The Korea Herald

11 percent of college students at risk of gambling addiction

Social affairsAug 9, 2011

A Korean study has found that the prevalence of problem gambling in college students is nearly twice as high as that found by an earlier study on the general population.Daegu’s Catholic University conducted a study on 2,026 students nationwide, and found out that 11 percent of them were dependent on
Vietnamese wife booked for attempting to poison mother-in-law

Social affairsAug 9, 2011

GWANGJU, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- Police said Tuesday that a Vietnamese woman married to a South Korean man has been booked without detention on charges of attempting to poison her mother-in-law.Last week, the 23-year-old suspect, whose name is withheld, allegedly put poison in food she had prepared for h
KTX train forced to stop

Social affairsAug 8, 2011

CHEONAN (Yonhap) -- A home-made high-speed train stopped abruptly on its way from Seoul to a southeastern town Monday due to unspecified technical problems, the train's operator said.A locally-built KTX-Sancheon train was forced to pull over near Cheonan-Asan Station, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, a
Lee vows to revamp disaster prevention, raise safety bars

PoliticsAug 8, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday vowed to revamp the national disaster prevention system and tighten safety standards, noting that last month’s deadly downpours could be repeated next year due to climate change.“The government’s priorities include comprehensive reexamination of existing disaster-pr
Justice minister-nominee pledges neutrality

PoliticsAug 8, 2011

Justice-minister nominee Kwon Jae-jin faced a parliamentary grilling, particularly over whether he would maintain political neutrality in next year’s elections despite his close ties to the president.“I will by all means defend the prosecution’s political neutrality and independence,” Kwon said at t
U.N. chief to visit S. Korea this week

Foreign affairsAug 8, 2011

Chief of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon is due in his home country Tuesday for talks with President Lee Myung-bak and senior officials over Korea’s U.N.-related activities and pending issues regarding the Korean peninsula, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.Secretary-General Ban’s visit to South
Seoul protests U.S. agency’s sea name

Foreign affairsAug 8, 2011

S. Korea steps up effort for concurrent naming of East Sea/Sea of JapanSouth Korea has lodged an official complaint with the U.S. after one of its agencies backed Japan’s name for the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, and will maintain efforts for concurrent naming to resolve internatio
Women still stereotyped in TV commercials: report

Social affairsAug 8, 2011

While society moves toward the diversification of gender roles, TV commercials’ portrayals of women are still bound by stereotypes, the National Human Rights Commission said Monday. In its report on 2,046 TV commercials aired in 2010, it found that men were flexibly depicted, moving away from fixed
Airfield link probed in military secrets case

Social affairsAug 8, 2011

Prosecutors are investigating whether a private airfield owned by a former South Korean air force official is connected with his indictment on charges of leaking military secrets to a U.S. defense conglomerate.According to Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Monday, Kim Sang-tae owns a 40,0
Korean scientists discover stress-resistant plant genes

Social affairsAug 8, 2011

Korean scientists have found the genes that enable plants to grow in harsh environments in a discovery that could help to produce plants resistant to natural disasters. Knowing the genes that help plants grow even when affected by saline, cold or arid habitats could offer a way to tackle global food
Giving boomers a new social role

Social affairsAug 8, 2011

Head of retirees’ associationstresses new approach to retirementAs 7.1 million baby boomers in Korea near retirement, the whole nation seems to be growing nervous. But retirement itself is not a social problem. It is a celebrated phase in one’s life and should be more so for the Korean boomers, who
Baby boomers caught between tradition, future

Social affairsAug 8, 2011

Communication with family members necessary to avoid problems in retired life To mark the 58th anniversary of its establishment on Aug. 15, The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the looming retirement of Korean baby boomers and its socioeconomic impact on the nation. The follow
Typhoon Muifa batters nation

NationalAug 8, 2011

A sailor is about to jump from a barge to safety with the help of resucers along the rocky coast of a southern island of Jeju after the ship was set loose from a dock by strong winds and tidal waves form Typhoon Muifa (Yonhap News) Typhoon Muifa shatters an abalone farm in South Korea's southern isl
Attempted murder suspect caught running hagwon

Social affairsAug 8, 2011

A Korean-American wanted for two counts of attempted homicide in the United States was captured in Seoul after running an English-language academy under a false identity.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday, the 33-year-old fugitive, identified by his surname Kim, has been wan
S. Korea protests U.S. agency's name for East Sea

InternationalAug 8, 2011

South Korea has lodged an informal protest against a U.S. government-funded agency's decision to use Japan's name for the body of water between Seoul and Tokyo, a diplomatic source said Monday.Seoul and Tokyo have tussled for decades over the name of the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. S