The Korea Herald

Power outage halts LCD production at Samsung plant

Social affairsJun 15, 2012

A power failure at a Samsung plant in the western city of Asan briefly halted production of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, the company said Friday, leading to concerns about its economic impact. The power cut occurred at around 9:05 p.m. Thursday and lasted about 11 minutes before electricity was restored to the production line in Asan, about 95 kilometers south of Seoul, according to an o...
Ruling party kicks off negotiations to defuse row over primary rules

PoliticsJun 15, 2012

The ruling Saenuri Party kicked off negotiations Friday to defuse an escalating row over how to pick its presidential candidate after underdogs in the race threatened to bow out en masse unless primary rules are changed first. At issue is a demand from three minor contenders – Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo and Reps. Chung Mong-joon and Lee Jae-oh -- that the party fully open the primary vo...
Panetta says missile talks with Korea making progress

DefenseJun 15, 2012

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta expressed optimism Thursday over talks with South Korea on its push to develop greater ballistic missile capability. "I think we are making good progress," he said during a joint press conference with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan also joined in, describing the...
S. Korea, U.S., Japan seek security ties

PoliticsJun 14, 2012

China’s rise, North Korea’s threat bolster trilateral cooperation; historical animosity, economic interests with Beijing still in the way North Korea’s continuing saber-rattling and China’s growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific are reviving momentum for enhanced security cooperation among the U.S., South Korea and Japan. Washington has long sought the three-way tie-up to lessen its security...
Ex-DP chief announces bid for presidency

PoliticsJun 14, 2012

Sohn Hak-kyu, former opposition leader, declared his intention to run in the Democratic United Party’s presidential primary against two heavyweights loyal to late President Roh Moo-hyun. “People’s livelihoods and social unity are the top two priority tasks for the next president to accomplish,” said the senior advisor of the main opposition party, in a press conference at Gwangwhamun Plaza. The...
Korea, U.S. deny keeping combined forces command

DefenseJun 14, 2012

Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and U.S. Forces Korea have denied reports that U.S.F.K. commander Gen. James Thurman suggested keeping the Combined Forces Command intact after the handover of wartime operational control to Seoul in 2015. On Thursday a local daily reported that Thurman had suggested keeping the Combined Forces Command intact after the handover with the top post being held by...
Saenuri may demand justice minister’s ouster

PoliticsJun 14, 2012

The Saenuri Party said Thursday it is open to discussing the main opposition party’s proposal to push for the dismissal of Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin over his alleged role in the government’s illegal surveillance of civilians. “As he (Kwon) was the secretary for civic affairs when the surveillance activities were taking place, and the justice minister during the investigation, it will not be ...
DUP gripped by fresh voting row

PoliticsJun 14, 2012

New allegations of election fraud are looming large over the main opposition Democratic United Party, adding to growing factional strife ahead of its presidential primary race. A party member in Gyeonggi Province, supposed to be a supporter for new party leader Lee Hae-chan was found to have voted twice in its recent leadership election. He took part in the mobile-phone election on June 1 as an...
Top court orders recalculation of forfeiture amount for Chun

Social affairsJun 14, 2012

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a retrial of Sejoong Namo Tour chairman Chun Shin-il, a close friend of President Lee Myung-bak, who was convicted of bribery, saying that the amount of money to be forfeited was wrongly calculated. Last December, Seoul’s appellate court meted out a two-year jail term along with a forfeiture of some 3.21 billion won ($2.75 million) in restitution for his bri...
Korean discipline is our core value: N.Y. high school founder

Social affairsJun 14, 2012

The Korean way of learning is making for a success story in New York City’s Harlem, thanks to a devoted educator who prioritizes discipline, enthusiasm and accountability. Democracy Prep High School opened in 2006 in the northern Manhattan neighborhood. It is the first school in the city offering regular Korean language courses. The majority students are African-American and Hispanic, and altho...
GGGI to become international body

Foreign affairsJun 14, 2012

14 countries to sign treaty in Brazil next week; inaugural meeting set for October The Global Green Growth Institute created by the Korean government is set to transform into an international organization in October, Seoul officials said Thursday. Fourteen countries are scheduled to sign a treaty for the status change at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro on June 2...
History of obstacles

PoliticsJun 14, 2012

The basic condition for three-way cooperation was first forged in 1965 when Seoul and Japan reestablished their diplomatic relationship amid Washington’s push for its normalization to help keep China and the former Soviet Union in check. The normalization deal came as the South was in dire need of economic assistance from outside to spur its development while Japan needed to mend fences with nei...
North Korea names new strategic rocket commander

North KoreaJun 14, 2012

North Korea reportedly appointed Kim Rok-gyom, a two-star army general, as the commander of its strategic rocket unit ahead of its ruling Worker’s Party’s representatives’ meeting in April. During the party conference, Kim, along with other military leaders loyal to the North’s fledgling leader Kim Jong-un, was picked as a member of the party’s Central Military Commission. Since the death of lo...
Wartime sex slavery victim Kim Hwa-seon dies

Social affairsJun 14, 2012

Kim Hwa-seon, a Korean victim of forced sexual slavery during the Japanese colonial period, died Wednesday. Kim died of natural causes at a hospital in Gwangju, according to the House of Sharing, an organization for the so-called comfort women. She was 86. Kim was taken by Japan’s Imperial Army to Singapore in 1941. After Korea’s independence she lived alone in the city of Daejeon until she mo...
High school teacher probed for gambling with students

Social affairsJun 14, 2012

Education officials said Thursday they are investigating a high school teacher who allegedly gambled with students. The 48-year-old teacher, whose identity was withheld, allegedly played traditional card games with five students for an hour during a field trip last month, according to the North Gyeongsang Province Office of Education. Officials said the teacher had initially tried to persuade t...