One of the major power abuse allegations that Yang Sung-tae, the former Supreme Court chief justice, faces is his use of “politically sensitive” trials as bargaining chips to gain presidential approval for establishing an appellate court in the country’s judiciary.　Questions have been raised as to why Yang, along with other judges at the Supreme Court, was so desperate to create the new court that he would lobby lawmakers, Cheong Wa Dae staff under then-President Park-Geun-hye and even journalis

Amid the prolonged heat wave, some 2,000 households in southern Seoul experienced a blackout for about two hours Wednesday, the day Seoul hit a record high of 39.6 degrees Celsius -- the city's highest level in 111 years.The electrical failure occurred in an apartment complex, Eunma Town, which consists of some 4,400 units. The complex was built in the 1970s.  A similar incident took place in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where 580 units in an apartment complex lost electricity. (Yonhap)　“We will d

Kim Sung-tae, the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, said Tuesday that his party has been falsely accused by the Moon Jae-in administration of having been complicit with the Defense Security Command’s recently revealed plan to declare martial law in 2017, involving the deployment of tanks and special forces. 　The recently disclosed document was apparently drawn up in the event the Constitutional Court ruled against the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye. Massive mo

　Misogynistic contents and comments are “rampant” in South Korea’s online communities and content-sharing websites, including YouTube and social opinion aggregator NatePann, a newly released report showed Tuesday. 　　The report by the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education was released as the Ministry of Gender Equality considers the introduction of a law to regulate hate speech online. 　　The study monitored 1,600 posts and 16,000 comments shared on eight prominent content-s

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon held an emergency meeting with the city’s senior officials to come up with measures to deal with the prolonged heat wave.　As the heat wave is expected to continue indefinitely, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it is establishing 181 more shades across the city -- there are currently 1,023 shades available -- while public areas where many homeless Koreans stay, such as outside Seoul Station, will be monitored 15 times a day. 　The city is also operating a total of 3

More documents linked to the power abuse scandal involving former Supreme Court Chief Yang Sung-tae have been revealed, including allegations that he used trials involving former forced laborers during Japanese colonial rule of the country as bargaining chips for political favors from the presidential office. The newly unveiled documents were found in computers and USB devices that belonged to Im Jong-heon, former vice director of the National Court Administration. They show that the NCA had con

　A South Korean women’s rights group is protesting Facebook’s decision to reject its ad, which criticizes the country’s lookism and social pressures for women to look appealing. An illustration that includes nudity was the grounds for Facebook’s rejection of the ad, according to the group, which says the ad did not have a sexual connotation. 　The online ad was intended for a feminist event for high school girls scheduled to take place in Incheon on Aug. 11. The event aims to educate young women

A total of 261 public servants, including 38 lawmakers, are suspected of having taken illicit overseas trips, many of them financed by entities under their supervision, the state-run Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced Thursday.　The agency said public servants will now be banned from receiving funds from other government entities for overseas work trips. 　All state-run agencies and ministries whose staff are suspected of having taken such trips have been informed of the miscond

South Korean poet Ko Un, 84, an acclaimed figure both at home and abroad, has filed a 1 billion won ($893,000) compensation suit against a fellow poet who last year publicly accused him of sexual harassment, as well as a number of members of the media who have written on the case.　In a poem published in December, Choi Young-mi, 57, indirectly accused Ko of sexually harassing women. In “The Beast,” an elderly poet is depicted as a perpetrator who habitually and sexually assault women, including w

Almost 90 percent of some 2,000 Koreans surveyed by the government last year think the country’s low birthrate is a ”serious concern,“ while 65 percent aren’t familiar with the parental leave program for working fathers, a report showed Wednesday.　The report, compiled by the Ministry of Welfare and submitted to Rep. Yoon Jong-pil of the Korea Liberty Party, also revealed that more than 60 percent of Korea’s working parents feel uneasy asking for a parental leave, fearing possible blacklash in th

South Korea's prolonged heat wave is producing a number of unusual moments, including a chick hatching out of an egg reportedly without a mother hen or brooder lamp -- thanks to the blazing heat and continued tropical nights. 　　The country has been enduring unusually scorching weather for weeks since early July. Daytime highs exceeded 38 degrees Celsius in Seoul and other regions on Tuesday, while the temperature in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, reached 40.3 degrees on the same day. 　　A

Seoul announced Tuesday a revised plan that focused on a sharp reduction of domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.The country is sticking with a previously announced plan -- it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 315 million tons, or 37 percent from business-as-usual levels, by 2030 -- under the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. What has changed is the share of domestic reduction to be made, which has been increased from the previous 25.7 percent to 32.5 percent. As a result, the over

Seoul approved a government budget to replace a 1 billion yen ($8,989) fund Tokyo offered in 2015 to compensate the living Korean victims of Japan’s sexual slavery during World War II, Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality said Tuesday.The announcement came about six months after Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that Seoul would set aside 1 billion yen, the same sum provided by Tokyo under the controversial 2015 deal, while upholding the agreement between the two countries. The 2015 deal -- in

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Sunday left his official residence in central Seoul and moved into a humble two-room rooftop dwelling in Gangbuk-gu, in the northern part of the city, even amid the scorching hot weather. He announced that the small property -- two tiny rooms and a bathroom, without air conditioning -- will be his residence for the next 30 days. But why?　Rooftop dwellings are generally considered among the worst types of housing in Seoul. They are too warm in the summer and too cold

Angry online petitions are being filed to the presidential office after a TV program accused Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, as well as Seongnam Mayor Eun Soo-mi, of maintaining an illicit relationship with members of an organized crime syndicate, among others. 　Lee, 53, considered among the most influential politicians in the ruling Democratic Party, is accused of having secret ties to a gang believed to be involved with a controversial murder case that took place in Pattaya, Thailand, in

Seaweed, anchovies, squid and pollock, you name it -- it’s rare to see so many fish all at once, especially all in their dried forms. Seoul’s Chungbu Market is a rare spot for locals and visitors alike to experience what Korea has to offer when it comes to dried seafood. All sorts of dried seafood ae available at prices 20 to 30 percent less than most other stores in the nation’s capital. Drying as a method of fish preservation, which works by removing the water and then hanging it to dry in the

The government announced a plan to criminalize workplace harassment on Wednesday, saying that some 70 percent of all Korean employees have been bullied by their work superiors and colleagues at least once in their lives. Citing a report by the National Human Rights Commission, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said that a vast majority of working Koreans suffer from workplace harassment, and about 60 percent of the victims have never taken any action, fearing possible disadvantages. Lee also added that

A South Korean conscientious objector was sentenced to a jail term Tuesday, despite the recent Constitutional Court order for the government to introduce civilian forms of service for them.Seoul Western District Court ruled Tuesday that the man, surnamed Oh, must serve 18 months in prison for not complying with the country’s mandatory military service. Oh, 30, says that his political beliefs go against serving in the armed forces. In its ruling, the court said Oh’s motives are “unclear,” especia

Two additional deaths were attributed to the heat in South Korea as of Wednesday morning, bringing the heat-related death toll in the country to six this year. A 4-year-old girl was found dead in a minibus on Tuesday afternoon after being left inside alone for nearly seven hours in scorching heat, in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province. An elderly man in his 80s was also found dead at a farm on the same day in Namwon, South Jeolla Province. Daytime highs reached 35 degrees Celsius in most provinces o

A lawyer who is suspected of being a key figure behind a high-profile opinion rigging scandal involving a former presidential aide was arrested Tuesday, according to the authorities.The lawyer, 61, who is only identified by his last name Doh, is suspected of being one of the key people behind the “Druking” scandal, which involved a number of bloggers who allegedly manipulated “likes” of certain online comments in an effort to sway public opinion in favor of the now-ruling Democratic Party last y