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  • Society

    Lao worker's death exposes gaps in Korea's seasonal labor system

    The death of a seasonal worker from Laos just three days after arriving in Korea has exposed shortcomings in local governments' oversight of foreign workers on farms, with the case highlighting a recurring practice of sending workers into the field with little time to adjust or receive adequate safety training. The worker, a Lao national in her 30s, went missing on Aug. 7 after complaining of heat-related discomfort while working in a pumpkin field in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, under a severe heat wave warning. She was found dead in nearby bushes the following day. The case has highlighted gaps in how seasonal workers are deployed to farms, with workers often put on the job soon after their arrival. The Lao worker arrived in Korea on the morning of Aug. 5 and reached Yeoju City Hall at around 11 a.m., where she completed immigration registration and underwent drug screening and a medical examination. She then received about three hours of orientation on living in Korea before her employer picked her up from the city hall that evening and took her to the farm. Without a separate adjustment

    3 MIN READBy Jung Da-hyun
    Lao worker's death exposes gaps in Korea's seasonal labor system
  • Defense

    US approves potential sale to Korea of AIM-9X air-to-air missiles

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    US approves potential sale to Korea of AIM-9X air-to-air missiles
  • South Korea

    S. Korea, US must address drill cuts for 'productive' engagement with Kim: expert

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    S. Korea, US must address drill cuts for 'productive' engagement with Kim: expert
  • South Korea

    S. Korea, US wrap up drills early, day after NK missile barrage

    3 MIN READBy AP
    S. Korea, US wrap up drills early, day after NK missile barrage
  • South Korea

    Step inside Gwangmyeong Cave: Former mine transforms into space for meditation, music

    5 MIN READBy Hankookilbo
    Step inside Gwangmyeong Cave: Former mine transforms into space for meditation, music
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Law & Crime

Ex-justice minister appeals 25-yr prison sentence in martial law trial

Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae has appealed against a court ruling sentencing him to 25 years in prison for playing a key role in an insurrection through his involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid, sources said Saturday. Park's legal team filed the appeal at the Seoul Central District Court on Friday, four days after the court handed down the punishment for Park, according to the judiciary sources. The jail term is longer than the 20-year prison term sought by special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team, which earlier indicted Park on charges of playing a key role in an insurrection and abusing his power by calling a meeting of senior ministry officials following Yoon's declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. The court convicted Park on both charges, recognizing the special counsel team's argument that Park had called the meeting to review dispatching prosecutors to a martial law-supporting body, check the capacity of correctional facilities, allegedly to hold politicians and key figures expected to be arrested under the martial law, and order ministry officia

Jun 27, 2026By Yonhap
Ex-justice minister appeals 25-yr prison sentence in martial law trial
South Korea

How bald is bald enough? Young Koreans closely watch hair loss insurance debate

Public interest is mounting ahead of a government-hosted public forum on July 4 that will examine whether national health insurance should be expanded to cover hair loss treatment. The issue has drawn particular attention from young adults aged 20 to 34, the group being considered for potential coverage, who are seeking answers about how hair loss is diagnosed, what treatments are available and whether it can be cured. The government's discussion focuses on medications used to treat androgenetic alopecia, commonly known as male or female pattern hair loss. Hair loss is broadly classified into alopecia areata and androgenetic alopecia, depending on its cause. Alopecia areata occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, resulting in one or more round or oval bald patches measuring about 1 to 5 centimeters across. Androgenetic alopecia develops when testosterone circulating in the bloodstream is converted into a more potent hormone after reaching hair follicles, accelerating hair follicle shrinkage. Hair on the front of the scalp and crown gradually becomes thinner, shor

Jun 27, 2026By Hankookilbo
How bald is bald enough? Young Koreans closely watch hair loss insurance debate
Defense

Nearly 10 Chinese, Russian military aircraft briefly enter Korea's air defense zone: JCS

Nearly 10 Chinese and Russian military aircraft briefly entered and left Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) above the country's eastern and southern waters, Korea's military said Saturday. The Chinese and Russian military aircraft did not violate Korea's airspace, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), adding that it detected the aircraft before they entered the air defense zone. The Korean military dispatched Air Force fighter jets to prepare for any possible contingencies. The air defense zone is not territorial airspace but is delineated to call on foreign planes to identify themselves so as to prevent accidental clashes. The brief entry appears to have occurred during joint air drills between the two countries, according to a JCS official.

Jun 27, 2026By Yonhap
Nearly 10 Chinese, Russian military aircraft briefly enter Korea's air defense zone: JCS
Defense

EXPLAINER What Lee Jae Myung's selective enlistment plan means for Korea's shrinking military

Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world and a mandatory military service requirement that has shaped the lives of virtually every man in the country for generations. Now those two facts are on a collision course. Every able-bodied Korean man between the ages of 18 and 38 is required by law to serve in the military. Most undergo a physical examination around age 19 and complete their service in their 20s, typically spending 18 months as rank-and-file personnel in the Army or Marine Corps, or slightly longer, in the Navy for 20 months or the Air Force for 21 months. Those who qualify and apply can serve instead as noncommissioned officers (NCOs) — a rank between enlisted personnel and commissioned officers — or as commissioned officers, with initial commitments of four and three years, respectively. But because the rank-and-file route is relatively shorter and requires no selection process, most conscripts take it, despite the limited personal freedom, a strict environment and a long history of hazing and violence within military units. The system was designed for a country

Jun 27, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
[EXPLAINER] What Lee Jae Myung's selective enlistment plan means for Korea's shrinking military
Korea Encounters

Uncovering stories of Cheonggye Stream’s restoration

At his final lecture for Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea on Dec. 10, 2003, Horace Grant Underwood II shared stories of the past while discussing late Joseon-era and colonial-era photos. At one point, he came to a photo of Cheonggye Stream in the early 20th century and commented on the still-unrealized plan to uncover the waterway: “They say they want to return it to being a clean stream. It was never a clean stream!” Indeed, within a few decades of establishing Seoul as the capital in 1394, the newly founded Joseon government had come to rely on Cheonggye Stream as the city's principal conduit to flush waste out of the city. Attempts to cover the stream began during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule, but really took off in the late 1950s, when, over a period of two decades, the stream was covered in stages for a distance of 6 kilometers. Atop this was built an elevated expressway, the first section of which opened in 1969, seven years before it was completed. A well-known section of the covered stream was Hwanghak-dong Flea Market, which had grown to hundreds of stalls, many of

Jun 27, 2026By Matt VanVolkenburg
Uncovering stories of Cheonggye Stream’s restoration
Society

Overcrowded and overheated, Korean prisons become intolerable for both inmates and officers

With a metallic click, cold metal cuffs close around both wrists. “You are now in custody.” Suddenly, moving one’s arms freely becomes impossible. The discomfort sets in quickly, as even scratching one’s head becomes an awkward struggle inside the moving prison transport van. But after passing through a firmly shut iron gate and arriving at Cheongju Women’s Prison, where pale yellow buildings surround a small exercise yard, the handcuffs suddenly seem like the least of one’s problems. Inside one of the prison’s shared cells, the space is so cramped and crowded that there is barely enough room to stretch out an arm, even after the handcuffs are removed. The grim reality is that Cheongju Women’s Prison is considered to be in better condition than most prisons in the country. As Korea’s only correctional facility exclusively for women, it is generally regarded as one of the better-equipped institutions. Yet even here, the persistent problem of overcrowding proved impossible to escape. The Cheongju Women's Prison was designed to accommodate 619 inmates at 100 percent capacity

Jun 27, 2026By Hankookilbo
Overcrowded and overheated, Korean prisons become intolerable for both inmates and officers
Law & Crime

Police capture suspect behind stabbing at museum in central Seoul

Police on Friday captured a suspect accused of stabbing a man at a museum in central Seoul, hours after he fled the scene, officials said. The suspect in his 70s, whose identity remains unknown, is accused of stabbing the victim in his 40s with a sickle at the Ilmin Museum of Art early Friday morning, according to police. He then fled the scene. The Jongno Police Station said it put the suspect under urgent arrest after finding him hiding at a friend's residence in Seoul's Gwanak Ward at 5:50 p.m. The victim was being treated at a nearby hospital after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries, according to officials. Police plan to look into the exact circumstances of the incident and the suspect's motives before filing for a warrant to arrest him.

Jun 26, 2026By Yonhap
Police capture suspect behind stabbing at museum in central Seoul
Law & Crime

Supreme Court finalizes acquittal of 'Squid Game' actor O Yeong-su in sexual misconduct case

The top court on Friday finalized the acquittal of "Squid Game" actor O Yeong-su on charges of sexually harassing a woman in 2017, ending a legal battle that had lasted more than three years since his indictment. The Supreme Court dismissed the prosecution's appeal and upheld the lower court's ruling that acquitted the 82-year-old of sexual assault charges, according to judicial officials. O was indicted without physical detention in 2022 on charges of hugging and kissing a woman on the cheek against her will during a regional tour for a play in 2017. The district court had initially sentenced the actor to an eight-month prison term, suspended for two years, but the appellate court overturned the ruling and acquitted O of the charges. The appeals court at the time said O may have committed sexual assault but still acquitted him, citing the need to protect the defendant's interest in cases where reasonable doubt remains. The prosecution has since appealed the acquittal, but the top court dismissed the appeal. O won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on TV at the 2022 Golden G

Jun 26, 2026By Yonhap
Supreme Court finalizes acquittal of 'Squid Game' actor O Yeong-su in sexual misconduct case
South Korea

N. Korean defectors revisit heavily-fortified border for fleeting look at home

For the nearly 100 North Korean defectors who boarded a special train heading north from Seoul on Friday, the journey was a painful exercise in geographical proximity. Traveling to the edge of the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily mined buffer strip separating the two Koreas, they reached an elevated vantage point that offered the closest physical view of their native towns since they risked their lives to cross one of the world's most heavily fortified borders. The daylong pilgrimage, organized by the Ministry of Unification, served as a poignant prelude to the upcoming third annual North Korean Defectors’ Day on July 14. The national holiday was established to recognize the civic integration of the more than 34,000 defectors now living in the South, a community increasingly referred to by officials as "bukhyangmin" — defectors who honor their North Korean heritage while adapting to the complexities of life in the democratic South. The group — comprising community organizers, vulnerable families and young university students — arrived via the DMZ Peace Connection Train at Dorasa

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
N. Korean defectors revisit heavily-fortified border for fleeting look at home
Law & Crime

2 foreigners flee to Brunei after vandalizing Busan subway

Police said Friday they have identified and are pursuing two foreign nationals accused of vandalizing a subway train with graffiti at a rail depot in Busan before fleeing to another country. The Busan Gangseo Police Station said the suspects are an Australian man in his 20s and a Belgian man in his 30s, facing charges of trespassing and property damage. They allegedly entered the depot in Gangseo District at around 2:51 a.m. on Tuesday and spray-painted a two-car subway train. CCTV footage showed them scaling a fence before carrying out the graffiti attack. Officers said the painting itself took only about three minutes, although the two men remained inside the depot for roughly 18 minutes before leaving. After the incident, the suspects boarded a KTX train bound for Seoul. Police believe they deliberately attempted to evade detection by wearing face masks, changing clothes multiple times, paying with cash and getting off at different locations. Investigators said the pair flew to Brunei the following day. Police tracked their movements by reviewing CCTV footage before confirming through

Jun 26, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
2 foreigners flee to Brunei after vandalizing Busan subway
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