The Korea Herald

Korea debates age cap of kids in bathhouses

Apr 15, 2014

The South Korean government may lower the age cap for children allowed to enter sections of public bathhouses designated for the opposite sex. The Korea Public Bath Industry Association proposed that the age cap be lowered from 5 years old to 5 “in Korean age” to account for the fact that children are developing at an increasingly faster rate. Korean age adds one year to the age that a person will be turning that year. For example, a child born in 2010 would turn 5 years old on Jan. 1, 2014, reg
Obama may bring ancient Korean seals on his upcoming trip to Seoul

Apr 15, 2014

The U.S. government may return a set of Korean national treasures, apparently stolen by an American soldier during the Korean War, when President Barack Obama visits Seoul next week, diplomatic sources here said Monday."The two sides are in the final stage of consultations to complete relevant procedures," a source said.There is a possibility that the process will finish ahead of Obama's departure for Asia next Tuesday, added the source.Obama is expected to arrive in Seoul on Friday following a
Former STX chief under arrest for alleged graft

Apr 15, 2014

The former head of the financially troubled shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate STX Group was formally detained Tuesday pending trial over alleged embezzlement and business malpractice. Kang Duk-soo, who headed the group from 2003 to February 2014, is accused of funneling the funds of STX Heavy Industries Co., a troubled shipbuilder unit, to illegally support other ailing affiliates, including STX Construction Co. and STX Dalian Co., and misappropriating company money to bribe politicians.The
Two NIS officials indicted for faking spy case evidence

Apr 14, 2014

Seoul prosecutors on Monday said they had indicted two working-level officials of the National Intelligence Service in relation to the spy agency’s alleged evidence fabrication, but stopped short of accusing its bigwigs.The announcement effectively wrapped up a monthlong open investigation into allegations that the NIS forged Chinese immigration records to charge a North Korea-born former Seoul city official with spying for Pyongyang. The indictments came some two months after the Chinese Embass
[Newsmaker] Health agency kicks off tobacco lawsuit

Apr 14, 2014

The state-run health agency launched a high-profile lawsuit against three tobacco makers on Monday, aiming to cover rising medical costs that it claims stem from smoking-related diseases. The National Health Insurance Agency kicked off its legal fight with KT&G, Philip Morris Korea and British American Tobacco Korea, marking the first case in which a South Korean public agency is seeking compensation from tobacco makers. Japanese tobacco maker Japan Tobacco International ― originally included on
Lotte Shopping CEO grilled over bribery

Apr 14, 2014

The former head of Lotte Homeshopping was questioned on Monday for allegedly receiving billions of won in cash kickbacks from local subcontractors.Shin Heon, 60, who led the retail arm of the country’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group between 2008 and 2012, was summoned by prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office as a suspect in the large-scale corruption case.Shin reportedly claimed his innocence, saying he has never demanded a bribe. He currently serves as CEO of Lot
Teen makeup: No longer taboo in Korea

Apr 14, 2014

Just a decade ago, it was socially unacceptable for adolescent and teenage girls in school uniforms to wear makeup in Korea. But nowadays, seeing teen girls as young as 11 wearing some form of makeup is commonplace. The number of girls putting on makeup has significantly increased in Korea, leading to a boom in the beauty market targeting young students and debate on how parents should deal with the change. If the industry is any indication, teenagers are becoming the most important customers fo
College exams urged to adopt new grading system

Apr 14, 2014

The English test for the national college entrance exam in Korea should be scored on an absolute grading scale, an English education professor said in a statement, Monday. Lee Byung-min, professor of English education at Seoul National University, said the current grading system encourages private education by fueling excessive competition among students.He added that relative grading forces test makers to create abnormal test questions that students are likely to miss, making it easier to sort
Game addict held for leaving infant to die

Apr 14, 2014

A 22-year-old Internet game addict has been arrested for allegedly killing his infant son through neglect and disposing of the body in a plastic garbage bag.The body of the 28-month-old child was found on a street corner in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Sunday, two days after the father, surnamed Jeong, put him there, some 1.5 km from his apartment.Since Jeong and his wife began living separately due to economic hardship on Feb. 24, Jeong had spent most of his time at Internet cafes playing c
Korean in New York sues McDonald’s for ‘racist assault’

Apr 14, 2014

NEW YORK (Yonhap) ― An elderly ethnic Korean in New York has filed a multi-million-dollar suit against McDonald’s for an alleged racist attack by one of its workers, his lawyer said Sunday.The 62-year-old man residing in the U.S. city surnamed Kim sued the head and New York branch offices of McDonald’s and several officials seeking $10 million in compensation after he allegedly experienced verbal and physical attacks by a McDonald’s manager in Flushing, Queens, according to the law firm Kim & Ba
S. Korean in New York sues McDonald's for 'racist assault'

Apr 14, 2014

An elderly ethnic Korean in New York has filed a multi-million-dollar suit against McDonald's for an alleged racist attack by one of its workers, his lawyer said Sunday.The 62-year-old man residing in the U.S. city surnamed Kim sued the head and New York branch offices of McDonald's and several officials seeking $10 million in compensation after he allegedly experienced verbal and physical attacks by a McDonald's manager in Flushing, Queens, according to the law firm Kim & Bae.In the afternoon o
[Graphic News] Pensions for civil servants, military cost tax payers W14tr over 5 years

Apr 13, 2014

Korea injected nearly 14 trillion won ($13.5 billion) in taxpayers’ money over the past five years to compensate for growing deficits in pension funds for government employees and military officers.According to data released by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the government subsidy for civil servants’ pension fund hit a new record high of 2 trillion won in 2013. The government also disbursed 1.3 trillion won last year to make up for the shortfall in the military service pension fund.The co
CNK head indicted over diamond fraud case

Apr 13, 2014

Prosecutors said Sunday they indicted CNK chief Oh Deok-gyun on the charge of spreading false rumors about the company’s diamond mine to manipulate its stock prices and pocket illegal profits.Oh, 48, allegedly reaped about 90 million won ($86 million) by inflating his company’s stock prices by releasing false statements about the volume of diamond reserves in CNK’s Cameroon mine, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.He was arrested last month after hiding in Cameroon for t
‘80% of child abuse inflicted by parents’

Apr 13, 2014

Most cases of child abuse were found to have been inflicted by the parents of the victims, a report showed Sunday.According to a report released by New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Lee Chan-yeol, 80.3 percent of 6,896 child abuse cases reported last year were caused by parents of victims. The number jumped by 383 cases from the year before.Among parent inflictors, biological fathers accounted for the most cases with 41.1 percent followed by biological mothers, stepmothers and stepfathers
Court claims jurisdiction in divorce case involving foreign spouse

Apr 13, 2014

A local court ordered a German ex-husband to pay compensation to his former South Korean wife, a ruling that may be a step in trying to set down jurisdiction and guidelines in divorce cases involving spouses of foreign nationality, court officials said Sunday.The court said the husband should pay his ex-wife 50 million won ($48,262), half the amount she had sought. Names of the couple and dates of the court proceedings were not made available.A German court granted divorce filed by the husband w