At least two deaths have been linked to the heat wave that has gripped South Korea over the last few days, health authorities confirmed Tuesday.As of Tuesday afternoon, heat wave warnings have been issued in most regions across the country, including Seoul, South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces. Daytime highs reached 35 degrees Celsius in most provinces nationwide.The “tropical night” phenomenon -- defined by nighttime low temperatures staying above 25 degree Celsius -- has prevailed in ma

About 1 in 6 Korean medical professionals are estimated to have latent tuberculosis, and a stronger measure is needed to prevent the potentially infectious disease, a newly released study showed Monday.　Latent TB is a condition in which inactive TB bacteria are present in the body with no symptoms. Without treatment, about 5 to 10 percent of latent TB patients will develop symptoms of TB sometime in their lives. 　Researchers came to the conclusion after testing some 1,650 medical professionals i

When Ryu Hee-seon, 25, attended her first queer parade in 2011, she could not help but burst into tears. A young lesbian who had very limited exposure to the queer community at the time, she had never seen so many sexual minorities all at once before.　　“Not many universities (in Korea) have queer groups on campus, and my school had none. I had nowhere to turn to,” she told The Korea Herald. 　　“I’m an introvert and always have been, and at the time I felt very uneasy opening up to others (on camp

Korea International School hosts 2018 WLSA College FairA college admissions fair featuring some of the most prestigious universities around the world will be held in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on July 21.Thirteen institutions will participate in this year’s fair including Cornell University, Vanderbilt University, Emory University, University of Rochester, and University of Southern California. 　The 2018 College Fair and Ivy League Seminar is co-hosted by the Korea International School and the W

The latest sexual assault trial session of former South Chungcheong Provincial Gov. An Hee-jung, accused of raping his secretary, was filled with testimonies in favor of the now-disgraced politician.One after another, the witnesses testified that An and the plaintiff had a “seemingly equal” working relationship, and that it was unlikely for An to have abused his professional authority to sexually exploit her.Among those who testified at Wednesday’s trial session were An’s former driver whose las

Those in South Korea feel least healthy among the people of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, although indicators, such as life expectancy at birth and deaths from cancer, show otherwise, a newly released government report showed Thursday.Korea also continued to have the highest suicide rate among OECD states, with the rate having more than doubled since 2000, the report showed.The report, which analyzed the latest OECD Health Statistics, showed that only 32.5 perc

A common, off-patent drug that had often been used to treat high blood pressure but which was banned in Korea after it was revealed to contain a chemical that poses a cancer risk has become the center of heated debate among doctors and pharmacists.　　Valsartan is commonly used for heart and high blood pressure medications. It is manufactured in a number of different locations worldwide, and it was recently revealed that those manufactured in China have been contaminated with a potential carcinoge

More than 200,000 Koreans signed an online petition asking the presidential office to disallow the upcoming queer parade, which is scheduled to be held in central Seoul on Saturday. 　The petition, which was first filed on June 14, asked the authorities to ban two queer events -- the upcoming parade in Seoul and another event that was held in Daegu on June 23. 　“We are not discriminating against sexual minorities,” the petition reads. “But Seoul City Square belongs to all citizens.” The petitione

Almost 20 percent of all Seoulites who used foreign hotel booking sites last year for overseas accommodation were misled, encountering hidden charges and deceptive price claims, according to a Seoul Metropolitan Government report Tuesday.The report came to the conclusion after monitoring seven major booking sites, including Expedia, TripAdvisor, booking.com and hotels.com, among others, as well as surveying consumers in Seoul.The city also found that it is sometimes cheaper to book rooms directl

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of banning private detective agencies, claiming the existing laws are the only way to protect the privacy of the general public.The unanimous ruling was the court’s response to a complaint filed by an ex-police officer who claimed Article 40 of the Credit Information Use and Protection Act violates the freedom to pursue careers of one‘s choosing.South Korea is currently the only country among the 34 member states of the Organization fo

Seoul Metro on Monday announced its decision to ban ads that contain “personal opinions or motivations,” such as contents in favor of certain religions, ideologies and political activism -- including those by feminist organizations.　The new restriction means that such ads will not be allowed on all metro stations in Seoul and Subway Lines 1-8. Labor rights groups and feminist activists denounced the move. 　The decision was made after a number of ads triggered controversy. In January, an ad that

About two months after a reinvestigation on the 2009 sex abuse case of the late actress Jang Ja-yeon was ordered, a news report has claimed that none of the 20 key suspects at the time were indicted by the prosecution, although there was “sufficient evidence” that they had assaulted Jang as she claimed in a letter attributed to her.Jang, 29 at the time, took her own life in 2009 leaving behind a letter accusing her agency of sexually exploiting her. In the letter, she claimed that she was forced

At least 32 Yemeni asylum seekers on South Korea’s Jeju Island are in need of medical attention, despite Seoul’s announcement last month that it has offered food and medical assistance to the refugees, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has found.“We have found that most of the support programs for the Yemeni asylum seekers on Jeju are in fact being organized and provided by nongovernmental bodies and groups,” the agency said in a statement.“We hope the central government and Jeju pro

Seoul on Thursday introduced a set of measures to boost the country’s chronically low birthrate, including more support programs for single parents and infertility treatment coverage for common-law couples. 　The measures reflect the Moon Jae-in government’s espousal of diverse forms of families, in a country where single parenthood and common-law marriages are still often stigmatized. 　The 900 billion won ($804 million) measures, which go into effect next year, were announced with statistics tha

A group of conservative, elderly Koreans who are ardent supporters of former President Park Geun-hye attacked a memorial site of a late laid-off worker in central Seoul on Wednesday, calling mourners and other laid-off laborers “commies” and “germs,” among other names. 　“You  trade union members are ruining our country, you are ruining our country,” an elderly Korean woman shouted at the mourners, waving a South Korean flag frantically. 　“This guy did not even die for our country. Why create suc

The high profile rape trial of former South Chungcheong Provincial Gov. An Hee-jung, accused of raping his secretary, has sparkled a public outcry after his lawyer made a controversial remarks on who should be recognized as potential victims of sexual violence.　At the center of the controversy is a comment from An’s lawyer that implied that highly educated and independent women -- “unlike those with disabilities or children” -- cannot be a subject of power abuse at work.　The plaintiff, Kim Ji-eu

Almost 80 percent of Koreans who reside in Seoul consider the city as their “home” or de facto birthplace, even though many of them were born elsewhere.  　According to the latest study by the Seoul Metropolitan government, 76. 5 percent of Seoul residents felt Seoul is their home; last year, only 67.8 percent felt the same way.  　Teenagers residing in Seoul had the highest proportion of those who consider Seoul as their home -- 85.2 percent -- and those in their 50s had the lowest at 73. 6 perce

One death and one missing person were reported as of Monday afternoon as typhoon Prapiroon lashed South Korea, causing floods and flight cancellations. 　Authorities have confirmed that a 53-year-old woman, a Thai national living in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province, died Saturday after being struck by lightning while working at a farm. 　Also on Sunday, a 73-year-old woman, living in Boseong, South Jeolla Province, was sent to a hospital after suffering minor injuries in a mudslide. South Korea`s

 The first trial session of former South Chungcheong Provincial Gov. An Hee-jung, who stands accused of sexual assault by his former secretary, was held Monday as women’s rights activists rallied outside the Seoul Western District Court. 　Appearing at the court wearing a dark navy suit without a tie, An refused to answer questions from the press. 　His former secretary Kim Ji-eun made her first public accusation on live TV on March 5, saying that she was raped by An four times over the course of

Another elderly Korean victim of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery has died, the Ministry of Gender Equality announced Sunday.　The death of Kim Bok-deuk, 99, puts the number of known surviving victims at 27. This year alone, four other victims have died, including Choi Duk-nye, who passed away in late April.　Kim was born in 1918 in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, and was forcibly taken by the Japanese military in 1939 to work as a sex slave for its soldiers at a number of different locations,