The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will hold a meeting Friday to discuss measures for supporting the victims of stalking crimes. After the enactment of the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, more simply known as the anti-stalking law, the Gender Ministry has been working on expanding support for the victims of stalking crimes. The ministry plans to provide an emergency temporary accommodation for victims of stalking crimes using state rental housings, allowing victims to be

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed above 100,000 for the third straight day Thursday amid concerns over a resurgence of the omicron subvariant. The country added 113,371 new COVID-19 infections, including 369 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 22,701,921, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections jumped to 180,752 cases on Aug. 17 from 84,097 a day earlier. The daily tally then declined over the following five days, falling to 59,028 on Mo

The Air Force's chief legal affairs officer was questioned Wednesday by an independent counsel team looking into the military's handling of the suicide death last year of a female noncommissioned officer who was sexually assaulted by a male colleague. Brig. Gen. Jeon Ik-soo appeared before the office of special prosecutor Ahn Mi-young in Seoul in the afternoon. The team, launched this June, is probing into suspicions surrounding the death of Lee Ye-ram, including whether military officials att

The Korean government will maintain its ban on in-person visits to nursing homes and long-term care hospitals during the upcoming Chuseok holidays, as the nation marks its first Korean Thanksgiving without social distancing in three years. “The ban on in-person visits to nursing homes and long-term care hospitals will be maintained in a precaution against COVID-19 transmission for the elderly,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said at a meeting at the governmental complex in Sejong, We

Supermarkets in South Korea engaging in a price war on fried chicken is a welcome development for consumers like Shin Kyung-ja (not her real name) amid the soaring cost of living.  The 64-year-old was among the 40 or so people standing in line outside an E-mart in Eunpyeong-gu, northern Seoul, an hour before its opening on Monday.  They were waiting to buy a bucket of fried chicken offered at a special price of 5,980 won ($4.50). Twice a day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the superstore has

A state reconciliation panel on Wednesday confirmed widespread human rights abuses and illegalities at an infamous detention facility in Busan decades ago, saying such illegal acts were brought about by the unjust exercise of public power by the state. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) made the announcement after investigating the now-defunct Brothers Home, a confinement facility run in the southern port city, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in the 1970s and 1980s to isolate sever

SEJONG -- South Korea's total fertility rate hit a record low last year as the number of childbirths continued to fall, data showed Wednesday, underscoring the country's gloomy demographic situation. The country's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime -- came to 0.81 child in 2021, down from 0.84 the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the lowest since the statistics agency began compiling related data i

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases stayed above 100,000 for the second straight day Wednesday amid concerns over a resurgence of the omicron subvariant. The country added 139,883 new COVID-19 infections, including 456 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 22,588,640, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Daily infections jumped to 180,763 cases last Wednesday from 84,099 a day earlier. The daily tally then fell over the past five days, tallying 59,046 on Monday. b

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday that the government will keep a ban on in-person visits to nursing homes and long-term care hospitals for the elderly during the Chuseok fall harvest holiday in a precaution against COVID-19. The policy guidance from the government came as daily COVID-19 cases rebounded to over 150,000 Tuesday, with health authorities staying vigilant against the resurgence of the omicron subvariant. "It is a very regrettable measure, but it is inevitable for the h

Jungwook Hong, founder and chairman of the plant-based food producer Organica, took office as the chairman of Worldwide Fund for Nature’s Korea office on Tuesday. Hong has worked closely with WWF-Korea since 2017, joining the organization’s board of directors in that year, and as a private and corporate sponsor of the organization. “Climate change is the biggest crisis humankind faces, and we are the last generation that can solve the situation. The fate of all living thing

Female-bodied mannequins traded online for home use, amid strong government regulations

Former Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Seong-yong was questioned Tuesday by an independent counsel team looking into the military's handling of the suicide death of a servicewoman who allegedly suffered sexual abuse. Lee appeared before the office of special prosecutor Ahn Mi-young in Seoul in the morning to face questioning as a witness. The team, launched this June, is probing into suspicions surrounding the death of Lee Ye-ram in late May 2021, including whether military officials attempted

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases rebounded to over 150,000 Tuesday after declining over the previous five days, with health authorities staying vigilant against the resurgence of the omicron subvariant. The country added 150,258 new COVID-19 infections, including 504 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 22,449,475, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections jumped to 180,771 cases on Aug. 17 from 62,056 a day earlier. The daily tally then fe

Democratic Party of Korea accuses Yoon administration of ‘political vengeance’

New Zealand police have requested the South Korean police agency’s cooperation in tracking down a woman believed to be the mother of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases. According to reports, two bodies were found in suitcases bought by a resident of Auckland, New Zealand, on Aug. 11. Local police conducted an autopsy and confirmed that the victims were two children between the age of five and 10, with relatives living in New Zealand and family in Asia. The bodies were place