The Defense Ministry decided to scrap a plan to create a top military command structure intended to enhance interoperability of its armed forces because of a constitutional challenge and resistance from the Navy and Air Force, officials said Thursday. South Korea had planned to establish the so-called “Joint Forces Command” amid calls to improve interoperability among the three wings of the mili...

A significant rise in oil prices has forced the Air Force to slash its authorized flying time and other military wings to take energy-saving steps, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. The measures are in line with a government-wide campaign as the price of Dubai crude, which makes up the bulk of South Korea’s imported oil, is hovering around $110 a barrel, following turmoil in the Middle East an...

South Korean schools will systematically reinforce their students’ education regarding the nation’s easternmost islets of Dokdo under special teaching guidelines newly distributed by the Education Ministry, officials said Thursday. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology sent comprehensive teaching guidelines to the municipal and provincial education authorities and schools across the ...

The government’s proposed alternatives to corporal punishment at schools could also be a violation of human rights if they cause students physical pain, South Korea’s rights watchdog said Thursday. The Education Ministry in January started taking steps to revise an enforcement ordinance for a related education law, aiming to ban corporal punishment and introduce various other forms of punishment...

Korean stocks closed 2.2 percent higher on Thursday, recouping losses from earlier this week, as a series of encouraging economic data spurred strong foreign and institutional buying, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 42.42 points to 1,970.66. Trading volume was moderate at 277.2 million shares worth 5.1...

The Graduate Record Examinations, the most widely accepted set of tests adopted by graduate schools, will now be offered up to twice every month in Korea, saving students a flight to Japan. Starting this August, a revised format of the GRE will be offered once or twice every month here in the form of computer-based testing, according to the Educational Testing Services and the Ministry of Scienc...

Move follows dismissal of professor for abusing students Seoul National University is considering establishing an in-house human rights watchdog to monitor abuses within the community including violence, corruption and embezzlement. Students will be encouraged to inform the school of their professors’ irregularities under a tight witness protection system and violence among students will be tho...

Hynix Semiconductor Inc., Micron Technology Inc. and Nanya Technology Corp. asked a federal judge in California to delay a patent-infringement trial scheduled for May 2 over claims brought by Rambus Inc. Jared Bobrow, a lawyer representing the memory-chip makers, said in a letter Wednesday to U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte in San Jose, California, that the trial should be taken “off calenda...

The government will set up a 9 billion won ($7.8 million) fund this year to assist local firms’ clean energy projects overseas. The government’s latest move is part of the country’s efforts to make $40 billion from exports related to renewable energy such as photovoltaic and wind power by 2015. “The global renewable energy market is projected to be highly prospective, and thus will likely push ...