Amnesty International on Thursday expressed concerns about the rights of sexual minorities in South Korea in its yearly human rights report, calling on the government and parliament to improve the situation.  In a review of human rights in the Asia-Pacific region, released Thursday, the human rights organization hailed the Constitutional Court’s 2019 decision ruling the country’s abortion ban unconstitutional as a “historic step” for women’s rights. It also r

The total number of vehicles licensed in Seoul last year saw a decrease for the first time in seven years while the number of eco-friendly cars increased, government data showed Thursday.  The number of vehicles registered in Seoul stood at 3.12 million last year, down 0.02 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the statistics from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The number of hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles in Seoul skyrocketed by 21 percent, 56

Residents of Jincheon and Asan in the Chungcheong region on Wednesday strongly protested the government’s plan to use facilities in the cities as quarantine wards for hundreds of South Koreans to be airlifted from the Chinese city of Wuhan amid mounting fears over a deadly coronavirus. 　 The government announced that those evacuated from Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, will be housed at state-run facilities in the two cities for a 14-day quarantine period. 　 Four charter fl

Ten students from North London Collegiate School Jeju have been admitted to Oxford University or Cambridge University, setting a record among all Korean schools, the collegiate school said Tuesday. The students from the class of 2020 at NLCS Jeju, which opened on the southern island of Jeju in September 2011, were offered spots for various majors, including politics, history, philosophy and engineering, according to the school. Other students at NLCS Jeju were also accepted into Ivy League c

Fears multiplied in South Korea on Tuesday over a deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, with more people wearing masks in public and many calling for a ban on visitors from China, as well as for a delay in the reopening of schools after a monthlong winter vacation. 　 So far, four people in Korea -- three Korean nationals and one Chinese -- have tested positive for the new virus, which originated in Wuhan, central China. China had reported 106 deaths and more than 4,500 cases as of Tuesday afte

　 President Moon Jae-in on Monday ordered an all-out check on every individual who has recently traveled here from Wuhan, China, as Korea confirmed its fourth case of the Wuhan coronavirus amid growing public fears over the viral illness that has already caused 80 confirmed deaths in China. 　 The government raised the level of the four-tier infectious disease alert to the second most severe rung, after a 55-year-old Korean man, who had visited Wuhan, Hubei province, tested positive for the coro

Across from Changdeokgung Palace’s main gate are two Korean traditional-style buildings where efforts are being made to preserve Korean traditional music and rekindle interest in the heritage through cutting-edge technologies.Opened in March 2018, the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater is dedicated to performances of gugak, or traditional Korean music. Right next to the theater, the Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music, which opened in November 2019, boasts an archive of 20,000 Korean folk s

A Korean transgender sergeant was forcibly discharged Wednesday from the military after undergoing sex reassignment surgery while enlisted, despite her wish to continue service as a female officer.  What the solider has done “falls into reasons deemed unfit” for military service in accordance with related laws, the Army said Wednesday in a statement after a committee convened to decide on the sergeant’s discharge, among other items on its agenda, earlier in the day. 　Staff

When her son Jiho, 38, came out as gay 12 years ago, Hong Jung-seun felt as if her world had stopped. The ardent Roman Catholic asked God many times why she and her family were facing this personal crisis and what she had done wrong in her life. She begged God to change her son’s sexuality so that he could lead a normal life. In the end, it was she who changed.“I had been so devoted to serving God, but why my son? I thought it was a punishment for something I did wrong. I h

A compact community equipped with public housing, parks, child care and commercial facilities will be built above a highway in northern Seoul as part of efforts to meet housing needs for the young and the newly wed, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. According to a blueprint revealed by the municipality and the Seoul Housing and Communities Corps., an artificial plot of land will be built above a 500-meter section of the Bukbu Expressway to create a public housing complex for 990 hou

South Korea’s opposition leader accidentally sent beef jerky to the Jogye Order of Buddhism as a Lunar New Year’s gift, bewildering the country’s largest Buddhist group, which practices vegetarianism.Gift sets containing beef were delivered to several of the group’s senior officials earlier last week under the name of Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn. The main opposition party learned about the mistake Friday and retrieved the gift sets the same day. It sai

The prosecution on Friday filed charges against former Justice Minister Cho Kuk in connection with allegations that he abused his power to suspend an inquiry into a former Busan vice mayor. The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office charged Cho with abuse of power without physically detaining him, three weeks after the prosecution’s request for a warrant to arrest him was rejected by a local court.Prosecutors accused Cho of abusing his power in 2017, as then-presidential secretar

A Seoul court on Friday cleared main opposition lawmaker Kim Sung-tae of bribery charges, clearing a hurdle for him to run in the upcoming April 15 general elections. The Seoul Southern District Court found Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the Liberty Korea Party not guilty of receiving bribes from Lee Suk-chae, former chief of telecom firm KT. Lee was also cleared of offering bribes to Kim. Based on testimony from former KT President Seo Yu-yeol, prosecutors indicted Lee for inappropriately asking Lee

A South Korean transgender sergeant faces a possible discharge from the South Korean Army after undergoing sex reassignment surgery while enlisted, despite his wish to continue the service as a female officer. The trans person, a 20-something tank driver in a unit in Gyeonggi Province, underwent sex reassignment surgery in December in Thailand after gaining approval from his unit. The staff sergeant, while recovering at a national Army hospital, had applied for a legal gender change and expresse

One in 3 victims of school violence in South Korea has been bullied “as a joke,” a report from the Education Ministry showed Wednesday. 　　Some 0.6 percent of students enrolled at Korea’s elementary, middle and high schools admitted that they had bullied fellow students, according to a survey conducted in September involving some 130,000 students.　The most common reason behind the bullying was “just as a joke” (29.4 percent). Some 19.2 percent of the bullying took pl

Victims of wartime forced labor and their descendants based in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province filed a class-action lawsuit against Japanese firms on Tuesday, seeking financial restitution amid soured Seoul-Tokyo relations over the colonial-era issue. Two surviving victims forced to work at Japanese steel mills during Japan’s 1910-45 colonization of Korea and 31 bereaved family members of late victims participated in the suit against six Japanese firms -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mit

One out of 10 parents aged 24 or younger has had to bring up a child without a permanent home at least at one point since becoming a parent, due to financial difficulties, according to a report released Tuesday on housing insecurity faced by young parents.  According to a survey conducted by the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network involving 315 young parents, both single mothers and single fathers, 12 percent of the respondents had raised their children in places such as motels and public

Koreans mourned the people and animals killed in Australia’s bushfires in central Seoul on Monday, calling on the Korean and Australian governments to take tougher action to combat climate change. Despite the subzero temperatures, some 100 people gathered and held up candles in front of the Australian Embassy to stand in solidarity with living creatures victimized by the unprecedented wildfire crisis. 　A series of massive bushfires across Australia have burned more than 25.5 million hectar

Protesters chanting anti-government slogans and marching with loudspeakers in traffic lanes closed off for them have become a common sight on Saturdays in central Seoul in recent years. 　In a country where street demonstrations paved the way for democracy, this may be seen as a sign of great strides in freedom of expression. 　But complaints are growing in rally-prone areas in central Seoul, namely Gwanghwamun Square and the vicinity of the presidential office. 　“We came here to have lunch,

The prosecution sought an arrest warrant for K-pop star Serungri on Friday over suspected illegal overseas gambling and procuring prostitutes for his investors. The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office said it had filed an arrest warrant for the 30-year-old former Big Bang member, on seven charges including illegal overseas gambling, illegal currency transactions and procuring prostitutes. A hearing on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, wil