A fire that started around midnight Sunday at a fashion wholesale market in central Seoul continued to burn Sunday afternoon, with two people injured. Fire authorities have been fighting the blaze for more than 14 hours as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday at a six-story building located in Jeil Pyunghwa Clothing Market in Sindang-dong. While the fire was mostly contained, the surrounding area was thick with...

The International Bar Association Annual Conference is slated to start Monday at Coex in southern Seoul. Around 6,000 lawyers from 131 countries will attend the six-day legal forum, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. During the 264 sessions, speakers will address barriers to diversity in the legal profession, including sexual harassment and bullying. The sessions will also provide ...

Typhoon Tapah, building up as it approaches from the south, will affect the Korean Peninsula over the weekend, bringing heavy rain, the weather agency forecast Thursday. The storm is predicted to gain force as it passes through a high-temperature area of the ocean, reaching 28 degrees Celsius on its path toward the peninsula. “Once it shapes into a typhoon within the next 24 hours, Tapah is exp...

The ex-chief of YG Entertainment, the label that represents the K-pop band iKON, will soon be summoned after the band’s former leader admitted to some of the drug allegations against him, police said Wednesday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said B.I, whose real name is Kim Han-bin, admitted to past drug use during an interrogation Tuesday. Kim was grilled for some 14 hours on susp...

A man in his 60s reportedly set fire to himself and his wife after an argument on a street in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, at around 12 midnight, Monday. The man took out a container of inflammable material from his car and poured it over his spouse and set her ablaze. He then doused himself with the liquid and lit himself on fire, according to Bundang Police Station. Passersby extinguished the...

The leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party had his head shaved Monday in front of Cheong Wa Dae, calling for the resignation of the justice minister, whose family has been implicated in corruption allegations. Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn followed suit after his party’s Rep. Park In-sook and independent lawmaker Rep. Lee Un-ju shaved their heads to protest President Moon...

The police sent the case of a South Korean man in his 30s to the prosecution Monday, seeking indictment on charges of physical assault and verbal insult. The Seoul Mapo Police Station said the 33-year-old suspect, whose name has not been disclosed, is accused of physically and verbally attacking a 19-year-old Japanese passerby near Hongdae Subway Station on Aug. 23. Pictures and video of the man...

Portraits of North Korea’s founding ruler Kim Il-sung and his successor Kim Jong-il hang outside a soon-to-open restaurant in the Hongdae area of Mapo-gu in Seoul. The interior and exterior of the restaurant is themed around North Korea, with decorations including the North Korean flag. According to police, the restaurant has not violated the National Security Law with such decorations, but the ...

The advertising of electronic cigarettes will soon be banned. The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Monday issued a notice on revision of the National Health Promotion Act concerning restrictions on e-cigarette advertisements. The amendment will take effect six months after the bill is passed at the National Assembly. The revised law prohibits not only promotions of e-cigarettes, but any kind o...

The bodies of a 62-year-old woman and her 35-year-old son were discovered Wednesday inside a fridge at an apartment that was burned down in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. No one else was injured in the fire. Authorities found a flammable substance close to the refrigerator and assume arson as a possible cause of the fire. They have collected the substance for further analysis. Police also...

A South Korean diplomat stationed in Cambodia has been relieved from the post following allegations of sexual harassment against a female embassy employee, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday, The diplomat, whose name and position have been withheld, was ordered to return to Korea and is currently undergoing an internal investigation by the ministry regarding the alle...

Yaba, a psychotropic narcotic referred to as the “madness drug,” has shown a steep rise in the amount trafficked to Korea, reaching its highest known figure, prosecution data showed. According to the prosecution on Tuesday, this year, 10.015 kilograms of yaba had been smuggled into South Korea by July. The number is almost a sevenfold increase from 1.267 kg in 2013, and almost double the 5.465 k...

Police said they had suspended indictment procedures for a man suspected of issuing an online threat to assassinate President Moon Jae-in. The decision was made owing to the man’s foreign citizenship, and police have enlisted the help of international authorities in tracking him down. Seoul Gangbuk Police Station said Monday that the man, who allegedly posted the threat last month, turned out to...

The amount of illegal drugs confiscated by the South Korean investigative authorities doubled over the year in 2018, according to prosecution figures released on Monday. The prosecution seized a total of 517.2 kilogram narcotics last year, a 99.8 percent jump from 258.9 kg in 2017, a report released by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office showed. The report showed that the amount of drugs smuggled i...

The 19-year-old son of Liberty Party Korea Rep. Chang Je-won is accused of driving drunk and causing an accident, police said Monday. Rapper NO:EL, whose real name is Chang Yong-jun, was arrested Saturday after crashing into a motorcycle with his car in Mapo-gu, Seoul, between 2 and 3 a.m. the same day. Police say Chang’s blood alcohol level was 0.08 percent, which means he could lose his drive...