The labor union of Seoul Metro, which operates eight subway lines, announced a three-day walkout starting Wednesday if their demands are not met by the government. The union urged the Seoul Metro, Ministry of Interior and Safety and Seoul Metropolitan Government to meet the demands regarding enhancement of working conditions during a press briefing on Monday. “Seoul Metro has the highest rate o...

A poll showed the major conservative party outperforming the ruling party in the approval rating for the first time since President Moon Jae-in’s inauguration. On Friday, a Realmeter poll showed the opposition Liberal Korea Party recording 34.7 percent approval rating while the ruling Democratic Party received 33.3 percent approval rating. The gap in approval ratings has dropped to under-one pe...

A total of 98 South Korean nationals were murdered overseas between 2014 and 2018, a third of them in the Philippines, Foreign Ministry data showed Thursday. According to the ministry data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Park Byeong-seug, 34 South Koreans were murdered in the Philippines over the five-year period. Park, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said...

Amid the continuing work-to-rule campaign, demanding improvement in working conditions and the wage system, which began Monday, the unionized railway laborers reaffirmed their plan to hold an all-out strike. The Korean Railway Workers’ Union will embark on a 72-hour strike starting 9 a.m. Friday, the organization said during a press conference Tuesday. The union has been staging protests reques...

The season’s 19th typhoon in the Pacific region, Hagibis will not impact South Korea but is likely to batter Japan over the weekend, the weather agency said Wednesday. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Hagibis was in waters some 840 kilometers northwest of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. It was tracking north-northwestward at a speed of 13 kilometers per ho...

Almost 80 percent of retired senior government officials were reemployed in other high-ranking positions in the last 4 1/2 years, data from the Ministry of Personnel Management showed. Of the 1,030 high-ranking retirees who applied for the review of reemployment with the Ministry of Personnel Management for positions in related public and private organizations between 2015 and June this year, 81...

Between 2014 and 2018, an average of 30 schoolteachers were punished every year for taking bribes, according to Education Ministry data obtained by a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and presented to the National Assembly’s education committee Tuesday. Of the 151 teachers caught taking bribes during those years, more than half were allowed to continue teaching. The bribes were worth 1.34 bill...

Typhoon Hagibis, which is rapidly gaining strength, is forecast to batter Japan and potentially impact South Korea over the weekend, the weather agency said Monday. The typhoon originated 1,450 kilometers east of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean around 3 a.m. Sunday. It has been spotted moving west-northwestward at 26 kilometers per hour in waters some 430 kilometers from Guam, according to the...

Medical expenses for people aged 65 or older are expected to reach 57.94 trillion won ($48.64 billion) in 2025, when the country is projected to become a superaged society, data released by the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee showed Sunday. The projected figure for 2025 is close to double the 31.6 trillion won recorded in 2018, according to the National Health Insurance Corporat...

Foreigners staying illegally in South Korea will go through a tighter inspection process before they are allowed to leave the country, the Ministry of Justice announced Sunday. According to the ministry, the rules will change so that people residing here without permission can no longer leave the country the day they report their departure plans to the authorities, but will have to make the repo...

Subway workers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province are expected to go on a series of strikes starting Monday, affecting more than 8 million commuters. The four public transport unions affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions announced Wednesday that they would start separate strikes beginning next week. Unionized workers of Seoul Subway Line No. 9 will go on a preliminary strike on M...

The death toll is on the rise as rescue operations continue in the country’s southern regions, which were battered by Typhoon Mitag on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 7 p.m. Thursday, 10 people had been confirmed dead, four missing and eight injured, according to the Central Safety and Countermeasures Against Disasters. Property and infrastructure damage were also reported. Around 1,015 homes in ...

Typhoon Mitag hit Jeju Island on Wednesday, bringing 100-250 millimeters of rain to most parts of the southernmost island. Floods and damage have been reported in the eastern part of Jeju. More than 250 flights to and from the island have been canceled. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, a wind shear alert has been in effect at Jeju Airport. Eight houses have partially collapsed in the southeastern area ...

Typhoon Mitag is approaching the Korean Peninsula faster than initially forecast and may hit the southern region as early as Wednesday afternoon. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Tuesday the typhoon is forecast to hit Jeju Island on Wednesday afternoon before moving up the peninsula’s west coast, making landfall in the coastal area of South Jeolla Province by midnight. The weather a...

A man who was reported missing during a triathlon in western Seoul on Sunday was found dead Tuesday morning in the Han River. According to Mapo Police Station, the 35-year-old competitor was discovered around 6:45 a.m. lying dead in the water near a dock in Sangam-dong. A resident out on a stroll at the riverside park spotted the body. Investigators had been searching the area after the dead ma...