More than half a million students were set to sit for the college entrance exam on Thursday, the nation's most important annual academic event that includes an English listening test during which all airplane takeoffs and landings are banned nationwide. A total of 508,030 high school seniors, graduates and others signed up to take the state-administered College Scholastic Ability Test, a nine-hour five-session exam, held at some 1,300 test sites across the country. It is the third CSAT the

　The number of marriages between South Korean nationals and foreign spouses set a new record low last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　A total of 13,926 transnational couples tied the knot here in 2021, down 13.9 percent, or 2,251, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. They accounted for 7.2 percent of all marriages. 　It marked the lowest reading since 2008, when the statistics agency started to compile related data. 　The decrease came as the pandemi

Police said they will book Interior Minister Lee Sang-min on suspicion of dereliction of duty and professional negligence resulting in death, over the deadly crowd surge in Itaewon, following a complaint filed by a union of fire department workers. The independent investigation team set up by the National Police Agency announced Wednesday it is looking into the allegations against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min as a suspect in connection with the crowd crush, following a complaint filed agains

For those commuting to Seoul from cities in Gyeonggi Province, rush hour means standing on the aisle of a packed bus running on an expressway. It is unsafe and against the law, but widely considered just part of life. Starting from Friday, 44 percent of intercity buses in Gyeonggi Province will no longer accept passengers when there are no seats left. Gyeonggi Provincial Government confirmed the no standing policy on Tuesday, saying it is for the safety of passengers. The move comes amid a natio

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rose to the highest Wednesday figure in two months in the latest sign that the virus may surge again in the winter. The country reported 66,587 new COVID-19 infections, including 67 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 26,357,464, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. It marked a fall from 72,883 on Tuesday, but it is the highest Wednesday tally since Sept. 14 when there were 93,949 new infections. South Korea's COVID-19 o

BARCELONA -- The Seoul city government will showcase the city’s latest smart city innovations as well as its future vision at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2022, the Seoul Digital Foundation said Tuesday. SCEWC is the world’s leading smart city fair held annually, where governments, companies and experts come together to share the latest smart city innovations. For this year’s event, held between Tuesday and Thursday at Fira de Barcelona, Spain, the Seoul city government h

Controversy over disclosure of the list of Itaewon tragedy victims is intensifying with liberal-leaning online media and Catholic priests' groups releasing the list of victims Monday. Two progressive online media outlets released a list of 155 people who died in the tragedy, on their website Monday. The list included only their names, without photos, ages or any other personal information of the victims. "Bizarre memorial altar even without memorial tablets and picture of the deceased

Continuing tragedies expose loopholes in anti-stalking law, a year after its introduction

A priest of the Anglican Church of Korea has been deposed from the ordained ministry hours after he wished President Yoon Suk-yeol’s plane to crash on Facebook. Daejeon Diocese of the Anglican Church of Korea said Monday that the Rev. Kim Gyu-don had been removed from his duties, as his comments “are not ones that a priest can do.” In a Facebook posting earlier on Monday, the penalized priest said the entire Korean population should wish for the crash, saying such effort will &

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases bounced back to above 70,000 in two months on Tuesday in a sign that the virus may surge again in the winter. The country reported 72,883 new COVID-19 infections, including 50 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 26,290,877, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. It marked a sharp rise from 23,765 on Monday, and it is the highest tally since Sept. 15 when there were 71,444 new infections. South Korea's COVID-19 outbreaks ha

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called for extra crowd safety measures after the national college entrance examination, or Suneung, which will take place on Thursday. “Suneung will involve some 500,000 people across the nation," Han said at a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held Monday. "Related authorities should do their best regarding COVID-19 disinfection so test takers can take the exam in a safe environment." Han also mentioned the import

A union of fire department workers filed a complaint against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, alleging he failed to perform his duties regarding the crowd surge in Itaewon that has taken the lives of at least 158 people. The union filed a complaint against Lee on Monday on charges including dereliction of duty and professional negligence resulting in death to the special investigation division set up by the National Police Agency to look into the tragedy. "The special investigation divisio

Prosecutors have asked for three years in prison for Yang Hyun-suk, the founder and former chief of K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment, who is on trial for allegedly trying to block an investigation into a drug scandal involving a rapper under his company. The trial began at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Monday. The prosecution criticized Yang for failing to show remorse or admit to the crime. The former CEO has been indicted for allegedly threatening and

The ruling and main opposition parties remain at loggerheads over the Itaewon tragedy, with the two sides refusing to give way in discussions over a parliamentary investigation. On Monday, ruling People Power Party Floor Leader Rep. Joo Ho-young and Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Rep. Park Hong-keun met with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo to discuss the issue, but parted ways after only confirming their differences. Park urged the ruling party to participate in the parliamentary i

Unionized firefighters filed a complaint against Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min on Monday for alleged negligence in connection with the crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. Lee, who is in charge of public safety, has come under public criticism for the lack of proper crowd management and response to the crowd surge in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29 that killed at least 158 people. Firefighters, affiliated with the Korean Government Employees Union, h