The Korea Herald

Lee’s son cleared of charges on land purchase for retirement home

Social affairsJun 10, 2012

The prosecution said Sunday that it has decided not to press charges against President Lee Myung-bak’s son and others accused of irregularities in the process of purchasing Lee’s retirement residence. Concluding their five-month investigation, officials at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said they found no sign of illegality in the purchase of a 2,600-square-meter plot in Naegok-d...
How to end fraud in the lab

Social affairsJun 10, 2012

Research fraud cases and allegations raise doubts over Korean labs’ ethical standards A series of research fabrication scandals have sparked a round of soul-searching in Korea’s scientific community on whether their competitive zeal for accomplishment may have gone overboard. The country last month caught the science world’s attention with a new research fraud case, just seven years after the f...
Kenyan culture celebrated in Seoul

Foreign affairsJun 10, 2012

Kenya’s minister for tourism said Korean tourists to his country would top 10,000 this year thanks to soon-to-begin direct flights between Nairobi and Incheon at an event celebrating Kenyan culture in Seoul on Friday. “Since the establishment of Kenya Korea diplomatic relations in 1964, cooperation between the two countries has grown from strength to strength with various agreements and MOUs alr...
Filipinas invited to enter essay contest

Foreign affairsJun 10, 2012

The Philippine Embassy is inviting Filipino women married to Koreans to enter an essay writing contest to win up to 3 million won ($2,500). The competition has been organized by the Research Institute of Asian Women of Sookmyung Women’s University and the Korea Exchange Bank. Filipinas who are married and residing in Korea are invited to write on the theme of “My Life in Korea.” Divorcees or s...
ASEAN culture fair shows off diverse cultures of SE Asia

Foreign affairsJun 10, 2012

Residents of Seoul and Yeosu were treated to a taste of the diverse cultures of South East Asia at the 2012 ASEAN Culture and Tourism Fair at the weekend. The fair, held simultaneously at D-Cube City in Seoul and the site of the Yeosu Expo on Saturday and Sunday, showcased the cultures of 10 ASEAN states including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. Boot...
New Zealand honors Korean War veteran

Foreign affairsJun 10, 2012

A Korean man has been honored for his more than 50 years of work to bring New Zealand War Veterans closer to Korea. Chi Kap-chong became an honorary Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the June 4 Queen’s Birthday and Diamond Jubilee New Zealand Honours List for his services to New Zealand-Korean relations. Chi, who is Chairman of the U.N. Korean War Allies Association, received his awa...
France, Korea to share carbon reduction experience

Foreign affairsJun 10, 2012

France and Korea will discuss reducing carbon emissions at a forum on Tuesday and Wednesday. European, French and Korean decision makers from both the public and private sector will share their views and expertise on carbon emission reduction strategies that have been implemented over the past few years. The French framework of the “Grenelle of Environment” will be discussed alongside Korea’s “...
Finland seeks secrets of Korea’s education success

Jun 10, 2012

Finland and Korea are both lauded for producing some of the world’s highest-performing students, but their education systems produce results by very different means. Korean kids endure long school days followed by hours of evening classes, causing the Korean government to ban tutoring after 10 p.m. Meanwhile, Finnish children have the third-shortest schooldays in the OECD and don’t start compuls...
Missing girl ‘found’ at grandma’s home

Social affairsJun 10, 2012

A missing girl, who was speculated to have been kidnapped and caused a racket on the Internet, turned out to be a simple runaway, according to police. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Sunday that 19-year-old Kim was staying in her grandmother’s home. Kim reportedly ran away from her home because of her "family issues," although full details of the case have not yet been released. The simp...
Explorer's study of 'sexually depraved' penguins unearthed

ScienceJun 10, 2012

He risked freezing or starving to death on a doomed expedition to the South Pole 100 years ago -- but for George Murray Levick, the real horror lay in the twisted sexual mores of the Adelie penguin. London's Natural History Museum has unearthed a landmark study by Levick, a scientist with the ill-fated 1910-13 Scott Antarctic Expedition, detailing the birds' sexual shenanigans, the Guardian news...
Study: Dogs show empathy to crying people

ScienceJun 10, 2012

Dogs respond to a person who is crying regardless of whether it is their owner or an unfamiliar person, researchers in Britain found. Dr. Deborah Custance and Jennifer Mayer, both of the Department of Psychology at the University of London, developed a procedure to examine whether domestic dogs could identify and respond to emotional states in humans. Eighteen pet dogs -- a range of ages and br...
N. Korea again rules out nuclear test

North KoreaJun 10, 2012

North Korea said Saturday that it has no immediate plan to conduct a third nuclear test. The North's latest announcement made through a statement issued by its foreign ministry spokesman came amid growing international concern about its possible nuclear test following April's failed rocket launch. "(South Korea) seeks to rattle the nerves of the DPRK (North Korea) in a bid to cause it to conduc...
Missing Koreans presumed dead in chopper crash: officials

Social affairsJun 10, 2012

Eight South Koreans who went missing after their helicopter crashed into a mountain in Peru last week are presumed to have been killed, officials said Saturday. The Peruvian military and police conducted an aerial search and discovered the wreckage of the helicopter at about 4,950 meters above sea level near Coline in southern Peru, according to an official at the South Korean Embassy in Lima. ...
Lee Hae-chan elected new chairman of main opposition party

PoliticsJun 9, 2012

Former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan was elected the new chairman of the main opposition Democratic United Party, beating rival Rep. Kim Han-gil in the party's national convention on Saturday. Lee won 24.3 percent of the entire votes to come out the final winner. The following five including Kim (23.8 percent), Choo Mi-ae (14.1 percent), Kang Ki-jung (10 percent), Lee Jong-kul (8.4 percent) and Wo...
Ruling party to stick to current presidential primary process

PoliticsJun 9, 2012

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party will stick to its current presidential candidate selection process, but will check to see if there are shortcomings that can be addressed, the party's chairman said Saturday. At the end of a workshop event for lawmakers, Hwang Woo-yea said meeting the primary election timetable set by the party's constitution will be a challenge in itself. He said that because ...