Authorities evacuated over 1,000 people from villages, hospitals and correctional facilities near a fast-spreading wildfire in the southern city of Miryang on Tuesday. The blaze broke out at 9:25 a.m. on the hill in Miryang, around 280 km southeast of Seoul, and is continuing to spread, according to firefighting authorities. Close to noon, the Korea Forest Service upgraded its wildfire response level to the highest level of 3, issued when a fire is estimated to scorch over 100 hectares.

South Korea's health authorities on Tuesday said that it plans to place monkeypox in the second level of contagious diseases, out of a four-tier scheme, as monkeypox is spreading fast around the globe, though it has not yet been detected here. The country has been vigilant against a potential inflow of the monkeypox virus as an increasing number of countries have recently reported cases of the virus traditionally confined to regions in Africa. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday showed up to participate in the Samsung Ho-Am Prize award ceremony for the first time in six years, but stayed mum on questions about his meeting with Intel’s CEO from the previous day. A group of reporters asked him about investment plans on his way to the ceremony, but Samsung group‘s de facto leader did not answer any questions. Named after the penname of Samsung group’s late founder Lee Byung-chull, the Samsung Ho-

Feral cats were shot dead at a US air base in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, a tipster told The Korea Herald. Military personnel at the US Air Force’s Kunsan Air Base shot cats with pellet guns as a part of the Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Striking Hazard program, according to the tip from a person who participated in the BASH program firsthand in 2020. “The man in charge at the time openly bragged to me how he loved to shoot anything because he was authorized to do so, and he especi

The Seoul education office said Tuesday it will open a probe into the shocking discovery of a dead tree frog in a lunch dish provided to students at a high school in the capital the previous day. The incident occurred at the unnamed high school in western Seoul, where students were appalled to find a tree frog carcass in radish kimchi, a popular Korean fermented side dish, served with their lunch Monday. The school sent a letter of apology to all students and their parents, saying the contaminat

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 10,000 on Tuesday due to increased COVID-19 tests following the weekend amid eased antivirus curbs. The country added 17,191 new infections, including 43 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,103,638, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload rebounded from the 6,139 cases reported Monday. The daily count tends to fall on Mondays and Sundays due to fewer tests on the weekend befo

President Yoon Suk-yeol is pushing to put the Ministry of Justice in charge of vetting and screening candidates for roles at the Cabinet, courts and other state agencies -- a job undertaken by the now-abolished post of senior presidential secretary for civil affairs in previous administrations. The immediate beneficiary of the ministry’s new function is Han Dong-hoon, the president’s longtime colleague at the prosecution and a close associate who was appointed the Justice Minister

The South Korean government said Monday that it would stop operating clinics for mild COVID-19 cases and introduce a fast-track process for at-risk groups. The government said it has decided to close down all local clinics that have temporarily been used for mild COVID-19 cases due to their low operation rate, as well as to prevent the government’s health expenditures from going to waste. Starting Tuesday, 12 clinics, along with some 3,400 hospital beds, will stop their operations, ac

Despite changes in gender roles, ‘men’s wealth for women’s beauty’ seems to hold true in dating scene

With local elections approaching, some conservative Christians blast ordinance designed to protect students from discrimination based on pregnancy status, sexual orientation

South Korea's defense ministry has distributed troop education materials that refer to North Korea's military and its regime as "our enemy," officials said Monday, in a reflection of the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration's tough security stance. The preceding liberal Moon Jae-in administration avoided using the expression amid its push for inter-Korean dialogue. But the Yoon government has vowed to take a hard-line stance on the North's evolving nuclear and

South Koreans will vote this week in local elections and parliamentary elections amid expectations that the results will boost or weaken the mandate of the new government of President Yoon Suk-yeol. Up for grabs in Wednesday's elections are 17 metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, 226 lower-level council heads, as well as 779 seats in provincial and metropolitan councils, and 2,602 in lower-level local councils. Also at stake will be seven National Assembly seats in parliamentary by

The government will provide more subsidies to cargo truck drivers and others using diesel vehicles as part of efforts to ease their burden from rising fuel costs, the transport ministry said Monday. The average retail price of diesel in South Korea soared to over 2,000 won ($1.59) per liter last week, up from around 1,364 won in January, due to tight supply caused by the war in Ukraine. It also outstripped gasoline prices for the first time in 14 years. Under the revision to oil subsidy regulati

Three public health officials who strove to keep country safer

More than 170 employees from banks and other financial firms have embezzled more than a combined 100 billion won ($79.62 million) over the past five years, but about a mere 11 percent has been retrieved, data showed Sunday. Calls have grown recently for financial firms and authorities to strengthen overall management and supervision in the wake of a series of embezzlement cases, particularly after a Woori Bank employee was arrested last month for allegedly pocketing more than 60 billion won in c