Five employees at a state-run cybersecurity institute repeatedly accessed StarCraft game servers while their supervisors were away on vacation or business trips in 2024, according to a lawmaker Monday. According to Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the Democratic Party of Korea, employees at the National Security Research Institute logged on to StarCraft’s Battle.net service between September and December 2024. The records showed a maximum of eight hours and 53 minutes of access in a single day and more than

Language barriers at labor offices are leaving migrant workers unable to file complaints, track their cases or get answers for years. Kim Yi-chan, head of the Global Station Center, a civic group that supports Cambodian workers in Korea, said some workers struggle to understand even basic guidance from labor officials. “In some cases, workers do not file complaints because they cannot understand what officials at regional labor offices tell them,” Kim said. “Even when they revisit the labor offi

More than 1,100 foreign nationals were caught working illegally as delivery riders in South Korea during the first eight months of the year, according to a lawmaker, sparking concerns about potential blind spots in the country's work permit system for foreigners. Rep. Kim Gi-pyo of the Democratic Party of Korea disclosed data from the Ministry of Justice during a parliamentary audit of the ministry on Thursday. The data shows that 1,132 foreign nationals were caught working as delivery riders wi

An Indian national has accused immigration officers of subjecting him to physical abuse, including covering his mouth with duct tape and choking him during his deportation, a lawmaker revealed Thursday. Rep. Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party disclosed bodycam footage and related documents obtained from the Ministry of Justice during a parliamentary audit. It was also revealed that the victim's legal representative has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea

With the government mandating the separate disposal of paper beverage cartons from October, critics wonder whether the new policy will effectively raise the recycling rate or make recycling more tedious for residents. On Oct. 1, South Korea began voluntary implementation of the new recycling policy that requires separating paper beverage cartons from other recyclable paper. The policy will be mandatory from Jan. 1, 2027, at apartment complexes with 300 or more households, covering about 144,000

Korea’s push to rebuild medical care outside the capital faces a persistent challenge — regional hospitals have struggled to restore services disrupted by the government-doctor standoff, while training new specialists will take years. Data released Tuesday showed average bed occupancy at nine national university hospitals outside the Seoul area remained at 56.4 percent in 2025, unchanged from 2024 and well below 73.6 percent in 2023. Surgical volumes also remained sharply below pre-dispute level

Active use of social media may have a bigger impact on the loneliness of those aged at least 60, a South Korean study has found. A statistically significant correlation was found between social media use and the tendency to feel lonely in this age group, according to research led by Min Kyoung-bok, a professor of preventive medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine. Min’s team analyzed data from 34,142 Seoul residents aged 20 and older, collected through the 2024 Seoul Survey. Th

Seventeen foreign nationals under the age of 18 were being held in immigration detention facilities in Korea as of August, raising concerns over their health and rights, according to a lawmaker’s office. According to the office of Rep. Park Eun-jung of the Rebuilding Korea Party, eight foreign nationals under the age of 18 were being held at the Foreigners’ Protection Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, while another nine were being held at a center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Th

Jeong, a woman in her 60s, once had a direct bus for her trips from Yongin to Ulsan. Now she travels more than an hour to Seoul to catch a train — if she can get a ticket. The bus service between the two cities ended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeong, who makes the trip several times a year, said reduced services from nearby cities have left her with few convenient alternatives. “Trains are often sold out on weekends, even when I try to book three weeks in advance,” she said. “People going to

Applicaitons to have mental health problems recognized as work-related are increasingly likely to be turned down by the South Korean government, government data shows. According to Rep. Park Jee-hye of the Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday, the rate at which mental health problems were recognized as work-related illnesses by the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service fell consistently over the past four years, from 70.5 percent to 55.8 percent. Despite an increase in applications f

Foreign-national children are largely excluded from South Korea's national childcare subsidies. This leaves immigrant families to depend on a patchwork of local programs even as the country seeks to encourage foreign residents to settle long term. The Korea Women’s Development Institute has called on the central government to establish a nationwide childcare support system for immigrant families, citing wide regional disparities and the long-term social costs of leaving children without adequate

Reports of adverse events following growth hormone injections in children approached 2,000 in Korea last year as use of the drugs continued to increase, government data cited by a lawmaker showed Monday. The number of reports rose from 1,189 in 2021 to 1,910 in 2025, according to Ministry of Food and Drug Safety data obtained by Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea. The figures do not establish that growth hormone injections caused the reported conditions. An adverse event report r

Suicide accounted for nearly one in five deaths among international students in Korea since 2021, Education Ministry data showed Monday. Fifteen international students died by suicide out of 84 who died while studying in Korea during the period, according to data obtained by Rep. Kim Moon-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea. The figures were compiled through a ministry survey of more than 350 universities nationwide. Accidents were the leading cause of death, accounting for 34 cases, followed b

Data showed Sunday that the amount of parental leave benefits paid to foreign nationals in South Korea has doubled in a year, indicating that more foreign workers are putting down roots and raising families here rather than coming solely for short-term employment. According to Ministry of Employment and Labor data cited by Rep. Park Soo-min of the People Power Party, a total of 36.45 billion won ($26.2 million) was paid to foreign nationals in parental leave benefits in 2025, more than double th

Seoul has had about one case of suspected ground subsidence reported a day since 2023, data showed Sunday, as public concern grows over a lack of government efforts to prevent fatal sinkholes in the capital. According to National Fire Agency data cited by Rep. Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea, Seoul received 1,371 reports of suspected ground subsidence between 2023 and August this year — more than one report per day on average over the 1,338-day period. Report numbers surged last y