Son Myung-jin, a housewife in her 40s living in Mapo, northwestern Seoul, is worried about the city's plan to build a new waste incinerator in her neighborhood. In August, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it would build the new plant in 2026 on the site of a parking lot near the existing waste incinerator, called the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility, to begin operations in 2030. According to the city government, the new incinerator plant will be built underground and the exis

South Korea experienced an average of 31.4 meteorological drought days in 2023, ranking 27th since records began in 1974, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Friday. Korea’s southern region recorded an average number of 36.6 meteorological drought days, while the central region recorded 26 days on average. Meteorological drought is determined based on the degree of dryness or rainfall deficit and the duration of the dry period. In the southern region, the winter of 2021 had signif

The Ministry of Environment announced its plan to launch an AI-powered early warning system for floods starting in May, ahead of this year's summer flood season, in a bid to enhance public safety. The announcement comes in the wake of deadly floods last year, which saw the inundation of an underpass in the city of Osong, North Chungcheong Province, resulting in 14 fatalities. "To ensure a golden time for the prevention of casualties through 'smart forecasting,' we will expand

As a cold continental high pressure extends from northern China, temperatures will remain below freezing nationwide on Wednesday and continue until Friday morning, said the Korea Meteorological Administration. In the central region, eastern parts of North Jeolla Province and inland regions of North Gyeongsang Province where a cold wave warning has been issued, temperatures were recorded to be as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius, while other regions’ temperatures recorded as low as minus 5 C

Lee Sang-il was elected mayor of Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in July 2022, and has demonstrated several achievements that earned him the nickname, “President of Yongin,” according to observers and insiders. While South Korea is divided into central and local governments, Lee excelled across all categories in terms of his authority, personal connections and performance results, insiders said, quoting Lee's office. Korea designates cities with a population of 1 million or more as s

Out of the many policies the city of Yongin announced last year, the news about the city’s semiconductor cluster being selected as a specialized complex by the government was selected as Yongin’s top news report of 2023 among citizens, city government officials and reporters based in the city. In a survey conducted by Yongin Special City, 12,140 survey respondents chose the top five best news reports about the city’s policies out of 26 reports that were selected previously by t

Seoul Metro, the operator of subway line Nos. 1 to 8, will conduct a crackdown on fare evasions until Feb. 2. The municipal-owned corporation will conduct a special crackdown on all 275 subway stations running on Line Nos. 1 to 8. Considering the trend in the number of passengers using subway stations, the crackdown will involve Seoul Metro stationing its staff and security officers in 30 stations where a high number of fare evasion cases were recorded and where preferential transportation cards

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is looking into restoring Donuimun, one of the Four Great Gates of Seoul, the city government said Monday. Donuimun, also known as the West Gate or Seodaemun, is one of a series of historic gates around Seoul. It served as the opening to the Fortress Wall of Seoul that surrounded the city during the Joseon era. However, Donuimun was destroyed in 1915 during the 1910-1945 Japanese occupation of South Korea to make way for trams and has not been rebuilt since. It

A pet owner nuzzles her puppy Tico after months apart in a heartwarming video uploaded to YouTube on New Year’s Day. But this is no ordinary reunion. Tico died in November 2022. The puppy in the video is a clone made to replace her. For some viewers, this last detail adds a bitter aftertaste to the touching scene. Animal rights advocates have expressed concern over what cloned dogs go through, and what the surrogate mothers to the cloned pets have to go through to meet the desires of a sin

An admissions consultant based in Seoul's affluent southern neighborhood of Daechi-dong, a hub of South Korea's private education sector, has been under investigation by police for allegedly collecting billions of won from parents as donations to universities, according to the police. The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said Thursday that the suspect worked as an admissions consultant in Daechi-dong and allegedly swindled three parents out of money from 2020-2022. Daechi-dong i

Seoul will host “Seoul Smart Life Week” on Oct. 7-9 as part of the city’s plans to build an international platform to promote companies with innovative technologies and lead future technology trends. During the 2024 Seoul Innovation Forum in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that the city government has built a three-year plan to host a global business event to share advanced technologies by securing sales and investment of innovative companies based in Seo

The number of people aged over 70 has surpassed the number of those in their 20s for the first time since national demographics have been compiled, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety on Wednesday. According to the ministry, as of Dec. 31, 2023, South Korea’s total population was 51.32 million, a 0.22 percent decrease from the year before. The population numbers for those aged 70 and up stood at 6,319,402, while those in their 20s stood at 6,197,486. Until 2022, the number of

Police decided not to disclose the personal information of the suspect who stabbed Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung during the opposition leader’s visit to Busan on Jan. 2. Following a Personal Information Disclosure Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency decided that the 67-year-old suspect, identified by his surname Kim, did not meet the legal conditions for disclosure. Kim was formally arrested by the police on charges of attempted murder

Seats will be removed from some Line No. 4 subway cars from Wednesday as a pilot project to relieve congestion during morning rush hour, Seoul Metro announced Tuesday. The organization decided to test its new seating plan on Line No. 4 as it often experiences high congestion levels during rush hour. After comprehensive reviews regarding subway car congestion levels and the subway cars' surrounding environment, seats will be removed from the third subway car on Line No. 4 trains. In November

A special bill aimed at establishing an independent space and aerospace agency is set for a vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday after receiving approval at the committee stage Monday. The National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee has approved the bill necessary for the government to establish a new space agency, tentatively named the Korea Aerospace Administration. If approved by the Assembly, the new agency will function as the Korean counterpart to

Heavy snow is expected across South Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. According to the KMA, snowfall will begin Tuesday morning in northern areas of the country, including Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, inland and mountainous regions of Gangwon Province, and the northern parts of South Chungcheong Province. Snow clouds will then expand to the central region, into North and South Jeolla provinces and across western parts of North a

Details regarding the party membership of the suspect in the stabbing attack of Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday are unlikely to be disclosed, according to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. “After internal discussions, it was concluded that while Kim’s political party affiliation is a matter of public concern, it could not be disclosed under the law,” a Busan Metropolitan Police Agency official told The Korea Herald on Sunday. The Busan Metropolitan

The Seoul Metropolitan Government aims for 2024 to be the “Year of Great Transformation,” with the goal of shaping Seoul into a happier city, said Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon during the city government’s New Year’s meeting on Friday. “With South Korea ranking 57th in the 2023 World Happiness Report, Seoul’s ultimate goal for 2024 is to ensure citizens’ happiness,” said Oh. “For policies that guarantee citizens’ happiness to be realized, Seou

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced that it will charge the 2,000 won ($1.53) congestion toll fee at Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3 for northbound traffic only, beginning Jan. 15. The city government stopped collecting toll fees for the first time in 27 years from March 17 to May 16 last year as a temporary pricing model to decide whether to scrap the toll collection system. For the first month, toll fees were exempted for southbound traffic only, while for the second month toll fees wer

The year 2023 was Korea's “hottest year on record,” according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday. South Korea’s average annual temperature was 13.7 degrees Celsius, the highest average annual temperature since 1973, when weather records were first collected by the administration, the KMA said. The average annual temperature last year was 0.3 degrees higher than the previous record of 13.4 C in 2015. According to the KMA’s data, between January to Nove