President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team released conflicting reports Thursday on a possible hacking attempt by North Korea on its computer system. Lee Won-ki, a spokesperson of the team, told reporters early in the morning that its computer security team discovered a possible hacking attempt from the North while checking its security system.The official said only the server connecting the Internet for the press room had been attacked, while the transition team’s main system was not.The t

Despite the global slowdown, Korea’s environmental industry exports grew 60 percent on-year to reach 515 billion won ($486 million) in 2012, according to official data released Thursday.The expansion was driven by surging demand for eco-friendly products and technologies in both emerging and advanced economies, the state-run Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute said. In 2012, Korea’s green export market, which had focused on Asia, expanded to the Middle East and North Africa, ac

The body of a man in his fifties who died six years ago was found on Thursday, said Busan police.The man was found by his landlord in the building’s boiler room. The corpse was badly decomposed. The police assumed the date of death to be at least six years ago, as the calendar in Kim’s house was for the year 2006. Also, Kim’s family members and neighbors stated they had not seen him since 2006. From news reports (khnews@heraldcorp.com)<관련 한글 기사>50대男, 숨진 지 6년만에 발견돼부산에서 혼자 살던 50대 남자가 집에서 스스로 목숨을 끊

A Seoul court has brought the law that punishes conscientious objectors before the Constitutional Court, according to court officials Thursday.It is the eighth time a local court has challenged the article of the military service law that punishes people who refuse to serve compulsory military service due to their political or religious beliefs.  All able-bodied men have been required to serve about two years in the military or other public sectors since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Under

Gray pollutants that have turned China’s Beijing into “Gray-jing“ appear to be affecting Korea as well, government researchers said Wednesday.The level of particulate matter and air pollutants including sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide in major cities surpassed two times the standard in recent days, prompting authorities to issue health advisories and environmentalists to take to streets. “The recent smog in Korea is a mixture of air pollutants coming from China, water vapor and polluting substan

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Tuesday reported to the presidential transition committee its plan to ban schools from teaching ahead of the curriculum.The plan is one of the key parts of President-elect Park’s education reform strategy that aim to cut private tutoring and upgrade public education.In its briefing to the presidential transition committee, the ministry reportedly proposed to establish a special supervisory commission at all 17 regional education offices to mon

More than 10 parents occupied the president’s office at Chung-Ang University for a second consecutive day on Tuesday in protest of the school’s plan to close a recently outlawed program through which their children were admitted. More than 240 students were admitted through the so-called “1+3” student exchange program, in which they study at the university for one year and at another university abroad for three years. Late last year, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced th

The government announced Tuesday it would invest 28.8 billion won ($27 million) this year to promote Korean studies at home and abroad.The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Academy of Korean Studies, a state-run research and educational institution, started the project in 2007 with the aim of broadening Korean studies with a budget of 4.5 billion won.The budget has increased significantly since then thanks to growing interest in Korean culture and entertainment, breaking the

The chief of a local English education institute received a suspended prison term on Tuesday for instructing his employees to illegally record questions of official English proficiency tests, according to court officials. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the Hackers Group chairman, surnamed Cho, to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the copyright law, they said. His brother also received a suspended prison term for the same charge."(The two) used elaborate an

Unpleasant odors and piles of plastic bags containing rotting food waste littered the streets of Seoul as garbage disposers refused to make their rounds in a simmering dispute with city authorities.Seoul’s district offices including Seongbuk, Yeongdeungpo, and Yangcheon are butting heads with private food waste management firms over a price increase in food waste treatment services. The firms are demanding an increase in fees as food waste treatment has become more expensive due to a new law tha