A man who defrauded 100 investors of about 20 billion won ($14.4 million) by impersonating an investment adviser for the state-run housing developer and selling apartments in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam area was sentenced to 20 years in prison, slightly reduced, on Friday. The defendant, a man in his 40s identified only by his surname Seo, was sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in April, but the Seoul High Court cut the sentence by 10 months. The court noted that the defendant’s meth

Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2024

The average pretax annual salary in South Korea came to 41.23 million won ($29,709) last year, with the vast majority of high-paying jobs concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, highlighting the need to solve significant salary disparities between average and top earners, as well as between regions. According to data from the National Tax Service released by Rep. Ahn Do-geol of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Friday, the nation’s total number of salaried workers reach

Social Affairs Oct. 25, 2024

Rapper-singer Jessi apologized Wednesday following heavy backlash after a fan was assaulted by a man who was with her at that time. In a statement posted to her Instagram account, the Korean-American singer expressed regret and apologized. “I deeply apologize to the victim and his family for causing pain,” she said. “From the moment the incident happened until now, I have hurt many, including the victim, and left them feeling betrayed and angry due to my wrong actions, attitude

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2024

A South Korean doctor is facing backlash for allegedly describing a patient’s fat tissue as “pig lard.” The incident was revealed Tuesday on JTBC’s current affairs show “Scandal Supervisor." A patient who had been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism visited a local hospital after experiencing heart palpitations and shortness of breath. For further assessment, the doctor ordered a CT scan and she paid around 800,000 won ($579). When reviewing the scan results, the pa

Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2024

The Gangbuk-gu office has apologized after coming under fire for releasing a video parodying K-pop group NewJeans’ Vietnamese-Australian member Hanni, who recently appeared at a parliamentary audit. The video, which was released last Thursday, was taken down on Sunday, following backlash from viewers criticizing the video of discrimination against foreign nationals. “We humbly accept the concerns and criticisms that the video’s content could be seen as discriminatory toward for

K-pop Oct. 23, 2024

Three employees of subsidiaries of Hybe, parent company of the agency representing K-pop superstars BTS, denied insider trading during the first hearing of their trial on Tuesday, claiming they were unaware that BTS member Jin's enlistment is considered "material, non-public information." The Seoul Southern District Court held its first hearing for the three defendants, who include a former employee of BigHit Music, a former employee of Belift Lab and a current employee of Source

Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2024

Police on Tuesday requested an arrest warrant for the head of an obstetrics hospital and the doctor who performed an abortion on a 36-week fetus, facing murder charges. The Seoul Metropolitan Agency said it has sought warrants to detain the head of the hospital where the abortion took place and the surgeon who operated on a woman in her 20s. The Seoul Central District Court are to review the police request on Wednesday. The case became known in June when a woman posted a video on YouTube, purpor

Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2024

More than 1,000 convicts sentenced to prison were found to be avoiding imprisonment by hiding overseas last year, data showed Monday. According to Ministry of Justice data from 2019 to 2023 released by Rep. Jang Dong-hyuk of the ruling People Power Party, as of last year, a total of 6,075 criminals sentenced to incarceration had absconded either domestically or overseas. The figure increased from 4,405 in 2019 to 5,911 in 2022. Of the total number of fugitives, 1,014 were on the run in other c

Social Affairs Oct. 21, 2024

A family of nine siblings received a new home in Yeongdong-gun North Chungcheong Province, thanks to support and contributions from the provincial government, organizations and businesses. North Chungcheong Province on Saturday announced the completion of a new house for the family of 11 with five sons and four daughters, and held a celebration ceremony. The family was featured in the KBS TV series “Donghaeng” in May, where their poor living conditions went on air. At the time, the

Social Affairs Oct. 21, 2024

Nearly 40,000 babies were lost to miscarriages or stillbirths in the first half of this year in South Korea, government data distributed a lawmaker's report showed Monday. From January to June, there were 39,295 miscarriages and 121 stillbirths, according to the National Health Insurance Service data submitted to Rep. Baek Jong-heon of the ruling People Power Party. A miscarriage is defined as the loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, while stillbirths are defined as the loss of

Social Affairs Oct. 21, 2024

A woman in her 90s and her son in his 60s were found dead in their apartment in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, according to police on Saturday. Namyangju Bukbu Police Station received a report at around 4 p.m. on Friday from the woman’s older son that both his mother and younger brother were dead. Upon arriving at the scene, police found the elderly woman and her son deceased in separate rooms. The older son, who had lived with his now-deceased mother and brother for 12 years, told police t

Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2024

Nearly 3,000 homes have been purchased by minors in the past five years in South Korea, government data showed Thursday. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of home purchases by people under the age of 19 came to 2,964, which amounted to 519.8 billion won ($379.41 million), according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport data submitted to Rep. Ahn Do-geol of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Considering the purchasers' young ages, it appears many of these homes we

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2024

An appeals court upheld a two-year and six-month prison term, suspended for four years, for a 48-year-old man convicted of illegally breaking into a woman’s apartment numerous times and installing a spy camera for sexual purposes. On Wednesday, the Gwangju District Court dismissed the prosecution’s appeal against the lower court’s ruling last September, which handed down a suspended sentence for the defendant guilty of home invasion and installing hidden cameras. The appellate

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2024

A snake nearly 2 meters long was captured outside the Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s northern office in Uijeongbu on Wednesday. At around 11:55 a.m., the fire department received a call reporting a large snake on the road in front of the provincial office. Firefighters arrived at the scene, captured the snake and released it into a nearby forest. The authorities believe the snake came down from a nearby mountain. According to the Gyeonggi Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters, 6,675

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2024

In the wake of the launch of weight loss drug Wegovy in South Korea, the government said it will crack down on illegal activities surrounding the much sought-after medicine. Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it plans to monitor closely the safety of GLP-1 type drugs like Wegovy, particularly focusing on its side effects and misuse, on Tuesday. The authorities also warned it will crack down on illegal online sales and advertisements. Wegovy, produced by Danish drugmaker Novo Nor

Social Affairs Oct. 16, 2024