Se Eun Gong

South Korea announced on Monday a plan to compensate victims of forced labor under Japan's colonization through a government foundation with funds from South Korean companies.

The appeals court ruled Tuesday that So Seong-uk can't be denied spousal benefits by the National Health Insurance Service just because his partner is the same gender as him.

The man was convicted of killing a female colleague in a Seoul subway station last year, a day before he was to be sentenced on stalking charges. This has led to calls for better protection for women.

"It looks like people will be squashed to death," said a person who called police nearly three hours before the first fatality. On Wednesday, the team investigating the incident raided Seoul police.

As the police launch an investigation, the country is mourning the victims of Saturday night's deadly stampede in Itaewon. Eyewitnesses are lamenting the lack of crowd control measures.

These are the first adjustments to social measures since the country began a long-awaited transition to a new phase in pandemic response in early November and lifted most of the restrictions.

By Friday, South Korean authorities had identified 163 patients who tested positive again after a full recovery. The number more than doubled in about a week, up from 74 cases on April 9.

On April 15, legislative elections will go as planned but with new coronavirus safety features, and the government's handling of the virus is a top issue.

The country's Constitutional Court overturned the ban enacted in 1953. Despite South Korea's heavily Christian population, in recent years anti-abortion sentiment has softened.

With tensions easing between North and South Korea, the two sides are reviving cross-border reunions that began in 1985. On Monday, 93 South Koreans will board buses to visit relatives in the North.