Police said Friday they were unable to tell whether Lee Ki-young, suspected of the murders of a taxi driver and an ex-girlfriend in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is a psychopath or not. "We've concluded that we are lacking materials with regards to some evaluation methods to assess (Lee's) psychopathy," said an official of Ilsan Dongbu Police Station. According to police, they will not further conduct another psychopathy test, while prosecutors are likely to continue with such testing, as t

Social Affairs Jan. 6, 2023

South Korea vowed Friday to take stern actions against a Chinese tourist who was arrested in central Seoul after fleeing COVID-19 isolation for two days. The 41-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 immediately after arriving in Korea with his wife. He was sent to a quarantine facility near Incheon Airport, but escaped the facility on Tuesday. "The escapee, who tested positive upon arrival in Korea and was arrested Thursday, will face serious punishment under the law and according to princi

Social Affairs Jan. 6, 2023

The city government of Seoul opened the doors to a more dynamic skyline in South Korea's capital city on Thursday by scrapping the apartment building height limit, a move that could prop up Seoul's chilly housing market. The 2040 Seoul Plan confirmed Thursday will immediately put an end to the floor limit for new residential buildings across Seoul, introduced in 2013 by since-deceased former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Seoul has prohibited any plans

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2023

Police chiefs said they did not know about the Halloween crowd disaster at Itaewon in Seoul’s Yongsan as it was unfolding on the night of Oct. 29 last year, appearing as witnesses at a National Assembly hearing on Wednesday. At the hearing, the police chiefs and senior officers of Seoul, Yongsan and the national police were grilled about their lack of presence on the night of the incident, leaving the fire department to respond by itself. “I wasn’t briefed or contacted by anyon

Politics Jan. 4, 2023

Police on Wednesday sent the Paju, Gyeonggi Province murder case of 31-year-old Lee Ki-young to prosecution, seeking charges against Lee including robbery-homicide, punishable by life sentence or death. Under the Criminal Act, a murder by a robber is punishable by life sentence or death. Robbery-homicide has a greater punishment than homicide, which is punishable by at least seven years in prison, excluding ones under extenuating circumstances. The latest update to the charges brought against

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2023

South Korea on Tuesday counted a death of a teenager, who survived in the aftermath of Itaewon crowd crush but later took his own life in December, in its official death toll. This pushed the Itaewon disaster death toll up to 159. The Ministry of Interior and Safety said bereaved families of the victim will be eligible for the same state support such as a financial relief as other victims. "The Ministry has decided to recognize a person who suffered an injury from Itaewon disaster and later

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2023

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday that its plan to extend Seoul Subway Line No. 9 farther east side of the country's most populous city has been approved by the central government. Under the plan worth 640.8 billion won ($504 million), the capital city looks to add four more subway stops along a new 4.1-kilometer branch of Line No. 9, stretching out of VHS Medical Center Station, located in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. The new last stop would give the Godeok Gangil New Town 1 residentia

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2023

South Korean police unveiled Monday plans to ramp up human rights protections for foreign suspects through a new set of standards and a new policy. The Korean National Police Agency said it would seek to make video recordings of custodial interrogations involving foreign suspects mandatory beginning this year at their request in case they need an interpreter. Foreigners would be among those eligible to request video recording of their statement to police, along with those who are illiterate or

Social Affairs Jan. 2, 2023

President Yoon Suk-yeol used his New Year's address Sunday to call for new export strategies in South Korea to overcome external crises that threaten an economic recession, vowing to personally attend to the nation’s export strategies and focusing diplomacy on the economy. Stressing the importance of exports to Korea, Yoon said it was time to change its export strategy, as protectionist trade policies were undermining the world's joint efforts to tackle inflation, global supply chain disru

Politics Jan. 1, 2023

The suspect who admitted to killing a taxi driver and his ex-girlfriend was revealed to be a 31-year-old Lee Ki-young, according to police Thursday. In a rare move, Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency revealed the suspect's name and age. His driver's license photo was also released upon his request. The decision to divulge Lee's identity was because the murder case was considered highly condemnable and that it had enough evidence, it added. A suspect's identity and personal information is ve

Social Affairs Dec. 29, 2022

At least five people died and 37 people were injured as of 5 p.m. Thursday as a fire engulfed a soundproof tunnel on a highway in Gwacheon, southern Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday afternoon. President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the Interior Ministry and Health Ministry to conduct a thorough search at the scene of the incident to prevent more deaths. He also ordered an all-out inspection of the road structures like sound barriers to check whether the materials used are fire-prone, in a move to preve

Social Affairs Dec. 29, 2022

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it would raise the fares for the public transit system in South Korea's capital by as early as April 2023 for the first time in about eight years. While the city did not confirm the degree of the fare increase, it projected subway and bus fares to rise by 300 won (24 cents) to keep the public transportation system afloat. Currently, adults in Seoul pay 1,250 won for a regular subway fare and 1,200 won for a regular bus ride. The fare

Social Affairs Dec. 29, 2022

A man who confessed to killing a woman and a taxi driver this week was arrested Wednesday, amid a widening probe into alleged serial killing. The Goyang Branch Court of Uijeongbu District Court in northwestern Gyeonggi Province issued an arrest warrant for the unnamed 32-year-old on charges of beating a 60-year-old taxi driver to death and concealing the body inside a closet in his house in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, citing concerns about him destroying evidence and fleeing. The arrest warrant

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2022

  The prosecution launched on Tuesday a search and seizure over KH Group's alleged interference with bidding regarding the sale of a ski resort in Pyeongchang, as well as its role in supporting illegal cash transfers to North Korea. The investigation led by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office took place in about 20 locations, including offices of construction-to-electronics KH Group and state-run Gangwondo Development Corp., as well as houses of KH Group officials and former Gang

Social Affairs Dec. 27, 2022

The Chinese Embassy to Korea on Friday expressed regret over an allegation that China had operated an undercover police station in Seoul, labeling a local media report about the matter as "groundless." "I am paying attention to a report on Friday by a Korean media outlet, citing sources, that China had installed an 'overseas police station' in Seoul and a restaurant in Gangnam served as a 'location,' and I regret this media depiction," a spokesperson of th

Foreign Affairs Dec. 23, 2022