The Korea Herald

Ex-president’s in-law indicted in admission scam

Apr 19, 2013

The prosecution on Friday indicted Park Sang-ah, the daughter-in-law of former President Chun Doo-hwan, on charges of forgery as part of an investigation into admission fraud at foreign schools in Korea.Park, 40, forged school certifications to help her two children gain admission to a foreign school in Seoul, according to Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office.Under the current law, only children with foreign citizenship or who have lived overseas for more than three years are eligible to attend
U.S. soldier indicted for role in BB gun shooting

Apr 18, 2013

An American solider stationed in South Korea has been indicted for his alleged involvment in last month's BB gun shooting in a crowded Seoul nightlife district, prosecutors said Thursday. Prosecutors said the soldier, a staff sergeant surnamed Lopez, has been arrested and charged with obstructing police in the execution of their duties and with breaching traffic laws.According to prosecutors, Lopez allegedly shot a BB gun at pedestrians in downtown Seoul last month and later led South Korean p
Foreign executives briefed on new policies

Apr 18, 2013

Labor minister, officials address Korea Herald forum on policies of new government
‘Calm, effective approach needed for Dokdo, East Sea’

Apr 18, 2013

A Korean community leader in Chicago on Thursday called on Korea to take a calm yet more effective approach to counter Japan’s claim over Dokdo and promote East Sea as a name of the body of water between the two countries.“Rather than noisy protests or performances, we should focus on building our rationale academically and theoretically to back up our claims,” Kim Jong-gab, the president of the Korean American Association of Chicago, told The Korea Herald.“When any disputes regarding Dokdo and
Shinsegae vice chairman fined for boycotting parliamentary audits

Apr 18, 2013

A Seoul court on Thursday imposed a 15 million won ($13,400) fine on the vice chairman of Shinsegae Group for not attending parliamentary audits over the company’s alleged infringement of business rights of small retailers. Chung Yong-jin, 45, the vice chairman of the country’s second-largest retail conglomerate, was found guilty of not responding to the government’s call to appear at the hearings and audits of the National Assembly between October and November of last year, citing different rea
Seoul to launch campaign to fix foreign-language street signs

Apr 18, 2013

Seoul City government said Thursday that it would start a campaign to correct incorrect foreign-language street signs on streets from April 22 to May 21. Currently, 144,000 signs are installed in areas such as parks, tourist attractions, and historical sites, but they are only in Korean and English.The city has been trying to improve the signs by providing information in two more languages, Chinese and Japanese, while unifying sign designs and Romanization standards. The city expects not only fo
Spy agency officials intervened in presidential election: police

Apr 18, 2013

Police concluded Thursday that two national spy agents illegally intervened in the last presidential election by posting comments critical of the opposition party on the Internet closely before the poll.Police have looked into suspicions that a female employee of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) tried to influence the Dec. 19, 2012 presidential election on behalf of the agency by writing more than 120 online posts about politically sensitive issues under multiple IDs months before the pol
Over 70 pct of Seoul students receive private education: data

Apr 18, 2013

More than seven out of 10 primary and secondary school students in Seoul participated in private education and other extracurricular activities last year, with a majority of their parents feeling the pinch of high education costs, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 73.5 percent of the city's primary, middle and high school students received supplementary education services in 2012, with their monthly expenditure averaging 425,000 won ($387.8
Assembly debates affirmative action for job-seeking moms

Apr 17, 2013

The National Assembly is set to debate a proposal to give incentives to working mothers in employment with the government and state-run firms as part of steps to tackle the declining birthrate.Rep. Shin Eui-jin from the ruling Saenuri Party submitted a bill to promote gender equality in employment and help women balance work and family life last December. It demands that additional points within a range of 2 percent should be given to moms when seeking a job at government offices and some privat
Forum to explore ‘life-cycle’ welfare, employment program

Apr 17, 2013

The state-run Korea Labor Foundation will host an international conference on employment and welfare support customized to life stages to cope with a fast-aging society next Tuesday. “This symposium will be an opportunity to produce customized employment support programs for each life stage and to expand employment network services to better connect workers with jobs,” said KLF Secretary-General Moon Hyung-nam. The event also aims to prepare a customized welfare-employment service for employers
Travel agent indicted for defrauding foreign tourists

Apr 17, 2013

An owner of a local travel agency has been indicted on charges of defrauding hundreds of foreign tourists with bogus hotel reservations, prosecutors said Wednesday.The 32-year-old agent, only identified by his surname Kim, is accused of accepting deposits from more than 230 foreign tourists then failing to make the hotel reservations between June and December 2012, prosecutors said.The victims were unable to stay at the hotels they thought they had previously booked, prosecutors said, adding tha
Expert calls for bilingual programs for multiethnic children

Apr 17, 2013

Korea should encourage the growing number of multiethnic children not only to speak Korean fluently, but also to learn their native languages to help them adapt here, a head of school for multicultural students said.Foreign spouses, especially from developing Asian countries, are reluctant to teach children their native languages, worrying that it may do more harm than good in growing up here, according to Hong Jong-myung, the director of Seoul On Dream Multicultural Education Center, the city’s
In Korean classrooms, multiracial students struggle to fit in

Apr 17, 2013

Experts call for language services and preparatory schools to help non-native multicultural students adapt
‘Dead’ girl returned to mother, alive

Apr 17, 2013

Grieving parents who thought their daughter had died in a car accident recently found out that she was alive and the girl they had buried was someone else.Gyeonggi Province police on Wednesday revealed a bizarre case where two teenage victims of a car crash -- one dead and another severely injured -- were mistakenly identified as the other. According to police, 17-year-old Kim and 14-year-old An were in a traffic collision on March 24 in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province. Police initially concluded
One Korean injured at Boston Marathon bombing

Apr 17, 2013

A South Korean man has been hospitalized with wounds from an explosion during the Boston Marathon, which left three dead and more than 170 others hurt, officials said Tuesday. Ahn Dong-sik, 23, underwent minor surgery at a nearby hospital for injuries on his legs and thighs, but he is not in critical condition, according to officials at the South Korean consulate general in Boston.Ahn, in Boston for a language study program, briefly lost consciousness in the stands near the marathon's finish lin