The Korea Herald

Radiation levels on Dokdo much lower than on Ulleung: state agency

ScienceApr 3, 2011

Education, Science and Technology Minister Lee Ju-ho (right) looks at a radiation monitor in Dokdo on Friday. DAEJEON -- Radiation levels on South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo were far lower than those on the nearby island of Ulleung that is located further away from Japan grappling with a quake-hit atomic power plant, a state nuclear safety institute said Saturday. South Korea set up ra
S. Korean educational spending slightly rises in 2010: report

Social affairsApr 3, 2011

Educational spending in South Korea increased at the slowest pace in more than a decade last year due to large debts owed by households and high inflation, a report said Sunday. According to the report compiled by Statistics Korea, households in the country spent 34.6 trillion won ($31.71 billion) on education last year, up 0.5 percent from a year earlier. The increase is the lowest since 1
Minuscule traces of radioactive silver detected in S. Korea

ScienceApr 3, 2011

Minuscule traces of radioactive silver were found in South Korean atmosphere for the first time Saturday since Japan's nuclear accident, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety said. The substance was detected in air samples taken from the central city of Daejeon and the southeastern city of Daegu, the agency said. Radioactive iodine and cesium had been found in South Korean air before, but it w
N. Korea's parliamentary speaker asks Britain to send food aid: report

North KoreaApr 2, 2011

North Korea's parliamentary speaker asked Britain to send food aid to his country in the midst of a deepening food shortage, saying the upcoming two months would be the most difficult, a report said Saturday.Choe Tae-bok, chairman of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, visited Britain between March 28 and 31 on an invitation from the British-North Korea All-Party Parliamentary Group.David Alt
S. Korea's ruling party to tackle Japan's territorial claims over Dokdo

PoliticsApr 2, 2011

South Korea's ruling party said Saturday that it plans to hold an emergency meeting with the government early next week to discuss how to tackle Japan's repeated territorial claims over Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.Japan approved on Tuesday new middle school textbooks claiming the islets as its territory, drawing a strong protest from the Seoul government.The Grand National Party said it wi
Minister visits Dokdo with radiation monitor

Social affairsApr 1, 2011

Amid ongoing concerns over radiation leaks and territorial disputes, Education, Science and Technology Minister Lee Ju-ho visited Dokdo on Friday to install an automated radiation monitor.“We intend to protect our people from any potential effects of environmental radiation,” said Lee on one of the East Sea islets.The monitor is to start operating on Saturday, after a day of system testing, accord
Lee apologizes for canceled airport plan

PoliticsApr 1, 2011

President vows to complete military reform, reinforce Dokdo sovereigntyPresident Lee Myung-bak on Friday apologized for failing to keep his election pledge to build a new international airport in the southeastern part of the country and said that the high-speed KTX train network would help reduce inconvenience for people traveling abroad.“I am sorry that (the government) failed to keep the pledge
N.K. tightens IT gadget control to block outside info

PoliticsApr 1, 2011

North Korea is taking steps to toughen control of IT gadgets such as computers and mobile phones to block outside information out of fears that the democratization movements in the Middle East and northern Africa could arouse its people.Pyongyang has ordered institutions and households to report on how many computers and even portable data storage devices such as USBs and MP3 players they own earl
Lee apologizes for canceled airport plan

PoliticsApr 1, 2011

President vows to complete military reform, reinforce Dokdo sovereigntyPresident Lee Myung-bak on Friday apologized for failing to keep his election pledge to build a new international airport in the southeastern part of the country and said that the high-speed KTX train network would help reduce inconvenience for people traveling abroad.“I am sorry that (the government) failed to keep the pledge
SNU head hassled over school reform plan

Social affairsApr 1, 2011

The president of South Korea’s leading university was trapped in his office almost overnight on Friday when a group of staff and students staged a protest outside his door to demand a role in the school’s process of gaining independence from state control.Some 400 staff and students at Seoul National University sat in the hallway outside President Oh Yeon-cheon’s office for almost 12 hours until 3
Rights watchdog opposes U.S.-style plea bargaining

Social affairsApr 1, 2011

South Korea’s human rights watchdog said Friday it is against the government’s move to adopt a U.S.-style plea bargain system.The proposed system would allow prosecutors to either drop an indictment or give a lenient sentence to a suspect in return for his admission of wrongdoing and testimony.The decision by the National Human Rights Commission came after the Justice Ministry in December asked th
Fines help cut April Fool’s prank emergency calls

Social affairsApr 1, 2011

The penalty system has cut the number of false fire alarm calls made on April Fool’s Day, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.A total of 98 prank calls were made on last year’s April Fool’s Day, down from 475 in 2004, showed the agency’s data submitted to Rep. Yoon Seok-yong of the parliamentary health and welfare committee.The Fire Services Act was revised in 2004 to impose a ma
Korea pension fund to expand portfolio

Social affairsApr 1, 2011

Minister Chin says that fund will also seek long-term partnership with companiesThe investment of the 340-trillion-won ($300 billion) national pension fund will be diversified into emerging markets, green industries and overseas bonds over the next three years, Health and Welfare Minister Chin Soo-hee announced Friday. Overseas investment will rise to 20 percent of the total from the current 12.6
25% of Seoul households single-person

Social affairsApr 1, 2011

Almost one in four households in Seoul consisted of just one person last year, the city’s census found Thursday. Single-person households jumped from 4.5 percent in 1980 to 23.8 percent in 2010, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.Their number increased more than 10-fold between 1980 and 2010, while the total population of Seoul nearly doubled in the same period. “A growing number of si
Dictator Kim becomes popular drink’s model

North KoreaApr 1, 2011

Sprite advertisement (YouTube)Although Kim Jong-il is the most influential and even sacred figure in North Korea, he is treated as a hilarious icon outside of the hermit kingdom.A new Sprite advertisement which features a dictator clearly modeled after Kim is popular among Chinese websites.Produced in Israel, the advertisement depicts the dictator dancing wildly after taking a sip of the drink. It