Woman loses lawsuit against matchmaking agency over husband’s 'exaggerated’ profile

A Seoul court has ruled against a woman who sued a matchmaking agency after marrying a man through its service, claiming the agency had provided false information about her husband. The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday found that the information the agency provided “cannot be considered very distant from the truth,” dismissing the woman’s claim and ordering her to pay 33 million won ($22,600) in remaining fees and penalties. The plaintiff signed a contract with the agency in January 2022

Nov. 26, 2025

Divorced people miss being married in small moments of life: survey

Divorced South Koreans in their 40s and 50s tend to feel the void left by their spouses when they encounter little moments such as needing a hangover drink or moving heavy objects, a survey released Wednesday showed. Local matchmaking firms Only You and Biennale conducted the survey on 526 men and women who were divorced but open to marrying again, asking at what points in their lives they most regret not having a spouse. Some 33.1 percent of male respondents picked "when I need honey water," wh

Nov. 26, 2025

Head of anti-corruption agency indicted over Marine death case

A special counsel team on Wednesday indicted Oh Dong-woon, head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, without detention on charges of dereliction of duty related to an investigation into the 2023 death of a young Marine. Oh is accused of failing to notify the Supreme Prosecutors Office for about a year when one of the agency's prosecutors became subject to a criminal complaint last year, as required by law. Lawmakers of the Democratic Party had filed the complaint ag

Nov. 26, 2025

Another worker dies at Coupang after collapsing

A man in his 50s died after collapsing during an early-morning shift at a Coupang logistics center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, police said Wednesday. According to the Gwangju Police Station, the worker collapsed at about 2:04 a.m. while on duty, was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died. He was a contracted employee and was assigned to loading goods onto carts. His shift was scheduled from 6 p.m. the previous day to 4 a.m. Police have requested an autopsy to determine the caus

Nov. 26, 2025

'Are you 'open mindeu'?': When the Hongdae guy meme stops being funny

A Korean guy in a black leather jacket walks up to a foreign woman in Hongdae. In a thick accent, he asks, “Are you open-minded?” The meme version renders it as “Are you open mindeu?” to match his pronunciation. Sometimes he follows up with an equally blunt question: “Do you libe alone?” his version of “Do you live alone?” with a Korean accent. A string of viral clips by content creator Sean Solo repeats this familiar script. The woman’s nationality changes from Italian to Middle Eastern to Indo

Nov. 26, 2025

Lee returns home from four-nation trip to Middle East, Africa

President Lee Jae Myung returned home Wednesday from his four-nation swing to the Middle East and Africa, where he focused on expanding economic ties with the Global South and engaged in multilateral diplomacy at the Group of 20 summit. Lee made a 10-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey, undertaken on the occasion of his attendance at the G20 summit in South Africa, exploring ways to boost economic cooperation in defense, nuclear energy, infrastructure and cultural industries.

Nov. 26, 2025

S. Korea's Nuri rocket enters final check stage ahead of early Thurs. launch

Final preparations for the fourth launch of South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri were under way Wednesday, according to the country's space agency, as the country seeks to place 13 satellites into orbit through the mission set to take place shortly after midnight. The 200-ton Nuri is set to blast off from Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung, 473 kilometers south of Seoul, at around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

Nov. 26, 2025

[Graphic News] Female executive numbers reach new record

The number of female executives at South Korea’s top 100 listed companies reached a record 476 this year, according to a report by headhunting firm UnicoSearch. Among these firms, 79 have at least one female board member, with Samsung Electronics leading at 80 female executives. The figure represents a 2.8 percent increase from 463 in 2024. Though the total number of executives across the top 100 firms fell by 1.3 percent (98 people) year-on-year, the number of female executives still rose by 13

Nov. 26, 2025

Unification minister meets US envoy, stresses bilateral cooperation in resuming US-NK dialogue

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young underscored the importance of close South Korea-US cooperation in resuming dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in his meeting with acting US Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim on Tuesday. According to the unification ministry, Chung noted that a "window of opportunity" has opened for such a resumption following summits held on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in late October and said the period leading up to planned US-Chin

Nov. 25, 2025

S. Korea asks Lone Star to reimburse legal costs after winning annulment in investor dispute

The Ministry of Justice said Tuesday it has sent a letter to Lone Star requesting the private equity fund to reimburse legal costs incurred during an investor-state dispute settlement over the 2012 sale of a local bank. The move came after the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes recently ruled in favor of South Korea, nullifying its earlier decision ordering Seoul to pay Lone Star $216.5 million in compensation plus interest. Under the ruling, Lone Star is required to pay

Nov. 25, 2025

Korea issues alert after 6th case of swine fever

South Korea's quarantine authorities issued a nationwide alert Tuesday, calling for enhanced quarantine measures against African swine fever after the country confirmed its sixth ASF case of the year. The latest case was reported at a pig farm in the city of Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, which was raising 463 pigs, according to officials at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters. In response to the outbreak, the CDMH issued the highest-level red alert nationwide to prevent the furth

Nov. 25, 2025

Bad air day in Seoul

Most parts of South Korea experienced high levels of fine and ultrafine airborne dust, as northwesterly winds carried yellow dust from China. As of Tuesday morning, ultrafine dust levels in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province reached “very bad” levels — above 76 micrograms per cubic meter — with Seoul recording 92 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Most other parts of South Korea reported "bad" levels of fine and ultrafine dust, while only North an

Nov. 25, 2025

Ex-PM to deliver closing arguments ahead of first ruling in martial law saga

The first major ruling in the December 2024 martial law scandal is nearing conclusion, with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo set to deliver closing arguments Wednesday in a case widely viewed as a litmus test for related trials, including that of the ousted president. The Seoul Central District Court is expected to issue its verdict in mid- to late January. Han is the earliest among more than 20 defendants linked to the failed martial law plan to reach the final hearing stage, meaning his case

Nov. 25, 2025

Korea opens Jakarta education center to expand Korean-language programs

South Korea’s Education Ministry announced Tuesday that it has opened a Korean education center in Jakarta, Indonesia, as part of broader efforts to support overseas Koreans and attract international students. Korean Education Centers provide lifelong learning programs for Korean nationals overseas, while serving as key hubs for promoting Korean-language education and supporting study-abroad pathways to Korea, the ministry explained. The Jakarta center becomes the 47th such institution worldwide

Nov. 25, 2025

Shaw Prize winner Baumeister on breakthroughs that changed cell imaging

HONG KONG — Wolfgang Baumeister has spent decades trying to see what the human eye never could. This year, the German biophysicist was awarded the Shaw Prize in life science and medicine for pioneering cryo-electron tomography, a breakthrough that allows scientists to observe the molecular architecture of living cells in unprecedented detail. “It’s a wonderful recognition,” he said at an interview with The Korea Herald on the sidelines of the Hong Kong Laureate Forum 2025. “But after 30 years of

Nov. 25, 2025