Most Popular
-
1
[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
-
2
Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
-
3
S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
-
4
Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
-
5
Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
-
6
[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
-
7
Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
-
8
[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
-
9
Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
-
10
Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
-
Taxi drivers go on strike
About one out of five taxis across the country ceased operations Wednesday in protest of a stalled taxi bill, the government said Wednesday.According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, 31,730 taxis halted operation in the Seoul metropolitan area, well below the government’s expectation. The strike has not hindered citizens much during the morning rush hour, as only 20.7 percent of taxi drivers nationwide joined the walkout.To minimize citizens’ inconvenience caused by the w
Feb. 20, 2013
-
Public diplomacy and civic consciousness
U.S. branding expert Patrick Hanlon said in his recent article in Forbes magazine that while Korea is exporting esteemed brands in businesses, it is “ best known for kimchee (pickled cabbage) and its annoying northern neighbor,” urging Korea to promote its national brand. His suggestion is not new at all to me even though it could be more or less embarrassing to many Koreans since they pride themselves on many successful stories to tell to the world, inter alia, in an economic aspect. In fact, m
Feb. 19, 2013
-
Parents get suspended terms for admission fraud
INCHEON (Yonhap) -- A total of 21 parents received suspended prison terms on Tuesday for securing unlawful admission for their children to foreigner-only schools in South Korea based on fraudulent documents, according to court officials.The Incheon District Court delivered guilty verdicts to the parents for illegally putting their children in schools for children of foreign residents with fabricated passports and foreign citizenship papers which they bought from brokers.South Korean students, in
Feb. 19, 2013
-
Education chief hospitalized after suicide attempt
A provincial education chief who was probed last month by police for bribery charges was taken to a hospital after an apparent suicide attempt on Tuesday, police said.Kim Jong-seong, chief of the South Chungcheong Office of Education, was rushed to a nearby hospital in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, police said, adding that he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.The 63-year-old official has been under intense police investigation for allegedly ordering government official
Feb. 19, 2013
-
Korean Air runs make-up class for men
Korean Air on Tuesday held a special make-up training session for its male recruits in Seoul, marking the airliner’s first such endeavor. The class, titled “Image making for service men,” introduced tips for work, including basic workplace manners and proper dress code. The company used to offer make-up lessons for its female crew and flight attendants, but opted to feature beauty tips in the orientation program for its male workers starting from this year. About 110 new male recruits were giv
Feb. 19, 2013
-
Key figures in massive stock manipulation scandal indicted
Prosecutors said Tuesday they have brought charges against five people, including a former energy ambassador, for allegedly reaping massive profit from a stock manipulation scheme linked to a diamond mining project in Cameroon.The suspects are accused of pocketing about 90 billion won ($83.24 million) by inflating the stock prices of South Korean mine developer CNK International, after exaggerating the volume of diamond reserves in a Cameroon mine developed by the KOSDAQ-listed company through a
Feb. 19, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Fewer Koreans escaping poverty
The rate of Koreans escaping poverty or moving into the upper income brackets has slowed over a five-year period, a report showed on Monday.According to Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the proportion of poor households that moved out of poverty fell to 31.3 percent in 2008-09 from 35.4 percent in 2005-06The proportion of people moving into poverty, however, continued on oscillating pattern within 6.7-7.7 percent during the same period.The report studied a total of 5,637 households
Feb. 18, 2013
-
N. Korea’s first lady may have given birth: source
North Korea’s first lady Ri Sol-ju may have given birth, a government source said Monday, citing her slimmer silhouette and permed hair seen in a photo of her that was released a day earlier.The photo shows Ri accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the governing family mausoleum where the embalmed body of late leader Kim Jong-il is laid. Feb. 16 was the anniversary of the birth of the late leader, who died from heart problems in December, 2011. Ri appeared in a tight dark skirt suit, de
Feb. 18, 2013
-
Pay for Korean mid-level civil servants low
The yearly compensation for South Korea’s mid-level civil servants ranked low among the member countries of the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the OECD Korea Policy Center, the mid-level public officials received $103,884 in 2009 on average, ranked 19th out of the 22 member nations surveyed. The average of the member countries’ total compensation package, includ
Feb. 18, 2013
-
Workers slam plan to use NPS funds
President-elect Park Geun-hye’s ambitious pension program designed to help elderly citizens in poverty is once again at the center of debate, after some reports suggested that her handover committee has finalized a plan to use the fund managed by the National Pension Service to finance the new program.Local newspapers reported on Monday that the transition committee and incumbent government officials have agreed to integrate the public pension system and the new pension program for citizens aged
Feb. 18, 2013
-
New police team to tackle sex crimes against social minorities
A special police team will be launched later this month to handle sex crimes committed against social minorities. According to the police, the team will recruit 130 additional police officers with experience in investigating juvenile delinquency and women-related crimes. The newly expanded team is set to operate from Feb. 27. Police said that 208 police officers at 16 local police headquarters across the nation will be in charge of investigating crimes against social minorities including the phy
Feb. 18, 2013
-
Victim of Japan’s forced labor receives diploma
A woman in her 80s who was forced into labor for imperial Japan during World War II is set to receive a diploma from her elementary school 70 years after her graduation in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province.According to a civic group dealing with Japan’s recruitment of people for forced labor, Neungju elementary school made the decision to give a graduation certificate to Kim Jae-rim, 83, at a graduation ceremony on Feb. 19.Kim was one of the 300 girls from the Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces who we
Feb. 18, 2013
-
Fire breaks out in Insa-dong, Seoul
A large fire broke out Sunday in Seoul’s cultural district of Insa-dong, with at least seven people hospitalized for smoke inhalation, officials from the National Rescue Services said.The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. at a closed restaurant, according to firefighters at the scene. The fire was nearly under control shortly after 10 p.m., but flames reignited on another building nearby.“(Firefighters) had difficulty reaching the site because of the narrow alleys, and the high temperature caused
Feb. 17, 2013
-
S. Korean man arrested for illegal missionary work in Libya
CAIRO -- A South Korean man was arrested in the Libyan city of Benghazi and is under investigation for being involved in illegal missionary work along with three other foreigners, Libyan police and the South Korean embassy there said Sunday. The Libyan police arrested the South Korean, an Egyptian, a South African, and a Swede who was traveling on a U.S. passport, on Tuesday on suspicion of printing and distributing books which called for conversion to Christianity, according to the officia
Feb. 17, 2013
-
Japanese activist indicted over Dokdo stakes
A Japanese right-wing activist will face trial in South Korea for setting up provocative wooden stakes in Seoul and Tokyo last year to lay claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, prosecutors said Sunday.Nobuyuki Suzuki, a member of an ultra-right Japanese party, was sued by a group of former South Korean sex slaves for defamation in connection with a controversial wooden post he tied to a symbolic statue of a sex slave in front of the Japanese embassy in downtown Seoul in June.The wo
Feb. 17, 2013
-
S.Chungcheong superintendent of education summoned
Kim Jong-sung, the Superintendent of Education for South Chungcheong Province was summoned by the police on Friday on allegations that he was involved in a case where government officials took bribes from teachers seeking to become state education advisors. The police had recently arrested several officials in charge of supervising the curriculum for schools in the province for taking bribes worth over 200 million won from teachers who had taken tests last year for selecting new supervisory off
Feb. 15, 2013
-
‘7 out of 10 Seoul citizens suffer from stress’
Seven out of every 10 Seoul citizens experience stress at work, school and in their domestic lives, a report showed Friday.In a survey conducted by the Seoul city government on Seoul citizens aged over 13 in May last year, more than 72 percent of respondents said they had been stressed for the past two weeks. Almost 13 percent said the level of stress was extreme.There were more women who were under stress than men. Work topped the list of the environmental causes of stress with 77.6 percent, fo
Feb. 15, 2013
-
Health Ministry to increase tax incentives for drug R&D projects
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will increase tax incentives to pharmaceutical companies that invest in the research and development of new drugs, officials said Friday,As a revised law on special tax treatment control takes effect, small- and medium sized companies investing in R&D projects will get more deduction on corporate tax from 25 percent to 30 percent. Big companies will also get tax deductions of up to 20 percent from 3-15 percent.Companies are expected to enjoy tax deducti
Feb. 15, 2013
-
Samsung accused of leaking toxic gas outside plant
Hydrofluoric acid gas was allegedly discharged into the surrounding environment from the Samsung Electronic Co. semiconductor line in Hwaseong City after a fatal leakage from one of the pipelines last month, according to a police investigation Friday.The latest development runs counter to the earlier statement by the world’s largest semiconductor maker that no toxic chemical was leaked outside the factory.“After analyzing CCTV footage in the central chemical supply system of the factory, the pol
Feb. 15, 2013
-
Environment activist receives jail term on bribery conviction
Choi Yeol, 64, president of non-governmental environmental group Korea Green Foundation, was sentenced to a jail term for receiving bribes from real estate investors Friday. The Supreme Court turned down Choi’s appeal and upheld a lower court’s ruling of a one-year jail term and a fine of 130 million won ($123,000). Choi was indicted for receiving financial favors from a real estate investor who asked for help in an eco-friendly industrial park in Gyeonggi Province. Choi arranged a meeting with
Feb. 15, 2013