Over 10,000 foreign nationals are receiving South Korea's Old-age Pension, the main benefit provision of the country's national pension system, a figure that has continuously increased since 2019, data showed Monday. Subscribers to the mandatory pension become eligible for benefits when they fulfill two conditions: They must have paid premiums for at least 10 years and reached the pension age, which is currently 63 for the Old-age Pension, and 58 for a reduced Early Old-age Pension. Ac

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea ruled that taking away students’ mobile phones at high schools during school hours is not a violation of human rights, reversing its stance after 10 years. The decision was made Monday at a meeting where all 10 commissioners were present to deliberate on a petition filed by a high school student last year, according to local media. Eight commissioners voted to reject the petition, which claimed that the school’s policy on collecting mobil

Punishments for unfair consumer practices by K-pop merchandise producers are too light compared to their profits, a lawmaker argued in the National Assembly audit. Rep. Kang Yu-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party said Monday that entertainment giant Hybe was fined only 3 million won ($2,200) for violating the rights of K-pop product consumers while earning over 1 trillion won over a period of three years from selling such products, raising questions over the punishments’ effective

Jeong Myeong-suk, the cult leader who gained global notoriety for sexual offenses documented in the Netflix series “In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal,” had his prison sentence reduced to 17 years by an appellate court on Wednesday. Known to his followers as the "Jesus Morning Star," Jeong is the leader of the Christian Gospel Mission. He was initially sentenced last December to 23 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of three female believers. Upholding Jeong&#

A grand military parade took place in central Seoul on Tuesday in celebration of South Korea's Armed Forces Day. The parade showcased diverse forces, including around 5,000 military personnel and 340 pieces of equipment, marching along a 1.5-kilometer stretch from Sungnyemun to Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul for an hour from 4 p.m. For the parade, military personnel and vehicles carrying weapons and soldiers traveled from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to the parade ven

An 81-year-old contestant was chosen as the best dressed in this year’s Miss Universe Korea competition on Monday, after reaching the finals as the oldest contestant in the competition. Choi Soon-hwa, who turned 81 this month, fell short of the ultimate crown in the event in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. But her admirable efforts won her the consolation prize of “best dressed” in the contest. Han Ariel, 22, a fashion school student, took the top prize and will represent the count

Park Zi-a, who played Moon Dong-eun's mother in the Netflix series "The Glory," died Monday. She was 52 years old. “Park Zi-a passed away at 2:50 a.m. from cerebral infarction. We will not forget the passion of the deceased who loved performing," Park's agency Billions said in a statement. Park began her acting career in the drama company Chaimu, starring as an extra in “Film-making” (1997) and “Maria and the Inn” (1997). Park took part in m

Once a superstar in the 1990s K-pop scene, Korean American singer Steve Yoo strongly criticized South Korea’s recent refusal of his visa request. It is the third time his visa application has been denied. The singer, also known as Yoo Seung-jun, posted a statement written by his lawyer Ryu Jeong-sun on his Instagram account on Saturday. According to the statement, the South Korean consulate general in Los Angeles recently refused a visa to Korea for Yoo. Yoo has now been unable to enter Ko

A man showing symptoms of mpox was denied tests for 10 hours, with multiple medical institutions refusing to admit him for testing, local media reported Saturday. According to reports, the patient was receiving treatment for fever and difficulty breathing at a hospital in South Jeolla Province on Sept. 17, when blisters appeared on his hands and feet. Suspecting the blisters to be a symptom of mpox, medical workers at the hospital recommended he get tested for the virus immediately. The man then

A Russian national has been found dead at a shuttered zoo in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. The deceased, a male aged 67 years, had worked as a zookeeper at the facility until it was closed in 2023. The zookeeper was spotted at 12:45 p.m. on Sept. 11 by an individual who had gone to the zoo to purchase items from the defunct business, Gimhae Seobu Police Station told local media on Sunday. Bugyeong Zoo had been out of business since August last year after it had come under fire for holding

Smoothie King is set to fully withdraw from South Korea over the course of the next year. Smoothie King Korea, which operates the brand here, reportedly sent guides to close the shops by October 2025 on Friday. The company failed to extend the licensing contract with the Smoothie King headquarters in the US, and the US franchise requested to end the contract, a Smoothie King Korea official told local media. The brand first opened a location in Myeong-dong in central Seoul in 2003. It reached a p

A US soldier has been booked for assaulting a taxi driver in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, local media reported Thursday. The US soldier -- a man in his 20s -- is being investigated for causing injuries to the driver while they were arguing about the taxi fare on Sept. 1, Dongducheon Police Station told local media Thursday. The soldier was charged 77,000 won ($58) for traveling from Seoul's Hongdae neighborhood to the city at around 8 a.m. He attacked the driver in his 70s on a sidewalk,

One person died and five others were injured after a car sped into a restaurant in eastern Seoul. The vehicle, driven by a 70-something driver, sped into the restaurant on the first floor of a building in Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu, at 10:32 a.m. Friday. The car reportedly ran over a metal fence near a bus station and hit a tree on a sidewalk before crashing into the restaurant and coming to a stop. A pedestrian was found in cardiac arrest at the scene and moved to a hospital but was later pronounced

An elderly recycling collector was killed in a car accident in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. According to the police, the victim – a woman in her 60s – was hit by a vehicle while she was pulling a cart of cardboard along the road at about 4:55 a.m. Paramedics took the victim to the hospital, but she did not survive. The driver – a man in his 70s – has been booked for manslaughter. The driver tested negative for alcohol, and the police plan to investigate the incid

Charges have been dropped and the case closed against actor Yoo Ah-in for alleged sexual assault, due to insufficient evidence, local police said Thursday. Seoul Yongsan Police Station decided not to transfer the case to the prosecution. The police had begun an investigation on July 15 after the 38-year-old actor was accused of sexually assaulting a man in his 30s in an officetel flat in the district. The police had questioned the plaintiff and Yoo, but stated they could not find sufficient evid

A bill has been introduced to lower the weekly working hours for underage entertainers, as related concerns such as young entertainers' health issues remain unaddressed. On Sept. 11, Rep. Kim Jun-hyuk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea proposed a revision to the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act to reduce the working hours of juveniles working in cultural industries, and apply different working hour caps for different ages. The revision would cap weekly working

FC Seoul’s soccer player Jesse Lingard posted an apology Tuesday for riding an electric scooter without having a driver’s license or wearing a helmet. Lingard revealed a video on his Instagram story with the caption “Safety first always,” where he said “Obviously I was on an e-scooter yesterday, I was driving around for a couple of minutes on an e-scooter. The policy, you know, I didn’t know the rules of the policy of wearing a helmet, of having a license as w

South Korea’s high-end entertainment industry marked 624 billion won ($469 million) in sales with corporate credit cards last year, with over half spent in hostess clubs. The sales, supposedly generated for entertainment in business dealings, increased by 61 billion won from the previous year’s 563 billion won and accounted for 0.4 percent of total corporate credit card expenditure, according to the South Korean National Tax Service data submitted to Rep. Park Seong-hoon of the rulin

A man in his 80s charged with attempted rape of his Vietnamese daughter-in-law was released Wednesday, after a court suspended the 2-year jail term he was issued by a lower court. Gwangju High Court’s 1st Jeju Criminal Division ruled on Wednesday that the two year prison sentence should be suspended for four years in an appellate trial. He had been in prison following the lower court’s ruling. The man was also ordered to attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment and banned from

A man who opened an airplane door while the aircraft was still in flight was ordered to pay 727 million won ($547,000) in damages to the airline operator on Thursday. The man in his 30s was convicted in November for the premature opening of the emergency door while the Asiana Airlines plane was preparing to land at about 700-800 feet (213-243 meters) in the air. Thursday’s ruling was to determine compensation, following the criminal trial, and was handed down by Judge Chae Seong-ho of Daeg