Soldiers rumored to have been given live ammunition during martial law

A photo of soldiers mobilized during martial law suggests that the military armed them with live ammunition, a local media outlet reported Wednesday. Kyunghang Shinmun revealed a photo, which it received from one of its readers, that showed Army soldiers sitting next to what appear to be boxes of live bullets at the National Assembly sometime between late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Another photo showed a soldier carrying what is believed to be a box of ammunition while entering the legislature

Dec. 4, 2024

Tuesday's developments confirm lawmakers' 'martial law predictions'

The notion that a democratic-era South Korean president would declare martial law in a non-combat situation would’ve appeared far-fetched even a day ago. But what had been dismissed by the presidential office as a cock-and-bull story to "shake the administration" became reality Tuesday night, as the country saw emergency martial law declared for the first time since the days of military dictatorship. Now some people are questioning whether members of the main opposition Democrati

Dec. 4, 2024

What political bigwigs had to say about martial law drama

Here are what some of South Korea’s prominent political figures had to say about Tuesday night’s martial law drama initiated by President Yoon Suk Yeol and ended by the National Assembly, controlled by Yoon's political foes. Han Dong-hoon, chair of the ruling People Power Party - "(Yoon) should immediately sack the minister of national defense, and hold liable anyone who is responsible." * The defense minister was identified as the key person who advised Yoon

Dec. 4, 2024

Boy with rare brain disease dies, after delay in finding ER

A 16-year-old suffering from a brain hemorrhage stemming from a rare medical condition has died, after his surgery was delayed due to trouble finding an emergency room with the proper medical staff. Local broadcaster YTN reported Tuesday that the boy passed away recently, one week after he was hospitalized on Nov. 15. The boy had what is known as moyamoya disease, a chronic and progressive condition of the arteries in the brain which can lead to narrowing of blood vessels that can eventually cau

Dec. 3, 2024

State health insurance to fully subsidize C-sections

The state-run health insurance will fully subsidize the cost of Caesarean sections starting next year, the South Korean government said Tuesday. The revision of the Enforcement Decree of the National Health Insurance Act on full-coverage of the C-sections has been passed at the Cabinet meeting, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. At present the state insurance covers 95 percent of C-section costs, compared to 100 percent of natural births. With the final process of the legislation c

Dec. 3, 2024

Parliament to review petition to uncensor images of crime suspects

The National Assembly will review an open petition calling for the release of uncensored images of those suspected of violent crimes, after the petition received over 50,000 signatures on the online parliamentary petition page, making it eligible for official deliberation. According to the Assembly, the petition was forwarded to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday after it was signed by 54,244 people online from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1. A petition with over 50,000 signatures must be delib

Dec. 3, 2024

80% of suspects in deepfake crime cases are teens: NPA

An overwhelming majority of the suspects in sex crimes using deepfake technologies are teenagers, police data showed Tuesday. According to the National Police Agency, 80.8 percent of the 573 suspects caught this year were in their teens, as of Nov. 30. Of those, 94 were under the age of 14, who are immune from criminal punishment under the Article 9 of the Criminal Act. Eighty-seven suspects were in their 20s, 17 in their 30s, three in their 40s and three in their 50s. South Korean police on A

Dec. 3, 2024

Driver stabbed by 'friend' after car crash

A late-night drive between two friends in a northern suburb of Seoul on Nov. 29 took a sinister turn, leaving one man hospitalized and the other under investigation for attempted murder. According to the Ilsan Dongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on Monday, an Uzbekistani man in his 20s is under investigation for allegedly attempting to murder a Kyrgyzstani man of the same age group. The two men were friends, both working in South Korea under valid work permits. According to investigators,

Dec. 2, 2024

Embattled soccer chief shoots for 4th term

Chung Mong-gyu, the scandal-ridden president of the Korea Football Association, officially threw his hat into the ring Monday for a fourth term. The KFA said the 62-year-old on Monday morning registered as a candidate for the election slated for Jan. 8 of next year. This effectively suspended his duty as chief of the nation's highest soccer governing body, with the vice chair, Kim Jung-bae, becoming the acting chief until the election. Chung’s re-election bid is subject to an external

Dec. 2, 2024

Tributes paid to hero firefighter who died in line of duty

Government officials, fellow firefighters and the bereaved family of Im Seong-cheol attended a memorial for the late firefighter held on Jeju Island on Sunday, commemorating the one-year anniversary of his passing while rescuing an elderly couple in a fire. Im, who was 29, was dispatched with a firefighting crew to a fire at a factory in Pyoseon-myeon in Seogwipo city on the island on Dec. 1, 2023. After helping the elderly couple to safety, he was extinguishing the fire when the building coll

Dec. 2, 2024