A former head of a residential facility for people with severe disabilities was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting three residents over more than a decade and physically abusing residents. The Seoul Central District Court found the man, surnamed Kim, guilty of nearly all charges stemming from offenses committed at Saekdongwon in Ganghwa, Incheon, between 2012 and 2025. The court also barred Kim from working at facilities serving people with disabilities, children o

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the California Institute of Technology will jointly select and mentor postdoctoral researchers under a new fellowship program, KAIST said Wednesday. Under the KAIST-Caltech Global Research Fellow program, faculty members from the two institutions will identify joint research topics and select postdoctoral researchers suited to the projects. Participants will conduct research at both institutions, gaining experience in different research

South Korea’s Education Ministry has ordered the correction of a middle school textbook that depicts the Taegeukgi’s central symbol curving in the wrong direction. The ministry said late Tuesday that the publisher had prepared an erratum featuring the correct image and would post it on its website. Correction notices are expected to reach schools within a week. “The Education Ministry confirmed that the textbook contains an error in an image of the Korean flag, and we regret that the national fl

Three flagship regional national universities — Chonnam National University, Chungnam National University and Pusan National University — were selected by the Education Ministry on Tuesday for concentrated government funding of up to 100 billion won ($72 million) each. The funding will be provided over the next five years under a scaled-back version of President Lee Jae Myung's signature "10 Seoul National Universities" initiative. The three universities will receive comprehensive financial supp

Foreign nationals seeking to fill gaps in their National Pension Service contribution records must now prove they were physically present in South Korea during the months they want to cover, under tighter rules that took effect Monday. The previous guidelines treated periods of valid foreigner registration and immigration status as residence in Korea, even when applicants were abroad, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Pension Service said Tuesday. Under the revised guidelines,

When Lee underwent his military physical examination, he was classified Grade 4 because of recurrent rheumatism, a condition he said causes inflammation throughout his body when aggravated by physical labor or stress. All able-bodied South Korean men are subject to compulsory military service, while many men classified Grade 4 fulfill their obligation through supplementary service, including as social service personnel who commute to their workplaces. But after being recognized as a conscientiou

Prosecutors on Monday sought the death penalty for Jang Yoon-gi, who is on trial for killing a 17-year-old student in Gwangju. According to the indictment, Jang, 23, tried to abduct Lee Chae-won for sexual assault before fatally stabbing her as she walked home on May 5. He also stabbed and seriously wounded a male high school student who tried to help her. Jang has admitted the charges. “The defendant sought to satisfy a distorted sexual desire and, in the process, murdered a female high school

Police investigating the death of Jang Mi-ran came under fire Monday after saying they could not determine how the 37-year-old died, despite having repeatedly suggested that forensic evidence indicated hanging. Jang’s body was discovered Aug. 24 at a palm tree farm in Hallim-eup, Jeju City, 104 days after she disappeared. Local police said at the time they believed she had hung herself based on the position of the body and had later claimed an autopsy supported that conclusion. But the National

A joint police-prosecution team ended a 237-day investigation into alleged ties between religious groups and politicians Monday after indicting 32 people and seizing 26 billion won ($19 million) from safes belonging to Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja. The investigation focused on allegations that Shincheonji Church of Jesus directed tens of thousands of followers to join the conservative People Power Party, while the Unification Church used church funds to make illicit donations to politici

The Supreme Court has ruled that entertainment venues known in Korea as “room cafes,” where customers rent private booths equipped with televisions, mats and pillows, qualify as businesses off-limits to minors. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that acquitted a room cafe operator charged with violating the Youth Protection Act and sent the case back to the Suwon District Court for a new trial. The top court ruled that businesses prohibited to minors could not be limited to those

A Maserati driver accused of causing a five-vehicle crash while intoxicated in southern Seoul, killing a delivery rider, was arrested Sunday. The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for the driver, a man in his 40s surnamed Hwang, citing a risk that he could flee. Hwang is accused of causing death by dangerous driving after allegedly crashing into five vehicles near Bangbae Intersection in Seocho-gu at around 11:40 p.m. Thursday. The vehicles included a delivery motorcycle, a p

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- University presidents urged the government Friday to provide more predictable, long-term funding for higher education, saying universities need stable financing to make major investments in areas such as artificial intelligence and aging campus infrastructure. The call came as the government prepares to launch the Future Response Fund next year, which is expected to increase investment in higher and lifelong education. Some 140 presidents from the Korean Council for Univ

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island — Presidents of private universities held an emergency meeting in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, on Friday to protest the Education Ministry’s plan to provide free tuition to students at regional public universities, arguing that the policy would put private institutions at a competitive disadvantage. “If the government provides full tuition scholarships to students simply because they attend public universities, regardless of their income, while excluding private university studen

South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that children born in the country must have access to birth registration regardless of nationality or immigration status, finding lawmakers’ failure to create such a system unconstitutional. “The legislative omission of provisions allowing foreign nationals born in Korea to register their births under Korean law is unconstitutional,” the court said in a unanimous decision. The case was brought by a Vietnamese man and his daughter, who challenged

The US Embassy in Seoul has suspended immigrant visa interviews through Aug. 31 as the US State Department pauses immigrant visa appointments worldwide to conduct “in-depth training” for consular officers on applicant screening. The embassy canceled immigrant visa interviews scheduled between Aug. 25 and 31 and notified affected applicants that their appointments would be rescheduled, according to local reports. Some applicants, however, said they had yet to receive new interview dates. Intervie