A partisan squabble over an opinion-rigging scandal involving an incumbent governor resumed Thursday as the team of investigators led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum decided not to request an extension of its operating term.Thirteen special counsel investigations have been carried out in Korea, and Huh is the first not to seek an extension of the team’s term.The special counsel team’s probe lost momentum after the court rejected its request for a warrant to detain South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Ki

Firearms accidents and misuse have caused a total of 89 casualties in the seven years to June this year, according to police data released by a ruling party lawmaker.The figure does not include the two public officials killed in Tuesday’s shooting spree by a man in his 70s in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province.Data released by Rep. Lee Jae-jung of the Democratic Party of Korea on the public administration and safety committee showed that 32 people were killed and 57 wounded in 88 firearms cases

The suspect in the murder of a man whose dismembered body was found at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, early this week said he killed the victim during a fight over an illegal hostess service at the suspect’s karaoke establishment.Police are still investigating the 34-year-old man suspected of murdering the 51-year-old victim by stabbing him in the neck multiple times around 1 a.m. on Aug. 10 at the karaoke in Anyang, a city adjacent to Gwacheon on the southern outskirts of Seou

People say there is no point asking the “what if” question in history. But maybe, there is, if the intention is to help heal wounds of the present and instill hope for the future through creative work.“Mr. Sunshine,” a 24-episode TV drama series aired by cable channel tvN is a historical fiction that starts with the question “what if there were a ranking Korean-American at the US Legation in the Joseon period before Japan annexed Korea in 1910?”“Mr. Sunshine,” a 24-episode TV drama series starri

The special counsel team investigating South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo’s alleged involvement in an online opinion-rigging scandal is expected to indict Kim without detention as its probe officially ends Saturday.Special counsel Huh Ik-bum began the investigation two months ago after President Moon Jae-in accepted opposition parties’ monthslong demands to scrutinize Kim’s dealings with a blogger who has been detained and indicted for allegedly manipulating public opinion through a software t

The heat wave will subside Friday, which marks Chilseok in the lunar calendar, with rain forecast for Jeju. Chilseok is the time when the heat starts to dwindle and the monsoon season begins.Due to the influence of Typhoon Rumbia, which is moving northwest from eastern China, rainfall of between 5 and 40 millimeters is expected on Jeju Island. (Yonhap)Skies will be clear in the central region of Korea, but it will be cloudy in the southern part of the country. The eastern coast of Gangwon Provin

Operators of illegal dog slaughterhouses were caught discharging wastewater into a nearby construction site, as the city of Seoul continues its efforts to make the businesses close shop.The city government’s special enforcement division said Thursday they booked without detention three people who ran unregistered dog slaughtering facilities or illegally disposed of wastewater from their butcheries.Two of the three dog butchers channeled what was washed away from the slaughterhouses, including bl

A 21-year-old man attacked a woman with a stun gun after she had turned him down.Gwangju Seobu Police Station on Tuesday arrested the suspect, surnamed Nam, for inflicting injuries requiring two weeks of treatment on the woman, who is an internet broadcaster. (Yonhap)Nam waited in front of her apartment with an electroshock gun and another weapon, and used the stun gun on the victim’s neck and waist around noon on Tuesday as she left her home in Seo-gu, Gwangju.Nam fled after attacking her, inju

A college student was given a suspended jail term for “revenge porn” and assault of his ex-girlfriend.The Busan District Court sentenced the 24-year-old to a six-month jail term suspended for two years for violation of the law on “special cases concerning the punishment of sexual crimes.” (Yonhap)The judge also ordered him to undertake 80 hours of community service and 24 hours of classes for treatment of sex offenders. The offender sent video footage of him and his girlfriend having sex to her

A day care staff member suspected of suffocating an infant to death was found to have repeatedly abused seven other infants, prosecutors said Wednesday.The investigation team on crimes against women and children at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said it has detained and indicted the 59-year-old suspect surnamed Kim on charges of child abuse.Prosecutors also indicted without detention Kim’s twin sister who runs the child care center in Hwagok-dong, western Seoul, and another staf

Prosecutors’ investigation into the alleged abuse of judicial power by the Supreme Court under former President Park Geun-hye has hit a snag, as the email accounts of retired judges involved were found to have been deleted.Documents leaked from hard disks of staff members at the top court’s governing body under former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae showed the National Court Administration had offered insights on the impact of possible future verdicts on politically sensitive trials to Park’s office

Gwangju Northern District Police Station said Monday they detained a 37-year-old deaf man surnamed Hong suspected of stealing fruits and vegetables from a truck.Hong allegedly stole garlic, tomatoes, peaches, grapes and other produce worth 600,000 won ($529) on seven occasions from a truck parked at an apartment complex in Unam-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, on July 3. (Yonhap)The man, with a criminal record of 11 previous incidents, including theft, was released from prison in December, and has been ho

Police arrested five people in their 20s suspected of beating a 23-year-old woman to death and burying her body on a hillside.The Gunsan Police Station in North Jeolla Province said Monday they have detained the five on charges of murder, disposal of a corpse and assault. (Yonhap)The suspects and victim had lived together in an apartment in Soryong-dong, Gunsan, since March, and the victim, the only person among the six who didn’t have a job, did the housework. Police suspect the six lived toget

A blogger at the center of an opinion-rigging scandal and his group, who have played up their role in President Moon Jae-in’s presidential campaign, are likely to continue causing political strife, even after an ongoing special investigation ends on Aug. 25.An independent team of prosecutors are interrogating South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, former chief spokesman for Moon’s presidential campaign, as part of a probe into allegations that he was involved in the manipulation of inter