Most Popular
-
1
Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
-
2
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
3
[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
-
4
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
5
Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
-
6
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
7
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
8
[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
-
9
'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
-
10
New head of doctors' association vows war in case of disadvantage to medical professors
-
U.N. meet on sustainable development under way
The United Nations Office for Sustainable Development kicked off its Expert Consultation on Building Knowledge and Capacity for Sustainable Development on Wednesday. The three-day session is being attended by 130 prominent experts on sustainability and member state representatives.The goal of the gathering is to understand the specific knowledge and capacity needs members states must satisfy to implement the outcomes of Rio+20, an earlier conference held in June 2012. For this, the consultation
March 7, 2013
-
International school faces probe over admission fraud
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Thursday that it will launch a special investigation into Younghoon International Middle School over alleged admission fraud involving conglomerate and elite families.Several civic activist groups also petitioned Wednesday, calling for an investigation into the school officials. They claim the chairman of the school asked for money, reportedly some 20 million won ($18,500) per student, from parents in exchange for enrolling their children.The schoo
March 7, 2013
-
Runaway soldier nabbed after sneaking into port to reach China
A fugitive South Korean solider has been detained after attempting to sneak into China aboard a cargo ship through the western port of Incheon, military and port officials said Thursday.The 21-year-old sergeant of special forces, whose identity was withheld, covertly entered the port, located west of Seoul, on Saturday after crossing over barbed wire, they said. He then got on board the vessel that was anchored at the port.After hiding in one of the compartments for more than a day, he was appre
March 7, 2013
-
SNU professor steps down amid plagiarism scandal
Seoul National University confirmed Thursday that a professor recently resigned after accusations of plagiarizing his thesis published in 2004.A 48-year-old surnamed Kim recently offered his resignation after admitting that he copied an article from Yale University for his article published by the Korean Association of International Studies.The plagiarism allegation first arose from an email sent to the KAIS alleging that Kim copied a Yale professor’s report written in 1983 and translated it int
March 7, 2013
-
Education chief arrested for bribery charge
A provincial education chief was detained Wednesday on a bribery charge, court officials said Thursday.Kim Jong-seong, chief of the South Chungcheong Office of Education, has been under investigation since last month on charges that the 63-year-old ordered government officials to take bribes worth 290 million won ($267,000) from people seeking to become state education advisors, in exchange for qualification test questions. The court said there is substantial evidence supporting his crime, accor
March 7, 2013
-
Match-fixing scandal hits basketball
The Korean Basketball League is bruised following a match-fixing scandal, requiring bold remedies. Kang Dong-hee, 47, head coach of Wonju Dongbu Promy, has been summoned by the prosecution over his alleged acceptance of money in exchange for fixing matches. Kang strongly denies the allegations but the prosecution has already arrested a broker who claims to have delivered money to him. The investigation may expand to other teams. Fixing matches is hardly news in local professional sports. The KBL
March 6, 2013
-
Officials to conduct safety checks on chemical firms
In the wake of a series of toxic gas leakage cases, the government will launch extensive inspections of firms that deal with chemical substances, the Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday.There have been growing calls for thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of toxic chemical leakage accidents after the country saw a string of such cases over the past several months.On Tuesday, about 1 liter of liquefied chlorine gas was leaked at a factory run by the chemical company Gumi Chemical, lead
March 6, 2013
-
Cab drivers booked for ripping off foreign tourists
A total of 20 cab drivers have been booked for investigation on charges of ripping off foreign tourists ― sometimes for hundreds of thousands of won ― at popular tourist districts in Seoul, police said Wednesday.The suspects, including a 45-year-old driver surnamed Baek, are accused of driving unregistered “call vans” and overcharging the foreign riders up to 10 times more than the normal fare from July to until recently, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.Police officers said the
March 6, 2013
-
KOICA to build water resource center in Pakistan
The Korea International Cooperation Agency said Wednesday that it would build a water resources management center in Pakistan to help fight water shortages. The government agency for international aid agreed to the $3 million project following preliminary research and structure designs in 2012. Following the construction, KOICA will carry out the water management project in conjunction with the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources. Pakistan is one of KOICA’s 26 priority partner countr
March 6, 2013
-
Anti-communist NGO under embezzlement probe
Police said Wednesday they launched an investigation into allegations that some officials in the Korea Freedom Federation, the nation’s largest anti-communist civic organization, misappropriated government subsidies and donations for personal use and other purposes. A report said Wednesday that around 470 million won ($434,000) of 1.4 billion won provided by the government was not spent as intended in 2011.For example, 57 million won of a 100 million won budget for a KFF project was used instea
March 6, 2013
-
Growing number of students suffer from reading disorder
When he reads a sentence, his eyes move from word to word in order, but his brain is still fixated on the first one. No matter how many times he reads the same sentence, he can only remember a few words in it, let alone grasp the whole meaning.Despite his normal intelligence, he struggled with school life and had to give up going to university. Even more frustrating for him is society’s ignorance of the disability and prejudices against people suffering from it. “When I tell people about my prob
March 6, 2013
-
ETS to provide TOEFL scholarship
The Educational Testing Service, the U.S.-based firm that administers TOEFL and TOEIC tests, announced Wednesday that it will award $72,000 to students in Korea through its annual TOEFL Scholarship program.ETS will recognize and award 24 qualified students each with a $3,000 scholarship to fund their undergraduate or graduate study in Korea or overseas. Candidates must submit their TOEFL test score to demonstrate their English proficiency. Additionally, undergraduate students must have a grade p
March 6, 2013
-
Students share artistic talents in Cambodia
My team from Korea National University of Arts traveled to Cambodia on a two-week volunteer trip last month.The trip was sponsored by my school’s K-Arts Sharing program, which encourages students to use their artistic talents to serve society. The volunteer program began in 2010, and we were the sixth team to go abroad to volunteer. In order to go on the volunteer trip, I applied for the Community Arts class, which the school provides as part of the program so that students can better coordinate
March 6, 2013
-
Private education cost growth hits 5-year high in Feb.
Prices of private education and other extracurricular activities grew at the fastest pace in about five years in February, data showed Wednesday, indicating the heavier burden that parents have to shoulder in educating their children.According to the data provided by Statistics Korea, prices of private institutes and supplementary education services across the country jumped 5.3 percent last month from a year earlier. This marked the fastest gain since January 2008 when it rose 5.8 percent on-ye
March 6, 2013
-
U.S. soldiers involved in BB gun shooting spree give conflicting testimonies
Two American soldiers who are accused of shooting a BB gun into crowds and fleeing in a car gave different accounts Wednesday over who drove the car at high speeds and tried to hit a police officer chasing them.Three soldiers from the 8th U.S. Army are under investigation by South Korean police after they shot a BB gun at pedestrians in the multicultural Itaewon district late Saturday night and fled in a car, leading to the police pursuit. A police officer who chased the soldiers shot at the car
March 6, 2013
-
Teen arrested for 2012 arson
A teenage boy suspected of torching a construction site last year was taken into custody, police said Wednesday.According to Incheon Nambu Police Station, the 17-year-old male suspect set fire to a layer of dust at a construction site in Nam-gu, Incheon. The fire was extinguished in 10 minutes, and no injuries were reported.The CCTV images taken at the crime scene showed that the arsonist was wearing women’s clothes at the time, misleading the investigators to think the arsonist was a young woma
March 6, 2013
-
Seoul to host Asia-Pacific city organization
Seoul will host the headquarters of CITYNET, an international organization of Asia-Pacific cities for sustainable development this month, an official said. CITYNET is a regional network of local authorities committed to improving the sustainability of human settlements. The secretariat office will relocate from Yokohama to Seoul with the opening ceremony scheduled for March 26, and Mayor Park Won-soon will take office as president in November, he said.“Holding a general council in early November
March 5, 2013
-
Ex-President Lee sued over retirement residence plan
Former President Lee Myung-bak was sued on Tuesday by a local civic group for long-raised suspicions of conducting irregularities during the course of pushing for his now-scrapped retirement pension project.The People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said it lodged an accusation with Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office against Lee for breach of duty and abuse of authority, claiming he is suspected of playing a key role in the fraud-ridden project.Lee left the office on Feb. 25 upo
March 5, 2013
-
Seoul Global Center promotes foreigners’ volunteer services
The Seoul Global Center is running a program for expatriates to help out children and senior citizens. Participants make visits twice a week, once to a senior center on Friday and another to an after-school center on Saturday. The program has been running since October 2011 to increase opportunities for foreign residents to contribute to the community.The Seoul Global Center is a one-stop service center that offers support for daily living, business activities, administrative services, education
March 5, 2013
-
11 injured by gas leakage at chemical factory
A breakdown of a ventilator at a chemical factory in southeastern South Korea caused the leakage of chlorine gas on Tuesday, injuring 11 employees, police and company officials said.Around 1 liter of the toxic gas was leaked at around 8:50 a.m. at the Gumi Chemical factory located in the Gumi National Industrial Complex, some 200 kilometers southeast of Seoul, while workers there were trying to transfer the liquid gas from a tanker.A 35-year-old employee was sent to a nearby hospital for difficu
March 5, 2013