A 69-year-old man who assaulted his disabled wife and threatened her with a wooden stick was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years, a local court said Monday. The defendant surnamed Choi has been charged with physical abuse against a disabled person and "special threat," which Article 284 of the Criminal Act defines as imposing a threat with a weapon and can be punished by up to seven years in prison or a 10 million won ($7,500) fine. Investigators found that Choi

South Korea recently implemented a system mandating owners or would-be owners of particularly aggressive dogs to have their pet ownership permitted by their regional government, as part of the measure to prevent accidents involving pets. The two-part measure for "maenggyeons," or aggressive dogs, will be effective starting in April 27. Those wishing to own any of five breeds of dogs categorized as "aggressive" by the ordinance of the Animal Protection Act must receive a permi

South Korean police on Tuesday raided the Incheon police agency over allegations of leaks related to the drug investigation into actor Lee Sun-kyun, whose death in December sparked criticism of how the case was handled. A media outlet that revealed detailed information about the Lee case also being investigated, reports said, with the focus on whether the police had given them the information. Investigators from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency on Monday procured evidence from the Inc

A fire that broke out late Monday at a traditional market in South Chungcheong Province left 227 shops damaged with no casualty reported, South Korean fire authorities said Tuesday. Officials believe the flames broke out at around 11:08 p.m. in the seafood section of a market in Seocheon-gun, a town on the western coast of the peninsula which is some 165 kilometers south of Seoul. It took some 361 firemen a little over two hours to extinguish the fire that triggered a level 2 emergency response

South Korea's Supreme Court on Monday confirmed a lower court ruling that asking person with a disability if that disability made them "extra sleepy" is an act of discrimination. In a recently-confirmed ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the plaintiff had been discriminated against by the Hwaseong city government by being asked if his mental disability, or the medication he takes because of it, makes him particularly prone to sleepiness. The plaintiff applied in 2020 for a grad

The South Korean government said on Monday that it has decided to abolish a policy mandating twice-a-month breaks for large discount stores, citing the change as one intended for the convenience of the people. The Office for Government Policy Coordination held a civic-government discussion in Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul, where it narrowed down a number of potential changes to be made. These included allowing large supermarkets to take their two monthly obligatory breaks on weekdays and allowing them

A 23-year-old South Korean man alerted his neighbors in an apartment fire in Seoul last week, helping all 95 residents to escape to safety, local media reported Monday. On Thursday a fire broke out on the 14th floor of an apartment building in Banghwa-dong of Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, at 6:30 a.m., with no casualties except four minor cases of smoke inhalation. A report from local daily Dong-A Ilbo revealed that this was thanks to heroic efforts by a resident named Woo Il-yeong. According to th

A Gwangju court acquitted a 30-year-old South Korean man for the death of his girlfriend, who had tried to cross a highway while drunk after their argument, officials said Monday. Gwangju District Court recently ruled the defendant not guilty of death by negligence charges, regarding the November 2022 death of his girlfriend. The victim and the defendant had gotten into an argument, which included a physical altercation, on the side of the Honam Expressway connecting South Jeolla and South Chung

South Korean police said Monday that a woman in her 20s was hit by a metro train, breaking her leg, after jumping onto the tracks at Hannam Station in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The woman, who was reportedly drunk at the time, climbed over a fence erected around the station and ran toward the platform at around 11:50 p.m., in what officials presume was an attempt to catch the Gyeongui–Jungang Line train. She was hit by the arriving train and fractured her leg, so was taken to a nearby hospital for

K-pop group IVE member Jang Won-young has been embroiled in a legal battle against a local YouTuber, who recently appealed a court sentence ordering her to pay financial compensation for uploading videos with falsehoods concerning the popular star. Jang's lawyer told local media late Wednesday that the YouTuber, surnamed Park, appealed the case after the civil court handed the ruling last month. The 19-year-old K-pop star and her agency Starship Entertainment have also filed criminal char

South Korean fire authorities recently conducted a test to recreate an apartment fire, through which they demonstrated that one of the most effective ways to reduce damages was by simply shutting the front door of one's home if a fire breaks out there. In a bid to promote the fire safety procedures recommended by the authorities, the Busan Metropolitan City Fire & Disaster Headquarters held the mock test in which they actually set a fire to a four-story residential building in Nam-gu, B

Every district in Seoul except Gangnam had fewer childbirths in 2023 than the year before, recent data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety showed. Of the 25 district offices in the South Korean capital, only Gangnam recorded an increase in the number of childbirths, by 13.53 percent, for last year. All other districts had fewer newborn babies than in 2022, with five districts marking double-digit drops. The districts of Eunpyeong-gu, Jongno-gu, Gangdong-gu, Yangcheon-gu and Seongdong-gu rec

A total of 10,185 government officials in South Korea made more than 20 million won ($15,000) in annual income in addition to their salaries in 2023, National Health Insurance Service data showed Friday. The data, provided by Rep. Choi Hye-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, revealed that 0.67 percent of the 1.51 million civil servants currently enrolled in the National Health Insurance program are paying monthly premiums based on their income and assets. The monthly premium

South Korean prosecutors on Thursday requested the death penalty for Choi Won-jong, the 23-year-old man on trial for a stabbing rampage last year near Seohyeon Station in Bundang-gu, Gyeonggi Province, that killed two and injured a dozen people. "Two women lost their lives because of (Choi), and the pain suffered by the bereaved families and the injured cannot be described with words," the prosecution told the Suwon District Court at the hearing, also requesting that Choi be monitored

Local police found evidence to believe that a man in his 50s who died after swimming under the influence, had in fact been forced to swim by another man. Officials said Thursday that Changwon District Prosecutor's Office indicted a man in his 40s on charges of coercion, extortion and death by negligence. The suspect is believed to have coerced the victim and another man in his 50s to follow to abide by his will. According to investigators, the three men had consumed 22 bottles of soju b

South Korean police on Thursday said they plan to expand the recently implemented system of sending out mobile phone notifications for traffic law violations, instead of having officers print the notification and handing it to offenders directly. The mobile traffic ticket system was implemented by the National Police Agency on Dec. 21 as a measure to minimize the equipment that police officers have to carry. The previous system required officers to submit information on traffic violations to th

South Korean police on Thursday said a man had been arrested without warrant on suspicion of hitting a bus driver with a small hammer following an argument. The man is reportedly a Chinese national. According to Anseong Police Station in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, the suspect in his 20s got on a bus at a stop in Miyang-myeon at around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The man reportedly placed his leg on top of his luggage while sitting at the back of the bus, which prompted the driver to ask the man to

A South Korean woman was given a suspended jail term for stalking singer-actress Jung Eunji, a local court said Thursday. Seoul Central District Court handed a one-year prison term, suspended for two years, to the 59-year-old defendant surnamed Jo, who was indicted for violating the Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking. She was also ordered to pay a 100,000 won ($75) fine, perform 120 hours of community service and complete a 40-hour lecture program to protect against stalking recidivism. Acco

About 200 mandarin ducks have been spotted in the stream Jungnangcheon in eastern Seoul, Seongdong-gu district office said Wednesday, sparking excitement here at the sighting of the relatively rare avian species. According to the district office, the birds were sighted near the southern end of the bridge Yonbigyo in Geumho-dong. Yun Mu-bu, a professor of biology at Kyunghee University locally known as "Dr. Bird" for his research of local birds, reported the sightings to Seongdong-gu. &

South Korean court said Wednesday it has sentenced a boy band member to a one-year jail term, suspended for two years, for faking a mental disability to avoid active military service. Seoul Northern District Court handed the suspended term to the 32-year-old defendant, who was also ordered to fulfill 80 hours of community service for violating the Military Service Act. South Korean law stipulates that all able-bodied men are mandated to serve in the military for at least 18 months. The defendant