Seoul police are investigating a senior prosecutor on allegations that he received tens of millions of won in bribes from a notorious pyramid scheme ring, police officials said Friday. The National Police Agency’s Intelligence Investigative Unit suspects that the prosecutor, surnamed Kim, took 200 million won around 2008 from the side of Cho Hee-pal, the nation’s most wanted con artist, who purportedly died last year while hiding out in China. It plans to summon Kim for questioning. Kim, about a

A Japanese far-right group ran a ad in a U.S. newspaper, claiming that the imperial Japanese government was not responsible for forcing Korean women to serve as sexual slaves in the military. The ad titled “Yes, We Remember the Facts” was published in the Star Ledger daily in New Jersey on Monday, and was sponsored by the Committee for Historical Facts, an extreme right-wing group in Japan.The ad argued that comfort women ― a euphemism used to describe the victims of Japan’s wartime military sex

 A high-ranking prosecutor is expected to be summoned by police for questioning on suspicions of taking large sums of money in kickbacks from a notorious con artist and a major conglomerate, a police officer said Friday.   The prosecutor, surnamed Kim, is accused of taking some 200 million won ($183,908) from a man surnamed Kang who is close to famous swindler Cho Hee-pal, the National Police Agency (NPA) officer said. The prosecutor is also suspected of receiving 600 million won from an officia

Korea needs to overhaul its mental health care system and end its long-accepted practice of isolating the mentally ill in hospitals, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report Thursday. The current system, dominated by hospitals and other long-term facilities and a high proportion of involuntary admissions, requires a thorough investigation of its cost-effectiveness as well as potential for human rights abuses, it added. “As in other OECD countries, Korea should s

More than 80 officials from governments and international organizations will gather in South Korea next week to discuss environment-friendly policies and sustainable development, organizers said Wednesday.The United Nations Office for Sustainable Development said it will hold a three-day international workshop from Nov. 14 in Songdo in Incheon, west of Seoul, with a focus on strengthening planning and implementation capabilities for sustainable development.“The workshop will provide opportunitie

SYDNEY (Yonhap News) ― A South Korean student staying in Melbourne was severely wounded after being assaulted by a group of Australian adolescents there, consular officials said Wednesday.The 33-year-old South Korean man surnamed Chang was attacked on Sep. 27 at a park near his school in the southern Australian city by several local teenagers, who cut off a joint of his little finger and broke his left arm, according to the officials.“When I was sitting in the park with my friend, more than 10 w

South Korea has shipped used military equipment and personal gears to Mongolia as part of efforts to expand defense cooperation between the two nations, the defense ministry said Wednesday.Seoul officials handed over a total of 1,565 items of personal gear and military vehicles in the Mongolian capital to support U.N. peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan and Sudan, the ministry said in a release. The support came after the defense chiefs of the two countries agreed to expand military cooperation i

More than 50,000 short-term contract school workers will go on strike Friday, demanding improvement in pay and employment status, according to the workers’ union.Their unprecedented walkout is expected to cause disruption in school operations, especially in meal services, in which nearly 70 percent of the workers are involved.The alliance of unionized irregular workers at elementary, middle and high schools nationwide announced Wednesday that their members overwhelmingly approved its call for th

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security on Wednesday released an advanced notice that Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, which celebrates the Korean alphabet, will be re-designated as a public holiday. The reinstatement was made at the Cabinet meeting 21 years after it was scrapped as a the public holiday due to complaints from businesses that the number of bank holidays was damaging productivity. Hangeul Day was first designated as a public holiday in 1946 honoring the promulgation of the writin

A South Korean student staying in Melbourne was severely wounded after being assaulted by a group of Australian adolescents there, consular officials said Wednesday.The 33-year-old South Korean man surnamed Chang was attacked on Sep. 27 at a park near his school in the southern Australian city by several local teenagers, who cut off a joint of his little finger and broke his left arm, according to the officials."When I was sitting in the park with my friend, more than 10 white teenagers came to