The South Korean government on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time the rape and sexual torture of women by the military during the crackdown on pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju in May 1980.　The joint heads of the government investigation team apologized for more than 17 cases of sexual violence that were committed by soldiers during the bloody military crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrators. The apology came alongside the announcement of the results of the investigation, jointly con

Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Monday said it is “appropriate” for the central government to consider partially abolishing the program for free subway rides for the elderly in the Seoul metropolitan area, which costs the Seoul subway operators billions of won in losses every year. As the senior population -- those aged 65 or older -- accounts for 14.3 percent of the entire population now, and is only expected to rise, many politicians have shied away from tackling the sensitive issue, fearing

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced Monday that students at all private and public schools in Seoul will receive free school lunches starting from 2021, extending the provision to high schools and private schools at an annual cost of 700 billion won ($615 million)　Just a day before, Park had revealed a plan to make all day care centers -- both private and public -- free of charge starting next year. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has set aside a total of 2.4 trillion won for the program for t

A recent murder case that has been in the headlines for about a week is fueling a public debate on South Korea’s handling of domestic abuse and the consequences its victims often face.An “angry” man stabbed his ex-wife to death four years after their divorce, and his three daughters have since filed an open petition demanding his execution.“We want to solely live and remain as the victim’s daughters, not the criminal’s,” the three daughters said in a recent newspaper interview, saying the suspec

More than 20 Korean NGOs, including human rights groups, protested the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation’s recent decision to award Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year’s Seoul Peace Prize, saying he does not deserve the honor as he has a history of being complicit in violence against Muslims in India.　“We demand (the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation) retract its decision to give the Seoul Peace Prize to Mr. Modi,” the 26 groups, including the Center for Refugee Rights in Korea

South Korea has been selected as the host country for the upcoming 19th International Anti-Corruption Conference, one of the biggest events of its kind, slated for June 2020, the country’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced Thursday.　　The conference is a biannual global anti-corruption event co-hosted by the host country and Transparency International, a Berlin-based international nongovernmental organization devoted to combating global corruption. Each event brings together s

South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is visiting Japan on Wednesday and Thursday to meet his Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba to discuss the controversial compensation fund Tokyo offered in 2015 for Korean victims of Japan’s wartime slavery, which the Korean victims have been refusing to accept, a government official said. 　　The 1 billion yen ($9 million) fund was provided by Tokyo as part of the controversial 2015 Seoul-Tokyo deal to settle the issue of “comfort women”-- South Korean vi

A woman who identified herself as the daughter of a murder suspect filed an online petition with the presidential office Wednesday, demanding that her father be executed for the alleged murder of her mother. About 60,000 South Koreans have signed the petition as of Wednesday afternoon.　　Police on Wednesday requested an arrest warrant for the 49-year-old suspect, surnamed Kim, for the alleged murder of his 47-year-old ex-wife, surnamed Lee. Lee’s body was found Monday morning in the parking lot o

The number of South Korean women who chose to freeze their eggs increased 12-fold from 2013-2017, the country's major medical firm said. According to CHA Medical Group, a health care firm which owns a number of major medical facilities nationwide, 288 women froze their eggs at three of their hospitals -- CHA Gangnam Medical Center, CHA Bundang Medical Center and CHA Fertility Center Seoul Station -- a steep rise from the 23 in 2013.The three hospitals currently store the largest number of frozen

Opposition parties on Monday submitted a proposal to launch a joint parliamentary probe into Seoul Metro and other public agencies’ alleged illicit hiring practices that involve giving jobs to the relatives and family members of those employed at the government entities.　　Seoul Metro, which is run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is at the center of the controversy at the ongoing parliamentary inspection. It was recently revealed that 11.2 percent of its 17,084 employees, some 2,000, were r

A heated debate on mental health and its link to violent crimes is underway after a murder suspect requested that his medical history be considered to mitigate punishment. He had been medically treated for depression before allegedly stabbing a man to death. Kim Seong-su, 29, is suspected of having stabbed a man to death at an internet cafe in western Seoul on Oct. 14. On Monday, he was sent to the Institute of Forensic Psychiatry in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, for a monthlong examinatio

　When Jeong Ji-eun was in her high school, in the early 2000s, one of her close friends pierced her tongue. The friend, who had hated having to wear her school uniform all the time -- she especially found the stiff fabric of her blouse unbearable --, wore a red-color tongue ring, which almost looked like a candy in her mouth. “That’s what I first thought, too -- that she was having her candy,” Jeong, now a 32-year-old professional in Seoul, told The Korea Herald. “Until it was caught by our teac

A professor at a public university allowed his son to enroll in his classes and gave him top grades, and the son received multiple scholarships worth about 5.4 million won ($4,776) from the institution, a lawmaker has revealed.　According to Rep. Kim Hyun-ah of the main opposition Korea Liberty Party, the son, who had been enrolled in a different university, transferred to the Seoul National University of Science Technology, where his father is a faculty member, in 2014. 　SNUST is a public univer

Four Yemeni nationals are being investigated by police on suspicion of having consumed Khat, a plant classified as an illegal narcotic in Korea, according to the Jeju police. 　The four individuals, who entered Korea earlier this year, underwent a health examination as part of their application for refugee status. Authorities said cathinone, a stimulant that is illegal in Korea, was detected in their urine samples.South Koreans protest against asylum seekers in central Seoul. (Yonhap)　Earlier thi

Employers in the service and retail sectors who fail to take action after their workers are harassed or assaulted by customers can be fined as much as 10 million won ($8,817) starting Thursday, the Ministry of Labor said.　Under the revised law, employers are required to grant breaks to employees who have been subjected either to verbal harassment or physical assault by customers at work, and to finance medical treatment and counseling if necessary.　The law also requires employers to submit all a

A total of 16 low-ranking civil servants working for the Seoul Metropolitan Government took their own lives since Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon took office in 2011, many of them due to work-related stress, a lawmaker claimed during the parliamentary inspection of the city government Thursday.　According to Rep. Hong Moon-pyo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, among the 16 deaths, 10 of them have been recognized as “deaths related to work stress” by the Government Employees Pension Service. 　

An online community of mothers of young children in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, is being blamed by the public for the recent death of a day care worker, who took her own life after one of the community members brought child abuse allegations against her online.The case has drawn attention as it involves several issues that have long been a social problem in South Korea, including child abuse, online bullying and widespread misogyny against young mothers. 　The late teacher, who had been working at

South Korea’s National Election Commission is deeply involved with a Korean nongovernmental organization’s alleged criminal activities linked to its past foreign aid projects of installing election automation equipment in developing democracies overseas, including Fiji and Ecuador, a lawmaker revealed during the parliamentary inspection of the electoral branch on Tuesday. 　The revelation comes just about three weeks after the NEC’s former secretary-general Kim Dai-nyeon abruptly resigned as the

Lee Jae-gap, the newly appointed Minister of Employment and Labor, is taking on the new role as things are especially getting rough in the South Korean labor market. 　The country’s unemployment rate reached its highest level since 1999 last month, while the government allowance for jobless hit a record high. 　Prior to Lee’s appointment last month, the Moon Jae-in administration had been criticized by some for its purportedly pro-labor policies, including the latest minimum wage hike and reductio

Police raided Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung’s home Friday as part of a probe into allegations that Lee forcefully institutionalized his estranged brother in a mental hospital and lied about the matter during the June general election campaign period.Investigators from the Bundang Police Station also raided a number of offices in Seongnam City Hall, where Lee’s office is located. The officers also took the governor’s mobile phone on the same day. Lee, who is affiliated with the ruling Demo