Deepfake sex crimes spread among teens

  Recent progress in video technology has had some alarming effects in South Korea, as a growing number of tech-savvy youngsters are using deepfake technology to produce sexual images of people without their consent, often of their peers. A recent report showed that there had been 180 criminal cases related to deepfake images last year. Ninety-one of the 120 people punished in those crimes were teenagers, according to a report compiled by Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the ruling People Power Party, w

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Bereaved families mourn, survivors recall chaos of Bucheon hotel fire

Among the seven people who died in Thursday's hotel fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, was a 28-year-old woman whose final moments have deeply resonated with the public. The woman, surnamed Kim, made her last desperate phone call to her father at 7:42 p.m., just three minutes after the fire broke out, according to reports by the JoongAng Ilbo. "Something terrible has happened. The smoke is so thick I can’t get out," she said. In a second call, just over five minutes later, she a

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Gyeonggi bus drivers vote for Sept. general strike

A labor union of bus drivers in Gyeonggi Province, responsible for the operation of over 90 percent of all bus routes in the province, plans a general strike early next month, sparking concerns about disruptions in the public transit system. The walkout plan was approved in a vote Thursday, with 98.3 percent of the 12,613 participants voting in favor. The union, under the Korean Automobile and Transport Workers’ Federation, represents 16,592 members across 45 bus companies in 31 cities i

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Number of COVID-19 patients continues to rise

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continued to increase in the third week of August, according to the most recent tally Thursday, but at a lower growth rate than weeks before. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 1,464 people were newly hospitalized with the disease between Aug. 11 and Aug. 17, marking a 7.2 percent increase compared to 1,366 new patients in the previous week. The figure by the state-run agency refers to the patients admitted to one of 22

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Skeletal remains of man found in abandoned Jeju motel

Skeletal remains of a man in his 70s were discovered Thursday in a defunct motel in Ora-dong, Jeju City, police said Friday. The deceased, believed to be a former welfare recipient, had reportedly been living in the facility before its closure in 2019. Welfare officials had placed him on a watch list after losing contact in August 2020. An official conducting a premises check located the remains in a room of the abandoned building and alerted local authorities around 9:36 am Thursday. Investigat

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

15-year-old saves man in diabetic shock by feeding him snacks

A 15-year-old boy recently rescued a man suffering from a sudden drop in blood sugar at a Daejeon convenience store when he did some quick thinking and fed the man sugary snacks. Local News 1 reported Thursday that the man had lost consciousness at 8:20 p.m. on Aug. 17 at a convenience store inside the Daejeon World Cup Stadium while he was waiting in line. The man suffered from hypoglycemia and heat exhaustion which caused him to collapse. Song Min-jae, a student at an Incheon middle school,

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Gwangju explosion caused by disgruntled dental patient: police

A 79-year-old man who caused an explosion and fire at a dental clinic Thursday in Gwangju had done so out of dissatisfaction with the clinic, according to local police. The suspect had told police investigators that he committed the crime because he was discontent with the dental treatment he received, local media outlets reported Friday, citing officials at Gwangju Seobu Police Station. The incident occurred at 1:14 p.m., when the suspect set off an explosion with a makeshift device in the rece

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

7 killed, 12 injured in hotel fire in Bucheon, electric fault blamed

Seven people were killed and a dozen others injured Thursday following a fire at a hotel in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, with authorities on Friday strongly suspecting "an electric fault" as the main cause. The blaze started on the eighth floor of the nine-story building at around 7:39 p.m. at a hotel in Jung-dong, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, according to fire authorities. The fire, which was confined to the hotel’s upper floors, quickly filled the corridors with thick b

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Russian students return to N. Korea after 4-year hiatus over COVID-19

Five Russian university students have arrived in NK for a language program, marking Russian students' first entry to Pyongyang after a four-year hiatus since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said Friday. The students from MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry visited the embassy Wednesday, and they will participate in a language program at Kim Il Sung University, the Russian Embassy said on its Telegram account. "We wish MGIMO students

North KoreaAug. 23, 2024

Ex-Trump official to visit Seoul for trilateral economic dialogue between S. Korea, US, Japan next month

A US senator, known for his close ties to former President Donald Trump, said Thursday that he will visit Seoul next month to attend an annual trilateral economic meeting between South Korea, the United States, and Japan. Sen. Bill Hagerty, who served as the US ambassador to Japan from 2017-2019 during Trump's presidency, plans to participate in the second annual Trilateral Economic Dialogue on Sept. 4 that will bring together private- and public-sector leaders from the three countries. The

Foreign AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Senate committee chief expects Harris to seek Korean Peninsula denuclearization goal

The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee anticipated Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris would pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a foreign policy goal should she win the White House in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, a Democrat, made the remarks as questions have lingered over the omission of the denuclearization goal in the recently approved Democratic policy platform, which is expected to help set the tone for Harris' p

Foreign AffairsAug. 23, 2024

[Graphic News] Average commute hits 48.4 minutes

The average daily commute for South Korean workers takes 48.4 minutes, with those living in Gyeonggi Province spending the most time on the road and experiencing the highest stress levels, according to a survey by Job Korea. The online recruiting company polled 1,010 people nationwide to assess the current status of work commutes. Workers in Gyeonggi Province reported the longest average commute at 58.2 minutes. Seoul residents followed with an average of 46.8 minutes, while those living outsi

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

1 killed, 4 in cardiac arrest in hotel fire in Bucheon

BUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province (Yonhap) -- One person was killed and four others were in cardiac arrest following a fire at a hotel in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, on Thursday, police said. According to the Gyeonggi Province firefighting headquarters, the fire began on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel at 7:39 p.m. "We're currently putting out the fire and trying to rescue people, so we haven't determined the exact number of casualties," a firefighting official said. "

Social AffairsAug. 22, 2024

Police launch probe into threats posted on German Embassy's website

Police said Thursday they have launched an investigation into threatening messages posted on the website of the German Embassy in Seoul. Nearly 100 messages have been posted on the website since Tuesday, including threats to install explosives at the embassy or blow up key facilities, such as Seoul Station and Asan Medical Center, according to Namdaemun Police Station. The texts were written in German, Korean and Japanese, police said. The messages did not indicate when the explosions would take

Social AffairsAug. 22, 2024

Yoon pledges overhaul of athlete environment

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday pledged to carry out an overhaul to ensure fair chances for young athletes and to create a better training environment, as he and his wife Kim Keon Hee hosted a dinner for South Korean Olympians who competed at the Paris Games. Some 270 participants -- including athletes and family members, as well as coaches, members of sports associations and other staff -- attended the event at Shilla Seoul. According to the presidential office, Yoon told participants he wo

PoliticsAug. 22, 2024

In South Korea, 'communist party' joke leads to espionage investigation

A group of vacationers inadvertently triggered a national security investigation after a photo of their gathering with a banner jokingly referring to it as a "Communist Party" meeting circulated online. The image, which showed approximately 20 individuals including children under a banner reading "Inaugural Korean Communist Party Family Summer Camp," quickly spread across online forums, leading multiple concerned citizens to file espionage complaints with the authorities. On

Social AffairsAug. 22, 2024

Explosion at Gwangju dental clinic; no casualties

A man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of causing an explosion that led to a fire at a dental clinic in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. The suspect, 79, brought a makeshift explosive comprised of four canisters of butane gas and a container with flammable material to the reception area of the clinic, located on the third floor of a building in Seo-gu, western Gwangju. He set fire to the material at 1:14 p.m. Thursday, setting off a chain of explosions that forced some 90 people to

Social AffairsAug. 22, 2024

Gyeonggi leads the way with 4.5-day workweek pilot

Gyeonggi Province is pushing forward with South Korea’s first pilot four-and-a-half-day workweek program aimed at improving people's work-life balance, quality of life, happiness and ideally, the falling birth rate. Korea's most populous province has allocated an initial budget 250 million won ($186,971) for the program, part of an annual investment of 10 billion won pledged for the initiative. In a press conference last Wednesday, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon unvei

PoliticsAug. 22, 2024

Government to hold ‘K-Community Challenge’ for foreign participants

The Korean government has launched the “K-Community Challenge” competition for foreigners, set to run until Sept. 22, officials said Thursday. The contest is being promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. This initiative invites participants to submit videos showcasing performances and demonstrations across four categories: Joseon pop, "sogochum" (Korean folk dances) "taekwonm

Social AffairsAug. 22, 2024

Woman gives birth in ambulance after 4 hospitals turned her down

South Korean rescue officials said Wednesday that a pregnant woman recently gave birth inside an ambulance after four hospitals refused to take her in because they lacked the necessary medical staff or beds in their emergency rooms. According to Jincheon Fire Station in North Chungcheong Province, the woman called an ambulance at 1:31 a.m. on Aug. 15 after she went into labor. The rescue workers reached out to the four nearest hospitals in Cheonan and Cheongju, but all four said they did not h

Social AffairsAug. 22, 2024