Most Popular
-
1
[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
-
2
Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
-
3
[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
-
4
Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
-
5
[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
-
6
[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
-
7
Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
-
8
S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
-
9
North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
-
10
Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
-
Foreign schools show Korea’s social divide
Elitism coupled with obsession with English learning and lack of regulations create highly expensive schoolsAbout 60 parents were recently summoned by prosecutors on suspicion of acquiring forged documents to enroll their children in a special international school in Korea.They are said to have paid some 50 million won ($45,000) to brokers in Latin American countries including Guatemala to obtain fake citizenship certificates and passports. Under the current law, only children who have lived ove
Oct. 9, 2012
-
Second-hand luxury dealer caters to status-conscious customers
During the economic boom of the late 1990s, Koreans developed a taste for things very expensive although unnecessary, and high-end clothes and accessories became ways to broadcast new wealth. As people say, timing is everything in business, and Lee Sang-kwon couldn’t have picked a better time to hop on the boom.After finishing his military service in 1997, Lee went into business for himself, trading toys and other goods. He soon moved to luxury goods like handbags and watches, right when the pop
Oct. 9, 2012
-
Shame hampers struggle against suicide
South Korea’s efforts to curb its alarming suicide rate are being undermined by a deep-rooted belief that seeking help for mental problems leads to social and professional exclusion, health experts say.Suicide, fuelled by an intense pressure for academic and career achievement, has become a perennial blight on a country whose rapid economic development has otherwise raised living standards and encouraged social mobility. Figures released by the Health Ministry earlier September showed South Kore
Oct. 9, 2012
-
Acid-hit region will take over 5 years to recover
Government designates area a disaster zoneThe government on Monday designated the area in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province hit by an acid leak a disaster zone amid criticism over its belated response to the incident.Experts said it may take more than five years for the town to fully recover its agricultural land and crops, which are the main source of income and food for residents in the area.The tardy response of the government and miscalculation by the state-run scientific institute is being bl
Oct. 8, 2012
-
Acid-hit region will take over five years to recover
Government designates area a disaster zoneThe government on Monday designated the area in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, hit by an acid leak a disaster zone amid criticism over its belated response to the incident.Experts said it may take more than five years for the town to fully recover its agricultural land and crops, which are the main source of income and food for residents in the area.The
Oct. 8, 2012
-
Hundreds evacuate as public incensed over acid leak response
Public anger is growing over perceived government nonchalance in the face of an acid leak almost two weeks ago in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province.The accident at a factory owned by Hube Korea, a local manufacturer of hydrofluoric acid used for the production of displays, has claimed five lives. More than 2,000 residents have also suffered from the effects of the acid on their skin, eyes and respiratory system, while some 300 local residents have opted to temporarily relocate.Despite growing call
Oct. 7, 2012
-
One in six sex offenders is 50 or older
One in six sex offenders is aged 50 or above, data from the Ministry of Justice shows.The number of sex offenders aged 50 and above marked 8,885 out of the total 51,876 convicted between 2010 and the first six months of this year, or 17.1 percent.The number has seen a steady increase, from 3,460 in 2010 to 3,834 in 2011.In the first half of this year, 1,591 seniors were charged for sexual crimes. Sex offenders in their 60s recorded 5.1 percent (805) of the total in 2010, 5.4 percent (887) in 201
Oct. 7, 2012
-
2 KOICA volunteers killed by lightning in Sri Lanka
Two members of the Korea International Cooperation Agency were killed and three others were injured after being struck by lightning in Sri Lanka on Saturday, local time. The state-run volunteer group said its five members were hit by lightning at around 5:30 p.m. in Haputale, a mountainous area in the central region of the nation. A man surnamed Kim, 22, and a woman surnamed Jang, 24, were killed.Three female workers were taken to a nearby hospital.The female members had joined the volunteer gro
Oct. 7, 2012
-
Family separation haunts civil servants in Sejong
A 30-year-old newly-wed employee of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is bitter about the ongoing relocation of key government offices to Sejong City, located some 150 kilometers south of Seoul.The female civil servant, who asked to be known only as Park, deliberately got pregnant years before she initially planned to take advantage of government rules that allow years of maternity leave, thus delaying her move to Sejong.Park said she feels relieved after hearing of the ordeals suffered by colle
Oct. 7, 2012
-
Sri Lanka lightning kills 2 Korean aid workers, injures 3
Two South Korean volunteer workers were killed and three others injured in a lightning accident in Sri Lanka, a state aid agency said Sunday. The two -- a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman -- were killed by lightning on Saturday evening in the mountainous Haputale region in the central part of Sri Lanka, according to Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), a state-funded agency in ch
Oct. 7, 2012
-
Dozens of villagers evacuate gas leak-contaminated village to temporary shelter
(Yonhap) -- Dozens of villagers evacuated to a temporary shelter Saturday as officials tried to assess the extent of damage from a poisonous gas leak that devastated a large farmland. About 70 elderly residents left their village, Bongsan-ri, in the southeastern city of Gumi to a public facility considered safer from the aftermath of the Sept. 27 leak of about eight tons of hydrofluoric acid.
Oct. 6, 2012
-
U.S. media shed lights on Dokdo after rare trip there
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- "For S. Korea, islands are outposts of national pride," reads a front-page story of the Washington Post's Friday edition. It shed lights on Dokdo, a pair of rocky islets in the East Sea, after a rare trip by one of its reporters there earlier this week. The South Korean government organized a helicopter tour of Dokdo, which is at the center of its diplomatic tension
Oct. 6, 2012
-
U.S. to OK drone’s sale to Korea
The U.S. Congress is expected to approve the proposed sale to South Korea of Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles, and the two sides are in talks on price, a government official said Friday.South Korea hopes to purchase the advanced spy aircraft to bolster its surveillance capabilities over North Korea as the country prepares to retake wartime operational control of its troops from the United States in 2015.Congress has the final say in the sale of Global Hawks to foreign countries.“We expect th
Oct. 5, 2012
-
KEPCO shareholders lose lawsuits over power rates
A local court on Friday ruled it is not illegal for a state power monopoly to set its electricity rates below cost, a verdict expected to deter the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. from implementing power rate hikes.The Seoul Central District Court dismissed two separate suits filed by minor shareholders of KEPCO, who accused the government and a former KEPCO chief executive of keeping electricity rates intentionally low to the detriment of company shareholders.One group consisting of 28 sma
Oct. 5, 2012
-
W800b spent to subsidize civilian-developed road
The government is wasting a huge amount of taxpayer money each year to make sure a group of private investors in an airport highway makes an adequate return on their investment, data showed Friday.According to the data from the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the government paid a cumulative 790.9 billion won ($711.9 million) in subsidies between 2002-2011 to New Airport Hiway Co., a private owner and operator of a highway connecting Seoul to its main gateway Incheon Internatio
Oct. 5, 2012
-
Korea to craft long-term plan to attain ‘AAA’ rating
South Korea will establish a long-term plan to attain the world’s highest credit ratings levels based on the momentum it received from the recent rating upgrades by major appraisers, the Finance Ministry said Friday.Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s, the world’s three major appraisers, recently hiked their ratings on South Korea by a notch, citing the country’s improved fiscal soundness. The rating on Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, however, still remains three or four steps bel
Oct. 5, 2012
-
Shares up on good results outlook
South Korean shares inched up 0.12 percent Friday on hopes of good corporate earnings, though investors took a wait-and-see stance on lingering European concerns, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 2.49 points to 1,995.17. Trading volume was heavy at 672.4 million shares worth 4.4 trillion won ($3.96 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 462 to 351.Market analysts said that investors pay more heed to the E
Oct. 5, 2012
-
Hana-SK Card draws highest rate of complaints
Hana-SK Card had the highest rate of consumer complaints of any Korean credit card company in the first half of this year, according to a news report Friday.Shinhan Card, the nation’s No. 1 card issuer, had the largest total number of complaints. The Yonhap News report was based on data from the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Consumer Agency and card companies. According to the report, Hana-SK received 9.2 complaints per 100,000 consumers during the period, followed by Hyundai Card wit
Oct. 5, 2012
-
15% of Koreans want to buy import car: poll
A survey agency said Friday that the proportion of Korean consumers, willing to purchase import cars, had reached an all-time high of 15.5 percent this year.Based on its recent poll on 95,012 consumers nationwide, Marketing Insight released the yearly figure that shows drivers’ preference since 2001.The figure, which could be a barometer for growth potential of the import vehicle industry, has continued to climb since the 2008 global financial crisis ― 10.8 percent in 2009, 11.6 percent in 2010
Oct. 5, 2012
-
POSCO’s interest in Steel Americas heats up outbound M&A market
Australia’s Arrium might be steel firm’s preferred target, analysts sayPOSCO, the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker, is heating up the outbound M&A market as the company has reportedly entered the race to acquire Steel Americas of German steel giant ThyssenKrupp. According to an article Thursday from The Bell, a local M&A news provider, POSCO hired Credit Suisse Group as an M&A adviser and has recently sent a letter of intent to buy Steel Americas. A POSCO spokesperson declined to comment on whe
Oct. 5, 2012