South Korea's new COVID-19 cases continued to stay below 30,000 Thursday as the country's virus curve has moved down in recent months. The country reported 25,431 new COVID-19 infections, including 53 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,219,546, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's figure is down 4,072 from a day ago. It also declined by around 1,500 from a week ago and 3,200 from two weeks ago. The country reported 23 deaths from CO

A disabled advocacy group continued its daily rush-hour subway protests on Wednesday, criticizing a Seoul court’s decision to hand down a suspended prison sentence to the leader of the group. Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination members on Wednesday began the protest at Seoul National University of Education Station on Subway Line No. 2. They were scheduled to later move to the National Assembly Station on Subway Line No. 9 and march to the People Power Party’s headquarters

Cho Ju-bin, the ringleader of the “Baksa Room” case that shocked the nation two years ago, is facing new charges of sexually assaulting a minor, which could push his sentence to life imprisonment from the current 42 years. Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office indicted Cho on Sept. 30 on additional charges of sexually assaulting an adolescent victim and forcing her to film sexual content. This newly revealed crime began in 2018, a year before Cho began the sexual exploitati

The heads of Kookmin University and Sookmyung Women’s University will attend a National Assembly audit on Friday over controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon-hee. After missing out on an audit held earlier this month, citing overseas business trips, Lim Hong-jae and Jang Yoon-geum, the heads of Kookmin University and Sookmyung Women’s University, respectively, will attend the parliamentary audit to address allegations of plagiarism and false career history concerning the first

Two noncustodial parents will be reported to police for neglecting their duties to cover the expenses for their children. This will be the first time for child support obligors to face criminal charges since related laws were revised in July 2021. A civic group committed to conflicts related to child care expenses said on Wednesday it will report two “bad parents” who purposefully refused to pay for their noncustodial children’s living expenses to Suseo Police Station. Accord

Seoul witnessed the first ice of the season Wednesday morning, with the morning low dipping to 4.4 C, the state weather agency said. The temperature was 5.8 degrees below average, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. Seoul on average witnesses its first ice around 15 days later. Ice or frost can be formed even when the air temperature is a few degrees above freezing, as the temperature is usually measured at the height of some 1 meter above ground surface. Other parts of the count

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases dipped Wednesday, in a sign that the virus curve has yet to change its downward course that the country has seen in recent months. The country reported 29,503 new COVID-19 infections, including 72 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,194,177, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's figure is down 3,745 from a day ago, and more than 1,000 from a week ago. On Tuesday, the daily figure tripled from Monday's

Human rights lawyers gathered outside the Iranian embassy in Seoul on Tuesday in a show of support for women in Iran. “We stand with the women of Iran who are courageously fighting against appalling repression, and urge the Iranian government to stop the violent crackdown of protesters and respect the freedom of women and girls,” the lawyers said in a joint statement. “Today we join people around the world who have taken to the streets to support the women in Iran, who are r

Jung Ki-suck, civilian adviser to government task force on the pandemic, noted S. Korea may see numbers rise in December

Only about 20 people a year receive treatment to manage pedophilia, while sex offenders against minors who have been newly ordered to register their personal information surpassed 2,900 on average in last four years. Experts call for more specific standards to judge pedophilic tendency while stressing that the patients’ will is the most important factor in treatment. Pedophilia, classified as a sexual preference disorder, requires medical approach. According to data Rep. Shin Hyeon-young f

Seoul's Foreign Ministry says it is unaware of athlete's whereabouts

Alarmed by a rapid rise in drug offenses, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday it supports a legislative proposal to ban references to narcotics in food advertisements as something irresistibly good. “Using drug references to promote food can have a negative effect on children or adolescents,” a ministry official said. “Once the proposed bill gets passed by the National Assembly, the ministry will take measures, including drawing up an enforcement ordinance to curb

A Seoul court handed down a suspended prison sentence to the head of a disabled advocacy group Tuesday for organizing bus protests aimed at demanding better mobility rights for the disabled. Park Kyoung-seok, head of Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), was indicted on charges of disrupting bus operations during rush hour in Seoul in last April to call for the improvement of disability rights. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park to four months in prison, suspended for

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases more than doubled from a week ago Tuesday, a departure from the steady downturn in new infections the country has seen in recent months. The country reported 33,248 new COVID-19 infections, including 87 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,164,695, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's tally tripled from 11,040 a day ago and more than doubled from a week ago, when the corresponding figure was 15,466. While th

TV personality Park Soo-hong's family money feud raises hard questions