Existing countermeasures against school violence in Korea were found to have been mostly ineffective, with preventative programs implemented by schools seven years ago not leading to an actual decrease in cases of bullying, a study showed Thursday. According to the study, various types of school violence prevention programs were deployed across a number of schools from 2016 to 2017. But even though students spent more time in school violence prevention classes and more parents participated in si

South Korea’s disease control authorities are considering lifting the mask mandate on public transport. The mask mandate, introduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19, has mostly been lifted here, with the exception of on public transportation and at high-risk facilities such as hospitals. The central disease control team has been discussing the possibility of lifting the public transport mask mandate with experts, according to government officials. The final decision will be made after th

A woman and two men have been arrested and put on trial for forcing a woman into prostitution for three years, the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday. Another suspect has been indicted without detention. According to the prosecution, the victim was beaten, tortured and forced into prostitution by the three suspects from October 2019 to September 2022. The suspects forced the victim to carry out prostitution on about 2,500 occasions, and took the proceeds amounting to 500 mil

Three Vietnamese nationals have been fined for neutering a cat without anesthesia, filming the process and posting the video online. According to reports, one of the individuals neutered a male cat without anesthesia while the other two looked on in January last year at one of the individuals’ homes in Gwangju. None of the individuals are licensed veterinarians. All three were found guilty of violating the Animal Protection Act, and were fined 2 million won ($1,500), 1 million won and 700,

South Korea’s Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon met with French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Wednesday, his office confirmed Thursday, a trip highlighting his focus on coping with the fast-growing number of foreign residents here. The two ministers exchanged information on immigration and border and migration management policy issues between Korea and France and decided to build a cooperative system to deal with the challenges of international migration, the ministry added. Han headed

South Korean female workers were paid on average two-thirds of the wages of their male counterparts in the first half of 2022, data showed Wednesday. The average monthly salary of female workers during the cited period came to 2.2 million won ($1,600), which stood at 65 percent that of male workers' 3.39 million won, according to data gathered by the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions' research institute. The fact that a greater proportion of women than men are underpaid, with a mon

ASAN, South Chungcheong Province – A serene countryside village in Asan, located in central South Chungcheong Province, was filled with hysterical barking and sometimes whining as rescuers entered a dog meat farm on Wednesday. With fear and anxiety in their eyes, the dogs on the farm -- most of whom had never experienced meaningful interactions with humans -- seemed confused. Rescuers carefully went into narrow, dirty cages and moved the dogs into mobile kennels one by one. "It's

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to build the world's tallest hubless Ferris wheel on the banks of Han River near the World Cup Stadium in northwestern Seoul. The 180-meter Ferris wheel on the landfill-turned-grassland Haneul Park, which is located on a hilltop, will be the tallest one of its kind, the city government said. The world's tallest spokeless Ferris wheel, at 145 meters, opened in Shandong province in China in 2017. It will also be the second-ta

A pig farm owner in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, has been arrested on the suspicion of disposing of the dead body of a Thai farm worker earlier this month, according to local police Wednesday. According to the Pocheon Police Station, the farm owner is alleged to have buried the body of the 60-something Thai man on a nearby hill on March 2 at around 8:00 a.m. The deceased had lived and worked at the farm for nearly a decade and a post-mortem autopsy suggests he likely died of underlying health pro

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed over 12,000 for the second straight day Wednesday amid eased COVID-19 virus curbs. The country reported 12,798 new COVID-19 infections, including 12 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,594,297, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Wednesday's tally is up from 12,284 the previous day and 12,288 a week earlier, according to the KDCA data. South Korea added 12 COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 34,

Kim Hyun-sook, South Korea's minister of gender equality, vowed policy efforts to narrow the gender wage gap by expanding vocational courses, her office said Monday. South Korea still experiences a wide gender wage gap, a low ratio of female lawmakers and significant rate of sexual violence that an average woman suffers through a lifetime, she added. In the statement issued on International Women's Day, she also said that the government will protect the people from violence, such as st

Card spending in Itaewon's nightlife district in the fourth week of February fell 57.1 percent compared with the fourth week of October 2022, just before the crowd crush disaster during the Halloween weekend which claimed 159 lives. According to data from the Seoul municipal government Tuesday, the foot traffic in Itaewon 1-dong -- which covers streets filled with international shops, bars, clubs and restaurants -- fell 29 percent over the cited period. This downward trend is in contrast wi

A 48-year old man with 24 prior charges of arson as well as an attempted rape charge is being investigated by the police over Saturday night's fire that devastated Incheon's Hyundai Market. According to Incheon Jungbu Police Station, the man is suspected of causing the fire that destroyed 55 shops in the market. The suspect initiated the fire by setting smaller fires at five locations inside and nearby the market at 11 p.m. on Saturday. No injuries have been reported as the market was

Jeong vows to make Hwaseong safe from sex crimes

President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited the Korean rescue team who returned from the earthquake site in Turkey to a Cheong Wa Dae luncheon to convey his gratitude, officials said on Tuesday. He thanked the 135-member team on behalf of the public and acknowledged the challenging conditions they faced with aftershocks and cold weather. “Your solidarity shown at the Turkey relief site reminds us once again that Korea and Turkey are true friends who help each other in difficult times,” he sa