The Korea Herald

Prosecution investigates CJ Group over slush fund

May 21, 2013

The prosecution launched an investigation into entertainment giant CJ Group Tuesday on suspicion of gathering illegal funds and evading taxes. Scores of investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office raided the headquarters of the nation’s 14th largest conglomerate in central Seoul and several other offices and residences of its executives.The group with 86 affiliates is suspected of creating a 7-billion-won ($6.3 million) slush fund through fake trade deals with paper compani
Korea confirms first death from tick-borne virus

May 21, 2013

The health authorities on Tuesday confirmed the nation’s first infection with a fatal tick-borne virus that killed more than 130 people in China and Japan in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a 63-year old woman died in August from severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome or SFTS. The virus is spread by ticks, and causes fever, vomiting and platelet and white blood cell levels to drop. The virus can also cause multiple organ failure and death. She was
Samsung conducts Korea’s first surgery using 3-D printing

May 21, 2013

Samsung Medical Center said Tuesday its doctors successfully utilized 3-D printing technology for cancer surgery for the first time in Korea. Three-dimensional printing uses materials such as plastic or metal to create a three-dimensional object based on a digital model.Baek Chung-hwan, an otolaryngologist at the nation’s top medical institution, said that his team performed surgeries to remove nasal cavity cancer from two patients in April and May, respectively. The patients left the hospital i
Ex-Seoul police chief summoned over NIS cover-up attempt

May 21, 2013

Prosecutors summoned a former head of the Seoul police agency Tuesday for questioning over suspicions that he had hampered a police probe into the nation’s spy agency’s alleged attempt to influence public opinion ahead of last year’s presidential election.The summons came after a female detective, who led the police investigation, claimed that high-ranking police officers of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) had pressured her to treat the case lightly.Kim Yong-pan, who headed the SMPA
Smoking rate drops in Seoul

May 21, 2013

The overall number of smokers in Seoul has fallen significantly over the past nine years amid growing public awareness of health and the government’s anti-smoking drive, but the smoking rate among women has risen, data showed Tuesday.According to the data analyzed by the Seoul Institute, some 23 percent of Seoul citizens aged 20 or older smoked as of 2012, down by 5.6 percentage points from 2003, with the amount of daily consumption falling from 15.2 cigarettes to 14.6.The smoking rate among men
Lawmaker pushes for bill banning sex for favors

May 21, 2013

An opposition lawmaker on Tuesday called for banning sex as a tool for gaining professional favors, saying it should be punished in the same way as prostitution.Rep. You Seung-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party said she has submitted a revision bill of the related law to the National Assembly, calling for up to three years in prison or up to 30 million won ($26,915) in fines for providing or arranging sex in return for business favors.The bill targets public officials and influence pedd
Korea to introduce work competency standards next year

May 21, 2013

The government plans to establish a wide-ranging set of standards to gauge workers’ competence in more than 800 occupations by 2014, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment and Labor are currently developing the National Competency Standards system, in which a person will be able to receive accreditation or certification for demonstrating a certain level of performance in a particular job.The project aims to produce competent workers and to develop skills
Corporate watchdog probing search advertisement unit of NHN: sources

May 21, 2013

South Korea's antitrust watchdog has launched an investigation into an online marketing and advertisement unit of NHN Corp. in what appears to be its stepped-up efforts to crack down on unfair business practices, industry sources said Tuesday.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) started to send a team of investigators on May 13 to the offices of the NHN Business Platform (NBP) located in Bundang, south of Seoul, to obtain related data and documents, according to the sources. The investigators are rep
Police to beef up war on sex crimes

May 20, 2013

The police said Monday they would increase manpower to fight sex crimes over the next three years after a series of sexual assault cases sparked widespread public concern.The National Police Agency plans to launch exclusive units for sex-related offenses at 250 police stations across the country and will dispatch a total of 879 police officers to the special investigative teams, officials said. So far, sex crimes have been handled by three separate units ― the public safety division for preventi
More than a dozen teachers implicated in admission fraud

May 20, 2013

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on Monday that it detected cases of fraud in the admission process of two international schools here.More than a dozen teachers and faculty from the Younghoon and Daewon International Middle School were found to have tampered with applications to admit unqualified students, the office said.The education office has been conducting a special audit at the two special-purpose schools for elite students over alleged admission fraud since March.At t
Prosecution raids Seoul police agency

May 20, 2013

Prosecution investigators raided the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Monday as part of an inquiry into its alleged cover-up last year of a probe into intelligence agents’ illegal interference in the presidential election. More than 25 officials from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office searched the police agency’s cyber crime unit and seized documents, computer hard disks and other related materials. The cyber unit is accused of hampering the investigation led by the Suseo Police Stat
Police parody of Psy’s ‘Gentleman’ goes viral

May 20, 2013

A police parody of Psy’s latest hit “Gentleman” has gone viral on YouTube, garnering more than 456,000 views since it was uploaded two weeks ago.The Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency posted the video titled “Gentle Cop” to promote a national campaign to fight violent crime. In the four-minute-long video, police officers dance in uniform to the song in various places, including a school, swimming pool and soccer stadium. Some officers also behave badly, mimicking Psy’s music video, such as by tea
Controversial power-line works resume amid strong protests

May 20, 2013

The Korea Electric Power Corp. resumed work on the controversial high-voltage transmission towers in Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province on Monday amid strong opposition from residents.KEPCO restarted construction at six sites after eight months, but work was halted at four sites by early afternoon due to protesting residents. The project was approved by the government in November 2007 to link the Shin-Kori nuclear power plant in Ulsan to a substation in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, th
Admission fraud widespread in Seoul's two major int'l schools

May 20, 2013

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- A dozen officials at two prestigious international schools in South Korea have been caught falsifying documents to grant admission to unqualified students, the municipal education office said Monday. After a month-long special audit of Seoul's Younghoon International Middle School and Daewon International Middle School, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education ordered the schools to punish faculty members involved in admission corruption, while referring 11 officials
Justice minister vows to better protect marriage immigrants

May 20, 2013

Justice Minister Hwang Kyu-ahn vowed on Monday to step up efforts to eradicate domestic violence against marriage immigrants and their children.He outlined policies to better protect immigrants from bias, discrimination and violence in the sixth Together Day ceremony aimed at promoting multiculturalism. “We will make this year as the beginning year of preventing domestic violence against marriage immigrants in order to protect marriage immigrants and their children from bias and violence, and to