SEOGWIPO -- A fishing boat capsized in waters off Mara Island, just south of the southern island of Jeju, on Tuesday, Coast Guard officials said, adding that a search is under way to rescue four crewmen believed to have been on board. The 29-ton fishing boat capsized in waters 7 kilometers southwest of Mara Island at 3:13 a.m., according to a report filed with the Coast Guard. Coast Guard rescuers arrived at the scene around 5 a.m. and found the boat upturned. Mobilizing a patrol ship, the Coast

  Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Blockchain Research Institute Executive Chairman Don Tapscott exchanged views on how to strengthen the digital ecosystem of Seoul at Seoul City Hall Monday. Don Tapscott is in Seoul to attend a forum on tech reshaping humanity hosted by The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Oh said that his government was committed to providing customized information to the city's residents before they demand it. He said that data held by central and provincial governments and departme

KakaoTalk meltdown exposes peril of ubiquitous tech

Nurses who were at the front lines of the yearslong battle against COVID-19 are being neglected as the pandemic recedes, according to the results of a local survey released by Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday. The Korean Nurses Association conducted a survey on 764 nurses from 245 hospitals across the country between Sept. 19 and 25, which included a total of 588 nurses who worked at COVID-19 wards. Of the 588, 229 nurses were not able to return to w

Statistics showed that among diverse social media services, Twitter is the most popularly used channel to distribute sexually exploitative content involving children, Monday. According to data Rep. Kim Young-joo of Democratic Party of Korea received from the Korea Communications Standards Commission on Monday, among 15,000 requests to delete certain content from social media services in 2021, 5,665 cases were requests regarding the child sexual exploitation. Among them, 5,180 cases were regardin

The number of guns - including powder actuated nail guns - caught by the Korea Customs Service this year jumped more than 170 times compared to five years ago, data showed Monday. According to data that the People Power Party’s Rep. Bae Joon-young received from the Korea Customs Service on Monday, weapons were found in 13,195 cases between 2017 and 2021. The items include 154 devices using gunpowder along with 130 rounds of live ammunition, 3,051 swords and knives, and 9,860 imitation guns

A Seoul court has granted an injunction suspending Chang Ho-kwon, the chair of a state-funded association of national independence fighters and their descendants, over alleged irregularities in the group's latest chairman election. Chang, the eldest son of the late independence activist Chang Jun-ha, won the by-election in late May to lead the Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI), defeating Kim Jin, the eldest grandson of another national independence hero, Kim Gu. Members of HKI later acc

The last Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin kept in a South Korean aquarium has been released into the wild after 17 years following monthslong rehabilitation training, the oceans ministry said Monday. Bibong was set free on Sunday from a pen in the sea off South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, where he had stayed for about 70 days for training to adapt to the new environment upon the government's release plan, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Experts said Bibong

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 20,000 on Monday as its spread continues to slow down amid high levels of vaccinations and eased restrictions. The country reported 11,040 new COVID-19 infections, including 81 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,131,505, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country has seen a gradual downtrend in new infections since peaking at over 180,000 cases on Aug. 17. Monday's tally fell from 21,469 on Sunday b

Nearly half of unmarried South Koreans in their 30s and 40s were living with their parents, according to a study released last week. According to a report released by the state-run think tank Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 49.7 percent of those in their 30s and 48.8 percent of those in their 40s who are not married were living with their parents. In both age groups, women showed a higher rate of living with their parents. Some 54.5 percent of women in their 30s and 50.6 percent

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 30,000 for the fourth consecutive day Sunday as infections have been on a decline in recent weeks. The country reported 21,469 new COVID-19 infections, including 87 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,120,465, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country reported 32 deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 28,840. The number of critically ill patients came to 247, up two from a day earlier, the KDC

From a Korean student abroad to a foreign professor here, the impact of the won’s historically weak performance is felt by many

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 30,000 for the third consecutive day Saturday, as the virus wave has subsided in recent weeks. The country reported 22,844 new COVID-19 infections, including 53 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,098,996, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Saturday's count marked a fall from the previous day's 23,583. The country has seen a gradual downtrend in new infections after peaking at over 180,000 cases on Aug.

The Supreme Court sentenced Chang Yong-joon, also known as rapper No:el, to one year in prison for refusing to comply with a breathalyzer test, Friday. Chang, whose father is Rep. Chang Je-won of the ruling People Power Party, was drunk driving and hit another vehicle at an intersection in Seocho-gu, Seoul, around 10:30 p.m., Sept. 18, 2021. He was unlicensed at the time, and when approached by a police officer he refused to comply to a breathalyzer test and assaulted the officer. The lower cour

Prosecutors will create special investigation teams to tackle the growing number of drug crimes in South Korea, the Supreme Prosecutors Office said Friday. According to the Supreme Prosecutors Office, four special anti-drug investigation teams will be created at the Seoul Central Prosecutors Office and the district prosecutors’ offices in Incheon, Busan and Gwangju. The special teams will focus on cases involving large-scale drug smuggling, illegal circulation of medical-purpose drugs a