More than 90 percent of Koreans consider domestic abuse as something perpetrated by men against women. Domestic violence, defined in the Domestic Violence Punishment Act, is any abusive act between family members, including violence against a wife, husband, children, parents and between siblings. A survey conducted by the Korean Women's Development Institute in November of last year which included 754 respondents found that only 11.5 percent of individuals correctly understood the definitio

Tensions have been rising between doctors and nurses due to proposed legislation that aims to clarify the roles and responsibilities of nurses separately from other health care professionals. Health Minister Cho Kyu-hong was scheduled to accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to the United States on Monday, but the trip was cancelled due to the ongoing conflict. Minister Cho plans to hold emergency meetings to mediate between the two groups this week. The proposed Nursing Act is set to b

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo expressed South Korea's bid to expand development aid in Africa as he received his Eswatini counterpart Cleopas Dlamini, the prime minister's office said in a statement Friday. Han stressed Seoul's willingness to take the relationship between Korea and African countries to the next level, in line with President Yoon Suk Yeol's announcement in November to host a special summit of South Korea and African countries, according to the prime minister

The fallout from a housing rental scam affecting thousands of South Koreans is likely to persist at least until next year, signaling a need for prompt action to prevent a spillover, Land Minister Won Hee-ryong said Friday. "The government forecasts more problematic (multiyear) housing rental contracts made during the previous administration to be uncovered throughout this year and also into the first half of next year, so the ministries are working to jointly set out countermeasures,"

A group of men who were arrested for illegal drug possession and use on Thursday reportedly all had tested positive for AIDS, according to local media and police. The drug investigation bureau under the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday they had arrested 61 male drug users, manufacturers and dealers who were infected with the disease for breaching the country’s Narcotics Control Act. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, which is freq

South Korean authorities have launched an investigation into an incident Wednesday in which two commercial flights appeared to nearly collide at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korean Air flight 1118 overran its allocated spot on the runway while landing, causing it to approach Busan Air flight 8027, which was preparing to take off from a different runway. The air traffic control immediately ordered KE1118 to halt upon seeing

A 14-year-old girl has fallen off an apartment building to her death in Seoul's southern Gangnam Ward, fire authorities said Friday, marking the third such death involving teenagers reported in the district in a span of five days. Firefighters found her dead near the apartment building in Gangnam's Apgujeong-dong on Thursday when they went to the scene shortly after receiving a report at 5:08 p.m. Police were looking into the exact cause of the death, including whether there was any fo

A South Korean court ordered the Korea Electric Power Corp. to compensate 8.7 billion won ($6.6 million) to 60 people who were affected by a 2019 wildfire that killed two people in Goseong County, Gangwon Province. The payout is a third of the 26 billion won the victims were seeking in compensation for damages, as the court held the state-run utility firm only partly responsible for the wildfire. The victims, calling for Kepco's full compensation, had earlier rejected an arbitration offer in Nov

Gov. Kim Kwan-young says his province is the land of opportunity

The court ruled the government should compensate 7 million won ($5,250) to students who claimed they were unfairly disadvantaged by an early finishing bell during Korea's national university entrance exam, known as "Suneung." Eight students who took the exam in 2021 had filed a lawsuit against the state and a test monitor at the time for "unexpected disruption" as the finishing bell rang around 2 minutes ahead of schedule. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor

The number of shingles infections has been climbing in South Korea, data showed on Thursday. According to the National Health Insurance Corporation, a total of 722,257 people were infected with the disease in 2021, a 2.4 percent increase from 705,661 in 2017. The total amount of medical expenses related to the disease borne by individuals, families and the Korean government amounted to 166.1 billion won ($125 million) in 2021, an 11.9 percent increase from 2017. Chances of getting infected with

South Korean education service provider Vine Group said Thursday it is jointly hosting an online forum with the Korea Coaching Psychology Association to help support the growth of Korean youths and parents and contribute to the spread of coaching culture. The online meeting is slated for Monday and will be available for those willing to participate for free. This year’s forum will be held under the theme “Effective learning methods in the era of ChatGPT.” Participants will lear

South Korea's prosecution service on Thursday indicted eight home furniture manufacturing companies and 14 individuals for undermining fair competition in related bids. Such anti-competitive activities allegedly took place in some 780 apartment construction projects spanning nine years until 2022, bringing the total volume of the furniture projects to 2.3 trillion won ($1.73 billion), according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The eight companies, including Hanssem, H

South Korea aims to halve the number of vacant houses in rural areas to 33,000 by 2027 by extending policy financing for their renovation and by making a special law and an integrated database to promote refurbishment and transactions, the agriculture ministry said Thursday. Currently, the number of unoccupied, derelict houses in the countryside are tallied at around 66,000, with the figure on a constant rise in recent years amid a shrinking population and a growing number of people moving to ci

A new road traffic law obligating drivers to stop when turning right at intersections to better protect pedestrians will be formally enforced, beginning this weekend, after a three-month grace period, the National Police Agency said Thursday. The NPA said it will begin to crack down on drivers caught violating the new right turn rules starting Saturday. Under the new rules, drivers must make a full stop prior to a right turn not only when pedestrians are on the crosswalk but also when they are t