The Defense Ministry on Friday announced a package of plans to overhaul flawed reservists’ shooting drills to enhance safety measures following a deadly shooting rampage that left three killed and wounded two Wednesday.According to the plans, every reservist will be accompanied by instructors during shooting training, who must also check the safety hooks. The ministry will review plans to install surveillance cameras at shooting ranges and bulletproof screens between firing lines.  The military

A shooting spree by a South Korean reservist left three people dead and two others injured.  The reserve soldier killed one and wounded three others before killing himself in a shooting rampage at a military training camp in Seoul on Wednesday morning, the Defense Ministry said. One of the wounded victims died in a hospital at around 9:30 p.m., YTN news reported. The man fired seven shots with his rifle at around 10:44 a.m. during a shooting drill at the 52nd division under Army Capital Defense

South Korea’s top court ruled the tobacco business act constitutional on Monday, saying that there was no proof that smoking always caused lung cancer. The ruling came amid a heated public debate over whether smoking should be seen as a serious public health threat or a matter of individual’s rights. In a 7-to-2 decision, the Constitutional Court ruled against nine petitioners, saying that the legislation does not infringe on an individual’s right to health because there is no definite link betw

Prospects for the May extraordinary session of the National Assembly remain bleak as rival parties lock horns over the stalled bill on civil servants’ pension reform, even as the presidential office is adding pressure on both to swiftly pass it.Lawmakers are to hold a 30-day extra session starting Monday to pass a package of pending bills awaiting their approval. But the partisan standoff over the pension reform bill is likely to be a stumbling block as the rival parties continued to wrangle ove

The number of elderly living alone increased over the past five years, a report showed Friday, adding to growing concerns over Korea’s rapidly aging population and its negative impact on the economy.The report said the number of senior citizens living alone in Korea hit almost 1.37 million in 2015, nearly a 20 percent increase from 2011, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s report, which was released by Rep. Hwang In-ja of the Saenuri Party. Senior citizens refer to those aged 65 or

Main opposition party chief Rep. Moon Jae-in’s leadership is being put to the test with mounting pressure to reorient the opposition’s political alignment and policy disposition following last week’s electoral defeat.The beleaguered leader’s approval rating has been declining. Realmeter survey said Wednesday that his ratings stand at 24.8 percent, down by 1.9 percentage points from last week, while his rival, Rep. Kim-Moo sung, enjoyed 19.2 percent, 5.7 percentage points higher. On Wednesday las

The government will distribute information on missing children via Facebook starting mid-May, in hopes of bettering its chance of finding them through the popular social networking site.The National Police Agency said Tuesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Facebook to send alerts to its users’ mobile phones if they are in a search area where the children have gone missing. The service, called an “amber alert” in the U.S., will allow users to receive information such as mis

Ruling party lawmakers are putting last-ditch efforts on legislating a long-held bill to address North Korean human rights issues amid partisan differences over policies toward the reclusive regime.The Saenuri Party and the government said last week that they would consider fast-tracking the North Korean human rights bill in June to expedite the legislation unless they reach an agreement by the end of this month with the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy. “It is a shame that th

A resolution condemning the Japanese government’s attempt to list wartime facilities for conscripted Korean soldiers as World Heritage was passed by a parliamentary committee Monday. The resolution will be put to a final endorsement at the National Assembly’s plenary session Wednesday.“We strongly condemn Japanese attempts to list the wartime facilities as World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. We believe it constitutes a diplomatic provocation an

The main opposition party over the weekend struggled to contain the fallout from Wednesday’s crushing by-election defeat, attempting to keep public attention focused on the corruption scandal involving key ruling party members, accelerate party reforms and galvanize interest in its floor leadership election this week.The New Politics Alliance for Democracy continued to put pressure on the prosecution to carry out an in-depth investigation into the graft scandal involving former and incumbent pol

The National Assembly passed a bill on Thursday obligating all child care centers to install CCTV.Of 190 lawmakers in attendance, 184 lawmakers voted in favor while six abstained at the plenary session held nearly a month after the bill was rejected in February. The law goes into effect starting September. The parliamentary approval ends months-long debates over child safety and teachers’ privacy and human rights.“It was a shame the bill was rejected in February,” said Rep. Shin Yee-jin of the r

South Korea on Monday approved a civic group’s plan to provide fertilizers to the North, marking the first authorization of the politically sensitive aid since 2010. The decision will allow the Ace Gyeongam Foundation to shore up agriculture in Sariwon, the capital of North Hwanghae Province, by building an additional 50 greenhouses and providing 15 tons of fertilizers and other construction and farming materials. “They will provide technical support such as for establishing gardens and greenhou

Women in Korea who have a low income or are unemployed are more likely to suffer from depression, a study claimed Sunday.The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said in the report that 16.3 percent of women over age 20 have suffered from depression for more than a two-week period in the past year, compared to men’s 9 percent.By income group, 24.8 percent of those in the lowest quartile experienced depression, compared to 13.8 percent of those in the highest income bracket.By education,

Union workers held rallies in major cities Friday in a general strike to protest the government’s plans to overhaul labor regulations and public servants’ pension system, despite a stern warning from authorities. The Korean Confederation of Trade Union, one of two major labor groups, staged massive sit-in protests in Seoul and other areas. Organizers claimed about 260,000 workers participated in the strike. At Seoul Plaza, about 8,000 protestors gathered to stage protests. They urged the governm

President Park Geun-hye and her Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff on Friday discussed ways to step up business and diplomatic cooperation as the Latin American country spurs its national economic development plans. Park arrived in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, a day early for the last leg of her 12-day trip that took her to Colombia, Peru and Chile. During her three-day state visit in Brazil, she is scheduled to take part in a bilateral business forum, meet with Koreans and attend cultural

South Korean parents spent 3.2 trillion won ($2.9 billion) on private education programs for their preschool children last year, a 22 percent increase from the previous year, a survey showed.According to the report conducted by the Korea Institute of Childcare and Education, parents spent 515.7 billion won on infants aged 2 and under and 2.7 trillion won for children aged 3-5 to attend early education programs operated by private institutions or special classes held at kindergartens or day care

As the ruling Saenuri Party struggles to contain the backlash from the graft scandal involving some of its key members and top government officials, its leader Rep. Kim Moo-sung is seen expanding his clout with the backing of nonmainstream members.While the scandal involving former and incumbent aides of President Park Geun-hye has become the biggest stumbling block for the party ahead of the April 29 by-elections, Kim’s approval ratings have soared. Analysts attributed Kim’s rise to conservativ

A weekend demonstration to mourn the victims of Sewol ferry sinking culminated in an intense clash between the demonstrators and the law-enforcement authorities, prompting criticism from Amnesty International and the opposition party.The police condemned the protest as “illegal and violent,” vowing to clamp down on those that “egged on” the confrontation.On Saturday, two days after the first anniversary of the Sewol ferry sinking, families of the victims and their supporters gathered in downtown

The official campaign period for this month’s by-election got off to a slow start Thursday as the nation remained preoccupied with the first anniversary of the Sewol sinking and political debates surrounding a high-profile graft scandal.Candidates for the election began low-key, opting to pay tribute to the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster, which left 295 people dead and 9 people missing.“Even though today is the first day of the by-election campaign, we will remain subdued as it is the first

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert on Tuesday hosted a reception to thank Koreans who helped him during the knife attack by a radical activist in March.The ambassador planned the evening event to show his gratitude to Koreans who supported him during the incident, news reports said. A total of about 100 people, mostly police officers and medical staff, were invited. They played a role in rushing the injured ambassador to the hospital for treating the knife-attack injuries that left him