The Korea Herald

Korean confirmed dead

Apr 12, 2011

A South Korean citizen has been confirmed dead in the powerful earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan’s northeastern coastal region last Friday, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. It is the first confirmed South Korean fatality.The 40-year-old construction worker, only identified by his surname Lee, fell to the ground last Friday at a site in the Japanese prefecture of Ibaraki where a thermal po
Ex-P.M.: Keep U.N. chief out of politics

Apr 12, 2011

Han Seung-soo criticizes those who link Ban to Korea’s presidential election in 2012U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should be “freed from domestic politics,” former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said, referring to recent opinion polls that included Ban as one of the country’s presidential hopefuls.“It is our duty to free Secretary General Ban from domestic politics so he can serve the world,” Ha
Opposition parties unite against GNP in by-elections

Apr 11, 2011

With the official campaigns for the April 27 by-elections to kick off Thursday after a two-day candidacy registration, opposition parties have successfully moved to form a united front against the ruling party.In the Bundang-B constituency in Seongnam, Lee Jin-hee of the minority New Progressive Party withdrew from the race Monday, making the contest a showdown between candidates from the ruling G
Lawmakers raised W47b in political funds in 2010

Apr 11, 2011

Ruling and opposition lawmakers raised a total of 47.7 billion won ($44 million) in political donations last year with the ruling party drawing more funds than the competition, the election watchdog said Monday.While the total amount increased by 16 percent from 41.1 billion won in 2009, it came short of the 63.4 billion won collected in 2008 when a nationwide general election was held, according
Assembly session focuses on science belt

Apr 11, 2011

Opposition urges Lee government to keep election pledgeLegislators on Monday continued to uphold their regional interests over the location of the envisioned multi-trillion-won science-business belt and pounded the government with questions on the safety of nuclear power plants.Opposition lawmakers called on the Lee Myung-bak administration to stick to the president’s campaign pledge to locate the
Guatemalan judge approves first lady's divorce

Apr 11, 2011

Sandra Torres de Colom (AP)GUATEMALA CITY (AP) _ A Guatemalan judge on Friday dismissed a suit seeking to block divorce proceedings by the wife of President Alvaro Colom, clearing the way for her to run for the presidency.A university group and others had sought to block the divorce because it would allow Colom's wife to get around a constitutional ban on a president's extended family from running
Opposition to field single nominee in Gimhae

Apr 8, 2011

Opposition parties have finally reached an agreement to run a single candidate for the upcoming by-election in the hometown of the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, forewarning a showdown with the ruling party there.“We have resolved to select a single candidate to represent the opposition parties by Tuesday, when the official candidate registration begins,” an official of a civic group advocat
S. Korea mulls stationing military troops on Dokdo: PM

Apr 8, 2011

South Korea's prime minister said it is worthwhile to study the idea of deploying military troops on Dokdo to strengthen sovereign control of the nation's easternmost islets in the face of Japan's repeated territorial claims. South Korea has kept a small police detachment on Dokdo in the East Sea since 1954. "In reality, it's appropriate to station police, but we should consider the idea of d
Seoul urged to press Japan on radiation

Apr 7, 2011

Legislators also rebuke government over Dokdo, translation of EU FTALawmakers Thursday lashed out at the government over measures to handle the inflow of radioactive material from Japan, Tokyo’s approval of history textbooks claiming sovereignty over Dokdo and the mistranslation of the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement.“Our government needs to stand firm on this issue of radioactive waste disposal,” R
Candidates give way to big names in Bundang

Apr 7, 2011

The by-election race in the Bundang constituency has come down to a battle between the former and incumbent leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties, as two other candidates have stepped out of the way.Park Gye-dong, former lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party, held a press conference Thursday to announce his withdrawal from the by-election contest.“I shall accept the party’s decis
Politicians debate split-up of science belt

Apr 7, 2011

Panel starts reviewing where to locate multi-trillion-won facilitiesLawmakers engaged in a heated dispute over a proposal to divide up an envisioned multi-trillion-won science-business belt into two or three different regions as a panel assigned with selecting the location held its first meeting Thursday. The Lee Myung-bak administration last year sought to set up the science-business belt in Sout
Number of seniors tops 1m in Seoul

Apr 7, 2011

Citizens over 65 years old account for 9.7% of city populationThe number of people in Seoul older than 65 has surpassed 1 million, Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday. The number of infants and youths, on the other hand, declined. According to its report, the number of senior citizens marked 1,002,770 as of Dec. 31 last year, a 6.3 percent jump from the previous year’s 942,946. Over-65s n
‘Artificial rain mulled to ...block Japan radioactivity’

Apr 6, 2011

The nation’s weather agency considered creating an artificial rainstorm above the Taebaek Mountains along the eastern coast to block the inflow of radioactive materials from Japan’s crippled nuclear plant, an opposition legislator said Wednesday.Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the Democratic Party said he was told that the Korea Meteorological Agency attempted the rainmaking despite the possibility of causi
Radioactive water leak into sea stops at Fukushima

Apr 6, 2011

(Yonhap News)Radioactive water leak into sea stops at FukushimaTOKYO (AFP) - A leak of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant was stopped Wednesday, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced."Workers confirmed at 5:38 am (2038 GMT) that the water running off out of a pit had stopped," the embattled operator said in a statement.TE
Berlusconi under pressure as sex trial looms

Apr 6, 2011

MILAN (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges of sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power opens in Milan on Wednesday after a dramatic build-up that has dented his popularity.The billionaire tycoon is no stranger to the dock after years of investigations and trials linked to his business interests but this will be the first time that his tumultuous personal li