South Korea's Supreme Court has ruled that an Iranian national charged with obtaining a visa based on fake documentation should not be punished, citing an international refugee convention, officials said Monday. The Iranian applied for refugee status in March 2016 after entering Korea on a short-term visa that he obtained by submitting an invitation letter from a Korean company. But it was discovered that the invitation letter was a fake he had bought from a broker for $4,700. The Ministry

One of two Kazakhstanis who fled Incheon Airport after being denied entry into South Korea was apprehended Sunday afternoon in Daejeon, nearly 200 km away. A 21-year-old man was captured at around 9:42 p.m. at a convenience store in Daejeon, where he had gone to meet an acquaintance, the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency said. The police are currently checking security footage to track down another individual aged 18 who is still on the run. The two Kazakhstani nationals had broken a termin

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases bounced back to over 4,000 from a week earlier Monday, as people increasingly adapt to post-pandemic everyday life with the relaxation of most of the COVID-19 rules coming into effect. The country reported 4,204 new COVID-19 infections, including nine cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,773,460, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Monday's figure is up from 3,930 logged a week ago and marks a rebound after reporting

South Korean authorities are on the hunt for two Kazakh nationals who fled from the airport after being refused entry into the country. According to Incheon Airport Police, at 4:18 a.m. Sunday, two Kazakhs nationals -- aged 18 and 21, respectively -- fled over the northern fence on the fourth landing strip of Incheon Airport. The two Kazakhs arrived at Incheon Airport Terminal 2 at 7:26 a.m. on Friday on Korean Air flight KE992, which had departed Tashkent, Uzbekistan. They were denied entry due

Educators struggle with teaching advanced-level courses due to the absence of a proper educational and training system, experts say

The South Korean Constitutional Court has ruled that a clause in the Construction Workers Act preventing the payment of retirement deductions to foreign nationals' bereaved families living abroad is unconstitutional. The ruling came after a Vietnamese woman, whose husband worked in Korea and died in a construction site accident, was denied retirement deductions by the Construction Workers' Mutual Aid Association due to her foreign nationality and residency abroad. With the unanimous op

The Suwon District Court on Saturday denied a police request for a warrant to further detain the son of former Gyeonggi Province Gov. Nam Kyung-pil, who has been accused of methamphetamine use. The court declared there was not enough evidence to constitute a need to detain the 32-year-old Nam, who is suspected of illegally taking drugs at his apartment in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Nam was apprehended by local police after his family called police and told them he "seems to be on

The preterm birth rate in South Korea is on the rise, while the country's overall birthrate reached an all-time low, data showed on Sunday. Statistics from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs showed that the total number of births in the nation has decreased over the past decade, shrinking from 471,000 in 2011 to 261,000 in 2021. During the same period, the rate of premature births have increased. The rate of preterm births grew from 6 percent to 9.2 percent and the rate of in

Over 600 elderly citizens from Busan and its neighboring regions have recently rallied support for Busan's bid to host the World Expo in 2030. The so-called "Silver Supporters" will be tasked with taking part in events to promote Busan's World Expo bid and to welcome the Bureau International des Expositions Enquiry Mission visit to Busan in early April. Busan is the third destination for the BIE committee, which represents the World Expo organizer to assess the feasibility of

The South Korean Supreme Court revealed Sunday that it recently found a religious man guilty of failing to fulfill his alternative military service as a social service agent, which exempts him from active duty as a soldier. The case to decide whether the 31-year-old Jehovah's Witness, whose further personal identity remains undisclosed, committed a crime has been remanded to a district court in Daejeon for further proceedings. A ruling by the nation's top court read that those who refu

The names of immigration service field officials interviewed by The Korea Herald are aliases to protect their identities. -- Ed. Kim Jong-sup, who works at a local branch office of the Korea Immigration Service, never thought he would be risking his life in the course of his job. “Yesterday, I went to detain illegal aliens working at a water parsley farm. I (fell and) rolled over and suffered bruises all over my body,” Kim said, showing his broken glasses. It was not the first ti

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases topped the 10,000 threshold for the fifth consecutive Saturday, with more people traveling mask-free amid eased virus restrictions in public areas. The country reported 10,448 new COVID-19 infections, including 17 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,759,895, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The Saturday figure slightly rose from the 10,283 reported the previous day. There were six more COVID-19 deaths, with the

Keeping foreign nationals subject to deportation in detention centers for long periods of time is incompatible with the Constitution, South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled Thursday. The clauses of the current Immigration Control Law that allow the authorities to prolong physical custody of foreign nationals slated for deportation until their departure must be amended to eliminate their unconstitutional elements, the court said in a 6-to-3 majority decision. "The statutes that impos

Chun Woo-won, former President Chun Doo-hwan's grandson, on Friday, said he had recovered from losing consciousness and vowed not to use drugs again. The 27-year-old who lives in New York wrote an update on his Instagram account about what had happened to him since he abruptly stopped live-streaming on March 16, when local police pulled him out of his apartment after he began using drugs while live-streaming and showed signs of hallucinating. Chun was moved to a hospital via ambulance. The

Applicants try year after year before being admitted; those successful mostly from big cities