Social media, dark web, cryptocurrency blamed for increased drug use

Defense ministry investigators raided the offices of the Air Force's legal affairs department Wednesday over the suicide of a sexually harassed noncommissioned officer as part of a sprawling investigation into what led the victim to take her own life. The raid took place one day after the prosecutors grilled a military public defender accused of failing to provide adequate help to the master sergeant, surnamed Lee, who allegedly suffered groping and other abuse by her colleague during a car rid

The new leader of the main opposition party said Tuesday that former chief prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl, who has topped polls on presidential preference, should start talking about his ability to run state affairs. “Other than his image of resistance against the Moon Jae-in administration, (Yoon) must answer people’s questions on whether he can run state affairs,” Lee Jun-seok, the newly elected chief of the People Power Party, said in a YTN radio interview Tuesday morning. &ldq

Military prosecutors questioned 10 Air Force service members and officials in connection with the suicide of a sexually harassed noncommissioned officer amid suspicions they mishandled the sexual abuse case or attempted to hush it up, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The ministry also said that about 100 people at the two Air Force units, where the victim had worked, went through internal probes last week in an indication that more people would be formally called in for questioning. The fema

A person who ran an unauthorized school teaching US curriculum in Gangnam was fined 3 million won ($2,700) for violation of the elementary and secondary education law. The school, set up in July 2018, taught subjects such as English language, American history and biology under a US curriculum to about 110 students from ninth to 12th grades from 8:30 a.m. until 3:10 p.m. for a tuition fee of 12 million won per semester, and ran after-school club activity programs as well. The accused insisted t

Support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) continued to grow last week, apparently driven by the ascent of a new leader, widening its gap with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) to nearly 10 percentage points, a poll showed Monday. In a Realmeter survey conducted from June 7-11, the PPP scored 39.1 percent of backing, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous week. It is close to its highest-ever point of 39.4 percent posted during the first week of April. The DP's support fell 0.

South Korean Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik, the newly appointed Vatican prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, said he will work toward arranging a visit to North Korea for Pope Francis if he is given the opportunity to do so.　 “The pope had expressed his willingness to go to North Korea,” You, 69, said at a press conference held Saturday at the Daejeon Diocese in Sejong, following the Vatican’s announcement of his appointment Friday. “If North Korea invites the

Middle schools in the greater Seoul area are set to increase the portion of students attending in-person classes starting Monday ahead of the government's plan to fully resume classes from the fall semester, according to educational officials. Under the plan, the cap on in-person attendance will increase from one-third of registered students to two-thirds under the Level 2 social distancing guidelines, enabling more students to take part in in-person classes, the education ministry and local ed

A committee comprising civilian experts kicked off Friday to advise the military on its handling of a sex crime investigation that is believed to have led to the suicide of a sexually assaulted soldier. An Air Force master sergeant took her life in late May after her complaint had gone unanswered for months because of what her family claims is an “extensive cover-up” by the Air Force. The head of the Air Force has since resigned, taking responsibility for her death. The outside pan

A commanding Army officer is under investigation over allegations that he sexually assaulted subordinates at his unit in Gangwon Province, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday. The Army took over the case and is looking at whether there were more victims, it added. “A commander is facing serious charges and we thought it would be more prudent for us to ask our team to pursue the case rather than have the unit run its own probe,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl saw his support rating reach a fresh record high in the latest poll of potential presidential candidates released Thursday, amid signs of his imminent political debut. In the Realmeter survey on 2,013 voters nationwide conducted from Monday to Tuesday, 35.1 percent picked Yoon as their most favored candidate for next year's presidential election, up 4.6 percentage points from last month. It is the highest support that Yoon has received in Realmeter's mo

Defense Minister Suh Wook on Wednesday promised strict punishment of anyone who helped bury a sex crime investigation whose handling is believed to have led to the suicide of an Air Force master sergeant. The Air Force is accused of sitting on the case and engaging in a systematic cover-up. “I express my sincere apologies to the bereaved family and to fellow citizens … the investigation will be thorough and bring everyone involved in the cover-up to justice, regardless of rank,&r

The United States on Tuesday lowered its travel advisory for South Korea to the lowest level, which advises people visiting the Asian country to exercise normal precaution. The State Department said the latest update reflected a low level of COVID-19 infections in South Korea. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice for South Korea due to COVID-19, indicating a low level of COVID-19 in the country," it said. The US had maintain

The ruling Democratic Party convened an emergency meeting of its leadership Tuesday to discuss how to respond to a government report indicating that 12 of its lawmakers were implicated in illegal real estate transactions. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said Monday that 12 Democratic Party lawmakers or family members of Democratic Party lawmakers were suspected of violating the law on real estate trade. The anti-corruption watchdog looked into the real estate transactions of 17

Unionized tower crane operators on Tuesday began a general strike nationwide over safety fears, putting nearly 90 percent of domestic construction sites at risk of being halted. The operators belonging to the Korean Construction Workers' Union (KCWU) went on strike, accusing the government of failing to take sufficient measures to protect citizens and construction workers despite a recent spate of accidents involving tower cranes. The KCWU, affiliated with the militant Korean Confederation of