A South Korean civic group on Monday said it has filed a complaint against a local writer alleging she has defamed Han Kang, the first Korean and first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. The group, Citizens' Solidarity for the Eradication of Deeply-rooted Corruption, accused Kim Gyu-na of a "politically-motivated and personal attack against an individual that not only exceeds the limits of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution, but also goes beyond bound

A South Korean court said Tuesday it handed down a sentence of five years in jail to a man for the attempted murder of another man living next door, who had asked him not to smoke inside the home. The defendant, in his 20s, was found guilty of attempted murder by the Daejeon District Court. On June 20 of last year the convicted man had been smoking inside his home in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, when his 40-year-old neighbor -- with whom he shared a wall -- reportedly said, "Excuse m

The South Korean government said Thursday that it has decided to administer a regular mental health checkup for those aged between 20 and 34, starting next year as part of the state-run national health examination program. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, state health examination committee members conducted a meeting and agreed to expand the mental health checkup program. As part of the national health checkup program run by the National Health Insurance Service, the current pr

A 63-year-old welfare worker who applied a form of corporal punishment on a 11-year-old child with A brain disorder was cleared by the Supreme Court of criminal charges, after it ruled the actions were a form of discipline and not abuse. South Korea's top court upheld a lower court ruling that said the defendant was not to be punished for child abuse. The appellate court had said while the defendant's actions could be said to be excessive, it appeared to be in the interest of the child

A civic group of Koreans living in Germany said Thursday they had filed for a court injunction against a Berlin district's recent decision to remove the Statue of Peace, erected to honor victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery. Korea Verband said it submitted the papers to reverse the recent decision made by the officials of Berlin's Mitte district last month. The district had provided notification of an order to remove the statue by the end of this month, citing the road laws

Recent government data has indicated the threshold of disability registration in South Korea remains high, as local media reported Friday that over 110,000 applications for disability registration over the past four years were not accepted by the government. From 2021 to June of this year, there have been 814,437 applications for disability registration, news agency Newsis reported, citing National Pension Service data submitted to Rep. Choi Bo-yun of the People Power Party. Of those, 123,816 ca

The government said Thursday that a man in his 50s recently died due to delays in providing him with emergency medical care, in yet another case of an urgent care patient being turned down by multiple hospitals due to staff shortages from ongoing medical strikes. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, emergency services in South Gyeongsang Province received a report at around 3:28 a.m. on Sept. 6 that a man living in Yeoncho-myeon in Geoje city was suffering from abdominal pain and v

An overwhelming majority of what are deemed "avoidable deaths" in the South Korean Army last year were soldier suicides, Ministry of National Defense data showed Thursday. A total of 44 avoidable deaths -- designated Type 1 deaths -- occurred in 2023, according to the data submitted to Rep. Hwang Hee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Suicides accounted for 41 of them, or 93.2 percent, which was the highest percentage of suicides among Type 1 deaths since the 70.7 percen

Two women at the scene of a minor car accident were killed after being run over by a truck driven by a drunk driver in South Jeolla Province, officials said Thursday, shortly before another similar tragedy by a truck driver occurred in the same region. According to the Jeonnam Fire service, the victims had exited their vehicles on a road in the Yeongam-gun region of the province on Wednesday after their cars collided with each other. The two were discussing matters related to the accident when a

People with higher incomes are likely to live longer and healthier lives than those with lower incomes, government data showed Tuesday. The "healthy life expectancy" -- defined as the period of years one is expected to live with no major health issues -- was 73.4 years in 2021 for South Koreans in the top 20 percent of incomes, according to Ministry of Health and Welfare data submitted to Rep. Kim Nam-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. But for those in the bottom 20

Octogenarian rapper Seo Mu-seok, who inspired many by pursuing her musical dreams into her late 80s, passed away Tuesday at the age of 87. Seo died Tuesday morning at a hospital in Daegu, according to North Gyeongseong Province's Chilgok-gun officials. She had been diagnosed with stage three lymphoma in January, and doctors had told her that she had three months to live. Seo made her musical debut last year as a member of the seven-member musical act, Suni and the Seven Princesses, made up

Government data showed Wednesday that the top 0.1 percent of earners in South Korea made an average of 1.8 billion won in 2022, and that 126 of them paid no tax due to various deductions and exemptions. The combined income of a total of 26.2 million South Koreans came to 1.59 quadrillion won ($1.17 trillion) in 2022, while the combined income of the top 0.1 percent -- a group consisting of 26,231 individuals -- amounted to 47.1 trillion won, according to National Tax Service data submitted to Re

Former officials from the judiciary and finance-related branches of the government appear to be popular recruits for conglomerates across the country, as industry data showed Tuesday that over 20 percent of former civil servants working as directors at companies used to be prosecutors. Of the 11,208 directors at the 30 biggest conglomerates in South Korea by assets, 337 of them -- or 3 percent -- were ex-civil servants, according to a corporate analysis firm Leaders Index. Of these, 75 were fo

A 39-year-old construction worker replacing an elevator at a five-star hotel in Yeongjongdo, Incheon sustained a critical injury on Monday, after he fell 12 stories from the building. According to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, he was working to remove an old elevator when he fell around 5:36 p.m., all the way to the sub-level floor of the hotel. He died despite the medical treatment he received at a nearby hospital. Police will request the National Forensic Service to perform an autops

A young man who enlisted to serve another man's mandatory military service on condition of sharing the soldier's salary has been caught by the authorities, marking the first time such an incident has occurred since the establishment of the Military Manpower Administration in 1970. The man in his late 20s surnamed Jo has been arrested and indicted for violating the Resident Registration Act, the Military Service Act, and for obstructing the performance of official duties through fraud b

Finding the right person to marry is a tall order anywhere, but South Koreans in particular say that their high standards for potential partners or lack of opportunities to meet them are their main reasons for remaining single. Local match-making application Noon Date recently revealed the results of a survey of 12,060 unmarried men and women across the country, and asked why respondents remain single. For women, 28 percent said it is because their standards for a potential romantic partner ar

A survey showed Monday that nearly 90 percent of South Korean adults are willing to work after retirement, mostly due to financial reasons. An online job-seeking portal Saramin surveyed 4,056 adults across the country from Oct.7 to 10, asking them if they were willing to work after retirement. Some 87.3 percent of the respondents said they would, with 95.8 percent of those in their 50s saying so. They were followed by 81.9 percent of those in their 40s, 74.4. percent of those in their 30s and

The average price of bibimbap rose above 11,000 won ($8.10) in September, despite slowing inflation in food products in recent months, government data showed Monday. According to data from the Korea Consumer Agency, a bowl of bibimbap in Seoul cost 11,038 won on average in September, up slightly from 10,962 won the previous month. The bibimbap price has been on the upward trend since first surpassing the 10,000-won mark in January last year. Bibimbap and samgyetang were the only two dishes tha

An 82-year-old man who served a seven-year prison term after being wrongly accused of being a North Korean spy will receive compensation from the state, over 50 years after the conviction. Seoul High Court on Oct. 4 ruled that Kim Sin-geun should get compensation worth 901.2 million won ($664,000) as "criminal compensation," after he was exonerated from the charges back in July. Kim, who was a Korea University graduate student in the 1960s, was accused of conducting espionage activit

The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently gave awards to two Korean mothers who gave birth to 13 children, including the mother of actress Nam Bo-ra, who is well-known for being the oldest of her 13 siblings. Eom Gye-suk, 60, was given the Seongnyu Medal, the fifth grade of the Order of Civil Merit given to those to recognize contributions to the country and welfare of the people with their outstanding accomplishments in the field of politics, economics, society, education or academics. She ga