Opposition from the education community and parents against the Ministry of Education’s elementary school entry age reorganization plan is intensifying. On Friday, at the meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol, Education Minister Park Soon-ae reported the plan to gradually lower the enrollment age at elementary schools to 5 years old starting as early as 2025. The plan was never mentioned in Yoon’s campaign pledges or in state affairs announced at the presidential transition committe

On July 17, a freshman at Inha University in Incheon, was formally arrested on charges of raping and causing the death of his schoolmate. Shocked that such a terrible crime took place inside the campus, people demanded that the suspect’s identity be disclosed, but police decided not to reveal it on the grounds that the suspect’s charge does not belong to the six major crimes subject to personal information disclosure. The decision reignited a decades-long controversy over the discl

An appeals commission upheld the cancellation of a driver’s license for drunken use of an electric scooter Thursday. An office worker’s license was revoked after they were caught using an electric scooter while drunk in April. The worker’s blood alcohol level was above 0.08 percent, the threshold at which drivers lose their licenses. The person requested an administrative trial to the Central Administrative Judgment Commission of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commissio

The ruling and main opposition parties on Friday reached an agreement on the parliamentary committee formations, finally allowing the National Assembly to restart operations after 53 days of hiatus. The ruling People Party Party floor leader and acting chair Rep. Kweon Seong-dong and Rep. Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, agreed on the allocation of committee chiefs’ posts at a meeting presided over by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. A

The National Police Agency announced that it has issued two Purple Notices related to new drug smuggling methods via airplane or ship components, which were shared with 195 member countries of the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, Monday.　 Interpol Notices are “international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information” according to the official Interpol website. The Purple Notice is one of

Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, a nongovernmental diplomatic group, released a poster criticizing China’s attempt to claim the traditional Korean folk song Arirang as part of its culture on Saturday.　 The poster, released in both Korean and English, reads: “Arirang this time?! China, why again!” It shows an image of a Chinese TV show with people singing Arirang wearing hanbok. “China claims not only Korean songs, but also various aspects of Korean heritage, culture,

The ruling People Power Party warned about the possibility of a National Assembly investigation and independent counsel probe regarding a North Korean repatriation case on Thursday. The Moon Jae-in government ignored the law and decided to forcibly send the defectors to North Korea through arbitrary judgment, said Rep Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling party, at a senior party officials meeting on Thursday. “We will consider detailed measures such as conducting a state investiga

A serene, hundreds-year-old royal palace surrounded by a wall of shiny skyscrapers is one of the most iconic images of Seoul. On any given day, these palaces are visited by throngs of tourists -- both foreigners and locals -- dressed in hanbok, the traditional Korean attire, thanks largely to nearby rental shops offering the costume at only about 30,000 won ($23) for a full day on average. But not all are happy with the craze for rental hanbok. The issue is the design. Purists frown on renta

The Foreign Language Newspapers Association of Korea marked its seventh anniversary on Monday in a ceremony in Seoul, reconfirming its unique role to bridge Korea and the rest of the world. 　 At the event, held at the Korea Press Center in Jongno, central Seoul, and attended by foreign dignitaries as well as media industry executives, Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming delivered a congratulatory speech. After offering condolences to Japan over the tragic death of former Japanese leader

Video streaming service Coupang Play is expanding its offerings with the addition of hit titles from NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. Coupang Play, which ranked third in the domestic streaming market in terms of the number of users, a standing achieved primarily through broadcasts of sporting events, is diversifying is offerings by securing foreign TV and film content. With this expansion, about 1,000 episodes will be available to users, according to the company on Tuesday. NBCUniversa

Lim Yun-chan, an 18-year-old pianist who just became the youngest winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will join the KBS Orchestra led by renowned conductor Chung Myung-whun in a concert at the Namhansanseong Art Hall in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 26. Lim will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, which he played in the first stage of the Van Cliburn Competition finals. The KBS Symphony Orchestra will perform Dvorak Symphony No. 7 in the sec

Kakao Entertainment and the Korean Cultural Center Thailand will present a webtoon about Thai veterans who participated in the Korean War. The webtoon has been created to inform the younger generation about the history of the Korean War. Titled “One Day, My Beloved Idol Group‘s Leader Disappeared!” it will be launched in September in Thailand. The story begins when the leader of the famous K-pop boy band Little Tiger disappears, even from people’s memory. The main charac

South Korean retail giant Lotte Mart said Wednesday it has adopted an artificial intelligence-based screening system for better quality control of fruit products, an industry first here. The AI screening system, using near-infrared light, collects and analyzes data from fruits ranging from weight and sugar content to water content and ripeness. The new technology also allows to detect internal defects such as browning, overripening or cracked seeds that could speed up the fruit rotting. Curr

South Korean food company SPC group said on Monday that it has invested 40 billion won ($31 million) to enter Malaysia’s halal market with its bakery brand Paris Baguette. Halal refers to the types of food Muslims are permitted to eat in accordance with the Islam religion. As Muslims account for almost 24 percent of the world’s population, the SPC group plans to target the promising halal food market by using Malaysia as a launch base. Malaysia is Paris Baguette‘s eighth ove

Ceragem, a South Korean medical appliance company, said Thursday that it has hired Maye Musk, mother of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as a global ambassador for the brand. Ceragem manufactures and sells back warmers inspired by the traditional Korean floor heating system, known as “ondol.” With the product, which is certified by the US Food and Drug Administration, Ceragem aims to expand into the global market by working with Musk, a renowned model and nutritionist. The 74-year-old model, w

The National Human Rights Commission on Monday dismissed a petition that claimed spicy foods in school lunches is a human rights violation. “Political Mamas”, a nonprofit civic group which deals with comprehensive social issues related to childcaring, filed a petition in November 2021 demanding spicy menu items on school lunches be corrected. “Elementary schools in Korea provide the same meals to every student, from age 8 to 13. If there is a kindergarten att

Web cartoons and web novels, rising as mainstream forms of Korean content, will join the official collection list of the National Library of Korea. The National Library said Tuesday it has amended the related regulations for the first time in 11 years to expand the criteria of the “official types and forms of online data to be collected.” According to Article 20-2 of the Libraries Act, the National Library of Korea collects and preserves online materials with high preservation val

The ruling People Power Party appeared set for wins across the country in races for major metropolitan and provincial government leadership, with exit polls giving the party the lead in 10 of 17 territories. According to exit polls conducted by the country’s three major broadcast companies -- SBS, KBS and MBC -- 10 districts including Seoul favored candidates from the People Power Party, while candidates from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea had the upper hand in four. The

As the number of registered disabled people in South Korea hit 2.64 million, accounting for 5.1 percent of the total population, electric wheelchairs are becoming more common. But related safety education is still hard to find, despite the need for it being flagged up seven years ago. The last survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency on the use of electric mobility aids was in 2015. At the time, the number of users was increasing as well as the number of accidents involving them. In