The Korea Herald

Nam breaks language barrier

SoccerFeb 17, 2011

VALENCIENNES, France (AFP) ― Having overcome difficulties with the language barrier, Valenciennes’ South Korean youngster Nam Tae-hee has begun to play a central role in his side’s battle to avoid relegation. With two assists in nine appearances this season, the 19-year-old is starting to make his presence felt ― a little over two years since he arrived in France in January 2009. He has also ea...
More benefits for couples who adopt disabled children

Social affairsFeb 17, 2011

A 50-year-old office worker, Jun Soon-geol, and his wife Shin Joo-ryeon, also 50, adopted two baby girls 11 years ago. They soon discovered that the younger child, Ah-young, was suffering from cerebral palsy but have never regretted their decision. “Government subsidies have helped a lot for raising our daughter. But we hope that more support is given for essential but expensive medical equipme...
Seoul to offer 13,000 rental homes for poor households

Social affairsFeb 17, 2011

Amid soaring jeonse prices, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to supply about 13,000 rental homes for low-income households in the first half of the year. The city said Thursday that more than 80 percent of the total 15,665 public houses will be provided within the timeframe. They include 4,995 permanent rental houses for low-income households, 2,822 for families with multiple child...
Marines help build classroom at Thai school

PoliticsFeb 17, 2011

Korean Marines helped establish a multi-purpose classroom at a school in Thailand as part of a international humanitarian exercise taking place in the Southeast Asian country, the Marine Corps said Thursday. Some 50 Korean, U.S. and Thai troops engaged in the construction of the classroom at the Baan Pong Wua School in Chantaburi Province from Feb. 5-15. On Tuesday, the troops held a ceremony m...
FMD burial sites near Han River ‘insecure’

Social affairsFeb 17, 2011

One in three sites in region poses risk of contaminants leaking into waterways About one out of every three sampled burial sites near the Han River for animals slaughtered to prevent spread of foot-and-mouth disease needs additional measures to block leakage of contaminants, the Ministry of Environment said Thursday. But the authorities confirmed that the water from the vicinity, which is the s...
South Korea, Japan, Europe vie for Brazil bullet train project

IndustryFeb 17, 2011

The bid for Brazil’s planned $20 billion bullet train venture slated for April is shaping up to be a three-way race between South Korea, Japan and Europe, a Seoul official said Thursday. The head of the Latin American country’s transport regulator ANTT Bernardo Figueiredo said this week that at least three consortia will be competing for the right to build and run a high-speed railway in country...
Islamic bond bill faces lawmakers’ opposition

Feb 17, 2011

The government faces an uphill battle to legislate tax benefits for Islamic bond investors at a parliamentary session starting Friday amid sturdy objections from opposition politicians and churches. The Finance Ministry is pushing for a bill on Islamic bonds, or sukuk, that would grant tax exemption on profits earned by bondholders in a bid to widen Korea’s access to increasing Middle Eastern oi...
Rhee named ADB’s chief economist

Feb 17, 2011

Asian Development Bank appointed Korea’s former financial regulator Rhee Chang-yong as its new chief economist, the bank said Thursday. Rhee, a Korean national, was the vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission and chairman of the Securities & Futures Commission, and has over 20 years experience as an economist, financial advisor and academic, according to the bank. (Bloomberg)
Most Koreans not ready for retirement: poll

IndustryFeb 17, 2011

Only 9 percent of Koreans believe they are financially prepared to retire, a survey showed. The figure is significantly lower than the world average of 30 percent ― 34 percent for Europeans and 32.5 percent for North Americans ― research firm Nielsen Company said. The poll also showed that nearly 40 percent of Koreans are expected to retire before turning 60 years old. The company surveyed 26,...
KITA to step up support for small exporters, service firms

IndustryFeb 17, 2011

Chairman SaKong calls for need to foster services industry, FTAs The Korea International Trade Association will boost support for small and medium exporters and the services sector to help the country achieve $1 trillion trade this year, its chairman SaKong Il said Thursday. “The Korean trade industry achieved a notable result last year despite the sluggish global economy. We have become the wo...
Samsung launches new 3-D smart TVs

IndustryFeb 17, 2011

Says firm’s next-generation 3-D focus will move from programming to services Samsung Electronics, the world’s No. 1 flat-screen television maker, plans to release a new series of full high-definition 3-D smart TVs, upping the ante in its rivalry with LG Electronics. Yoon Boo-keun, president of its visual display business, said Thursday that it will present the new television sets on Friday, cha...
Kim Jae-cheul re-elected MBC president

PeopleFeb 17, 2011

Kim Jae-cheul was re-elected president of Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. by its board of directors Wednesday. The Foundation for Broadcast Culture, which holds the majority stake in the television network, selected Kim at its board meeting held to screen presidential candidates. Kim Jae-cheul The 58-year-old president-elect is expected to be determined as president at the shareholders’ meeting late...
Late sergeant Seo to be honorary graduate

PeopleFeb 17, 2011

Staff Sergeant Seo Jung-woo, who died in the North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong island on Nov. 23, 2010, will become an honorary graduate from his alma mater, Dankook University. Its Cheonan campus in South Chungcheong Province said Tuesday that it would award an honorary diploma to Seo in acknowledgement of his patriotic death for the country. Seo Jung-woo The letter of honorary diploma is t...
N.Y. mayor to donate $32m to art groups

PeopleFeb 17, 2011

Beginning Tuesday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s foundation sent letters to 250 cultural groups, inviting them to apply for some of the $32 million the charity plans to distribute to arts organizations over the next two years, The Wall Street Journal reported. “At Bloomberg Philanthropies, we see the arts as fundamental to New York City’s cultural and economic wellbeing,” the letter says. ...
[Editorial] Safer burials

EditorialFeb 17, 2011

Belatedly, the National Assembly is opening an extraordinary session on Friday. With so many bills and agenda items sitting on its calendar, the legislature will have to close the session on March 2 only to open another 10-day session the next day, as agreed by rival parties. The National Assembly has remained closed since the ruling Grand National Party rammed the administration’s 2011 budget r...