The Korea Herald

Teachers with higher degrees on the rise

Mar 31, 2013

The number of teachers holding master’s and doctorate degrees increased 55.1 percent in seven years, according to a statistics report by the Korean Educational Development Institute released Sunday.The incentives in financial reward and promotion and their desire for self-improvement led them to attain higher education, the report said. The report said 143,917 teachers, or 30.8 percent of the 467,627 teachers from kindergarten to high school last year, held a master’s degree, and 4,852, or 1 per
Flash mob organizers should report to police: court

Mar 31, 2013

The Supreme Court ruled Sunday that organizers of flash mob events should notify the authorities in advance when they intend to communicate political and social messages. The court upheld a lower court’s decision to impose a fine of 700,000 won ($630) on a man surnamed Kim on charges of holding an outdoor gathering without notifying the district police. A flash mob is an event in which a group of people assemble suddenly in a public place and hold an unusual performance for a short time. Kim ins
Koreans in Chile carry on traditions of home

Mar 31, 2013

SANTIAGO (Yonhap News) ― Almost all of the tables are occupied this afternoon in Sukine, a small diner, and the air is filled with a confusion of languages. A party of British tourists near the window is enjoying a bowl of chili paste fried pork ― the house favorite. At a smaller table nearby, a Korean woman and her two daughters have just given their order to a young Chilean waiter. A couple that just sat down is studying a large menu on the wall with images of over 20 specialties, from kimchi
Police raid villa at center of sex bribery scandal

Mar 31, 2013

SEOUL -- Police on Sunday raided a villa east of Seoul that allegedly served as the site of parties in a snowballing sex bribery scandal. Police said about a dozen investigators raided the villa in Wonju, about 130 kilometers east of Seoul, around noon. They have accused the villa's owner, a construction contractor surnamed Yoon, of inviting high-ranking government officials to sex parties there.Police believe Yoon might have been seeking business favors by giving officials sex services.
A life of sharing, service and modesty

Mar 29, 2013

Retired bishop Kim Soung-soo continues his work for disadvantaged
Anglican Church of Korea works hard on missionary training, evangelization

Mar 29, 2013

The Anglican Church of Korea is a province of the Anglican Communion in Korea. It has over 100 parish and mission churches with a total membership of roughly 50,000 people.The Church works hard for missionary education and social evangelization.The origin of the Anglican Church of Korea can be traced back to Nov. 1, 1889, when Bishop Charles John Corfe was ordained at Westminster Abbey and inaugurated as the first diocesan bishop of Korea.With his colleagues who had been invited to join the miss
Urimaul: A village allowing self-support for disabled

Mar 29, 2013

Tucked away in a quiet area of Ganghwado Island in Incheon, 50 intellectually disabled adults work and live under the guidance of retired Anglican bishop Kim Soung-soo. For a self-reliant life, they grow and sell bean sprouts, and also package goods and assemble simple electric parts. They also join programs including expert-assisted art therapy, a horticulture class and bake bread to share with local seniors.The community, named “Urimaul” (Our Village), is formally a social welfare corporation
Prosecutors raid POSCO unit in price-fixing probe

Mar 29, 2013

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office seized and searched a POSCO ICT office in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. The investigation team, consisting of a prosecutor, digital forensic expert and six investigators, searched the mail server holding POSCO’s steel trade records.In February, the Fair Trade Commission had slapped a 290 billion won ($260 million) fine on five major steel companies including POSCO for fixing prices on products such as galvanized sheet iron and colored steel sh
Police, prosecution clash over sex scandal

Mar 29, 2013

The prosecution and police are in a tug-of-war over plans to investigate former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui, who is implicated in a burgeoning sex-for-favors scandal.Police requested earlier this week the Justice Ministry to ban some 10 people including the former top prosecutor Kim from leaving the country pending an investigation into their involvement in the sex scandal.On Thursday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, however, turned down the request for a travel ban, saying
Police to crack down on child pornography

Mar 29, 2013

South Korean police have said they will clamp down on Internet child pornography.According to National Police Agency, the crackdown targets anyone who had possessed, produced, sold or displayed child pornography on the Internet. This comes as part of President Park Geun-hye’s pledge to root out four major “social ills” -- sexual assault, domestic and school violence, and low-quality food. In a bid to prevent the related crimes, the National Assembly passed a revision of the sex protection law fo
Prosecution turns down travel ban for former vice minister

Mar 28, 2013

Prosecutors on Thursday rejected a police request to impose an overseas travel ban on Kim Hak-ui, the former vice justice minister involved in an escalating sex-for-favors scandal, news reports said.　Bans against some 10 others implicated in the same scandal were also turned down, according to them.　Police have obtained statements from a woman allegedly hired by a contractor to perform sexual services for the official in 2009 at a country house in Wonju, Gangwon Province. After his name was disc
Supreme Court upholds ruling to confiscate dolphins

Mar 28, 2013

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an earlier ruling by an appeals court to confiscate four dolphins that can allow the marine mammals to be set free into the wild. Justices confirmed the high court's ruling and sentenced the owner of the dolphins who ran a tourist attraction near Jungmun Beach on southern Jeju, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The owner identified only by his surname of Heo, willalso have to pay a fine of 10 million won (US$9,000). The country's highe
Court confirms prison term for election cyber attack

Mar 28, 2013

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a four-year prison term for an aide to a former ruling party lawmaker for launching a cyber attack on the national election watchdog’s Web site during Seoul’s mayoral by-election in October 2011.The 29-year-old aide to former Saenuri Party lawmaker Choi Ku-sik was found guilty of masterminding the so-called distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Web site of the National Election Commission on the eve of the by-election.In the same ruling, the cour
National pension fund to post deficit in 2044

Mar 28, 2013

The National Pension Fund will sustain losses beginning in 2044 and be fully depleted by 2060 if its financial structure remains unchanged, a panel under the Welfare Ministry said Thursday.A finance estimation committee presented the bleak outlook, which was unchanged from its previous report five years ago.“As society fully reaches an aged society, the National Pension Fund will post a deficit, meaning that it will pay (retired subscribers) more than it collects from (the younger generation) fr
Large firms lack proper awareness of human rights: watchdog

Mar 28, 2013

Most of South Korea’s 30 major companies lack awareness about human rights, coming far short of international standards, the country’s rights watchdog said Thursday.According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, its analysis of the reports on corporate sustainability management published by 19 out of the country’s top 30 corporations based on sales as of 2010 showed that a large share of them failed to meet international standards in dealing with labor and human rights issues.Some 1