Teacher rights violations remain high despite recent decline SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) - South Korean education authorities reviewed more than 4,000 cases of alleged violations of teachers' rights last year, more than triple the level recorded five years earlier, data showed Friday. Teacher Rights Protection Committees reviewed 4,034 cases during the 2025 school year, about 3.4 times the 1,197 cases recorded in 2020, according to data published by the Korean Educational Development Institute. The number rose to 2,269 in 2021, 3,035 i September 4, 2026

Search continues for six missing sailors after tugboat capsizes off Busan SEOUL, September 4 (AJP) - Coastguards are still searching for six sailors who went missing after a tugboat capsized off the coast of Busan, but strong winds and worsening weather are hampering the rescue operation, officials said on Friday. The 286-ton tugboat, carrying eight crew members including two Indonesians, capsized in waters about 9 kilometers southeast of Oryukdo islets at around 1:30 p.m. last Wednesday and sank completely about two hours later. One Indonesian crew September 4, 2026

TVING data breach exposes 40 million user accounts SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Personal information of some 39.5 million users of South Korean streaming service TVING was leaked through a cyberattack, the government said Thursday. The information breach is the biggest among a recent series of cyberattacks in the country. A joint public-private investigation team under the Ministry of Science and ICT said the compromised information included names, birth dates, mobile phone numbers, email addresses and connecting information, cove September 3, 2026

Court tells LG dynasty to work out family feud SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) -A bitter feud inside the founding family of LG, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, deepened Thursday after a court rejected the late chairman's widow's bid to sever her legal mother-son relationship with Koo Kwang-mo, the nephew adopted more than two decades ago to preserve the Koo family's tradition of male succession. The Seoul Family Court dismissed the petition filed by Kim Young-sik, widow of former LG Group Chairman Koo Bon- September 3, 2026

Gyeonggi brings in real-life 'Teach You a Lesson' experts SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has launched a 300-member team of specialists to support and defend South Korea teachers exposed to malicious complaints, harassment and attacks from students and parents. The initiative takes a cue from the Netflix drama “Teach You a Lesson,” which depicts a fictional government agency created to restore teachers’ authority in schools. Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok has m September 3, 2026

Six missing after tugboat capsizes off Busan SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - A tugboat carrying eight crew members capsized off the southern port city of Busan on Wednesday, leaving six people missing, according to coast guards. The 286-ton boat overturned at about 1:29 p.m. in waters about 9 kilometers southeast of Oryukdo islets. Of the crew including six South Koreans and two foreign nationals, one crew member was rescued by a cargo ship passing nearby, while another was found unconscious. Strong currents and high waves September 2, 2026

Two South Koreans kidnapped in Haiti freed after about a month SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - Two South Koreans who were kidnapped by a gang in Haiti have been released after about a month in captivity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. According to the ministry, the two were kidnapped by a gang in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince in July while on their way to work. One was released on Aug. 18, while the other was freed on Tuesday. Both are reportedly in good health. As soon as the kidnapping was reported to the South Korea September 2, 2026

Coupang logistics center raided over workplace accident SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - As friction over Coupang increasingly strains relations between South Korea and the U.S., authorities raided one of the e-commerce giant's logistics centers on Wednesday over a workplace accident that left a worker in his 40s critically injured. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency and the Seongnam branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor began searching the logistics center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province at around 9 a.m. Thirteen inves September 2, 2026

Additional rescue workers arrive in Nepal as nine South Koreans remain missing SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - An additional group of South Korean rescue workers arrived in Kathmandu to join search and rescue efforts led by a government-led team dispatched last week, shortly after devastating floods and landslides in Nepal left thousands of people missing including nine South Koreans, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. The group, comprising 44 members including ministry officials as well as personnel from the Korea International Cooperation Agency September 2, 2026

Police scandals test Korea's sweeping prosecution reform SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - South Korea carried out a sweeping reshuffle of senior police officials Tuesday, replacing 14 of the country's 18 regional police chiefs, as public distrust of police investigations deepens over a scandal on Jeju Island involving the false closure of missing-person cases. The shake-up came before South Korea's 78-year-old Prosecution Service is set to disappear on Oct. 2, adding urgency to questions over how police investigations will be checked September 2, 2026