K-pop singers Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon became the target of fresh allegations Thursday when a woman accused them of raping her in 2016 in a hotel room along with three other men.According to SBS funE reports, the woman said five men including Jung and Choi had raped her in March 2016 and then shared an audio file and photos of the incident in a group chat. The alleged victim reportedly had been a friend of Jung’s since 2012. Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon (Yonhap)The woman said the

Social Affairs April 19, 2019

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake was detected in the East Sea, 54 kilometers off the coast of Donghae, Gangwon Province, at 11:16 a.m. on Friday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.The KMA said the earthquake occurred at 37.88 degrees north latitude and 129.54 degrees east longitude. (Yonhap)The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said no damages or causalities had been reported, but local governments were working to determine whether the earthquake had caused any damage.According to the min

Social Affairs April 19, 2019

The level of acceptance toward immigrants among Korean adults has decreased slightly compared with 2015, although the reverse is true for middle and high school students, a government survey showed Thursday. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Welfare on Thursday released the results of research on acceptance of multiculturalism conducted by the Korean Women’s Development Institute from April 2018 to March 2019. The research is conducted every three years as part of the government’s efforts to c

Social Affairs April 18, 2019

K-pop singer Jung Joon-young, who allegedly filmed sex videos in secret and shared them in social media chat rooms, has been indicted, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday.Jung was indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment etc. of Sexual Crimes. Jung Joon-young (Yonhap)The police sent Jung’s case to the prosecutor’s office March 28 after they found evidence that Jung distributed illicit videos 11 times in group chats that also incl

Social Affairs April 17, 2019

A man in his 40s set his apartment on fire on Wednesday and stabbed residents of the building as they tried to escape the blaze, killing five people and injuring 13 others. Police said they are looking into the medical records of the man. He was apprehended at 4:50 a.m. on the second floor corridor. Police and firefighters inspect the scene of a fire and murders at an apartment building in Jinju, southeastern South Korea, on April 17, 2019. (Yonhap)The 42-year-old, surnamed Ahn, set fire to his

Social Affairs April 17, 2019

In March 2015, a 14-year-old girl was found dead lying on a bed in a motel in Gwanak-gu, southwestern Seoul. The victim was identified as a runaway teenager. Not long after leaving home in November 2014, she met three pimps and began selling sex through smartphone apps. The girl was strangled by a 38-year-old male customer, who then fled the scene. The perpetrator admitted to the crime, saying he felt she was not worth the money.The horrible murder shocked the public. But Cho Jin-kyeong, the exe

Social Affairs April 16, 2019

Police on Saturday requested arrest warrants for two members of a progressive collegiate association for trespassing.The two had occupied Liberty Korea Party Floor Leader Na Kyung-won’s office as part of a protest, Yeongdeungpo Police Station said Sunday. They are reportedly college students.  (Yonhap)They were among 22 members of the group who had occupied Rep. Na’s office at around 10 a.m. Friday to stage a protest demanding Na and Liberty Korea Party chief Hwang Kyo-ahn step down from their p

Social Affairs April 14, 2019

A man accused of putting on weight by eating fried chicken to avoid mandatory military service was acquitted of breaking the law on conscription, Incheon District Court said Sunday.The 22-year-old college student reportedly underwent a physical examination for military service in August 2016. The test showed that the man, who weighed 106 kilograms and was 169.6 centimeters tall at the time, had Body Mass Index of 36.8. People with BMI of 33 and higher can be exempted from full-time military serv

Social Affairs April 14, 2019

A woman in her 60s died after being attacked by a dog Wednesday.According to the Anseong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, the 62-year-old victim, who was walking near her nursing home in Anseong, was attacked by a Tosa dog at around 7:55 a.m. Wednesday. The woman was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead at 1:16 p.m.  (This photo is not related to the article.)The dog, also known as a Japanese Mastiff, was kept by the head of the nursing home, who opened the gate of the dog’s enclosu

Social Affairs April 11, 2019

K-pop singer-turned-actor Park Yu-chun held a press conference Wednesday and denied rumors that he had supplied drugs to ex-fiancee Hwang Ha-na, who is under investigation for alleged drug use.Park Yu-chun (Yonhap)“I never used drugs,” Park said.“When I saw the report that Hwang Ha-na said a celebrity had offered her drugs, I was so scared that the person could be mistaken for me. I was terrified by the thought that I could be labeled a drug user even though I never did drugs.”The 32-year-old sa

Social Affairs April 10, 2019

A lower court on Wednesday turned down the arrest warrant sought by police against TV personality Robert Holley over his alleged drug use.The Suwon District Court claimed that the police already had access to "most of the evidence materials" related to the accusations, adding that Holley admitted to the alleged crime.The 60-year-old naturalized Korean was arrested by police Monday afternoon at a parking lot in Gangseo, Seoul, for allegedly violating the Narcotics Control Act.Robert Holley (Yonha

Social Affairs April 10, 2019

A court on Tuesday ruled that revoking the license of a taxi driver who had overcharged foreigners was justified. The taxi driver therefore lost a suit against the Seoul City government, which had taken away his taxi driver’s license for repeatedly ripping off foreign passengers, according to the Seoul Administrative Court on Tuesday. This photo is not related to the article. (Yonhap)The driver was caught by the city government in June 2018 after demanding two foreign passengers pay 8,000 won ($

Social Affairs April 9, 2019

Amid the ongoing investigation of K-pop singer Seungri over sex bribery allegations, police summoned for questioning female guests who attended a party the singer threw in 2017.According to local media reports, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it had obtained the list of guests who attended Seungri’s birthday party in Palawan, in the Philippines, in December 2017.  Seungri (Yonhap)Police, however, declined to confirm the exact number of people present and investigation details. As the 2

Social Affairs April 8, 2019

SOKCHO, Gangwon Province – The scent of smoke hung over Goseong, Gangwon Province, Friday afternoon. Firefighting helicopters could be seen in the sky and fire trucks sped by on their way to put out fires that continued through the night. A mountain fire, thought to be Korea’s worst ever wildfire, had blazed through the area overnight, destroying an area the size of Seoul’s Yeouido.“Goseong has several big fires every spring, but I’ve never seen a fire like this before,” Kim Young-joon, a taxi d

Social Affairs April 5, 2019

K-pop singer Roy Kim was booked by police Thursday, charged with sharing an obscene photo in a group chat.According to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Thursday, police told Kim to appear for a police investigation after finding the photo in a group chat room with fellow entertainer Jung Joon-young and others.Police, however, have not confirmed if Kim had taken the photo.Roy Kim (Yonhap)The 26-year-old singer shot to fame after winning the fourth season of TV music competition “Superstar K” i

Social Affairs April 4, 2019