Heavy snow was forecast to hit South Korea's capital and central regions Thursday, with some parts of the Gyeonggi, Gangwon and North Chungcheong provinces predicted to see snowfalls of more than 10 centimeters, the weather agency said. Beginning in the morning, the greater Seoul area, parts of the Gangwon, North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong provinces are likely to receive snowfall between 3 cm and 8 cm, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Eastern parts of Gyeonggi, central and so

Bereaved families of those killed in the deadly Itaewon crowd crush opened a mourning altar near the site of the tragedy Wednesday, claiming the government failed to take steps honoring the victims, such as setting up a memorial. The launch of the mourning shrine at Itaewon Square came nearly one and half months after the deadly crowd crush that killed 158 people as angry bereaved families ratcheted up calls for an "unrestrained" investigation into the bungled government response to th

A building in Namdaemun market in central Seoul caught fire on Wednesday evening. The fire authority estimates that a temporary building near exit three of the large market caught fire at around 7:52 p.m. Emergency responders are working to contain the blaze, and a total of 77 firefighters arrived on the scene in 21 fire engines. There are no reports of injury or deaths as of 10 p.m.

Seoul city will officially provide shelters specifically for stalking victims, both for female and male victims, starting this Thursday. Three shelters will open, two for female victims and one for male victims. Shelters for women can house up to 10 people and four people can be housed in the male shelter. Most stalking crimes occur near the victim's residence, so shelters offer victims immediate protection. According to a survey by Seoul city and Namurights, a non-profit organization for

Activists defy public resentment, chain themselves to train doors. Here’s why.

Drug ministry orders pharmaceutical companies to produce more cold drugs

A subway train skipped a station in Seoul on Wednesday due to subway-riding protests by a disabled advocacy group. Seoul Metro said a Subway Line 4 train passed through Samgakji Station without stopping at 8:50 a.m. after a brawl erupted as subway officials tried to block disability rights activists from bringing a ladder into the station. The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination has been staging a four-day rush-hour subway protest at the station near the presidential office since Monday

TBS is cancelling three shows hosted by left-leaning figures, including its most-listened-to program, as the Seoul city-funded ratio station seeks to shake off accusations of political bias in the face of a severe funding cut. The shows’ hosts shared the news on their programs which aired Monday. Kim Eo-joon, host of the top-ranked “News Factory,” said that he will host the show for three more weeks before the program closes at the end of this year. Later in the day, two othe

South Korea came under the grip of the season's coldest weather on Wednesday, with the morning lows dipping to minus 15 C in some inland areas, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administrationsaid the freezing temperatures were accompanied by strong wind, with the wind velocity reaching up to 16 meters per second in some coastal areas. In Seoul, morning lows plummeted to minus 11 C and an apparent temperature of nearly minus 20 C as of 7 a.m., the KMA said. The weather agen

A teenage survivor of the deadly crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood has been found dead in an apparent suicide, police said Thursday. Police found the high schooler dead at an accommodation in western Seoul at 11:40 p.m. on Monday while searching the area following a report from his mother 30 minutes earlier that her son was missing, officials said. No suicide note was found at the scene while police said there were also no signs of foul play. "He is assumed to have taken his

A Changwon City Council member is facing public outcry over a social media post accusing families of the Itaewon crowd crush victims of using the deaths. On her Facebook account on Sunday, Kim Mi-na, a member of the People Power Party on Changwon City Council, accused the bereaved families of “killing twice the innocent souls of their kids who died young in their prime” and “doing business with their kids’ deaths.” She also asked whether the victims “(died) sa

An air quality advisory was issued across the country on Tuesday as Korea was hit with yellow dust blowing from inner China, along with heavy snow advisories, raising concerns over public health safety. The Ministry of Environment raised the yellow dust advisory level in Seoul, Gwangju, Gangwon and North Jeolla Province from "attention" to "caution" as of 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Incheon and Gyeonggi Province was issued a "caution" level advisory from 7 a.m. the same day.

A fraud suspect in his 40s was apprehended by the police on Monday with suspected crime revenue of about 15 billion won ($11.5 million) after several days on the run. The police caught an online merchant who disappeared with money paid by at least 46 people for luxury bags and gift cards, the Suwon Nambu Police Station on Tuesday. In the investigation, the suspect confessed that he made as much as 15 billion won in criminal revenue, according to local media reports. The suspect, who sold luxury

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases jumped to a three-month high on Tuesday amid looming concerns of another virus wave as the government mulls lifting the indoor mask mandate. The country reported 86,852 new COVID-19 infections, including 55 from overseas, bringing the total to 27,841,001, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Tuesday's tally is more than triple the figure a day earlier and over 9,000 higher than the same day last week. It is also the highest tally in the

Fine dust advisories were issued across Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital Tuesday, authorities said. The advisories were issued at 4 a.m. for the capital and at 7 a.m. for 11 cities in central Gyeonggi, including Suwon, Bucheon and Ansan, according to city and environment authorities, The advisory is issued when the hourly average concentration of PM 10 -- particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter -- stays above 150 micrograms per cubic meter for over two hours