After Suga, a member of the K-pop group BTS, admitted Wednesday to drunk driving an electric scooter, concerns have been raised calling for stronger regulations and management of personal mobility devices. Oh Seo-yeon, a 28-year-old office worker based in Seoul, told The Korea Herald that she finds herself being extra cautious when walking around the city because of personal mobility devices like electric scooters or motorized bicycles. “There are countless times where I almost got run ove

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2024

This July experienced the highest number of tropical nights for any July since weather records began in 1973, the Korea Meteorological Administration said last month. South Korea recorded an average of 8.8 tropical nights this July, a three-fold increase compared to the previous average of 2.8 days in past Julys, according to the KMA's monthly weather analysis report. Tropical nights refer to a phenomenon where the lowest temperature remains above 25 degrees Celsius between 6:01 p.m. the ni

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2024

The number of patients admitted to emergency rooms with heat-related illnesses overnight increased by some 900 percent over the past decade, data by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency showed Tuesday, amid growing concerns of an increase in tropical nights in recent years. Since the establishment of the agency’s heat illness surveillance system in 2011, the number of patients admitted to emergency rooms between 12 a.m. -- the start of a new day -- and 10 a.m. jumped 923 percent

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2024

As extreme heat persists nationwide, widespread damage including power and water outages, as well as heatstroke-related deaths, have been reported as of Monday. On Sunday evening, 255 out of 1,089 households in the Miju Apartments in Dongdaemun-gu, eastern Seoul, experienced a power outage caused by the persisting scorching heat. A Korea Electric Power Corporation official explained to The Korea Herald that the blackout resulted from a fault in the apartment complex's transformer, which ove

Social Affairs Aug. 5, 2024

South Korea sweltered through its first 40 degrees Celsius temperature in six years on Sunday, amid a relentless heatwave that has gripped the country since the end of July, following the monsoon season. Current weather conditions on the Korean Peninsula are strikingly similar to those of the record-breaking summer of 2018, sparking concerns that this year could become one of the hottest on record. The severe heatwave has already resulted in approximately 540 cases of heat-related illnesses from

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2024

Police concluded Thursday that the fatal car crash that killed nine people on July 1 near Seoul City Hall was caused by the driver’s poor handling of the vehicle rather than sudden unintended acceleration as claimed by the driver. The findings were announced as the police ended a monthlong investigation into the accident, where a sedan hit pedestrians on a walkway while traveling at a speed of up to 107 kilometers per hour. “Though the suspect is consistently maintaining a stance tha

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2024

Prosecutors searched the headquarters of Tmon and WeMakePrice in Seoul on Thursday as part of an investigation into the e-commerce platforms’ delayed payments to their vendors amid a persisting liquidity crisis surrounding both companies. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, an investigation team searched the headquarters of Tmon and WeMakePrice on Thursday, along with seven other related offices. The investigators also searched the homes of three executive me

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2024

Due to South Korea’s hot and humid temperatures, cases of malaria have been on the rise, with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reporting 367 cases as of Tuesday. Though the number of malaria cases so far this year is half of last year's total figures, the agency on Wednesday noted there has been an unusual surge in malaria cases in Seoul and that it is possible this year's total figures could pass last year's. In previous years, malaria cases were normally rep

Social Affairs July 31, 2024

The driver behind the fatal car crash that killed nine pedestrians near Seoul City Hall earlier this month repeatedly apologized as he attended an arrest warrant court hearing Tuesday morning. “I’m very, very sorry to the deceased and bereaved families,” the 68-year-old, surnamed Cha, said as he entered Seoul Central District Court at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday morning. Cha showed up to the hearing with his face covered with a cap and a mask while being asked several questions by repo

Social Affairs July 30, 2024

The Ministry of Environment announced Tuesday that it has chosen 14 different sites to build new dams to guarantee South Korea’s safety and readiness for heavy rain, floods and droughts. “Since May 2023, the Ministry of Environment has been trying to promote the construction of dams that can combat extreme weather conditions,” said Environment Minister Kim Wan-sup during a press briefing Tuesday. Kim, an ex-vice finance minister, recently became the new environment minister on

Social Affairs July 30, 2024

Heat wave warnings and tropical night phenomena are expected to persist throughout this week, with sporadic rain continuing in the Greater Seoul area and some parts of Gangwon Province until the end of the week, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. On Tuesday, daytime temperatures are expected to reach as high as 36 degrees Celsius, with precipitation ranging between 5 to 30 millimeters for parts of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province and 5 to 10 mm for much of Grea

Social Affairs July 29, 2024

With the monsoon season coming to an end, South Korea has seen a surge in the number of days with scorching heat, leading to a rapid increase in the number of cases of heat-related illnesses. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Friday, 507 medical institutions equipped with emergency rooms reported to the agency that they saw 124 patients with heat-related illnesses from Monday to Wednesday, 55 of which were from Wednesday alone. The KDCA added that 16.3 percent of th

Social Affairs July 26, 2024

The police sought an arrest warrant Wednesday for the driver behind the fatal car crash that killed nine pedestrians near Seoul city hall earlier this month, according to officials on Thursday. On July 1, a sedan crashed into pedestrians waiting for a traffic light at an intersection near Exit No. 7 of Seoul’s City Hall Station in Jung-gu, central Seoul. The car drove in the wrong direction and hit the pedestrians before colliding with two other vehicles. The crash resulted in nine fatalit

Social Affairs July 25, 2024

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it would spend 106.5 billion won ($76.9 million) over the next five years to help youth transitioning out of foster care or child care institutions to adjust to independent living, becoming the first local government to do so in South Korea. The city government’s plan includes providing job consultation services, raising independent living capabilities, subsidizing living costs and providing additional help in adjusting to society

Social Affairs July 24, 2024

Supreme Court justice nominee Lee Suk-yeon’s daughter was found to have made a profit 63 times higher than her original stock investment by selling her shares to her father, according to data released Tuesday. According to official documents Lee submitted to Rep. Huh Young of the Democratic Party, Lee’s daughter, identified by her last name Cho, sold 400 stock shares of a cosmetics R&D firm to her father for 385 million won ($277,636) in May 2023. The 400 shares were part of a to

Social Affairs July 23, 2024