The Korea Herald

Park Si-hoo’s alleged rape victim wasn’t drunk: bar owner

Feb 20, 2013

The woman who accused actor Park Si-hoo of raping her did not appear drunk on the night the alleged attack took place, according to the owner of a bar where the two drank that night.Park Si-hoo, a well-known hallyu star, was accused on Monday of allegedly raping a 22-year-old woman. The woman said she had a drink with the 36-year-old actor last Friday at a bar in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, and was raped after she passed out from being drunk. The women formally lodged a complaint with the police the
Man gets 5 years for attempted rape of acquaintance’s wife

Feb 20, 2013

A man who tried to rape his acquaintance’s wife was sentenced to five years in prison, Chuncheon District Court said. The man, 30, broke into his acquaintance’s house on Sep. 1, 2012, and tried to rape the wife, 23, who was asleep with her son. She sustained injuries from resisting the attack.The judge said, “It is fatally bad to try to rape an acquaintance’s wife. Furthermore, he committed the crime as soon as he got off probation.”The court also ordered him to wear an electronic tag for 10 yea
Taxi drivers go on strike

Feb 20, 2013

About one out of five taxis across the country ceased operations Wednesday in protest of a stalled taxi bill, the government said Wednesday.According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, 31,730 taxis halted operation in the Seoul metropolitan area, well below the government’s expectation. The strike has not hindered citizens much during the morning rush hour, as only 20.7 percent of taxi drivers nationwide joined the walkout.To minimize citizens’ inconvenience caused by the w
Public diplomacy and civic consciousness

Feb 19, 2013

U.S. branding expert Patrick Hanlon said in his recent article in Forbes magazine that while Korea is exporting esteemed brands in businesses, it is “ best known for kimchee (pickled cabbage) and its annoying northern neighbor,” urging Korea to promote its national brand. His suggestion is not new at all to me even though it could be more or less embarrassing to many Koreans since they pride themselves on many successful stories to tell to the world, inter alia, in an economic aspect. In fact, m
Parents get suspended terms for admission fraud

Feb 19, 2013

INCHEON (Yonhap) -- A total of 21 parents received suspended prison terms on Tuesday for securing unlawful admission for their children to foreigner-only schools in South Korea based on fraudulent documents, according to court officials.The Incheon District Court delivered guilty verdicts to the parents for illegally putting their children in schools for children of foreign residents with fabricated passports and foreign citizenship papers which they bought from brokers.South Korean students, in
Korean Air runs make-up class for men

Feb 19, 2013

Korean Air on Tuesday held a special make-up training session for its male recruits in Seoul, marking the airliner’s first such endeavor. The class, titled “Image making for service men,” introduced tips for work, including basic workplace manners and proper dress code. The company used to offer make-up lessons for its female crew and flight attendants, but opted to feature beauty tips in the orientation program for its male workers starting from this year. About 110 new male recruits were giv
Key figures in massive stock manipulation scandal indicted

Feb 19, 2013

Prosecutors said Tuesday they have brought charges against five people, including a former energy ambassador, for allegedly reaping massive profit from a stock manipulation scheme linked to a diamond mining project in Cameroon.The suspects are accused of pocketing about 90 billion won ($83.24 million) by inflating the stock prices of South Korean mine developer CNK International, after exaggerating the volume of diamond reserves in a Cameroon mine developed by the KOSDAQ-listed company through a
[Graphic News] Fewer Koreans escaping poverty

Feb 18, 2013

The rate of Koreans escaping poverty or moving into the upper income brackets has slowed over a five-year period, a report showed on Monday.According to Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the proportion of poor households that moved out of poverty fell to 31.3 percent in 2008-09 from 35.4 percent in 2005-06The proportion of people moving into poverty, however, continued on oscillating pattern within 6.7-7.7 percent during the same period.The report studied a total of 5,637 households
N. Korea’s first lady may have given birth: source

Feb 18, 2013

North Korea’s first lady Ri Sol-ju may have given birth, a government source said Monday, citing her slimmer silhouette and permed hair seen in a photo of her that was released a day earlier.The photo shows Ri accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the governing family mausoleum where the embalmed body of late leader Kim Jong-il is laid. Feb. 16 was the anniversary of the birth of the late leader, who died from heart problems in December, 2011. Ri appeared in a tight dark skirt suit, de
Pay for Korean mid-level civil servants low

Feb 18, 2013

The yearly compensation for South Korea’s mid-level civil servants ranked low among the member countries of the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the OECD Korea Policy Center, the mid-level public officials received $103,884 in 2009 on average, ranked 19th out of the 22 member nations surveyed. The average of the member countries’ total compensation package, includ
Workers slam plan to use NPS funds

Feb 18, 2013

President-elect Park Geun-hye’s ambitious pension program designed to help elderly citizens in poverty is once again at the center of debate, after some reports suggested that her handover committee has finalized a plan to use the fund managed by the National Pension Service to finance the new program.Local newspapers reported on Monday that the transition committee and incumbent government officials have agreed to integrate the public pension system and the new pension program for citizens aged
New police team to tackle sex crimes against social minorities

Feb 18, 2013

A special police team will be launched later this month to handle sex crimes committed against social minorities. According to the police, the team will recruit 130 additional police officers with experience in investigating juvenile delinquency and women-related crimes. The newly expanded team is set to operate from Feb. 27. Police said that 208 police officers at 16 local police headquarters across the nation will be in charge of investigating crimes against social minorities including the phy
Victim of Japan’s forced labor receives diploma

Feb 18, 2013

A woman in her 80s who was forced into labor for imperial Japan during World War II is set to receive a diploma from her elementary school 70 years after her graduation in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province.According to a civic group dealing with Japan’s recruitment of people for forced labor, Neungju elementary school made the decision to give a graduation certificate to Kim Jae-rim, 83, at a graduation ceremony on Feb. 19.Kim was one of the 300 girls from the Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces who we
Fire breaks out in Insa-dong, Seoul

Feb 17, 2013

A large fire broke out Sunday in Seoul’s cultural district of Insa-dong, with at least seven people hospitalized for smoke inhalation, officials from the National Rescue Services said.The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. at a closed restaurant, according to firefighters at the scene. The fire was nearly under control shortly after 10 p.m., but flames reignited on another building nearby.“(Firefighters) had difficulty reaching the site because of the narrow alleys, and the high temperature caused
S. Korean man arrested for illegal missionary work in Libya

Feb 17, 2013

CAIRO -- A South Korean man was arrested in the Libyan city of Benghazi and is under investigation for being involved in illegal missionary work along with three other foreigners, Libyan police and the South Korean embassy there said Sunday. The Libyan police arrested the South Korean, an Egyptian, a South African, and a Swede who was traveling on a U.S. passport, on Tuesday on suspicion of printing and distributing books which called for conversion to Christianity, according to the officia