The human body is capable of running 100 meters in 9.51 seconds, about 0.07 seconds faster than the current world record held by Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, Korean researchers have suggested. It could take up to 10.55 years for humans to reach this estimated upper limit, after which the chances of performance improvement is extremely low, said professor Chang Yu-sang of KDI School of Publi...

Ruling party demands Chung give up post over ethical issues The ruling Grand National Party on Monday called for Chung Tong-ki, nominee for chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, to resign from his position. The GNP’s demand was an apparent bid to soothe public antipathy toward the former prosecutor, who has made 100 million won ($87,000) a month since stepping down as a prosecutor, all...

The main opposition Democratic Party has vowed to grill the nominee for Board of Audit and Inspection chairman over his “unusually rapid” accumulation of wealth at the parliamentary confirmation hearing slated for Jan. 19-20. DP lawmakers are also urging President Lee Myung-bak to withdraw the nomination of former prosecutor Chung Tong-ki for the position. Their indignant stance, taken on Sunda...

The Korea Teachers and Education Workers’ Union is expected to make a major turn from its hawkish attitude as its new leader declared an end to the “honeymoon period” with liberal educational superintendents. The declaration by Jang Suk-woong is likely to forge a reconciliatory atmosphere between the progressive KTU and the conservative government of President Lee Myung-bak. The teachers’ group ...

Pastor Kim Jie-chul of Somang Presbyterian Church in southern Seoul was assaulted by two junior pastors who protested against their reduced duties, police said Tuesday. According to Gangnam Police Station in Seoul, Kim was attacked by the two, identified by their family names Cho and Choi, at his office Sunday morning. He reportedly had bones around the eye broken and was taken to a nearby hospi...

Jeong Yun-hong, one of the few surviving former “comfort women,” who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II, died on Dec. 31 at her home in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul, a support group said Monday. She was 90 years old. Her death reduced the number of the state-registered former Korean comfort women to 79. Jeong Yun-hong The Korean Council for the Women Drafted...

A couple’s attempt to adopt their granddaughter to pave the way for their daughter’s marriage was barred by the Supreme Court on Sunday. The confusion the child will undergo after the adoption is graver issue than whether her biological mother has a smooth marriage procedure, Justice Min Young-il said in upholding a lower court’s decision. The ruling is expected to set standards for the adoptio...