Lee's approval rating inches down to 54.8%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating edged down to 54.8 percent last week after a brief rebound amid negative public sentiment over recent political developments, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey by Realmeter commissioned by a local news outlet, the positive assessment of Lee's performance fell 1.1 percentage points from the previous week, while his negative assessment inched up 0.2 percentage points to 40.7 percent. Lee's approval rating reached 56.7 percent in the first wee

Dec. 1, 2025

[Graphic News] 1 in 3 South Koreans now obese: study

One in three South Koreans is now classified as obese, up from one in four a decade ago, according to a recent study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The agency reported that 34.4 percent of Koreans were obese in 2024. The World Health Organization defines obesity in Asians as having a body mass index of 25 or higher. In 2015, 26.3 percent of South Koreans were obese, meaning the rate had risen by 8.1 percentage points over the past decade. By gender, 41.4 percent of men and 2

Dec. 1, 2025

Teen dies after shop spreads images of her shoplifting

The death of a high school student in South Chungcheong Province after images of her taking ice cream from an unmanned store circulated among local teenagers has triggered a new public debate over privacy. According to local reports, the 18-year-old, identified as Lee, was found dead at her home in Hongseong on Sept. 23, just a few days after the store owner sent images of her stealing to a local tutoring room. The photos were then shared with students there and quickly circulated among teenager

Nov. 30, 2025

Lee to mark anniversary of martial law declaration with national address

President Lee Jae Myung will deliver a special address on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of last year’s Dec. 3 martial law crisis, the presidential office said Sunday, saying that the administration plans to use the occasion to underscore what it describes as the restoration of democracy and the public’s role in overcoming the political turmoil. Lee Kyu-yeon, the presidential secretary for communication and public relations, told reporters during a briefing the presidential office in Yo

Nov. 30, 2025

120,000 private cameras hacked, used to record sexual content

Four individuals are under investigation for allegedly hacking around 120,000 internet protocol cameras installed at homes and businesses across the country, with the suspects accused of using them to record sexual content. Two of the suspects each hacked into 63,000 and 70,000 IP cameras, recording hundreds of sexual videos, which they sold to operators of websites based outside of the country. One made 35 million won ($23,800) while the other made 18 million won in the process, according to th

Nov. 30, 2025

Busan struggles with repeated wild boar sightings

A wild boar injured two people after entering an apartment complex in Busan, news reports said Sunday, the latest in a series of boar attacks and sightings that has residents on edge in South Korea's second-most populated city. According to fire authorities and police, the 120-kilogram animal appeared around 2:15 p.m. Saturday in an underground parking area of the complex in Cheongnyong-dong, Geumjeong-gu. An 80-year-old woman who was rammed by the boar was taken to a hospital with cuts on her f

Nov. 30, 2025

Foreign passenger investigated for disturbance on a plane

A foreign national in his 50s is being investigated by police for unruly behavior during a flight, including taking a business-class seat that was not his and refusing to follow the instructions of the flight attendants, airport police said Sunday. The suspect left his assigned economy seat and moved into an empty business-class seat at around 5:50 p.m. Saturday on a Korean Air flight en route from Manila to Incheon Airport. When the crew asked the man to return to his seat, he refused and cause

Nov. 30, 2025

Ruling party lawmaker denies sexual harassment as police probe launched

Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Jang Kyung-tae on Sunday denied allegations that he sexually harassed a female National Assembly aide last year, saying he would file a criminal complaint against the alleged victim for false accusation. The accusation surfaced Thursday after TV Chosun broadcast video footage submitted by the alleged victim’s boyfriend. The clip, filmed at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, in October 2024, shows Jang seated closely beside the woman, who appears heavily intoxicated an

Nov. 30, 2025

Ruling party faces leadership shakeup as several eye local election bids

Several members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Supreme Council are poised to step down in the coming days to launch bids in next year’s June 3 local elections, party officials said. Despite the expected departures, the party is not anticipated to shift into an emergency leadership system, as the number of vacancies falls short of the threshold required under party rules. The party’s senior spokesperson Park Soo-hyun told reporters after a Supreme Council meeting Friday that several me

Nov. 30, 2025

From 'soft no's to hidden anger: Why Koreans communicate indirectly

A few weeks ago, Kim working for a government agency was reprimanded by his boss after a misunderstanding spiraled out of control. The boss, fresh from being scolded by his own superior, turned to Kim with anger in his eyes and demanded, “Do I have to go through this because of you?” Kim froze. He knew the situation had been caused by an unforeseen complication, not by any mistake on his part. He wanted to say, “It wasn’t my fault,” but the words wouldn’t come out. “If I talked back, I thought h

Nov. 30, 2025

Kim Jong-un vows to provide 'new strategic assets' for Air Force

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un emphasized the growing role of the country’s air force, and stated that the branch would be given "new strategic assets," as he marked the service’s 80th anniversary, state media reported Sunday. Kim presided over a large-scale celebration Friday at Kalma Airport, home to the 59th Kil Yong Jo Hero Flying Group under the 2nd Air Wing, according to the Korean Central News Agency. His daughter, Kim Ju-ae — widely viewed by North Korea watchers as his heir — accompani

Nov. 30, 2025

1 in 3 South Koreans living alone in 'superaged' era

South Korea’s demographic structure is shifting at its fastest pace yet, with the share of single-person households surpassing 36 percent for the first time last year and the senior citizen population crossing the 10 million mark, new government data showed Sunday. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s statistics yearbook on social security, the number of single-person households reached a record high of nearly 8.05 million last year. This marks a sharp rise from 5.2 million househol

Nov. 30, 2025

YouTuber helps locate missing disabled man during livestream

A South Korean YouTuber and his viewers helped a man with a cognitive disability return home safely in an unlikely but fortunate encounter with the missing man during a livestream in Gwangju. The YouTuber 2ro2, who has some 143,000 subscribers as of Sunday, was conducting a live broadcast on the streets of the southwestern city on Nov. 21 when he encountered a man wearing a blue jacket. The man told him he was a 23-year-old college student, to which 2ro2 responded with confusion as he appeared t

Nov. 30, 2025

No. of single-person households tops 8m in 2024: data

The number of single-person households has climbed to a record high of over 8 million, data showed Sunday, with estimates suggesting the trend will continue as the country grapples with a stagnant birth rate and an aging population. The number of single-person households came to 8.05 million as of end-2024, accounting for 36.1 percent of the total, according to a social security factbook released by the welfare ministry. The figure has been on a steady rise from 5.2 million in 2015 to 6.64 milli

Nov. 30, 2025

Coupang's data breach undetected for five months, triggering customer alarm

Anxiety and frustration are mounting following a massive data breach at e-commerce giant Coupang that local observers noted Sunday may have been ongoing for months. On Saturday, the US-listed company confirmed personal information belonging to 33.7 million customers -- nearly its entire user base -- had been compromised. The breached data includes names, phone numbers, email addresses and delivery addresses. The company said payment information, credit card numbers and login credentials were not

Nov. 30, 2025