The Korea Herald

30 years collecting recyclables to help neighbors in need

Sept 24, 2013

Hwang Hwa-ick starts her day at 4 a.m. sharp by collecting recyclable materials in her neighborhood. For the 78-year-old, empty bottles, used cans and old newspapers are not waste, but sources for helping those in need. For the past 30 years, she has worked with a local women’s community, gathering the recyclables, selling them and returning the proceeds to society.Her first day’s pay was a meager 7,700 won ($7.16). But she has made more than 10 million won from the job so far and saved the sum
Top prosecutor sues Chosun Ilbo over love child report

Sept 24, 2013

The prosecution chief embroiled in a lovechild scandal sued the Chosun Ilbo on Tuesday, demanding the conservative daily correct recent reports of him concealing a son born out of wedlock. Breaking two weeks of silence, Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook requested Seoul Central District Court to order the Chosun to publish a retraction on its front page, saying the story of him having a son through an affair was “100 percent incorrect” and “groundless.”The prosecution chief said he would take eve
Two killed, six injured in Daegu paint shop explosion

Sept 24, 2013

Two police officers were killed and six injured in an explosion at a store in this southeastern city suspected to have been caused by flammable paints and paint thinners, police and fire officials said Tuesday.The blast occurred around 11:45 a.m. Monday with a loud explosive sound at the store in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, they said. The huge explosion ripped through three nearby buildings and 10 cars, they added.The bodies of the two police officers -- only identified by th
Disgraced ex-president returns self-awarded medals

Sept 23, 2013

Former President Chun Doo-hwan has returned nine medals he awarded himself in order to justify his illegitimate power seized through a military coup, the government said Monday. The disgraced general-turned-president handed in the medals last month when he and his family were facing an intensive investigation by the prosecution over their concealed slush funds, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration said. It took some seven years for the government to collect Chun’s medals after it c
Court orders indictment of two NIS figures on election meddling

Sept 23, 2013

A Seoul court ordered state prosecutors Monday to indict two figures from the state intelligence agency for their alleged involvement in a high-profile election meddling scandal.The scandal centers on allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) launched an online smear campaign to sway public opinion in favor of President Park Geun-hye, the then ruling party candidate, ahead of last year's presidential election.Then NIS chief Won Sei-hoon was indicted in June on charges of interferi
New chiefs named for weather agency, history text panel

Sept 23, 2013

President Park Geun-hye on Monday named an environment technocrat to head the state weather agency and a Harvard-educated scholar to lead the state history agency, her spokeswoman announced.Ko Yun-hwa, 59, a former environment ministry official who also served as chief of the National Institute of Environmental Research, was named as head of the Korea Meteorological Administration, presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing said.History scholar Lew Young-ick, 77, who earned his doctorate from Harvard Un
Ex-president Chun returns nullified, self-awarded medals

Sept 23, 2013

In the midst of a prosecution probe into his huge slush funds last month, disgraced former President Chun Doo-hwan returned medals he awarded himself during his term but were later canceled, the home affairs ministry said Monday.In August, Chun turned in the nine medals that he gave himself while in office in the 1980s at the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, some seven years after the government canceled them as part of efforts to correct distorted history.The former military dict
[Graphic News] Declining marriage rate

Sept 22, 2013

As the annual marriage rate in Seoul has declined by over 30 percent in the past 20 years, the average age of men and women walking down the aisle for the first time has also markedly risen, a survey by Seoul Metropolitan City showed.
3 in 10 Seoulites don’t experience cultural activities: survey

Sept 22, 2013

More than three out of 10 Seoul citizens said they do not take part in cultural activities throughout the year, with a majority of them citing high costs as the reason, city data showed.According to the survey by Seoul Metropolitan City, 65 percent of the respondents said they visited sports games or arts performances at least once. The other 35 percent said they had not engaged in any cultural activities.The survey was conducted on about 50,000 citizens aged 15 and above from October 2011 to Se
Ministry to set up consulate in Cebu City by 2014

Sept 22, 2013

The government is looking to set up a consulate office in Cebu City, the Philippines, by early 2014 amid concerns over increased crime against South Koreans on the popular tourist island, a Foreign Affairs Ministry official said Sunday.“The protection of Koreans living in the Philippines has emerged as an important issue, the ministry plans to set up the consulate in the first half of next year, and preparations have been nearly completed,” the official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News.Althou
Lawmaker pushes bill on zoo conditions

Sept 22, 2013

An opposition lawmaker is pushing to introduce a bill to tighten control of the establishment and management of zoos and aquariums as part of efforts to improve animal welfare.“Animal management, feeding environment and visitors’ safety have been a blind spot since there has been no law that offers any standard,” Democratic Party Rep. Jang Ha-na said Sunday.Civic groups have been voicing the need to introduce a legal framework that ensures a minimum standard for feeding conditions and restricts
Comfort women take protest to Japan

Sept 22, 2013

Three Korean women who were drafted as sex slaves by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II took a trip to Japan on Sunday to demand an apology for its wartime wrongdoings.The House of Sharing, a shelter for the “comfort women” in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, said the group would hold a series of protests in Tokyo and Kyoto until Sept. 29. They will testify on Japan’s wartime sex slavery during their protests and demand that Japan’s assembly pass a resolution to resolve the comfort women
Seven in 10 seniors living alone are women: report

Sept 22, 2013

The number of female senior citizens living alone accounted for 77.6 percent of the total solitary elderly population in Seoul, a report from the city government showed on Sunday. According to the report, the average income of a woman over age 65 living alone was 425,000 won ($390) per month, 79 percent of what men of the corresponding status earned. Elderly women made up 7.7 percent of the economically active population, half that of men. In addition, the number of houseless women amounted to t
Number of female teachers rise 36 percent in last decade

Sept 21, 2013

The number of female teachers in kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools rose 36 percent in the last decade that nearly seven out of every 10 teachers are now female, the latest education data showed Saturday.As of April, female teachers numbered 330,696, a 36.2 percent rise from 242,809 in 2003, while the number of their male counterparts fell 6.8 percent from 163,095 to 151,990 during the same period, according to the data.That made the proportion of female teachers rise to 68.5 per
Child sex offenders receive average jail term of 3.84 yrs: lawmaker

Sept 20, 2013

Child sex offenders were sentenced to an average of 3.84 years in prison last year, a lawmaker said Friday, calling for stronger punishment for the crime.Last year, a total of 448 people sexually abused children under the age of 13, Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the main opposition Democratic Party said, citing data from the Supreme Court.Seo serves on the parliamentary legislative and judiciary committee.The average jail term for those sex offenders was 3.84 years, up slightly from 3.46 years in 2010 a