South Korea - The Korea Times

Death toll rises sharply as heavy rains trigger deadly landslides in Sancheong

Torrential rains that slammed Korea for four days have left at least nine people dead and several others missing, after a downpour triggered deadly landslides in the southern Sancheong County on Saturday, officials said. A 60-something person was found in cardiac arrest after a landslide triggered by heavy rain engulfed homes in a village in Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Saturday morning. In a separate incident, a landslide in another village in Sancheong subsequently killed two others at home, while a deadly mudslide swept through homes in a different village in the county shortly after noon, leaving two people dead and one missing, according to fire authorities. Also in Sancheong, a person was found in cardiac arrest around noon after his home was inundated by heavy rain. Sancheong County issued an alert urging all residents to evacuate to safety. In the nearby city of Miryang, also in South Gyeongsang Province, a driver in his 60s was killed after floodwaters swept away his car. Authorities said five people had been confirmed dead, two were missing and two others were found

Jul 19, 2025By Yonhap

Death toll rises sharply as heavy rains trigger deadly landslides in Sancheong

Heavy rain damages over 13,000 hectares of farmland in Korea

The total area of farmland damaged by the torrential rains that pounded South Korea over the past two days is equivalent to 18,000 soccer fields, the agriculture ministry said Friday. A total of 13,033 hectares of farmland were estimated to have been submerged by the heavy downpours as of Thursday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The central region of South Chungcheong Province was hit the hardest, accounting for more than 95 percent of the damaged area, while over 12,000 hectares, or more than 80 percent of the damaged land, were rice paddies. As for livestock, 56 cattle, 200 pigs and 600,000 chickens have been killed due to the heavy rain. With damage snowballing amid continued heavy downpours, Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung convened an emergency meeting Friday to discuss recovery measures. The ministry plans to work with related agencies and local governments to prevent further damage, while speeding up damage assessments, so that those affected can quickly receive insurance payments and subsidies.

Jul 18, 2025By Yonhap

Heavy rain damages over 13,000 hectares of farmland in Korea

South Chungcheong Province reels from 'once-in-a-century' rainfall

Torrential rainfall battered the Chungcheong region in central Korea, killing at least four people, inundating hundreds of homes and farms, triggering landslides and forcing more than 1,300 residents to evacuate. Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, was deluged with more than 400 millimeters of rain over just half a day on Thursday, including 114.9 millimeters in a single hour. The national weather agency described the downpour as a “once-in-a-century” event. Those regions, as well as other parts of the country, are forecast to receive more rainfall through Friday. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Seosan saw 438.5 millimeters of rain early Thursday between midnight and 10 a.m., which is the largest daily amount since weather observation began in the city in January 1968. The previous record was 274.5 millimeters on Aug. 2, 1999. The city received 114.9 millimeters of rain in a one-hour period starting from 1:46 a.m. Streams feeding into the Geum River were among the hardest hit. In Yesan, all four monitoring stations along Sapgyo Creek issued flood warnings,

Jul 17, 2025By Lee Hae-rin

South Chungcheong Province reels from 'once-in-a-century' rainfall

Growing movement in Korea challenges tradition of bullfighting

A campaign to end traditional bullfighting in Korea is gaining momentum, driven by growing public concern and pressure from animal rights activists, as several municipalities move to withdraw funding for such events in response to evolving societal values. As of Tuesday, an online petition submitted to the National Assembly calling for a total ban on bullfighting had garnered more than 45,000 signatures — just 5,000 short of the threshold required for formal parliamentary review. “Cattle used in bullfighting suffer injuries and stress from training and collisions. Some suffer broken horns or internal injuries during fights and are left abandoned after the games,” the petitioner wrote. “Bulls were not born to fight. There is no reason they should be forced to ram into each other for human entertainment.” While the Animal Protection Act prohibits injuring animals for gambling or entertainment, bullfighting remains exempt, as the law does not apply to activities designated as “folk games.” In recent years, however, animal rights activists have increasingly challenged the ratio

Jul 16, 2025By Jung Min-ho

Growing movement in Korea challenges tradition of bullfighting

Singaporean environmentalists visit Korea to study recycling, waste management

A group of Singaporean environmental activists visited Korea last month to learn about recycling and waste management while participating in cleaning campaigns on Mount Gwanak and around Hongik University. On June 21, the group visited the Mapo Resource Recovery Facility in western Seoul, near Haneul Park. The facility receives municipal solid waste from five of Seoul’s districts. This visit to Korea was the first international outreach campaign of Stridy, a Singapore-based non-governmental organization that collects garbage and environmental data around the world under the motto of “Making a Cleaner, Kinder World, One at a Time.” During the visit, Stridy founder Marcel Smits highlighted that Korea is an outlier in that it captures 98 percent of its food waste in a separate collection stream. The waste is then processed into compost, animal feed or biogas. “South Korea, several decades ago, decided to take a top-down view to eradicate landfills and reform its waste management systems,” Smits said. “Incinerators with energy recapture were built, but more importantly, consumers

Jul 16, 2025By Bereket Alemayehu

Singaporean environmentalists visit Korea to study recycling, waste management

Korea University successfully concludes international education program for climate change

Korea University successfully concluded an international education program on climate change and its possible solutions, the university said Tuesday. Bringing together 130 scholars and students from 35 universities across six continents, the school hosted the inaugural Climate Corps Summer School from July 7 to 12 to explore cross-border collaboration in addressing climate change. The six-day program, which ran during a time of record-breaking heat waves across the country, emphasized actionable solutions and international cooperation for climate resilience. Under the theme of “Cross-Border Collaboration for Climate Crisis,” the event marked the first official program of the Climate Corps, an international college alliance initiated by Korea University. For this year’s program, the United Nations Development Program Seoul Policy Center joined as a partner to contribute to its academic and policy depth. Participants, including 23 researchers from member institutions, selected one of several pressing issues — ranging from urban resilience, carbon capture and storage and energy poli

Jul 15, 2025By Jhoo Dong-chan

Korea University successfully concludes international education program for climate change

Lee calls for systemic flood prevention measures

President Lee Jae Myung visited the site of a deadly flood in the central city of Osong on Monday and called for systematic measures to prevent flooding ahead of the rainy season. Lee issued the directives to related agencies during his visit to Osong, located 112 kilometers south of Seoul, where 14 people lost their lives after an underground underpass was inundated during heavy rainfall on July 15, 2024. He asked regional and environmental officials about possible structural and systemic solutions to mitigate flood risks and stressed the need to distinguish responsibilities between local and central governments to ensure accountability at every level, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters. In addition to enhancing disaster response infrastructure and providing financial support, Lee also underscored the need for regular inspections to ensure such facilities function properly, Kang said. He also reviewed the ongoing investigation into the incident and reiterated the need for strict punishment in cases where poor management leads to a loss of life, she added.

Jul 14, 2025By Yonhap

Lee calls for systemic flood prevention measures

Heat wave-easing rain forecast nationwide until Tuesday

The state weather agency on Monday forecast on-and-off rainfall across the country until Tuesday night, with downpours of 30 to 50 millimeters per hour expected in some regions, including the east coast of Gangwon Province. Rain will fall in Gangwon, North Chungcheong and Gyeongsang provinces on Monday, and spread to drench most parts of the country until Tuesday afternoon, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. In particular, the central and northern parts of Gangwon's east coast should brace for heavy rain of 30 to 50 mm per hour between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, the KMA noted. It forecast a two-day precipitation of 50 to 100 mm on Ulleung Island, 20 to 60 mm in the Gyeongsang provinces, 10 to 50 mm in Seoul, and western Gangwon, Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, and 5 to 20 mm on Jeju and Yellow Sea islands. The agency advised people to avoid going to east coast beaches until Tuesday due to strong winds of over 70 kph and high waves. The rainfall will temporarily abbreviate the prolonged heat waves nationwide, but hot and humid weather will return thereafter, t

Jul 14, 2025By Yonhap

Heat wave-easing rain forecast nationwide until Tuesday

Gov't holds interagency meeting to brace for heavy rains

The interior ministry said Sunday it has held an emergency meeting with related government agencies to discuss ways to brace for downpours as heavy rains are expected to fall in southern regions and along the east coast. Heavy rains of a maximum of more than 100-150 millimeters are expected until Monday in the country's southern areas and along the east coast of Gangwon and North Gyeongsang Province, according to the country's weather agency. At the meeting, the government decided to review emergency measures in wildfire-hit areas where the risk of landslides remains high and to evacuate nearby residents if needed. "The government will closely monitoring the weather conditions and do its best to manage the situation so as to swiftly take necessary steps," said Kim Kwang-yong, chief of the Disaster Safety Management Headquarters.

Jul 13, 2025By Yonhap

Gov't holds interagency meeting to brace for heavy rains

Presidential office to push for special law on renewable energy zones

The presidential office said Thursday it will push for a special law to establish industrial zones entirely powered by renewable energy sources, in a move aimed at addressing regional power imbalances. Presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom told reporters that the initiative seeks to pave the way for the creation of "RE100" industrial zones, where companies operate using 100 percent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. President Lee Jae Myung, who was briefed on the plan during a meeting with senior aides, proposed a range of incentives for companies operating in the zones, including easing regulations, improving living conditions and discounts on electricity bills, Kim said. The zones are intended to alleviate the electricity demand imbalance, as consumption remains heavily concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area while southwestern regions possess abundant renewable energy resources, Kim said. A task force comprising the ministries of industry, finance and transport will be formed to draft the special legislation and oversee the implementation of the

Jul 10, 2025By Yonhap

Environment & Animals