The three YouTubers accused of exploiting popular YouTuber Tzuyang issued an apology regarding the incident, as the victim plans to file criminal charges against them and the video-sharing platform disabled monetization for their channels. Gu Je Yeok, Caracula and Jeon Gukjin all issued some forms of apology Monday, while still denying that they had blackmailed Tzuyang. It was revealed last week in a recording of their discussion that the three were potentially involved in a blackmail of Tzuya

Social Affairs July 16, 2024

The state-run tax agency said it seized 28.6 billion won ($20.6 million) in unpaid taxes from local hagwon last year, over four times the amount collected the previous year. The additional taxes were collected after a series of nationwide tax evasion crackdowns on hagwon by the National Tax Service, according to NTS data submitted to Rep. Lim Gwang-hyeon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Last year, the figure hit 6.6 billion won, compared to 5.1 billion won in 2021 and 18.9 bil

Social Affairs July 16, 2024

A Busan court on Tuesday held a hearing for a teacher at a private academy who was accused of sexually harassing a 5-year-old girl in May, with the defendant saying he had been drunk at the time. The defendant, identified only as a US citizen in his 30s, told the Busan District Court that he drank seven bottles of soju before making the unwanted physical contact on the child during a class at a hagwon in Dongnae-gu, Busan, on May 22. His lawyer told the court that his client was admitting the

Social Affairs July 16, 2024

A stroke of luck saved a woman who had collapsed in a Seoul Metro station during busy rush hour, when a firefighter and paramedic happened to be nearby and came to her rescue, local media outlets reported Tuesday. The woman in her 20s collapsed at 8:02 a.m. inside Wangsimni Station in Seoul on Monday, according to local media outlet Edaily. Officials at the station had found and laid her on the floor, while she was showing signs of hyperventilation, when a man and a woman approached them. The

People July 16, 2024

The South Korean prosecutors said Monday it indicted a man in his 50s for causing a fatal traffic accident last month, despite the man consuming more alcohol after the accident to hide his drunk driving. Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said it indicted the suspect on charges of drunk driving and violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents. The suspect is believed to have driven his Porsche vehicle into a compact car at around 12:45 a.m. on June 2

Social Affairs July 15, 2024

Data provided by the National Health Insurance Service showed again Monday that foreign national subscribers pay more in contributions than they get back in benefits, debunking the belief that they are "freeloading" off the state-run health insurance program and demonstrating they actually subsidize the system. In 2023, foreign national subscribers overall paid 2.04 trillion won ($1.47 billion) in insurance fees to the NHIS, substantially more than the 1.27 trillion won they received

Social Affairs July 15, 2024

A Tunisian national recently won a court order to have the South Korean immigration authorities deliberate on granting her refugee status, the Incheon District Court said Monday. The court recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in an administrative lawsuit she filed last year against the Korea Immigration Service, saying its decision to deny her from being screened for refugee status in December was unlawful. She had requested refugee status on the grounds that she would be subject to severe a

Social Affairs July 15, 2024

A total of 63 people won the jackpot in last week's South Korean Lotto, the highest-ever number of winners in its history, according to Lotto’s operators Donghaeng Lottery. But the large number of winners means they will each receive the second-lowest jackpot winnings ever. The 63 winners will each take home 419.9 million won ($300,000), which is the second-lowest amount on record behind 400.09 million won in 2013. The previous record number of winners was 50 in the 1,019th Lott

Social Affairs July 15, 2024

Operators of the House of Sharing, the residential building for surviving victims of Japan's sexual slavery before and during World War II, are mulling turning it into a museum dedicated to the women euphemistically called "comfort women." According to local media outlets Friday, all previous occupants of the house have left due to their deteriorating health from old age. Three women, 97-year-old Lee Ok-seon -- not to be confused with confused with another victim of the same nam

People July 13, 2024

Following YouTuber Tzuyang's recent revelation about her being assaulted and financially exploited by her former boyfriend for four years, a group of YouTubers were suspected to have blackmailed her for money in exchange for keeping quiet about her past. The revelation shocked and angered viewers over what many are calling the moral bankruptcy of the so-called "cyber wreckers," who make a profit by posting rumors or negative news about celebrities often in a maliciously edited f

Social Affairs July 13, 2024

Popular South Korean YouTuber Chimchakman released a statement concerning a recent online threat made against his 11-year-old daughter, saying he will not tolerate any foul play against his family. Officials from the Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul said Thursday that they have launched an investigation into a threat against the daughter of the YouTuber, whose real name is Lee Byeong-geon. The unidentified individual, who posted the threat on an online community at around 9:34 p.m. on Tuesda

Social Affairs July 12, 2024

An elderly woman pinned underneath a bus was saved Thursday by a group of citizens nearby who lifted the bus to get her out. According to Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul, the woman in her 70s had been getting off a bus at a stop near Hongje Station around 6:25 p.m., when she slipped and fell. The driver did not see her fall, and when the bus moved forward her arm was pinned down by one of the wheels. The people at the bus stop came to her rescue by collectively lifting the bus to free her. T

Social Affairs July 12, 2024

One of the three suspects behind the May murder of a South Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand has been extradited here Wednesday, 58 days after he was apprehended in Cambodia. Korea's National Police Agency said the 27-year-old suspect arrived via Incheon International Airport this morning. He was nabbed by police in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 14, and the Korean police has been working with the local authorities to ensure that the suspect is sent here as quickly as possible within the bou

Social Affairs July 10, 2024

Over two dozen people are being investigated in a drug scandal surrounding former professional baseball player Oh Jae-won, Seoul police said Wednesday. Seoul Gangnam Police Station said it has forwarded the case to the prosecution, with 29 people facing charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. The list includes 13 active or retired pro baseball players, a trainer for Oh's former team the Doosan Bears of the KBO, parents of a player from Oh's baseball academy, three people who

Social Affairs July 10, 2024

South Korea's highest court recently upheld a lower court ruling that cleared an 82-year-old man of spy charges, for which he served a seven-year prison term after being convicted over five decades ago. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the prosecution, who claimed that the man, surnamed Kim, was guilty on some of the charges pressed against him back in 1969. The court said the evidence presented against him did not indicate that Kim could potentially threaten the nation's securi

Social Affairs July 10, 2024