The Korea Herald

Massive oil spill hits near Busan

Feb 16, 2014

Concerns escalated over environmental damage following another large oil spill off Korea’s southeastern coast after an 88,000-ton bulk carrier collided with an oil tanker on Saturday.Officials said Sunday that at least 237 kiloliters of oil was found to have leaked into the water near Busan from a hole, about 20 centimeters by 30 centimeters, in the hull of the Liberian-registered freighter Captain Vangelis L. caused by the accident. The amount of oil that spilled was over 70 kiloliters more tha
Korea examines textbooks for possible errors on Dokdo

Feb 16, 2014

The Seoul government is examining all school textbooks to ensure that their descriptions of the country’s easternmost islets of Dokdo are accurate, the Education Ministry said Sunday.The move is part of an aim to strengthen public education about the islets amid Tokyo’s stepped-up claim to them.“With Dokdo becoming an issue between Korea and Japan, (the ministry) felt the need for a unified voice among Koreans concerning the islets and began examining textbooks for possible errors,” a ministry o
3 in 10 teens exposed to secondhand smoke

Feb 16, 2014

More than 3 out of every 10 middle and high school students are being exposed to secondhand smoke, a state-run health promotion agency said in a report Sunday.The Korea Health Promotion Foundation said 31.8 percent of male students and 35.6 percent of female students were found to have experienced passive smoking in their daily lives. On average, teenage boys were exposed to secondhand smoke 3.41 days a week while girls experienced it 3.6 days a week. The study was based on health data of 74,186
Chinese become majority of foreign medical tourists

Feb 16, 2014

Nearly 160,000 foreigners came to South Korea in 2012 on medical tours and spent 267.3 billion won ($252.17 million), with visitors from China outnumbering those from the United States for the first time, health industry records showed Sunday.According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, 159,464 foreign patients from 188 countries came to South Korea in 2012, marking a 30.4 percent increase from the previous year. Their total medical-related spending increased 47.9 percent.The nu
Prosecution resumes probe on Japanese rock band for defaming sex

Feb 16, 2014

South Korean prosecutors said Sunday they have resumed their investigation of a Japanese band accused of defaming victims of Japanese colonial-era sexual slavery.In February 2013, former "comfort women," an euphemistic term for women sexually enslaved for Japanese soldiers during World War II, received music CDs and song lyrics from Japanese band "Scramble" that called them prostitutes and said they should die. The CDs were sent to a shelter for the victims in Gwangju, south of Seoul, a day befo
CJ chairman sentenced to 4 years in jail

Feb 14, 2014

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun to four years in prison for embezzlement and tax evasion. Lee Jay-hyun was found guilty of misappropriating 165.7 billion won ($156 million) in company assets to offshore slush funds and dodging taxes in the process. In the same ruling, the Seoul Central District Court also ordered the 54-year-old tycoon to pay a fine of 26 billion won.“With his influence, (the defendant committed crimes that) resulted in hindering the group’s imag
Broker in nuke reactor graft scandal gets prison term

Feb 14, 2014

BUSAN (Yonhap) ― A district court on Friday sentenced a broker in a high-profile corruption scandal surrounding nuclear reactors to three years and six months in prison for taking bribes from a local builder.Oh Hee-taek was found guilty of accepting 1.78 billion won ($1.5 million) in kickbacks from Hankook Jungsoo Industries Co. in exchange for helping the local water treatment firm win its bid to take part in the government’s project to build nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates.The eas
Cartoons on former sex slaves to go on show in Korea

Feb 14, 2014

Dozens of cartoons that portray Korean women forced to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II will be displayed in South Korea following a successful exhibition in France, organizers said Friday.The Korea Manhwa Contents Agency will hold the exhibition in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, from Feb. 18-March 16, featuring more than 20 cartoons and videos narrating the story of the victims of Japan’s sexual enslavement, according to the organizers. The cartoons were drawn by e
S. Korea to boost safety measures for nuclear reactors

Feb 14, 2014

South Korea‘s nuclear safety commission on Friday reported a set of measures to enhance the safety of the country’s reactors that will include heavier fines for safety-related crimes.In an annual report to the president, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said it will expand the scope of its inspection from nuclear power plant operators to all related firms that design, manufacture, supply and/or test reactor parts.“As a way of strengthening the authority of its inspectors, the commissi
Cartoons on former sex slaves to go on display in Korea

Feb 14, 2014

Dozens of local cartoons that portray Korean women forced to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II will be displayed in South Korea following a successful exhibition in France, organizers said Friday.The exhibition will be held at the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency in Bucheon, just southwest of Seoul, on Feb. 18-March 1, featuring more than 20 cartoons, illustrations and videos telling the tragic stories of former sex slaves, a municipal cultural agency said.The agency
Binggrae ammonia tank explosion leaves one dead, three injured

Feb 13, 2014

An explosion of an ammonia tank pipeline at a dairy and ice cream production and storage plant resulted in one death and three injuries, local emergency services said Thursday.The explosion took place at a plant owned by Binggrae Co. at around 1:05 p.m. that caused at least 1.5 tons of ammonia be released into the environment."Emergency efforts to contain the explosion and the subsequent leak of the chemical compound by the fire department and the military produced limited results," one official
Museum promises better working conditions for foreign performers

Feb 13, 2014

A controversial African museum promised on Thursday to improve wages and working conditions for their artists, according to the Democratic Party’s Euljiro Committee. The move comes two days after local media reported that African performers at the Africa Museum of Original Art in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, are working under problematic, abusive conditions.“The museum didn’t even guarantee the basic human rights of the workers. They were basically treated like slaves,” Cho Young-min, an Euljiro
Former student activist acquitted over 20 years after imprisonment

Feb 13, 2014

A former student activist was acquitted in a retrial Thursday more than 20 years after he was imprisoned for aiding and abetting the suicide of a fellow activist and forging his will.In 1992, Kang Ki-hoon was convicted of ghostwriting the will of Kim Ki-sul and persuading him to set himself on fire and jump to his death from a building at Seoul’s Sogang University in protest against the military-backed government.In the retrial, the Seoul High Court delivered a not-guilty verdict for Kang, citin
Woman keeps husband’s body for 7 years

Feb 12, 2014

A Korean woman has been found living with the apparently embalmed body of her husband seven years after he died of cancer, police and media reports said Wednesday. The woman, a 47-year-old pharmacist identified by her surname Cho, had managed to keep her late husband’s corpse in their apartment in Seoul following his death in 2007, local police said.But the body showed little sign of decomposition when it was discovered following an anonymous tip, a Seoul police official told AFP.“It was fairly
Rights center for disabled opens

Feb 12, 2014

Seoul City vowed to toughen punishment against welfare facilities violating human rights of disabled people as part of efforts to better secure their rights, officials said Wednesday. Once a case of human rights abuse are found at facilities for disabled people, the city will cancel the license of those concerned. Previously, the toughest administrative penalty was the dismissal of the head of a facility. The plan is part of comprehensive measures released by Seoul City to protect disabled peopl