BUSAN -- Health authorities said Thursday that 17 crewmen on a Russian ship docked in the southeastern port city of Busan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, fueling concerns over potential group infections amid a rising number of imported cases in the country. The virus-infected sailors were on the Regul, a Russia-flagged, 825-ton fishing vessel that entered the harbor in Gamcheon last month, according to the city's health authorities. The ship is currently docked at a repair shi

JEJU -- An appellate court on Wednesday upheld a lower court's sentence of life imprisonment for a South Korean woman for brutally killing her former husband, mutilating his body and hiding the dismembered body parts. The Gwangju High Court's Jeju branch handed down the life sentence to Koh Yu-jeong, saying a hefty sentence is inevitable because she has persistently denied her crime and showed no remorse or sympathy for her victim. The 37-year-old Koh was indicted for allegedly killing her ex

The controversy over the #MeToo allegations against late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is showing no signs of abating, with calls for an investigation growing Tuesday. Opposition parties, women’s groups and the alleged victim called for a full investigation into Park’s alleged harassment of his secretary, although a criminal case is usually dropped when a suspect dies. The main opposition United Future Party said Tuesday that it would request a parliamentary hearing in to the case,

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon sexually harassed his female secretary over four years, making unwanted physical contact and sending inappropriate text messages, claimed a lawyer and a women’s group representing the secretary on Monday, shortly after the funeral service for the heavyweight politician concluded. Park was found dead in the early hours of Friday at age 64 while serving his third term as mayor after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged. “This case is a sexual harassm

After a four-month operation, South Korea's mask ration system ended Sunday as the supply of face masks designed to help fight the new coronavirus has stabilized. As prices of protective masks skyrocketed amid the COVID-19 outbreak here, the country introduced the mask rationing scheme in early March in a bid to smooth out high demand. Under the scheme, citizens were allowed to buy a limited number of protective masks every week at pharmacies for 1,500 won ($1.24). The weekly limit started wi

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon’s apparent suicide on Thursday is once again highlighting Korea’s suicide problem. Park is the latest in a growing list of high-profile figures to take their own life here. The list of public figures includes progressive icons such as President Roh Moo-hyun and Justice Party leader Roh Heo-chan. High-profile suicides occur on an almost routine basis in Korea, with suspected motivations ranging from a damaged political reputation to depression brought on

Three runners were fatally struck by a drunken driver during an ultramarathon race Thursday morning. According to the police and the Korea Ultra Marathon Federation, the event’s organizer, the accident occurred at 3:30 a.m. in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, four days into the 537-kilometer race which began in the southernmost point of Busan at 6 a.m. Sunday. The deceased were running on the side of a two-lane road, with flashing guide rods on their back, when a Hyundai Motor Sonata sedan cr

The government and ruling Dmocratic Party of Korea are taking unprecedented steps to douse the controversy over multiple homeownership among their ranks faced with mounting criticism from both conservative and progressive blocs. On Wednesday, Noh Young-min, President Moon Jae-in’s chief of staff, announced that he will sell his southern Seoul home within the month, saying that he has failed to meet public expectations. Noh’s Seoul home became a focal point in the growing controv

The recent announcement that foreign students taking online classes in the US should leave the country is creating confusion and turmoil among South Korean students at colleges and universities there. Many of them are now being forced to head back to Korea or shift to in-person classes, taking the risk of contracting the new coronavirus, if they want to maintain their visa status. The latest announcement from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement applies to F-1 and M-1 non-immigrant visa h

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States said Monday it would not allow foreign students to remain in the country if all of their classes are moved online in the fall because of the coronavirus crisis. "Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States," US Immigration and Custom Enforcement said in a statement. "Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such program

A wave of abuse allegations swept a semi-pro triathlete club owned by Gyeongju City after the suicide of a player who claimed to have suffered years of verbal and physical abuse from her coach, team physician and senior teammates. More triathletes have come forward as victims and in support of the deceased teammate, but the alleged abusers denied any wrongdoing. Some 15 former and current triathletes have told police that they were victimized by the alleged abusers, according to Gyeongbuk P

Kellogg Korea’s latest release, Chex Green Onion is stirring up the Internet even before hitting the shelves. Kellogg Korea uploaded a 6-second-long video on June 17 on its YouTube channel, recruiting 50 people to try its newest product before its release. The video showed chopped green onion being sprinkled on chocolate flavored Korean cereal Chex with milk with background music with the lyrics “sorry, sorry, sorry” by trot singer Tae Jin-ah. The video reached ove

Over 1,900 non-regular workers to win coveted full-time employment, which critics label reverse discrimination

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Sunday denied reports that it had planned to officially ask UNESCO to delist Japan’s historical industrial sites, including Hashima Island. In 2015, Japan had promised the center would include information on the Koreans who were forced to work at the site during that country’s 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea. Although it denied plans to take any immediate official action, the Culture Ministry added that it was currently discussing th

For Japanese, Hashima Island may be a site that evokes pride that propelled the country to the global stage as an economic powerhouse. However, Koreans consider the islet off the coast of Nagasaki, also called Battleship Island, as a tragic place where hundreds of victims of forced labor suffered wrenching hardships in the undersea coal mines. It was listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2015 along with other 22 sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution. The problem for Korea