Seoul City announced Wednesday that it would customize tourist programs, such as renewing tour routes, to better cater to the needs of different nationals visiting the city.This year, existing tour routes will be regrouped into six categories ― history, arts, shopping, natural ecology, local neighborhood and “theme tour.” The city selected the six themes based on a survey with visitors to Seoul. A total of 41 sightseeing activities have been offered so far. The shopping-focused routes will be di

Centers for holding foreign nationals in Korea were found to have breached individuals’ privacy and human rights, a report by the national human rights watchdog said Monday. According to the National Human Rights Commission, all foreign nationals at the centers -- which include refugee applicants and people waiting to be deported -- were prevented from having personal time at fixed schedules, except for three times a week for a one-hour workout and religious service time. Under the law, centers

Acquittal rulings have been handed down in a series of adultery retrials across the country since the anticheating law was abolished late last month. A man in Gangwon province, whose information was withheld, was acquitted Saturday of adultery charges, court officials said. The man was sentenced to a six-month jail term with a stay of one year for cheating on his wife in 2013. “As the Constitutional Court ruled the adultery ban unconstitutional, the defendant’s charges are no longer a crime,” ju

Seoul City announced a temporary bus transportation plan as part of efforts to alleviate crowding on a newly extended subway line, officials said Sunday. Five new stops opened on Subway Line No. 9 from Sinnonhyeon Station to Sports Complex Station in southeastern Seoul on Saturday. The extended service is expected to attract about 3,000 additional daily passengers, the city said. In a bid to reduce rush-hour crowding, the city government said it would offer a number of free alternative buses on

An affluent southeastern district of Seoul was found to have the best food safety and nutritional level for children in the country, a report that surveyed food qualities at schools and other childcare facilities showed Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Songpa district reached 78.95 out of 100 points in food safety, about 12 points higher than the national average of 67.54 points.The finding is part of the government’s first-ever inquiry conducted on food safety at el

Foreign tourists cited unfriendliness and price negotiation while shopping as the least pleasant experience in Korea last year, a state-run organization’s report showed Wednesday. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, inhospitality and price bargaining accounted for 333 of visitors’ complaints, or about 36 percent. The total number of complaints reached 888 cases last year, nearly the same as in 2013. The report said many of the visitors faced difficulties when demanding refunds for defec

The bodies of two maritime police officers missing from a helicopter crash last week were recovered in southwestern waters of Korea, the Coast Guard said Friday. One was found dead and three went missing after the Coast Guard helicopter crashed in the waters off Gageodo Island on March 13. The 52-year-old captain and 36-year-old copilot were found dead with their seatbelts fastened in the body of the chopper by a rescue team that was recovering the wreckage with a floating crane.Four officers we

 A foreign teacher was found to have forced students to eat detergent as punishment for using Korean language in his class, which is stirring public anger over the lack of monitoring in the classroom. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, a 32-year-old teacher from South Africa forced five elementary school students to taste either dishwashing detergent or bad-tasting medicine for talking in their mother tongue. Facing mounting complaints and criticism from parents, the school

Two Uber Korea officials have been booked for violating the local transport law, Seoul police said Tuesday, amid growing controversy over the legality of the business. Uber Korea’s branch manager and his subordinate official were accused of taking commissions on connecting rental car drivers through a smartphone application since August 2013. The company took a 20 percent commission fee from the ride fares, the police said. Under the Korean transport law, providing unpermitted or unlicensed tran