Fear of deepfake porn chat rooms on Telegram targeting indiscriminate women grips nation

Numerous chat rooms on Telegram suspected of creating and distributing deepfake pornographic material with doctored photos of ordinary women have been discovered recently, stoking fear and outrage across the country. Many victims in these chat rooms -- one of which was found to have over 133,000 members -- were believed to be minors, including middle and high school students, as well as university students, teachers and even military personnel. Through reporting, Yonhap News Agency has learned o

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Sports minister says audits into football, badminton federations set to conclude in Sept.

Ongoing government audits into the national governing bodies for football and badminton over recent controversy will conclude sometime in September, the sports minister said Monday. Yu In-chon, minister of culture, sports and tourism, made the remark during a plenary meeting of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly. When asked about the ministry's audit into operations of the Korea Football Association (KFA), brought on by its controversial hiring of Hong Myung-

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

Yoon, US Senate's armed service committee chief discuss alliance, N.K. threats

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with the head of the U.S. Senate's armed service committee Monday to discuss ways to bolster the combined defense posture against North Korean threats, his office said. During the talks with U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) in Seoul, Yoon stressed the need to advance the bilateral alliance and trilateral cooperation involving Japan to effectively deter North Korean threats, the presidential office said. Yoon also asked for continued support from the U.S. Congress in st

Foreign AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Ruling bloc divided on foreign nannies' pay

South Korea's ruling bloc is divided over whether to exclude foreign caregivers from minimum wage standards, with ruling party politicians advocating for more affordable options for households, while the labor minister nominee warns it could breach the Constitution as well as international labor laws. Kim Moon-soo, the former Gyeonggi Province governor nominated by President Yoon Suk Yeol for labor minister, said in a written statement Sunday, a day ahead of his parliamentary confirmation hearin

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

In Andong, $1,500 accidentally thrown in trash returns to owner

In Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, $1,500 in US dollar banknotes were accidentally dumped in the trash. Thanks to impressive civil services and a stroke of luck, the cash was retrieved and returned to its owner, according to Andong City Government on Monday. It all started with an urgent call to Andong City Hall at around 1 p.m. Friday. The call was from a citizen who reported accidentally discarding the US dollar bills, meant for upcoming overseas travel, with their trash. Upon realizing the

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Rise in multinational recipients of basic pension spurs review of eligibility

The number of elderly individuals with multiple nationalities receiving South Korea's basic pension has jumped fivefold over the past decade, according to government data released Monday. The data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare shows that the number of pension recipients with multiple nationalities has steadily risen, from 1,047 in 2014, the first year of the pension’s introduction, to 5,699 in 2023. Their proportion also grew from 0.02 percent in 2014 to 0.09 percent last ye

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

North Korea’s new missile launchers can reach central South Korea: NIS

South Korea’s spy service believes North Korea’s new tactical ballistic missile launchers unveiled earlier this month may be capable of reaching as far as central South Korea, in the North and South Chungcheong provinces. Cho Tae-yong, the director of the National Intelligence Service, briefed lawmakers on Monday that some 110 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border would be within reach of possible attacks by the North Korean missile launchers. The two vice chairs of the Nationa

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Korea needs more disabled in Cabinet posts’

While South Korea’s infrastructure for people with disabilities has significantly improved in the past decades, the government still needs to appoint more of them to key posts in the administration, a former member of the US National Council on Disability said. Pak Dong-woo, known to people around him as Joe Pak, who served as the first Korean American member of the NCD under US President Barack Obama's administration from 2009 to 2013, highlighted the importance of such inclusivity w

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

Heat wave to end later this week

A temporary end to the scorching heat could be near, as the Korea Meteorological Administration stated Monday that high temperatures will decrease in some parts of South Korea from Wednesday. According to the KMA, the Tibetan and North Pacific high pressure systems -- which brought hot and humid temperatures into Korea -- has shrunk, opening a gap for cold, dry air from the north to enter into the atmosphere above Korea. The weather agency added that while ocean surface temperatures around the

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Emergency alerts now available in 5 languages

The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced Monday that emergency alerts sent through the “Emergency Ready App” will now be available in five different languages. According to the Interior Ministry, the application formally sent out its emergency alerts through the app in English and Chinese only. However, starting Monday, the app will also begin to issue its alerts in Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese. The Emergency Ready App is an application run by the Ministry of Interior and Safet

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Korean hospital ordered to pay W423m for US national's death

A Seoul court has ordered a local hospital to pay 423 million won ($319,993) to the family of a US national who died from a pulmonary embolism shortly after a hip replacement surgery in 2019, legal sources said Monday. The Seoul Central District Court recently delivered the ruling nearly five years after the bereaved family filed a damages suit against the hospital for negligence that resulted in death. The incident happened in August 2019 when the man, who was a 59-year-old American civilian em

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Mattress blamed for intensifying fatal hotel fire in Bucheon

The proximity of a mattress to the source of last week's deadly fire at a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, appears to have significantly contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze, authorities investigating the case said Monday. The preliminary investigation suggests an electrical fault in the air conditioning unit as the likely cause, with sparks igniting the nearby sofa and the mattress. Fire authorities suspect that overheating or dust in the aging device precipitated the fault. Ca

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Kim Jong-un hoping for Trump’s re-election: ex-North Korean envoy

Tae Yong-ho, who was Pyongyang’s envoy to the UK before seeking asylum in South Korea in 2016, said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would want US presidential nominee Donald Trump to win in November. “What Kim Jong-un wants more than anything at this moment is for Trump to win the US presidential election and for the trilateral security cooperation of South Korea, Japan and the US -- a Biden era legacy -- to become obsolete,” Tae told The Korea Herald on Sunday. Trump, speaking

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

[Community Discovery] Bringing the vibe back: Yongsan strives to revive Itaewon

Choi Jeong-kyu, CEO of Jonny Dumpling, a Shandong-style dumpling restaurant located in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, reflects on the challenging days his business has faced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic crowd crush incident nearly two years ago. The local restaurant, well known for its half-moon-shaped dumplings, faced a significant decline in customers over the past four years. However, it has gradually regained its footing after being selected as one of 30 rep

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Opposition party accuses Yoon govt. of 'submissive' diplomacy with Japan

The main opposition Democratic Party accused the Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Monday of engaging in "submissive" diplomacy with Japan by appointing pro-Japan figures to key positions and removing public installations depicting the easternmost islets of Dokdo. "Since the start of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, we have seen continued pro-Japan submissive diplomacy and a desperation to erase history," DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said during a supreme council meeting. &qu

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

Top prosecutor vows to respect investigation review panel in first lady's case

Prosecutor General Lee One-seok said Monday that he will respect the upcoming conclusion by a panel of external private experts on first lady Kim Keon Hee's luxury handbag case. Lee made the remarks after referring the case to the investigation review committee, an external body that deliberates on investigations of high public interest, last Friday. Earlier that week, he was briefed that an investigation team from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office decided not to seek charges ag

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Yoon to meet ruling party leadership this week

President Yoon Suk Yeol will host a dinner meeting with the leadership of the ruling People Power Party later this week, party officials said Monday. PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, five Supreme Council members, and the party's policy chief are expected to attend the meeting on Friday, according to party officials. During the meeting, Yoon and the party leaders are expected to discuss key policy issues ahead of the regular National Assembly session, which is set to beg

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

11 mpox cases reported this year with no new virus strain

Eleven mpox cases have been reported so far this year in South Korea, but all detected cases were the less deadly Clade II variant, health authorities said Monday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the latest case was reported last month, adding that health authorities have bolstered screening at borders to cope with the deadly new variant. South Korea reported 151 mpox cases last year. The majority of patients were males aged 20 to 40 in the greater Seoul area, with cl

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

S. Korea, US to hold 7th round of talks on defense cost sharing this week

South Korea and the United States will hold their seventh round of negotiations in Seoul this week to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the US Forces Korea, officials said Monday. The talks are set to take place from Tuesday through Thursday, led by the chief negotiators — Lee Tae-woo of South Korea and Linda Specht representing the United States — as the allies work to renew the current six-year deal, which will expire at the end of next year. Under the Special

DefenseAug. 26, 2024

N. Korean leader oversees suicide drones test, calls for more production

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen a performance test of various drones, calling for the development and production of more suicide drones to enhance war preparedness, state media reported Monday. Kim supervised the test organized by the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency. In the test, the drones flew along various preset courses and correctly identified and destroyed the designated targets, as they have missions

North KoreaAug. 26, 2024