The Korea Herald

Japanese activist indicted over Dokdo stakes

Feb 17, 2013

A Japanese right-wing activist will face trial in South Korea for setting up provocative wooden stakes in Seoul and Tokyo last year to lay claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, prosecutors said Sunday.Nobuyuki Suzuki, a member of an ultra-right Japanese party, was sued by a group of former South Korean sex slaves for defamation in connection with a controversial wooden post he tied to a symbolic statue of a sex slave in front of the Japanese embassy in downtown Seoul in June.The wo
S.Chungcheong superintendent of education summoned

Feb 15, 2013

Kim Jong-sung, the Superintendent of Education for South Chungcheong Province was summoned by the police on Friday on allegations that he was involved in a case where government officials took bribes from teachers seeking to become state education advisors. The police had recently arrested several officials in charge of supervising the curriculum for schools in the province for taking bribes worth over 200 million won from teachers who had taken tests last year for selecting new supervisory off
‘7 out of 10 Seoul citizens suffer from stress’

Feb 15, 2013

Seven out of every 10 Seoul citizens experience stress at work, school and in their domestic lives, a report showed Friday.In a survey conducted by the Seoul city government on Seoul citizens aged over 13 in May last year, more than 72 percent of respondents said they had been stressed for the past two weeks. Almost 13 percent said the level of stress was extreme.There were more women who were under stress than men. Work topped the list of the environmental causes of stress with 77.6 percent, fo
Health Ministry to increase tax incentives for drug R&D projects

Feb 15, 2013

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will increase tax incentives to pharmaceutical companies that invest in the research and development of new drugs, officials said Friday,As a revised law on special tax treatment control takes effect, small- and medium sized companies investing in R&D projects will get more deduction on corporate tax from 25 percent to 30 percent. Big companies will also get tax deductions of up to 20 percent from 3-15 percent.Companies are expected to enjoy tax deducti
Samsung accused of leaking toxic gas outside plant

Feb 15, 2013

Hydrofluoric acid gas was allegedly discharged into the surrounding environment from the Samsung Electronic Co. semiconductor line in Hwaseong City after a fatal leakage from one of the pipelines last month, according to a police investigation Friday.The latest development runs counter to the earlier statement by the world’s largest semiconductor maker that no toxic chemical was leaked outside the factory.“After analyzing CCTV footage in the central chemical supply system of the factory, the pol
Environment activist receives jail term on bribery conviction

Feb 15, 2013

Choi Yeol, 64, president of non-governmental environmental group Korea Green Foundation, was sentenced to a jail term for receiving bribes from real estate investors Friday. The Supreme Court turned down Choi’s appeal and upheld a lower court’s ruling of a one-year jail term and a fine of 130 million won ($123,000). Choi was indicted for receiving financial favors from a real estate investor who asked for help in an eco-friendly industrial park in Gyeonggi Province. Choi arranged a meeting with
Samsung chairman's brother appeals ruling in inheritance suit

Feb 15, 2013

Lee Maeng-hee, the eldest brother of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, appealed a lower court verdict on Friday, court officials said, starting the second round of a legal battle between the estranged brothers over their inheritance.The Seoul Central District Court earlier this month ruled in favor of the chairman in inheritance lawsuits filed by his siblings. The siblings were demanding more than 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in stakes in Samsung Group units. With the ruling, the countr
Seoul ranks sixth in global competitiveness: report

Feb 15, 2013

Seoul ranks sixth in global competitiveness among major metropolises, Korean and Japanese think tanks said Friday.The Seoul Institute and the Mori Memorial Foundation held a presentation at Seoul city hall to announce the “2012 Global Power City Index (GPCI),” which ranks 40 major cities around the world in accordance to their productivity and competitiveness.The GPCI is evaluated by the international estimates on the sectors of economics, research and development, cultural exchange, residence,
Ex-Seoul mayor Oh may face probe over Han River project

Feb 14, 2013

Korea’s largest lawyers’ association on Thursday requested the prosecution investigate former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon for a breach of duty in connection with the project to build artificial islands on the Han River. The Korean Bar Association’s special committee on local tax abuse investigation announced the result of its probe into the 139 billion won ($128 million) Sebit floating island construction project. “There were many irregularities in the Sebit project, such as the lack of metropolitan
Prime Minister nominee admits false address registration in past

Feb 14, 2013

Prime Minister nominee Chung Hong-won admitted Thursday that he had falsely registered his address, but claimed it was only to maintain his place on a housing list.False resident registration is a criminal offense in Korea, punishable by up to 3 years in jail and a fine of up to 10 million won ($9,400), although the law has not been strictly enforced.The former prosecutor Chung is accused of having a fake address in Doksandong in Seoul in after moving to Busan in 1988 while working at Busan Dist
Man arrested after threatening to explode casino

Feb 14, 2013

A 58-year-old man was arrested on the charge of threatening to blow up a casino, police said Thursday. The suspect allegedly threatened Kangwon Land, the country’s only casino open to Korean citizens, located in Gangwon Province. He made the casino tell the guests to leave because he would blow up the facilities, Mokpo Police said. He called the casino three times on Thursday morning from 8:38 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. from a motel in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province.The casino, however, was closed Thursday
Profiles of minister-nominees: Yoo Jeong-bok, Security, public administration

Feb 13, 2013

Yoo, 55, former minister of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, is one of the closest aides to President-elect Park Geun-hye. The veteran bureaucrat and third-term lawmaker served as top secretary to Park from 2008 to 2010 when she reduced her political activities following her defeat to President Lee Myung-bak in the presidential nomination race of the Grand National Party.He is currently the deputy chief of the preparatory committee for her inauguration.The nominee started his public ca
Apartment noise problem spinning out of control

Feb 13, 2013

A growing number of conflicts among apartment residents over noise is pushing the Korean government to come up with measures to tackle the long-standing problem. In a densely populated country where people live in apartments stacked on top of each other, residential complaints over noise traveling between floors are becoming a serious social problem. A 36-year-old man along with three others allegedly punched a 55-year-old living downstairs over too much noise at night, Incheon Gyeyang Police St
Man arrested for attempted rape on U.S. citizen

Feb 13, 2013

A 33-year-old Korean man was arrested on charge of attempting to rape an American woman, Gwangjin District police said Tuesday.The suspect allegedly broke into the 28-year-old victim’s apartment in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, at 3:00 a.m. on Jan. 12, and tried to rape her while she was sleeping. The man inflicted a minor injury to her head while attacking her. The suspect, who police said was drunk at the time, was thwarted after the victim put up a fight. The suspect then fell asleep while holding the
Man arrested for department store bomb threat

Feb 13, 2013

Police on Wednesday caught the man who threatened to blow up a department store in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Baek, 45, contacted a local TV reporter about a week ago and threatened to bomb the department store, demanding some 450 million won.The man repeatedly asked the reporter to deliver the money for several days. Police went undercover but he never appeared, as the suspect was watchful for any sign of police. The investigation continued through the Seollal holidays without any clue to