Police arrived at deadly shooting site in Incheon without proper equipment

A transcript of conversations among police officers responding to last month's deadly shooting in Incheon indicates that the officers did not have proper safety equipment, causing a slight delay in their entry into the crime scene. Rep. Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Monday revealed the transcripts of radio transmissions between the control center of the Yeonsu Police Station in Incheon and the on-site officers, who were sent to a home where a 62-year-old suspect had s

Aug. 5, 2025

Seoul to expand monthly transit pass to cover Hanam

People traveling from Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, by subway will be able to use “Climate Card” — Seoul’s monthly transit pass, starting from this weekend, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday. The Climate Card is a rechargeable monthly transit pass that offers unlimited access to public transportation within Seoul and select neighboring cities on the city’s outskirts. Starting Saturday, people can use the pass at four Hanam-based subway stops — Misa Station, Hanam Pungsan Station, Hanam

Aug. 5, 2025

Church, far-right pastor raided over Jan. court attack

South Korean police on Tuesday conducted a search and seizure operation at Sarang Jeil Church as part of a criminal investigation into pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, who is affiliated with the church and is suspected of inciting an assault earlier this year on a court that issued an arrest warrant for then-President Yoon Suk Yeol. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said that the church, located in Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul, was raided at around 6:30 a.m., with officers searching the entire building

Aug. 5, 2025

S. Korea registers 2nd hottest July on record

South Korea experienced its second hottest July on record this year as sweltering heat waves and tropical nights gripped the nation, the weather agency said Tuesday. The average nationwide temperature last month stood at 27.1 C, marking the second-highest ever for July since nationwide weather observations began in 1973, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The nation experienced its hottest July in 1994, when the average temperature reached 27.7 C. Last month, the country repor

Aug. 5, 2025

Special counsel says no plans to detain Yoon until after Wednesday

A special counsel team has said it has no plans to make a second attempt at detaining jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol until after Wednesday. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, which is investigating various corruption allegations involving Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, said the decision follows Yoon's appointment of a lawyer. "We plan to discuss the schedule and method of questioning with the lawyer, and therefore have no plans to execute the detention warrant today or tomorrow," the team s

Aug. 5, 2025

Science ministry hosts AI forum with World Bank ahead of APEC summit

South Korea's science ministry hosted a forum with the World Bank on Tuesday to discuss ways to build a more inclusive global community based on digital and artificial intelligence technologies. The forum, held in Incheon, west of Seoul, aimed to promote global cooperation for an innovative future and to explore areas of collaboration between the World Bank and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. "We hope various stakeholders with different intere

Aug. 5, 2025

No. of workers aged 50 or over surpasses those in 20s at major firms for 1st time

Leading companies in South Korea have fewer employees in their 20s than those aged 50 or older on their payrolls, industry data showed Tuesday, partly reflecting reduced hiring of young workers amid an economic slowdown. According to the data from corporate tracker Leaders Index, the share of 20-something employees at 124 top companies in terms of sales was recorded at 19.8 percent as of the end of 2024, down 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier. In contrast, the proportion of workers aged

Aug. 5, 2025

[Graphic News] East coast tops vacation picks for Koreans

The east coast of Korea remains the most popular domestic vacation destination, according to a recent survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. In a poll of 9,560 respondents, 24.9 percent said they plan to visit the east coast during their summer break, a slight decline from 25.1 percent the previous year. Overall, 46.5 percent of those surveyed intend to take a vacation this summer, with the busiest travel period expected to have between July 26 and Aug. 1. Of those who wer

Aug. 5, 2025

South Korea pulls plug on AI textbooks

South Korea’s National Assembly passed a bill on Monday stripping artificial intelligence-powered digital textbooks of their legal status as official teaching materials, dealing a heavy blow to the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s flagship education reform project. The amendment narrows the legal definition of textbooks to printed books and e-books, excluding “learning support software using intelligent information technology." This reclassifies AI-powered textbooks as just another type o

Aug. 4, 2025

Man who killed abusive father gets reduced sentence

A man convicted of patricide received a reduced sentence in his appellate trial, as the court took into consideration that the murder had been an unplanned act in response to the victim's frequent abuse of his family. The Seoul High Court upheld the ruling that found the defendant in his 30s guilty of the murder of an ascendant, but reduced the prison term to six years from the lower court's 10 years. It rejected the defendant’s claims that his actions were in self-defense against the victim, wh

Aug. 4, 2025

More extreme rain expected in drenched southern regions

South Korea is bracing for another bout of heavy rainfall this week, just a day after powerful downpours swept through southern portions of the country. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday, a narrow band of concentrated rain clouds is expected to stretch across the country from north to south between Wednesday and Thursday. “Rain clouds resembling such a shape and pattern could bring another round of extreme, localized torrential rainfall — specifically focused on the

Aug. 4, 2025

Seoul to boost river bus connectivity

Seoul is working to improve access to the Hangang Bus and its docks by operating and establishing free shuttles and more public bike rental stations ahead of its official launch in September, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. A pilot program for the city’s new waterborne public transportation system began in July and has since identified several areas that need to be upgraded or improved. In particular, limited transport connections to the stops was found to be a major shortcoming.

Aug. 4, 2025

Abuse of ER staff rises 37% in three years

A total of 801 cases of abuse in hospital emergency rooms were reported across the country last year, a government data showed Sunday, having risen each year since 585 reported in 2021. The most frequent problem was abusive language, accounting for 73.3 percent of all cases (587), according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare data submitted to Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the main opposition People Power Party. It was followed by 123 cases of physical assault, 36 cases of threats, and 28 cases of destroy

Aug. 4, 2025

Pope Leo XIV says 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul to take place Aug. 3-8

Pope Leo XIV announced on Sunday that the next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, Korea, from Aug. 3 to 8, 2027. The announcement came just before he led the Angelus — a brief prayer traditionally said at noon in the Catholic Church — at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome. “With this jubilee concluded, the ‘pilgrimage of hope’ for young people continues and will take us to Asia,” he said in front of 1 million Jubilee of Youth participants from 146 countries, including Korean pilgrims.

Aug. 4, 2025

Cancellation of treasury stocks, support for semiconductor industry

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Choi Eun-seok (People Power Party) ● This bill would introduce shareholder rights plans (poison pills), allow the issuance of dual-class shares, introduce veto-right shares and codify the business judgment rule to expand measures to defend corporate control. Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Hyun-jung (Democratic Party of Korea) ● This bill would mandate the immediate cancellation of

Aug. 4, 2025