South Korea

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South Korean Kids: Crew Insisted We Stay in Ferry

They testify in crew's trial

(Newser) - Teens aboard the doomed South Korean ferry Sewol testified today as the trial of 15 crew members continues in the April tragedy. Five of the six kids faced away from listeners as they testified, while another testified from another room via video feed, Reuters reports. The teens called for harsh...

Fugitive Owner in Ferry Disaster Found Dead

Billionaire Yoo was target of massive South Korea manhunt

(Newser) - A decaying body found in a plum field is that of the fugitive billionaire who owned a ferry that sank in April, South Korean cops have confirmed. Yoo Byung-un, patriarch of the family that owned the ferry operator, went on the run soon after the Sewol sank and had been...

'Bride Schools' Prep Women for Mail-Order Marriages

Government-supported Vietnamese classes teach women Korean language, customs

(Newser) - You don’t necessarily have to speak the same language as your husband to be a mail-order bride in South Korea—just the language of love. Unfortunately, many of the marriages arranged that way there don’t handle Cupid’s vernacular well, either, so the South Korean government is cracking...

North Korea's New Charm Offensive: Cheerleaders

Country promises they will 'melt the frozen North-South relations'

(Newser) - If you're keeping score at home, you can ratchet your North Korean hostility-o-meter down a notch. Pyongyang has just announced that it will send a cheerleading squad along with its athletes to this year's Asian Games in South Korea for the first time since 2005, the BBC reports....

Seoul: N. Korea Fired 2 Scuds
 Seoul: N. Korea Fired 2 Scuds 

Seoul: N. Korea Fired 2 Scuds

Latest short-range missile tests

(Newser) - North Korea fired two short-range Scud missiles into its eastern waters today, a South Korean official said, in an apparent test just days after the country tested what it called new precision-guided missiles. A South Korean military official said the missiles were fired from Wonsan and are presumed to be...

S. Korea Soldier Who Killed 5 Captured

Rogue conscript tried to kill himself

(Newser) - A South Korean soldier who fled after allegedly killing five colleagues at a remote border outpost was captured today following an unsuccessful suicide attempt, the country's defense ministry says. The 22-year-old sergeant surnamed Yim shot himself on the side of his abdomen but failed to kill himself and was...

Hunt for Rogue Soldier Turns Into Firefight

South Korean military had known 'Yim' had personality issues

(Newser) - South Korean troops today exchanged fire with a runaway soldier who was surrounded in a forest after he killed five comrades near his North Korea border outpost, a defense official tells the AP. One platoon leader was wounded when the sergeant, identified only by his surname Yim, threw a grenade...

South Korean Soldier Kills 5 Fellow Soldiers

He wounds 5 others and flees, says army

(Newser) - A South Korean soldier stationed at a remote border outpost shot and killed five of his fellow soldiers, reports the BBC . He also wounded five others before fleeing the post with his rifle and ammo, an army spokesperson tells AFP . Authorities haven't speculated about a motive, but so far...

Hostile Families Confront Crew of Korea Ferry, Cry 'Murderer'

Emotions run wild at pre-trial hearing for 15 crew members

(Newser) - Grief-wracked family members of the 300-plus souls lost in the sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol today aimed their rage squarely at the 15 crewmembers accused of negligence, as the reeling country held a pre-trial hearing in the April 16 disaster. The AP describes "hostile spectators" who cried,...

No Boys Allowed: Behold, Women-Only Parking Spots
No Boys Allowed: Behold, Women-Only Parking Spots
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

No Boys Allowed: Behold, Women-Only Parking Spots

It's South Korea's attempt to make parking more female-friendly

(Newser) - This is apparently not a bad joke: South Korea is unveiling the female-only parking spot, according to reports at the Independent and NBC . The lowdown: Seoul is looking to become more "woman-friendly" via initiatives like the extra-wide, extra-long, bright pink parking spots. In case that's not obvious or...

Dementia Patient, 81, Held in Hospital Fire That Killed 21

South Korea fire raises concerns about safety regulations

(Newser) - A fire believed set by an 81-year-old dementia patient blazed through a hospital ward for the elderly today and killed 21 people in South Korea, mostly from smoke inhalation, police and fire officials said. The fire on the second floor of the Hyosarang Hospital in Jangseong county also injured seven...

After Disaster, S. Korea Breaks Up Coast Guard

President apologizes to the nation for failed rescue

(Newser) - The response of South Korea's coast guard to the sinking of the Sewol ferry was so flawed that the force needs to be disbanded, the county's president has decided. In a televised address to the nation, Park Guen-hye slammed the coast guard for failing "in its duty...

Korea Ferry Crew Who Jumped Ship Indicted for Murder

Captain, 3 others could face death penalty

(Newser) - The captain and three other crew members who abandoned a ferry as it sank off the coast of South Korea with hundreds of passengers still on board have been indicted on murder charges. Another 11 crew members have been charged with negligence, reports Reuters . "The captain, a first officer...

Diver Dies in Ferry Search
 Ferry Search 
 Claims New Victim 
UPDATED

Ferry Search Claims New Victim

Diver dies as 4 officials with ferry operator have been arrested

(Newser) - The sinking of the Sewol has claimed another victim: A civilian diver who perished while searching for bodies in the sunken South Korean ferry today. The 53-year-old man lost consciousness a few minutes after diving into waters around 80 feet deep, the BBC reports. Authorities say it was the veteran...

Korea Ferry Routinely— and Severely—Overloaded

Disaster exposes huge chasms in maritime regulation

(Newser) - The doomed ferry Sewol exceeded its cargo limit on 246 trips—nearly every voyage it made in which it reported cargo—in the 13 months before it sank, according to documents that reveal vast regulatory failures. And it may have been more overloaded than ever on its final journey. One...

Bodies Found Miles From Ferry Wreck

Raising concerns some bodies will never be recovered

(Newser) - Several more bodies have been brought ashore following South Korea's ferry disaster, bringing the death toll to 226 with 76 still missing, Yonhap News reports. But two were found far from the site: A female body was found today nearly 2.5 miles away, the Wall Street Journal reports,...

Kids in Video of Sinking Ferry: 'Looks Like the End'

Cellphone video captures laughter, panic aboard doomed ship

(Newser) - A cellphone video taken aboard South Korea's doomed ferry depicts "by far the most heartbreaking scene I have seen in my 27-year broadcasting career," a veteran TV producer says, per the New York Times . In the video, beginning three minutes before the ferry sent its first distress...

North Korea's Goal: an Army to Beat America's

Kim Jong Un tells officers to prepare for 'impending conflict'

(Newser) - North Korean leaders amped up the rhetoric today, calling President Obama a "pimp" and saying the nation's army must become strong enough to defeat the United States. Leader Kim Jong Un told military officers to improve the Korean People's Army so it can "win one victory...

S. Korea PM Quits Over Ferry Debacle

But it's a pretty symbolic move to assuage public anger

(Newser) - South Korea's No. 2 leader, prime minister Chung Hong-won, today fell on the government's sword, offering up his resignation as public anger simmers over Seoul's handling of the ferry disaster that's left more than 300 dead or still missing, reports the New York Times . "As...

Doomed Ferry's Entire Navigation Crew in Custody

15 people have been detained or arrested

(Newser) - Four more crew members on the sunken South Korean ferry were detained today, meaning that all 15 people involved in navigating the doomed boat are now in custody, the AP reports. All of them are accused of negligence and failure to help passengers, 115 of whom are still missing with...

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