A Seoul court ruled Wednesday that a patient suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was unfit to serve in the military, marking the first case in which it was a major disqualifier for the mandatory military service. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of a man surnamed Kim, an ADHD patient who filed a suit against the country’s military administration to cancel his enlistment. The case sets a new precedent in confirming ADHD patients to be exempt from serving in the ar

The Seoul city government said Wednesday it will open a center to protect the rights of disabled people and toughen punishment against rights violators.The center for the rights of citizens with disabilities is set to open on Thursday in southern Seoul as part of the measures aimed at safeguarding the rights of the underprivileged.The center, to be supported by a group of a dozen lawyers, will be tasked with providing legal services for the disabled, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Governmen

A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced a son of disgraced former President Chun Doo-hwan to three years in prison with a four-year stay of execution for tax evasion in a 2006 land deal.The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to Chun Jae-yong, the second of the former president's three sons, for colluding with his uncle to dodge 2.7 billion won ($2.4 million) in transfer taxes in the process of selling a plot of land in December 2006.The younger Chun was also ordered to pay a fine

New York lawmakers on Monday joined the Korean-American community in the East Sea naming efforts as they proposed a bill mandating that state textbooks use the Korea-backed name.The legislation, sponsored by New York Senator Toby Ann Stavisky and Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, would require all state textbooks to refer to the body of water between Japan and Korea as “the East Sea” and “the Sea of Japan.” “These bills are intended to provide New York students with a more balanced and full picture

Two men were killed in Ulsan early this week as heavy snow led to roof collapses and a flurry of other snow-related accidents. The roof of an automobile parts supplier caved in shortly after midnight on Tuesday, killing a 37-year-old man surnamed Lee and injuring two others in Hyomun-dong, Ulsan. The roof of the Sejin glass factory was made from plastic foam sandwiched between two thin iron plates, according to the local police. It collapsed when it failed to shoulder the weight of the snow. Ear

Disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk's controversial NT-1 "embryonic stem cell line" officially received a United States patent on Tuesday in a development that could reignite debate surrounding his research.The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) public notification site confirmed the "human embryonic stem cell line prepared by nuclear transfer of a human somatic cell into an enucleated human oocyte" has been patented and subject to legal protection.The office added that a patent ha

South Korea will step up efforts this year to raise the world's awareness of Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, designating a national day to honor the victims, the gender equality ministry said Tuesday."We'll make greater efforts to let the world know the Japanese sex slavery issue, which caused a great sensation at home and abroad during a recent international cartoon festival," the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said in its 2014 policy report to President

No South Korean ship was attacked by pirates last year while piracy on the whole dropped significantly from a year earlier, the government said Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, there have been no reports of an attack on South Korean ships since May 2011."The ministry believes the reason our ships have not suffered any damage from piracy is partly due to the country's active efforts to prevent such damage that includes 24-hour satellite surveillance of vessels operating