The number of visitors to South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju has topped 10 million so far this year, recovering from a slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday. The number of travelers, including those coming from overseas, to Jeju, one of the most favored travel destinations in South Korea, totaled 10,004,145 as of Monday, up 22.7 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Jeju Tourism Association, Last year, the 10-million milestone was reached on

Digital chat rooms that share or sell deepfake pornography content remain prevalent despite a new provision to punish related crimes implemented two years ago. Deepfake content refers to digitally manipulated videos and images that are hard to distinguish from genuine content. Most pornographic deepfake content grafts a person’s face -- usually an acquaintance or celebrity -- onto sexually explicit videos. According to ReSET, a digital sex crime victim support group, one of the Telegram ch

The Ministry of Justice is set to push to expand the "medical treatment and custody" of child sex offenders, Thursday. Medical treatment and custody refers to detaining offenders with high risk of recidivism, such as pedophiles or drug addicts, at state facilities and providing them with psychiatric treatment. According to the current law, sex offenders with psychological disorders including pedophilia can be subject to the measure for up to 15 years if the prosecution requests. The pe

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest number in nearly three months for a Thursday count, as the virus wave is slowing down at a steady pace. The country reported 33,009 new COVID-19 infections, including 255 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,535,940, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is down by more than 8,200 from the previous day and the lowest for a Thursday figure since 18,494 recorded on July 7. The virus wave,

Seoul court sides with plaintiff's claim for compensation for side effects from COVID-19 vaccine

The prosecutors' office is to launch a task force on the Sindang Station murder, with the suspect now in prosecution custody. The suspect, 31-year old former Seoul Metro employee Jeon Joo-hwan, was transferred to the prosecution Wednesday, accused of murdering a Seoul Metro employee on Sept. 14. Meeting the press at Seoul Namdaemun Police Station, Jeon repeated he was sorry for his actions. Jeon said “I did something truly crazy” when asked by reporters whether he has anything else

The bus drivers' union in Gyeonggi Province, under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, appears set for a general strike later this month, with an overwhelming majority of members supporting the plan. The union on Tuesday voted on the plan to strike on Sept. 30 with 97.3 percent of approval rate. According to the union, 14,485 members participated in the vote, and 14,091 of them voted for the general strike. The province's bus drivers' union counts 15,234 members across 47 compa

Revenge crimes, some resulting in murder, are on the rise, but the number of suspects taken into custody remains low, despite the potential for retaliation being stipulated as a reason for detention. According to National Police Agency data obtained by Rep. Jung Woo-taek of the People Power Party, the number of revenge crimes during the first eight months of the year came to 281 cases. Last year, the figure stood at 434, up sharply from the 298 and 294 recorded in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Ho

By Yoo Hee-dong, Administrator of the Korea Meteorological Administration A series of unexpected extreme weather events have been reported this summer in the United States and Europe. In the eastern US, more than 1,400 records for high temperatures were broken in July, and the high temperatures continued for quite some time. Coningsby in England, which has an average July temperature of 20-25 degrees, saw the UK’s hottest-ever temperature of over 40 degrees. In addition, the southern part

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases remained below 50,000 for five days in a row Wednesday, as the pandemic has been in retreat for two months and the country has tried to resume pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 41,286 new COVID-19 infections, including 326 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,502,968, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily figure is the lowest of all Wednesday tallies since cases dropped to 40,240 on July 13, and declined

The suspect in the shocking subway murder case said Wednesday he "has done a truly crazy thing" as police referred him to the prosecution for further investigation and indictment. The Seoul Metro employee was apprehended a week earlier at Sindang Station on Line No. 2 after stabbing a female colleague in her 20s to death in the subway station's ladies' room. The case shocked the nation, as it was revealed the killing took place one day before a court was set to sentence him o

The South Korean government has started receiving application from foreign workers who hope to work here on a nonprofessional employment visa. From Sept. 19-29, workers are able to apply for a nonprofessional employment E-9 visa via the Employment Permit System, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. This is in line with the ministry’s decision on Aug. 31 to raise the total quota of E-9 visas by 10,000 this year, from 59,000 to 69,000. The job additions were made in an attempt

Daejeon is making the final preparations for the international summit of local and regional governments in October, along with entertainment to welcome visitors. Daejeon will host the 2022 UCLG Congress World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders at the Daejeon Convention Center from Oct. 10-14. United Cities and Local Governments is the world's largest international organization of local governments recognized by the United Nations, with 240,000 local governments from 140 countries as membe

The new governor of North Jeolla Province hopes to build a business-friendly environment for the southwestern region of Korea. Governor Kim Kwan-young is a two-time lawmaker in his early 50s who took office in July. With a notable career of being a certified public accountant who has passed both the bar and the civil service exam, he is eager to push new initiatives. “The people are expecting a young and vibrant administration led by me, and I am doing my best to meet their expectations,

Only 25 percent of local government workers were disciplined or received serious penalties for sexual violence in the last five years, according to a report of Interior Ministry. According to a report that Rep. Kim Yong-pan of People Power Party received from the Interior Ministry on Tuesday, there were 576 cases of civil servants being disciplined due to various types of sexual misconduct from 2017 to 2021, including sexual violence, harassment, and use of prostitution services. Among them, sex