The Korea Herald

BOK buys gold for first time in 13 years

Aug 2, 2011

Foreign reserves rise to record-high $311 billion in July The Bank of Korea said Tuesday it bought 25 tons of gold in the June-July period ― its first purchase since the 1997-98 financial crisis. The purchase touched off speculations about its motives at a time when gold prices are hitting record highs. The central bank said the purchase over the past two months had raised its gold holdings to...
Demand for hybrid sedans rising

TransportAug 2, 2011

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor are posting a rapid growth in sales of hybrid sedans at home, following outstanding performances in the U.S. market. In July, about 15 percent of Hyundai-Kia’s customers who purchased the automakers’ Sonata and K5 picked the hybrid version of the sedans, Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday. Their total sales of the Sonata and K5 came to 7,772 and 7,051 units last month....
Seoul hits back at Tokyo’s renewed claim to Dokdo

Foreign affairsAug 2, 2011

Japan’s defense white paper lists Korean islets as its territory South Korea strongly protested against Japan’s move to claim Dokdo and will take strong countermeasures against any action to hurt its sovereignty, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Japan described South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo as its territory in a new defense white paper earlier in the day, upping tensions just a da...
Loan shark faces trial for massive spamming scheme

Social affairsAug 2, 2011

An illegal loan agent was indicted on charges of sending millions of spam messages to mobile phones to lure potential customers, prosecutors said Monday. The 34-year-old man, surnamed Kim, sent unwanted text messages to random cell phone users in violation of the local communications law, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said. Kim pocketed about 770 million won (US$731,591) in com...
Panel confirms 55 citizens abducted by N. Korea

PoliticsAug 2, 2011

A government panel to verify kidnappings of South Koreans by North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War officially confirmed 55 South Korean abductees for the first time, the Prime Minister’s Office said Tuesday. The National Committee on Investigating Abductions during the Korean War, which is headed by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, held its third session and made the decision, officials said. ...
N. Koreans apparently reaching outside world via Internet

North KoreaAug 2, 2011

More North Koreans are apparently surfing the Web to find out about their country’s ties with South Korea and the U.S., and other issues affecting them, according to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia. Questions have been raised over the surfers’ identities as the autocratic communist state has severely restricted Internet access for fear that it could be used as a conduit to share their democratic...
DP slams P.M., Cheong Wa Dae over savings banks scandal

PoliticsAug 2, 2011

Opposition lawmakers once again lashed out at the presidential and prime minister’s offices for neglecting their supervisory duties during a special committee meeting on the savings banks state investigation on Tuesday. “President Lee Myung-bak promised in June to fully cooperate in the savings banks investigation,” said Rep. Ooh Che-chang of the Democratic Party. “It is, however, Cheong Wa Dae ...
Aid groups send flour to North Korea

North KoreaAug 2, 2011

Seoul considers sending emergency relief to flood-stricken northern neighbor A South Korean nongovernmental organization sent 300 tons of flour aid to North Korea on Tuesday, following up on the first batch sent last week after an eight-month hiatus in humanitarian aid from the South. The Seoul government had blocked all inter-Korean exchanges including nongovernmental aid since the North shell...
GNP chief vows to strengthen policies for ordinary people

PoliticsAug 2, 2011

The chief of the ruling Grand National Party said Tuesday that his party’s move to withdraw additional tax cuts for conglomerates is aimed at strengthening policies for ordinary working households. The tax cuts for businesses and high-earning individuals, which form the backbone of President Lee Myung-bak’s major economic stimulus package, are set to be implemented next year, but the proposed me...
HUFS chief probed over misuse of funds

Social affairsAug 2, 2011

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies President Park Chul has received a summons from prosecutors on suspicion that he may have misappropriated school funds for personal use. The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office issued the summons to Park last week but Park hasn’t responded, an official from the prosecutors’ office said. Park, also chairman of the Korean Council for Presidents of Priv...
Military academy professor indicted for taking kickbacks

Social affairsAug 2, 2011

Prosecutors have indicted a professor at a military academy on charges of receiving 20 million won ($19,020) in kickbacks from a local defense firm in return for business favors, officials said Tuesday. The 60-year-old professor at the Korea Military Academy, indentified only by his surname Kim, was not detained, the officials at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said. The 31-year-...
Who’s at fault for Umyeon landslide?

Social affairsAug 2, 2011

Investigation finds some earth began to cascade near military base Local officials are playing a blame game over who’s at fault for the deaths of 18 citizens last week by multiple landslides from Mount Umyeon in the southern tip of Seoul. Seoul municipality and the ward of Seocho, which have been under fire for their failure to take precautionary measures, on Monday pointed their finger at a m...
Measures drawn up to deal with natural disasters

Social affairsAug 2, 2011

Rainfall will be measured hourly through water level gauges at river basins all across the country to increase flood control measures, amid the erratic weather patterns, according to the state’s weather agency Tuesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration is increasing efforts to give citizens and water control facilities a head start to prevent flooding through dam and reservoir maintenance,...
A low-trust society

Social affairsAug 2, 2011

Koreans’ lack of faith in strangers, foreigners holds country back A 25-year-old man surnamed Choi beat and raped his girlfriend in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in July last year after she demanded they break up. When he faced police investigation, Choi’s mother, 50, hurt his son with a stone to make it look as though his girlfriend had hit him and provoked the attack. She then made him...
Minister’s remarks on salaries irk business community

IndustryAug 2, 2011

Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-kyung, who has made several stern comments about large companies’ practices, once again earned the ire of the country’s business community on Sunday. This time, the minister’s remarks were aimed at executives and their huge paychecks, ruffling the feathers of those running some of Korea’s largest corporations. “Large companies only favor experienced work...