Leaders of a rail union wanted by police for leading last month‘s intensive strike voluntarily turned themselves in to police for questioning Tuesday.The eleven leaders of the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. union, including the head of the union, Kim Myung-hwan, showed up at Yongsan Police Station in central Seoul later in the day.For the past one month, they have been defying police summons and taking refuge in two groups in the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the more

The government on Tuesday announced a plan to greatly increase the number of public libraries, their books and manpower as part of efforts to realize its goal of building a culturally thriving country.By 2018, the government will gradually increase the number of public libraries to 1,100 from 828 as of the end of 2012 and make 2.5 books per eligible user available, up from 1.53 books per user in 2012, the presidential committee on library policy said during a press briefing here.Public libraries

Seoul City will expel dozens of overcharging international taxis and take measures to crack down on similar cabs in the city, officials said Monday. The city said it would weed out 52 international taxis that have ripped off in-city passengers by secretly pressing the 25 percent intercity surcharge button when traveling only within the capital.International taxis are allowed two options: surcharging 20 percent for having foreign passengers or adding a 25 percent surcharge for heading outer-city.

A prosecutor is under investigation for making illegal deals with a defendant in a drug case, raising concerns of corruption by law enforcement officials.A Supreme Prosecutors’ Office internal audit team suspects a prosecutor to have given favors to a 32-year-old celebrity identified only by her surname Lee. She was sentenced by a prosecutor to eight months in prison for illegal propofol use in 2012.After serving her sentence, Lee reportedly had plastic surgery free of charge and received 15 mil

South Korean researchers have identified one of the causes of squamous-cell carcinoma, which makes up 30 percent of all lung cancers. The research team led by Park Keun-chil, professor at the Samsung Medical Center, analyzed the genomes of 104 patients suffering from the disease, of whom 99 had smoked for more than 20 years.The result demonstrated that FGFR3-TACC3 gene fusion is expressed when smoking takes place for a long period of time, the researchers said. The fusion of the two genes is kno

A fire broke out Monday at Hahoe folk village, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. The blaze started around 4:50 p.m. at a “hanok,” or traditional Korean house – one of several preserved in the village -- and burned about 30 square meters of its thatched roof before being extinguished about 5 minutes later, Yonhap News reported.No casualties were reported. Firefighters suspect a cigarette discarded by a tourist caused the fire.By Lee Sun-young(milaya@heraldcorp.c

South Korea's newly appointed cardinal, Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, on Monday vowed efforts to realize Pope Francis' vision of a church serving the poor.The 71-year-old archbishop of Seoul was one of the 19 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on Sunday. He is South Korea's third-ever cardinal after late Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009) and Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk."I will make efforts to realize Pope Francis' vision of a church toiling for the poor and those on the margins of society and to make it a c

More Korean men in their late 30s and early 40s are hit by infertility, data showed Sunday. According to the National Health Insurance Service’s statistics, the number of male patients receiving infertility treatment jumped to around 190,000 last year, up 4.2 percent from 2008. The age group between late 30s and early 40s saw an increase of 16.2 percent, the highest among the surveyed.By gender, female infertility cases rose by 2.5 percent while those for male sufferers surged by nearly 12 perce

Ministry offers talks, vows stern action

Working mothers are healthier and less depressed than those who stay at home with children, a poll showed on Friday.Stay-at-home moms showed a higher level of stress and higher negative sentiment index, according to the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education’s study of 1,863 moms with babies under 18 months old.Stay-at-home moms averaged 3.66 points in self-efficacy and 3.46 points in self-esteem on a scale of five. Those who worked full-time averaged 3.78 points and 3.58 points, respective

Two men were arrested for allegedly smuggling and selling a large amount of methamphetamine, prosecutors said Sunday. Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office said that it arrested two men surnamed Jung and Yoo on charges of smuggling 7 kilograms of methamphetamine worth 23 billion won ($22 million) from China and selling to Korean brokers from July 2012 for more than a year. It also indicted a 43-year-old man surnamed Oh without detention for assisting the illegal act. The prosecution put three broke

A large-scale candlelight rally was held in central Seoul on Saturday, with participants protesting the spy agency’s alleged meddling in the 2012 presidential election. About 300 civic groups gathered in Seoul Plaza and called for the government to introduce a special prosecutor to investigate the National Intelligence Service’s role in the election and to sack the spy agency’s chief Nam Jae-joon and Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. A group consisting of liberals who fought against the military r

The number of medical malpractice lawsuits surged to hit a fresh high last year, with more patients winning the cases, data showed Sunday. According to the Supreme Court, about 1,100 lawsuits relating to medical malpractice were filed in 2013, the highest figure since 2002.The number of plaintiffs winning cases against doctors and hospitals also increased to 289, exceeding 30 percent of all cases for two consecutive years.Fewer plaintiffs gave up in the middle of legal fights than before. Only 4

Three people were killed and a dozen wounded by a series of car collisions on the highway in South Gyeongsang Province, police said Sunday. Car accidents involving chain collisions took place early Sunday at two spots on Gyeongbu Expressway near Daegu, killing three family members and injuring at least 13. Some of the victims were in critical condition. Five vehicles collided on the southbound track when a 1-ton truck rear-ended a 2.5-ton cargo truck that was changing lanes. A two-car collision