As many as 1,168 houses, factories and other buildings were waterlogged and over 70 residents were evacuated in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province due to heavy rain over the weekend, the nation’s disaster control center said Monday. Residents clean up the house in Incheon, Monday. (Yonhap)In Incheon, where at least 100 millimeters of rain fell in an hour on Sunday morning, at least 2,000 public officials, fire fighters and volunteer workers were dispatched to help recovery operations, the city govern

Suspected cases of tuberculosis outbreaks at mass facilities more than tripled in South Korea over the past three years, a report showed Thursday. According to a report from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the government conducted 3,502 epidemiological investigations in 2016 for possible TB outbreaks at schools, hospitals and other mass facilities where at least one person was confirmed to have contracted the infectious disease. The number of surveys more than tripled from

The country's top diplomat on Wednesday asked her Brazilian counterpart to carry out an additional search operation for crew members who are missing from an ill-fated South Korean cargo ship, the foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha made the request during a phone conversation with her Brazilian counterpart Aloysio Nunes, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  This file photo, provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 21, 2017, shows South Korea`s Foreign Mini

About half of Korea’s fine dust particles originate from within the country, while one-third is from China, a study jointly conducted by a South Korean institute and NASA showed Wednesday.  (Yonhap)According to the preliminary Korea US-Air Quality (KORUS AQ) study, conducted by NASA and Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research, about 52 percent of Korea’s fine dust particles and other airborne pollutants have domestic origins. China was the origin of some 34 percent of the particles,

South Korea is moving to expand the scope of chemical castration to make those convicted of phone camera voyeurism and attempted rape subject to the punishment. Under the current law, convicted sex offenders can be sentenced to chemical castration for up to 15 years for assaulting minors under the age of 16. (Yonhap)A revision bill, which passed the Cabinet on Tuesday for submission to the parliament, would add more offenses, including the abovementioned two, to the list of sex crimes punishable

The death toll from torrential rains that devastated the central regions of South Korea over the weekend rose to five, with two still missing, the nation’s disaster control agency said Monday. (Yonhap)The Ministry of Public Safety and Security said the government is considering designating the hardest-hit Cheongju in North Gyeongsang Province as a disaster area to provide it with state funding for recovery works. Jeungpyeong, Jincheon and Goesan counties in North Chungcheong Province are also be

Park Neung-hoo, the nominee to head the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said Monday that he would give some 8,000 contract workers at ministry-run organizations full-time and permanent employment status, if he is appointed. Park Neung-hoo (Yonhap)In response to questions by lawmakers of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, Park said “irregular positions are linked to many social problems such as unstable labor conditions, discrimination and a low birth rate.”“I will strive for a

The death toll from the torrential rains that devastated the central regions of South Korea over the weekend rose to four, with two still missing, the nation’s disaster control agency said Monday. Restoration works were underway in the rain-hit Gyeongsang and Chungcheong provinces, as downpours subsided. North Gyeongsang Province, which received up to 90 millimeters of rain per hour between Friday and Sunday afternoon, was the hardest hit. Two died in landslides in Cheongju, while two others wer

The South Korean government on Sunday decided to spend some 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) to help smaller businesses offset an increase in labor costs, after a panel hiked next year’s minimum hourly wage by the biggest margin since 2000.In a late-night decision on Saturday, the Minimum Wage Commission, representing labor, management and the general public, set the lower limit of wages at 7,530 won for 2018, up 16.4 percent from this year. It was the biggest gain since 2000, when the bar was move

Heavy rain battered South Korea on Sunday, leaving at least two dead and one missing. Several towns in Gyeonggi and Chungcheong provinces were waterlogged and road and train traffic was disrupted. Vehicles are seen waterlogged in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Sunday, after at least 289 millimeters of rain fell in the area over 12 hours. (Yonhap)Hardest hit were Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province, which received 290 millimeters of rain since midnight Saturday till Sunday afternoon. Ch

Police on Saturday apprehended a drunken man who injured more than 10 people with a broken bottle after engaging in a pre-dawn argument at a Seoul night club. (Yonhap)Officials at the Mapo Police Station said that the 23-year-old man, identified only by his surname Park, is under investigation for hurting 11 people with a broken bottle and assaulting three others with his fists at the club near the popular university district of Hongdae.One victim underwent surgery for a neck injury, but is not