President Lee Myung-bak instructed the Cabinet on Tuesday to ensure South Korea is thoroughly prepared not only for armed provocations by North Korea, but also any attempts by Pyongyang to affect next month’s presidential election.North Korea is one of the most divisive issues in South Korean society, with liberals calling for greater reconciliation efforts and conservatives calling for stands on principle, and Pyongyang often attempts to influence elections in the South by criticizing or praisi

The special counsel team investigating President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home scandal said Tuesday that they do not intend to follow through with a plan to question first lady Kim Yoon-ok if she refuses to cooperate. “The first lady, as she is just a witness in this case, may choose not to respond to our request for an interview. In that case, we have no means, and no intention, to force her,” assistant special counsel Lee Chang-hoon said in a press briefing. A day earlier, Lee had told repor

Prosecutors said on Tuesday they had indicted 47 parents on charges of forgery as part of an ongoing investigation into a massive admission fraud case involving several international schools here.Prosecutors said they took a 36-year-old, surnamed Kwon, into custody and indicted another 46 parents without physical detention for forging passports to help their children gain admission to international schools in Seoul and Incheon. Under the current law, only children with a parent with foreign citi

South Korea's elderly suicide rate was the highest among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Tuesday, prompting the country to come up with measures to counter the rise of suicides among economically strapped senior citizens.According to the data compiled by the OECD, 81.8 per 100,000 South Korean elderly citizens under 74 years of age committed suicide in 2010, while 160 out of 100,000 people took their own lives among those aged 7

Prosecutors on Monday demanded three years in prison for independent lawmaker Hyun Young-hee for bribing a former ruling party official in return for her nomination ahead of the April general elections.Hyun was indicted in September on suspicion of giving 50 million won ($45,766) to Cho Ki-moon, who worked at Saenuri Party's branch office in the southern port city of Busan, in return for securing her a spot on the proportional representation ticket ahead of the elections, according to the prosec

Prosecutors have summoned a reporter who revealed a recorded conversation by the chairman of a private scholarship foundation linked to Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye. The journalist, Choi Sung-jin, working for the Hankyoreh newspaper, is accused of illegally eavesdropping on the talks between Choi Phil-lip, chairman of the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, and senior officials from MBC. He reported on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 that they met at the foundation chairman’s office in cen

The number of foreign students studying at Seoul National University has increased 27 percent over the last three years.According to Seoul National University International Cooperation Headquarters, its international enrollment totaled 2,401 as of October, breaking down into 2,080 full-time students and 321 part-time students including exchange students.It marks a 27 percent increase from 1,891 registered in 2009. The number of foreign students has been increasing steadily every year, and the na

Public concerns rise over safety and power shortages in winte

The special counsel team investigating suspected malpractice in the scrapped retirement home project for President Lee Myung-bak questioned Kim Baek-joon, the former presidential secretary for administrative affairs, on Saturday.Kim returned home at around 12:50 a.m. Sunday after 10 hours of questioning at the counsel’s office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.On his way out, the former aide took back an earlier statement and answered “No” to reporters’ questions about whether the Presidential Secu

North Korea on Saturday openly called for an opposition victory in South Korea's upcoming presidential election, accusing President Lee Myung-bak's conservative government of ruining inter-Korean relations.The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a powerful party organization, denounced South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party as a "disaster" that brews "all sources of misfortune" for Koreans."If Saenuri Party, a group of obsolete conservatives, takes the office, it would make th

Special prosecutors summoned a former close aide to President Lee Myung-bak for questioning Saturday over alleged irregularities on a deal to purchase land for Lee's now-scrapped retirement home project.Kim Paik-joon, a former senior secretary to the president for administrative affairs, denied any involvement in the controversial project in which critics say taxpayer money was used, as he appeared before prosecutors. "I was not involved," the 72-year-old Kim responded to a reporter who asked ab