YEOSU -- Police raided the head office of a Seoul-based major chemical company and its plant in this provincial city on Monday as part of efforts to determine the exact cause of an explosion last week that killed six workers and wounded 11 others.All of the victims are contract workers who were doing welding work on a storage tank at Daelim Industrial's plant in Yeosu, a port city on the nation's southern coast.The exact cause of the March 14 blast has yet to be determined, with surviving worker

The government is drawing up a new bill to evaluate and restore the ecosystems of rivers or streams amid allegations that the former government’s massive river cleanup and development project has damaged the aquatic environment.The Ministry of Environment said Monday that it plans to establish a legal framework within the year for systematic and comprehensive measures to redress the ecosystem when deemed seriously damaged.The plan has drawn attention as it is in line with the new administration’

Courts will now be able to order chemical castration for all rapists from Tuesday, as part of imposing tougher penalties against sex crimes.Until now the hormone treatment has been a sentencing option only for child sex offenders, but can now apply to all convicted rapists through the legal revision, according to the Ministry of Justice Sunday. The treatment can also be ordered by a committee operating under the Ministry of Justice.The bill, which was passed in December, comes into effect after

DONGDUCHEON (Yonhap News) ― Police said Sunday they will request an arrest warrant for a Korean man for allegedly stabbing three American soldiers during a fight near a U.S. Army base here the previous day.The stabbing happened at 6:20 a.m. Saturday during a fight in front of a club in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul, police said.Two victims were taken to a nearby hospital before being released later. One was being treated at a military hospital at Yongsan Army Garrison in central Seoul for a l

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said Sunday it has launched an investigation into left-wing Unified Progressive Party chairwoman Lee Jeong-hee on the charge of violating the National Security Act.Conservative civic groups including Hwalbindan filed a complaint against Lee last week with allegations that her party supported Pyongyang by defining the joint military drills by South Korea and the United States as an attempt to invade and seize the North and that it criticized the U.N.

Medical expenses for senior citizens represented more than 30 percent of all medical spending covered by South Korea's national health insurance program last year, data showed Sunday.According to the data by the National Health Insurance Service, the country's state-run health insurance firm, medical expenses for people aged 65 or older accounted for 34.4 percent of all medical spending by the firm in 2012.The ratio has been increasing since 2005 when it registered 24.4 percent. A total of 47.84

The Seoul High Court sentenced a South Korean father to seven years in prison for habitual sexual assault of his daughter. The court’s decision overturns that of last year’s original trial, when he was found not guilty.According to the court, the daughter’s testimony was not consistent at the time, and it was thought that she was trying to win attention from adults by making false statements. The court said the suspect, 40, assaulted the daughter for a year by groping her in her sleep or forcing

DONGDUCHEON -- Police said Sunday they will request an arrest warrant for a Korean man for allegedly stabbing three American soldiers during a fight near a U.S. Army base here the previous day.　The stabbing happened at 6:20 a.m. Saturday during a fight in　front of a club in Dongducheon, just north of Seoul, police said.　Two victims were taken to a nearby hospital before being releasedlater. One was being treated at a military hospital at Yongsan Army　Garrison in central Seoul for a life-threaten

South Korea's labor force participation rate is expected to decline after peaking in 2021 due to fast population aging, a state-run think tank said Saturday.Korea's labor force participation rate, or the share of working-aged people in the labor force, is likely to hit 61.6 percent in 2021 and will likely steadily drop afterwards, according to a report by the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI).The report said that the participation rate is expected to stay in the low 61 percent range be

Seoul City is recruiting new members for Global Seoul-Mate, a program that introduces the city to the world through social networking. Anyone who has a good command of English, Japanese, or Chinese regardless of their current country of residence can participate in the program. Those with an established presence on SNS channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks are preferred. Last year 211 people joined the program and the city will pick 150 this year.The activities will inclu

South Korea is among countries that have shown the fastest improvement in human development over the past 12 years but deepening inequality is impeding its progress, according to a U.N. report.Korea ranked 12th for three consecutive years in 2012 in the annual human development index released Thursday by the U.N. Development Program. Norway once again topped the overall list, followed by Australia, the U.S., Netherlands and Germany in the assessment of 187 countries in terms of health, education

U.S. soldier under investigation on suspicion of sexually harassing S. Korean womanA 22-year-old American soldier was under investigation Thursday on suspicion of sexually harassing a South Korean woman in an elevator, South Korean police said.The Army private fist class, known only by his initial Q from the US K-55 Air Base, allegedly forced the 27-year-old woman to look at obscene photographs shown on his cellphone in an apartment elevator in Pyeongtaek, a provincial city 70 kilometers south o