South Korea's immigration office said Friday it is searching for a Chinese sailor who illegally entered the country from a port located in western Seoul, marking the third time for immigration security to be breached this year at the area. A 33-year-old Chinese crewman allegedly crossed over a 2.7-meter security fence at the western port city of Incheon at 12:56 a.m. using a 3-meter ladder. Investigators said while the fences have alarms that sound when physical contact is made through infrared

Social Affairs Feb. 26, 2016

South Korea's military plans to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border into North Korea for the first time in more than a decade, an official said Friday, the latest in a series of punitive measures against North Korea over its recent provocations."The anti-North flyers could be scattered from around March when the wind starts to blow northward," the official said, without elaborating on the scale of the leaflet campaign.The resumption of the psychological warfare -- the first since 2004

North Korea Feb. 26, 2016

The Defense Ministry opened Tuesday an investigation into allegations that the remains of North Korean soldiers were mistakenly included when South Korea repatriated the remains of Chinese soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.Following an agreement with China in 2013, South Korea sent home what were believed to be the remains of 437 Chinese soldiers in 2014 who fought alongside North Korea against the South during the war. Remains of another 68 soldiers were repatriated in March last ye

Defense Jan. 5, 2016

Prosecutors on Tuesday sought a one-year jail term for a former South Korean prime minister on charges of receiving bribes from a deceased businessman. Former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo was accused of receiving 30 million won (US$25,000) at his election office in April 2013 from Sung Wan-jong, the late chairman of construction firm Keangnam Enterprises Inc.Prosecutors said the sentence demand came as Lee's actions "severely damaged" the laws related to the transparency of political fundings.The

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2016

President Park Geun-hye called on Monday for efforts to ensure that a test-free semester program for middle school students will succeed, describing it as a key task to fundamentally change South Korea's education system.South Korea introduced the pilot program in 2013 to provide middle school students with chances to experience a wide range of learning activities for their future career.The so-called free semester program is currently administered at 2,551 middle schools this year, about 80 per

Social Affairs June 29, 2015

The ruling party leader publicly apologized Monday over a controversial parliamentary bill that was vetoed by and drew the ire of President Park Geun-hye."I apologize to the people for this situation," Saenuri Party chairman Kim Moo-sung told reporters after a meeting among top party members.The apology came after Park lambasted Saenuri for endorsing a bill that would give greater administrative power to the National Assembly.Park vetoed the bill last week, sending it back to the parliament for

Politics June 29, 2015

When Dylann Roof was arraigned in Charleston, South Carolina, on murder charges, members of his victims’ families stated that they forgave him. Their words clearly gratified many white Americans, like Republican Party presidential candidate Rick Santorum, because they offered an escape from more controversial subjects. Asked what the country should do to prevent similar incidents in the future, Santorum refused to mention gun control, antiracism education or efforts to reduce systemic racial ine

Viewpoints June 29, 2015

It was a good week for President Barack Obama.His Trans-Pacific Partnership trade effort hurdled past a congressional road block put up by his own party. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to pull the rug out from under his signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act, then served up a momentous and historic victory for the progressive ethos in its ruling on marriage equality.A few hours after publicly applauding the marriage decision, Obama took to a pulpit and delivered one of the most poignant

Viewpoints June 29, 2015

WASHINGTON -- We learned in school about modern history‘s cruelest man-made refugee crises -- the Russian pogroms of the 1880s, World War I and World War II, which displaced 40 million people in Europe alone.The history curriculum should be revised before fall classes. In sheer numbers, there were more refugees in the world in 2014 than ever before recorded.Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that more than 40 million refugees and displaced persons roamed the wo

Viewpoints June 29, 2015

The widow of late President Kim Dae-jung, Lee Hee-ho, may soon make a trip to North Korea pending talks today at the North Korean border town of Gaeseong.The trip was initially planned for last year, when the North Koreans invited Lee to make a return trip to Pyongyang;  she had accompanied her husband during the historic visit to Pyongyang in 2000. In late October, Lee met President Park Geun-hye and expressed her desire to visit the North with relief supplies and knitted caps and mufflers for

Editorial June 29, 2015

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the nation since the first case was confirmed on May 20 now seems to be contained, with no new cases reported for two consecutive days as of Monday. MERS has infected 182, claiming 32 lives, and 2,682 remained in quarantine as of Monday. In hindsight, the government’s initial response to MERS was a failure. Sticking to the guideline that the virus does not spread across distances of more than 2 meters, the authorities fai

Editorial June 29, 2015