Police brought in a former head of the Yongsan Police Station for questioning Monday as part of an investigation into the bungled response to the crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. Lee Im-jae, who formerly headed the station covering the Itaewon district, appeared before a special investigation team building in western Seoul as a suspect. Lee has been booked on charges of professional negligence and manslaughter by negligence resulting in the deaths of at least 158 people, mostly

The Korea Herald and the National Center for the Rights of the Child held an event to mark World Children's Day, at the Children's Museum under the National Museum of Korea, on Sunday. World Children's Day, Nov. 20, is an anniversary established by the United Nation in 1954 to protect the basic rights of children. This year's event was planned under the theme “Children’s rights in the perspective of children: meeting with children artists,” and consisted of

The ruling People Power Party, doing little to hide its hostility toward local broadcaster MBC which reported President Yoon Suk-yeol’s profanity-laced hot-mic incident, has called out one of its reporters as being “rude” to wear slippers during a question-and-answer session with the president. “Freedom of the press must be respected, but reporters should think about the responsibility of the media and the basic courtesy required for human beings,” said Kim Jong-h

South Korea surpassed the milestone of 30,000 COVID-19 deaths Sunday as the country is bracing for another virus wave in winter. The country reported 41 COVID-19 deaths earlier in the day, raising the death toll to 30,031, almost three years after South Korea reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case in January 2020, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The grim milestone came around seven months after the country's accumulated COVID-19 deaths rose above 20,000. In March this y

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 50,000 on Saturday amid concerns of a possible resurgence in the winter. The country reported 50,589 new COVID-19 infections, including 50 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 26,512,754, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The Saturday tally increased from 49,418 on Friday but was down 3,739 cases from a week ago. From Monday to Thursday, South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit two-month highs ea

The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling that found a person guilty of child abuse for their threatening behavior around their neighbor's children during a noise dispute. The person was sentenced to a six-month prison term, suspended for one year, 80 hours of social service, and 40 hours of education on child abuse prevention. On April 10, 2020, the person scolded the neighbor's 4-year-old child up close, asking "Why are you so loud these days? You run around a lot

A comprehensive plan to reform the safety control measures of the Korean government will be announced by the end of the year, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Friday. "The government is concentrating its capability on damage control, investigating the causes and response related to the accident, while preparing prevention measures," Lee said at meeting held to discuss reform measures of the state's disaster and safety controls. “The government is also making efforts on al

Foreign residents of Daejeon aged 65 or over will be able to ride the subway for free, according to the officials of the municipal government and the city transit authorities on Friday. Daejeon Metropolitan Government and the Daejeon Transportation Corporation have agreed to exempt subway fares for foreign seniors who live in Daejeon and have acquired permanent residency. The policy is expected to be implemented within this month.   South Korea currently has a policy of allowing senior citi

The Friday count of South Korea's new COVID-19 cases made its first on-week drop in six weeks, fueling hope that the virus's recent surge may peak earlier than expected. The country reported 49,418 new COVID-19 infections, including 66 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 26,462,319, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The Friday tally dropped from 55,437 on Thursday and was the first on-week fall for a Friday since Oct. 7. From Monday to Thursday, Sout

Police are set to bring in a Yongsan Ward chief and a ranking police officer for questioning on Friday as part of an investigation into the crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. Yongsan Ward office chief Park Hee-young, who administers the Itaewon district, will appear for the questioning before a special investigation team as a suspect at 10 a.m. Park has been booked on charges of professional negligence resulting in the deaths of at least 158 people, mostly those in 20s. She has al

A 25-year-old Korean flight attendant on a layover was critically injured in a stabbing at a Target store in downtown Los Angeles, California, according to US news media reports. The incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to eye witnesses, the suspect -- a homeless man -- walked into the store, grabbed a large butcher knife off of a store shelf and attacked the Korean woman and a 9-year-old boy. He also punched another woman who tried to intervene in the situation. The 40-year-

Parents, families send prayers of hope for test takers

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has won the city category at the Smart City Expo World Congress, the organizer announced Wednesday, in recognition of its smart city strategies for the underprivileged. The World Smart City Awards is given for innovative city strategies, that can make an impact on the lives of citizens and make cities more sustainable and inclusive. Seoul has been “proven to be an inspiration for those concerned by inequalities. The digital transformation is amplifying,&rd

The chief of the Yongsan Fire Station and a former head of the Yongsan Police Station will be summoned for questioning next week as part of a police investigation connected to the deadly crowd crush in the district's Itaewon neighborhood. A special investigation team recently told Choi Seong-beom, chief of the Yongsan Fire Station, and ex-Yongsan Police Station head Lee Im-jae to show up for questioning on Monday, police officials said. The two were booked for investigation last week on cha

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rose to the highest Thursday figure in two months amid concerns of the virus' possible resurgence in the winter. The country reported 55,437 new COVID-19 infections, including 39 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 26,412,901, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. It marked a fall from 66,587 on Wednesday, but it is the highest Thursday tally since Sept. 15 when there were 71,444 new infections. South Korea's COVID-1