A fugitive underwear tycoon nabbed in Thailand last week in connection with the prosecution's ongoing investigation into opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's corruption allegations returned home Tuesday. Kim Seong-tae, former chair of underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group, arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, around 8:20 a.m. via an Asiana Airlines flight from Bangkok. He was apprehended by Thai police at a golf club near Bangkok a week ago, roughly eight months after he fled the

'Purported operatives received encrypted orders from NK's espionage bureau'

The National Human Rights Commission said Monday it asked the chief of the Daejeon Immigration Office to take precautions against an official at an investigation department for "forcing" a Chinese national to submit a statement apologizing for driving under the influence. According to the NHRC, a Chinese national with an F-5 visa or a permanent residency visa was told to write a statement when the person visited the immigration office to get the registration card reissued in November 2

A woman who runs a YouTube channel has been charged after making a scene at a department store in Seoul on Friday. A video of the incident was posted by the YouTuber to her channel over the weekend. The original video shows the woman, without shoes on, raging at the shoe section, knocking over displays and accusing the store of selling her counterfeit shoes. The footage she took of herself at the department store begins from the customer service section before she throws herself on the floor. In

Personal information of convicts will be disclosed to the public regardless of the crime if their whereabouts are unknown after removing their GPS-equipped electronic monitoring anklets. On Thursday, the Ministry of Justice began implementing the rules for revealing information if criminal offenders’ locations are unknown, in a bid to prevent offenders from committing secondary offenses. Previously, only the personal information of felons who had committed serious crimes like murder, sexua

A man rammed his car into a convenience store in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, after his request to buy a plastic bag a few months before was rejected by the store owner, police said Monday. The unnamed driver was arrested by police at the scene in the southern region of South Korea. Police are seeking charges of special destruction of private property and retaliatory crime. At around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the driver slammed the car into the store, damaging some items there. With the lights p

Rapper No:el, or Chang Yong-joon, whose father is Rep. Chang Je-won of the ruling People Power Party, has come under fire for mentioning the late former President Chun Doo-hwan -- a military dictator responsible for killing civilians in the 1980s -- in his new track released Friday. In the song titled “Gang Gang Gang?” the rapper sings, “If it were Chun Doo-hwan’s era, you’d end up in the basement if you mess with me.” Chun is one of the most controversial fig

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Monday tally in 12 weeks, as the government continues to make efforts to contain the inflow from China. The country reported 14,144 new COVID-19 infections, including 64 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 29,821,035, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Daily case counts on Mondays tend to be lower than other days of the week due to fewer tests over the weekend. The tally is down by around 5,000 from a wee

The level of ultrafine dust was bad or worse only on 17 days last year, the lowest on record, thanks to lower dust levels in China, the environment ministry said Monday. South Korea categorizes concentrations of ultrafine dust -- particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, also known as PM 2.5 -- into four levels. PM 2.5 between 36 and 75 micrograms per cubic meter is categorized as "bad," while density higher than 76 micrograms per cubic meter is "very bad." During 2

The proportion of self-employed people in South Korea touched a record low in 2022 in the wake of the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 5.63 million self-employed people as of end-December, accounting for 20.1 percent of the 28.09 million employed in the country, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The proportion was the lowest since data tracking began in 1963. It was also 17.1 percentage points lower than the all-time high of

POCHEON -- One person suffered cardiac arrest and three others were seriously injured after more than 40 cars were involved in a pile-up on an expressway in the northern city of Pocheon Sunday, officials said. The multi-vehicle crash occurred at around 9:15 p.m. on the Guri-Pocheon Expressway in Pocheon, 46 kilometers northeast of Seoul, and the four were taken to nearby hospitals, according to the officials. Around 21 others sustained minor injuries and have received treatment, they added. Th

At least three people were injured in traffic accidents over the weekend as heavy snowfall pounded the eastern mountainous province of Gangwon to cause an estimated 100 traffic accidents and leave vehicles stranded, officials said Sunday. Many parts of Gangwon Province had heavy snow from Saturday to Sunday, including 59.5 centimeters of snow in the Misiryeong mountain ridge and 53.5 cm in the Hyangrobong hill. A car overturned on a snow-covered road in the coastal county of Yangyang Sunday,

South Jeolla Province announced Sunday that it would expand the distribution of the AI companion robot Hyodol for seniors living alone in the region. South Jeolla Province Public Agency for Social Service plans to deliver Hyodol to 1,360 of those aged 65 and older -- a high risk group for solitary death and suicide -- up from 260 last year. Hyodol, launched by the start-up of the same name in 2018, is an AI robot designed to help manage the emotions, life and safety of the seniors. A total of

Note found saying her mother died in 2020

Cars stranded, over 100 traffic accidents reported due to heavy snow in Gangwon Province