The proportion of one-person households in South Korea hit a fresh record last year, data showed, as more young people delayed marriages. Single-member households accounted for 33.4 percent of the total last year, up from 31.7 percent the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked a sharp rise from just 20 percent tallied in 2005. The agency said the portion of single-member households is expected to hit 39.6 percent in 2050. Households consisting of a single member to

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the launch of the police bureau, backing the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s moves to regain control of the police. As soon as Yoon took office, he moved to create the unit so the police would fall under government control, after the police took over most of the right to investigate by Yoon’s predecessor and the opposition-led Assembly. The National Police Commission filed the complaint on Sept. 30. The litigation w

South Korea may do away with the indoor masking rule if metrics like the COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates fall. Even then, masking will not be gone for good, and could be reinstated should those metrics worsen. Ruling People Power Party leaders met with top public health officials Thursday, a day before the government COVID-19 response headquarters is set to announce how the rule on masking indoors may change. At Thursday’s meeting, public health officials laid down the possible co

The grandson of the founder of Kiswire Limited, a midsized steel enterprise, was arrested on charges of use and possession of marijuana on Wednesday, amid continued revelations concerning the drug use of chaebol and wealthy families. Prosecutors are accelerating their probe, suspecting more drug offenses and related crimes. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office received an arrest warrant for a man surnamed Hong on charges of violating the drug law, Wednesday. Hong is the grandson o

A 20-year-old Vietnamese woman is under police investigation for allegedly abandoning her newborn child in subzero weather in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Officials at the Jeonju Deokjin Police Station said Wednesday that they are planning to file for a warrant to detain the suspect for violating the Child Welfare Act. Anyone who abandons a child under his or her protection and supervision can be punished with up to two years in prison or 3 million won ($2,349) in fines. The suspect is accused

A man who was seen inflicting unwanted physical contact on his 7-year-old stepdaughter on a recently-aired TV show is under investigation for sexual harassment, local police said late Wednesday. According to the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency, officials have commenced the pre-arrest investigation on the person after being notified of the allegation. “Details of the case will not be revealed due to fear of secondary damage on the victim. (Officials) will summon the related individuals whe

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stood above 75,000 on Thursday, up by nearly 5,600 from a week earlier, as the virus wave continues to spread in the winter. The country reported 75,744 new COVID-19 infections, including 73 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 28,466,390, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The latest daily count is up by 5,590 from a week ago. South Korea has seen a steady rise in the infection numbers in recent weeks amid growing fears of a wint

Temperatures took a plunge across South Korea on Thursday, with the morning lows dipping to minus 14 C in some inland areas, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the freezing temperatures were accompanied by snow in the southern part of the country, including South Chungcheong Province and the Jeolla provinces, and the southern resort island of Jeju. In Seoul, morning lows plummeted to minus 9 C, sharply down from a day earlier, the KMA said. The weather ag

South Korean banknotes saw their lifetimes increase on-year in 2022 as people use less cash and depend more on credit cards and internet banking for transactions, a central bank report showed. According to the report from the Bank of Korea, the country’s smallest denomination bills, 1,000 won notes, had an average estimated lifetime of 70 months, with 5,000 won and 10,000 won bills lasting for 63 months and 135 months, respectively. The largest face-value bill, 50,000 won notes, had a life

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has been reported to police for jaywalking during a visit to a memorial altar for victims of the Itaewon crowd crush earlier this week, police said Wednesday. The report was filed on the online petition website of the state Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on Tuesday, according to a post seen on an online forum. The report was titled, "I report Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's violation of the Road Traffic Act." Han visited a memorial altar

South Korea pays forward decades-old debt in dairy development

The Korea Herald is running a series of feature stories and interviews on the evolution and rise of drug crimes, insufficient support systems and young addicts’ stories in South Korea. This is the first installment. -- Ed. Kim lived a pleasure-seeking life when he got into the nightlife scene in Seoul's Hongdae area in 2017. At the age of 20, he took methamphetamine, ecstasy, ketamine and GHB, to name a few -- all of which are illegal in Korea. Kim, who wished to be known only by his famil

Amid heavy snow in the Seoul metropolitan area from early Wednesday morning, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast more heavy snow from Thursday to Saturday, urging caution against safety accidents. The KMA said in a briefing Wednesday that heavy snow will continue from Thursday to Saturday morning, mainly in Chungcheong, Jeolla Province and Jeju Island. The snow will last a long time due to the temperature differences between the sea water and lower atmosphere, the official explained

Amid fears over a spike in COVID-19 cases in the winter, reinfections due to waning immunity are rising, and the detection rate for the omicron subvariant BN.1 surpassed 20 percent. Wednesday’s total confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 88,172, including 69 cases from overseas, bringing the total to 28,390,646, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. South Korea added 59 more deaths from COVID-19 as of Wednesday midnight, bringing the total to 31,549. The number of critic

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases exceeded 88,000 on Wednesday, continuing the upward trend amid fears over a further spike in winter with one in every six people now having suffered reinfection. The country reported 88,172 new COVID-19 infections, including 69 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 28,390,646, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The virus curve is going up in a steady rebound of daily infection numbers amid fears of a winter resurgence. The per-day