As South Korea suffers from the prolonged disruption of medical services across the country, government data showed Wednesday that rescue workers' requests for ERs have more than doubled this year compared to the same period last year. From February to June 25, 119 emergency control centers have selected hospitals for emergency patients on 1,196 occasions, according to the National Fire Agency. This marks an increase of 131 percent compared to 519 such cases in the same period last year.

The mother of a 17-year-old girl who died from severe abuse by church members said she was "thankful" to the perpetrators, reiterating that she did not want them to be punished. The 52-year-old woman testified in a court hearing held at Incheon District Court on Monday and stated that there was no coercion from the defendants for the child to be sent to the church. A 52-year-old leader of an Incheon church choir and two other members are currently being tried on allegations of child

Stories of bus drivers encouraging passengers to give up seats for pregnant women have been circulating online, most recently with a woman's compliment posted on the Seoul Bus Labor Union website on Monday. A woman who identified herself as 12 weeks pregnant said she got on a Seoul bus No. 440 at around 6 p.m. on Monday with no real hopes of getting a seat during rush hour. But when the driver saw her pregnancy badge, he asked the passengers sitting in the priority zones to give up their se

Incheon Airport will introduce a new manual on dealing with private security personnel employed by celebrities, in light of the recent controversy surrounding what was alleged to be excessive security measures for actor Byeon Woo-seok. The manual will detail proper responses for when the terminals get crowded due to high-profile personnel leaving or arriving at the airport, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp. report submitted to Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the main opposition Democrati

  Over 7,000 people were investigated for online sex crimes between 2021 and 2023, but only 5.5 percent of them were detained, police data showed Tuesday. A total of 9,864 such crimes occurred in that period, according to National Police Agency data submitted to Democratic Party Rep. Hwang Jung-a. A total of 3,295 of them were related to child pornography -- accounting for 43.8 percent -- followed by 2,415 cases involving illegally filmed content and 1,563 cases involving other illegal porn

South Korean police said Monday that a man in his 30s is being investigated for suspected drug use after he parked his car at a police station while apparently still under the influence of illegal drugs. The suspect was taken into custody by officers at Ilsan Dongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on Saturday, after he parked his car in the handicapped zone of the station at around 5 p.m. He told the police official who approached him that he came to visit the traffic investigation unit, b

A South Korean court recently upheld the state financial watchdog's decision to revoke the license of an insurance salesperson, after he submitted a fraudulent receipt in order to receive benefits for his hole-in-one insurance subscription. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled against the insurance agent, who challenged the Financial Services Commission's decision to take away his license for insurance fraud. In November 2014, the plaintiff shot a hole in one at a local golf course th

A 35-year-old YouTuber who posted multiple videos about top K-pop stars denied accusations of defamation in a court hearing Monday. The lawyer of the defendant, surnamed Park, told the Incheon District Court that she admits to making the videos but denies the charges of defamation and insult she had been indicted with. Park claimed that the relevant statements in her videos were a mere expression of her personal opinion, and that her actions does not constitute defamation as she truly believed

South Korean police said Monday they plan to forward to prosecutors the case of a suspected arson that occurred Sunday at a gaming center, which testimonies suggest was due to the suspect's anger after losing money. Officials will not request criminal charges against the suspect, as he perished in the fire that left four others injured and resulted in 12.4 million won ($9,250) of damage to the facility. The suspect, identified only as a Chinese national in his 60s, is believed to have set

Nearly 43 percent of South Korean nationals between ages 20 and 49 do not plan to have children, though a substantial number of respondents said they would consider changing their minds if government policies and corporate support for it were significantly expanded, a survey showed. The Korean Peninsula Population Institute for Future on Sunday revealed the results of its survey of 2,000 Korean nationals, including singles and couples both with and without children. Some 42.6 percent said they h

While a woman was attempting to take her own life by jumping into the Han River in Seoul, a man stole her bag and fled the scene on a bicycle. Amid the chaotic chase that ensued, another man on a motorcycle chased the suspect down to assist the police in catching him. The Seoul police said recently that Mapo Police Station has awarded a man surnamed Lee a certificate of appreciation for his assistance in stopping the suspect from getting away on Aug. 18, after the suspect stole the bag of a woma

A South Korean court said it has sentenced a woman to a 12-year jail term for killing her boyfriend after being subject to years of physical abuse. The Gunsan Branch of the Jeonju District Court found the 42-year-old defendant guilty of setting fire to a home in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, on May 11, resulting in the victim's death. The investigation found that she had been physically abused by the victim repeatedly during their five-year relationship. Allegedly, on the day of the crime

The National Investigation Headquarters of the Korean National Police Agency announced Sunday that it has begun a strengthened crackdown on drugs at facilities in entertainment districts such as nightclubs, which will continue until end of the year. Multiple police units have been mobilized to assist existing drug investigation personnel, according to the agency. The Narcotics Investigation Unit will focus on investigating drug distribution activities in entertainment districts. The Mobile Det

This year marked the longest streak of tropical nights in South Korea's recorded history, with regions across the country averaging 20.2 tropical nights so far, the state-run weather agency said Sunday. The total number of tropical nights this year surpassed 16.8 in 1994 and 16.7 in 2018 -- years that are infamous among residents for being among the hottest years, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. An average of 11.3 tropical nights was recorded in the month of August, ma

Some 57.5 percent of major corporations in South Korea have either not set up plans to recruit new employees in the second half of this year or do not plan to hire at all, a survey showed Thursday. In a recent survey of the top 500 companies by sales, 40 percent said they do not yet have plans to hire college graduates while 17.5 percent said they are not looking for recruits. The poll was conducted on Aug. 5-19 by local pollster Research and Research, under the commission of the Federation of

Koo Ho-in, the older brother of deceased K-pop star Goo Hara, celebrated the news of the National Assembly on Wednesday passing a law revision that would prevent parents who neglected child-rearing duties from collecting their child's wealth. "It (the bill) finally passed thanks to all the attention (from the public). I thank you all in this time of difficulty," Koo wrote on his Instagram page late Thursday. He shared the news that the long-pending bill had finally been passed,

A coach for the national jump rope team was sentenced to five years in jail for his yearlong sexual exploitation of a teenage athlete, in a ruling Wednesday by a local court. The Uijeongbu District Court found the 28-year-old defendant guilty of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses, specifically Article 7 that prohibits sex with a juvenile by a deceptive scheme. He was also banned from working at facilities for juveniles or people with disabilities for

A 71-year-old man who dedicated a large part of his life to searching for his missing daughter has died, a civic group said Wednesday. Song Gil-yong, whose daughter, Song Hye-hee, went missing in 1999, died Monday in a car accident, according to the local group dedicated to finding missing people here. The head of the group, Na Ju-bong, said in a media interview that Song had been suffering from deteriorating health, even showing signs of dementia in recent years. Na described Song as "a

A 71-year-old woman has been reunited with her daughter with the help of the police, 40 years after she ran away from home due to the domestic violence of her husband. Daejeon police on July 29 were investigating the woman related to an argument that had occurred between her and a customer in the small corner store she had been managing, according to the Jungbu Police Station in Daejeon. Investigators found that she had been registered as deceased for decades, after going missing in 1984. Back

A former chief of a local police station has apologized for an illegal police investigation that occurred over half a century ago into fishers were then wrongly convicted of being spies for North Korea. Lee Eun-sil, the recently retired chief of Goseong Police Station in Gangwon Province, visited the fishers and offered her apology, according to the victims' group based in the province. This was among her last actions as police chief, and marked the first time an incumbent head of an inve