationals and a Tajikistan national for arranging fake refugee claims for 149 people with nationalities from Russia and Central Asian countries, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday. The three brokers allegedly took up to 1.5 million won ($1,130) from each person for fabricating documents so that they could fit the qualifications required to get refugee status in Korea from May 2022 to April 2023. None of the 149 -- who claimed they were subjected to terror threats,

An Uzbekistan national working at a factory in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province died from injuries sustained from falling into a tank filled with 67-degree hot water while on duty. The deceased, a man in his 20s, was operating the temperature control panel of the hot water tank used in metal pipe production when he slipped and fell into the 1.5-meter-deep, 1.5-meter-wide, 7-meter-long tank, said the Yangsan Police on Wednesday. His demise comes nine days after getting treatment for his severel

In May 2021, the server of Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul was hacked. It was suspected that North Korea was behind the attack. After a two-year investigation, Seoul police concluded Wednesday that the hacking was carried out by the North Korean hacking group known as "Kim Su-ki" and that it stole the personal information of over 830,000 people, including the medical records of 810,000 patients. It is suspected that the hackers, using malware, looked into the medical record

Eight people were apprehended for attempting to steal oil from a public pipeline by digging an underground tunnel, police said Tuesday. The police caught the suspects at the site of the tunnel in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province in March after being tipped off by the National Intelligence Service, Daejeon Provincial Police Agency said on Tuesday. The case was handed to the prosecution while the four suspects, including the 58-year-old leader, were detained. The suspects dug a 9-meter tunne

The number of illegal drug-related forensic analysis requests received by the National Forensic Service in the first four months of this year was up over 30 percent from a year earlier, local media reported Wednesday. Citing a senior researcher of the state-run crime lab, Kookmin Ilbo reported that from January to April the NFS received a total of 24,242 such cases, including drug screenings and post-mortem narcotics tests. This marks an increase of 33.8 percent from the corresponding period in