The former head of K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment on Friday denied allegations of threatening a whistleblower in an attempt to block an investigation into a drug scandal involving a singer-rapper with the company. Former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk has been indicted for allegedly threatening and coercing a whistleblower who testified to police about drug suspicions surrounding B.I, a former member of YG's boy band iKON, in August 2016. In a court trial held in Seoul, Yang told a judg

South Korea plans to partly lift restrictions on arrivals of migrant workers prompted by the pandemic later this month, as the country has begun to take steps to return to normalcy, the labor ministry said Friday. The government will allow all entry of foreign workers from 16 countries that send labor force to the country under the Employment Permit System, including Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand and China, the ministry said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting held at the government compl

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,300 for the third consecutive day Friday, four days after the country relaxed its virus restrictions nationwide in line with its "living with COVID-19" scheme. The country reported 2,344 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 375,464, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. New cases slipped a bit from the previous day's 2,482, but a jump from 2,124 recorded last Friday, the KDCA said. Of the total,

Female nonregular workers hit all-time high in 2021

A former world champion boxer was sentenced to six months in prison Thursday on charges of sexually harassing a woman at a Seoul restaurant earlier this year. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to the 58-year-old man, surnamed Moon, and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual offender treatment program. Moon was indicted on charges of inappropriately touching a body part of a woman who was dining at a table beside his at a restaurant in southern Seoul in June. Moon

Two key suspects in a land development scandal were arrested early Thursday as investigators continue to delve into one of the largest-ever land development scandals in South Korea. The Seoul Central District Court on early Thursday issued arrest warrants for Kim Man-bae, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, and Nam Wook, a lawyer who is suspected of involvement in the scandal. The two have been under investigation on suspicion of breach of trust and bribery in connection to the scandal.

Infections rise among unvaccinated teens, older population, as breakthrough infections may hamper return to normal

The number of nonwage workers, such as the self-employed, in South Korea inched down 0.4 percent in 2021 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. There were 6.61 million unsalaried workers as of August, down 292,000 from the same period in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number accounts for 23.9 percent of the country's employed people, down 0.6 percentage point over the cited period. It contrasts with a 1.9 percent on-y

The Seoul city government will launch a tumbler rental program this week in collaboration with a group of nearby coffee shops as part of a joint experimental project to drive out disposable cups from cafes, officials said Thursday. Under the "multiuse cup experimental project," set to kick off Saturday, about 20 coffee shops around Seoul City Hall in central Seoul will lend reusable tumblers to customers taking out coffee or other beverages, the city government said. Those tumblers

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,400 for the second consecutive day Thursday as the country relaxed its virus restrictions nationwide in line with its "living with COVID-19" scheme. The country reported 2,482 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 373,120, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. New cases slipped a bit from the previous day's 2,667, which marked the fourth largest ever and the first time since Sept. 30 that daily infe

The remains of three British troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War will be buried at the UN Memorial Cemetery in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan later this month, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. The defense ministry's excavation agency discovered the remains at two former battle sites in Paju, 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul, between 2016-2017, and identified them as those of the fallen British troops through a joint examination with US experts. The troops are

Legal authorities accelerate investigation involving presidential candidates ahead of elections

UIL director highlights the significance of lifelong learning in health in pandemic era

A total of 23 Thai nationals have been apprehended in a recent crackdown of a drug trafficking ring targeting migrant workers in South Korea, police said Wednesday. Seventeen of them were drug traffickers and six were users, the Seoul Dongjak Police Station said. All but three drug users have since been formally arrested, the police said. The ring's head of drug distribution is suspected of having smuggled a total of 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from Thailand to South Korea via internati

An appellate court has upheld a 700,000 won ($595) fine for a man charged with illegally filmed a woman in leggings in a retrial of the case after the Supreme Court overturned a not-guilty verdict for him. The case drew media attention as a district court and an appeals court were divided over whether secretly filming women in leggings constitutes a sexual crime, and the Supreme Court ruled it does because footage could be maliciously edited and shared online. The man, whose identity was withh