A Seoul court on Friday dismissed arrest warrants sought for two reporters from Citizen Press The Tamsa TV on suspicions of trying to break into Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon’s residence. The Seoul Central District Court rejected the prosecutor’s demand to detain two YouTube reporters, Kang Jin-koo and Choi Young-min, citing the prosecution’s lack of explanation and need to guarantee the right of defense for the suspects. Last month, five reporters from the online media outlet

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell for the third consecutive day Friday amid the government's efforts to contain the virus' wintertime resurgence. The country confirmed 65,207 new coronavirus infections, including 68 from overseas, bringing the total to 28,996,347, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Friday's tally has been on the decrease since Tuesday and is down from 68,168 a week ago. The KDCA reported 68 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 32

The Seoul city government has elevated the flood control capacity goals for the city and the flood-prone Gangnam Station area to help the city better prepare against torrential downpours, officials said Friday. The move came after record heavy rains of 100 millimeters per hour flooded many parts of the city, especially Gangnam areas, raising the need to upgrade the city's flood control capacity that has been beefed up with an objective to deal with a maximum of 95 millimeters of rain per ho

The Supreme Court has confirmed the not-guilty verdicts of seven doctors and nurses at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital in Seoul in the case of deaths of four newborns by bacterial infection in 2017, court officials said Friday. The top court upheld lower court sentences that found the four doctors and three nurses at the university hospital not guilty of death by occupational negligence over the deaths of the newborns, they said. On Dec. 15, 2017, four infants died within a span of two h

Korean authorities deny any knowledge of reported investigation

Suspect who confessed two murders is Lee Ki-young, 31

At least five people died and 37 people were injured as of 5 p.m. Thursday as a fire engulfed a soundproof tunnel on a highway in Gwacheon, southern Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday afternoon. President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the Interior Ministry and Health Ministry to conduct a thorough search at the scene of the incident to prevent more deaths. He also ordered an all-out inspection of the road structures like sound barriers to check whether the materials used are fire-prone, in a move to preve

The first sunrise of 2023 is expected to be seen at 7:26 a.m. from Dokdo, the easternmost part of Korea, with a forecast of clear skies, according to the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute on Thursday. The last sunset of 2022 will begin at 5:05 p.m, it said. Clear skies are expected for the last day of 2022 and the first day of 2023, making for spectacular sunset and sunrise views, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Until Jan. 3 of the new year, the country will generally h

Days after local media reported that volleyball player Jo Jae-sung tried to avoid his mandatory military service, OK Financial Group OKman’s opposite striker admitted his guilt in a social media post late Wednesday night, saying he had attempted draft evasion with a local broker. “I’m sincerely sorry. I’ve committed an unforgivable crime. I was ignorant because I only knew volleyball,” the Instagram post read, calling it a case of "blurred judgment." All a

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it would raise the fares for the public transit system in South Korea's capital by as early as April 2023 for the first time in about eight years. While the city did not confirm the degree of the fare increase, it projected subway and bus fares to rise by 300 won (24 cents) to keep the public transportation system afloat. Currently, adults in Seoul pay 1,250 won for a regular subway fare and 1,200 won for a regular bus ride. The fare

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below the 80,000 mark on Thursday, with health authorities remaining cautious to prevent a wintertime surge. The country confirmed 71,427 new coronavirus infections, including 72 from overseas, bringing the total to 28,931,140, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Thursday's tally is lower than 87,517 cases reported on the previous day and down from 75,729 a week ago. The KDCA reported 76 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to

Oh seeks to change response to addiction from punitive to therapeutic

A man who confessed to killing a woman and a taxi driver this week was arrested Wednesday, amid a widening probe into alleged serial killing. The Goyang Branch Court of Uijeongbu District Court in northwestern Gyeonggi Province issued an arrest warrant for the unnamed 32-year-old on charges of beating a 60-year-old taxi driver to death and concealing the body inside a closet in his house in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, citing concerns about him destroying evidence and fleeing. The arrest warrant

Korea Communications Commission designated 17 institutions Tuesday, to take down sexually abusive material distributed online on behalf of the victims, at request. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family defines digital sex crime as taking photos or videos of a person's body or part of the body without consent with cameras or any other digital devices, as well as distributing, threatening to distribute, downloading, displaying, or buying and selling the illegally captured material, and

As many school-age children spend more time consuming digital media like short-form video content, there are worries that a rapid rise in technology is producing a decline in children’s literacy rates. Young children can still read, but may have difficulty fully understanding the context, which will gradually hinder skill acquisition in learning processes and their English ability. “100 Classics,” an English education service brand for children and teenagers, has drawn young pa