The Korea Herald

Prosecutors raid Korea’s biggest drug company

Oct 10, 2012

Prosecutors raided Dong-A Pharmaceutical Wednesday as part of an investigation into suspicions that the largest drug company in Korea bribed hospital officials to purchase of its products. Investigators confiscated transaction records, accounting documents, and computer hard drives from the firm in Seoul.The investigative team was tipped off that the firm had provided illicit favors to officials at hospitals, clinics and drug stores through agencies. Dong-A Pharmaceutical was called an innovativ
Female judge tapped to top court

Oct 10, 2012

Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae on Wednesday nominated a woman to fill the last remaining seat on the Supreme Court’s 14-member bench, long considered as a share of public prosecutors. The selection of Kim So-young, a senior judge at Daejeon High Court, follows the resignation in July of Kim Byeong-hwa, a senior prosecutor and one of the four that Yang chose to replace four retiring justices, amid doubts over his ethics. The new designate must go through a parliamentary hearing and confirmation proc
Obesity rate doubles in 12 years

Oct 10, 2012

The percentage of seriously obese Koreans has nearly doubled in the last 12 years, the government said in a report Wednesday, attributing the problem mainly to Westernized eating habits.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the rate of very obese people in the overall population jumped from 2.4 percent in 1998 to 4.2 percent in 2010. By gender, the proportion of extremely obese men surged to 3.7 percent from 1.7 percent, while the obesity rate in women increased to 4.6 percent from 3 percent i
Court dismisses appeals by netizens who libeled Tablo

Oct 10, 2012

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed Wednesday the appeals of eight online community members convicted of libel for spreading false rumors that hip-hop artist Tablo falsified his academic background at Stanford University.Online cafe “We Demand Tablo Tell the Truth,” known as “Tajinyo” in Korean, began operating in May 2010, accusing the Epik High member of lying about his academic achievement to court popularity. As malicious comments snowballed online, Tablo filed a lawsuit against 22 me
Safety negligence led to gas leak accident: police

Oct 9, 2012

GUMI, South Korea, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- Police said Tuesday that workers not properly following safety guidelines caused the gas leak at a chemical factory last month that killed five employees and sickened thousands of nearby villagers.On Sept. 27, some eight tons of hydrofluoric acid, an acute poison that can damage lungs and bones and affect the nervous system, leaked from a chemical factory in G
Solomon Islanders to adopt Hangeul to keep spoken language alive

Oct 9, 2012

The inhabitants of the Solomon Islands will adopt Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, to preserve their spoken languages, officials announced on Tuesday.Two provinces, Guadalcanal and Malaita, which have a population of some 60,000, recently designated Hangeul their official written system to transcribe their spoken languages, the Center for Humanities Information of Seoul National University said.The SNU center, with support from United Nations Global Compact in Korea, developed textbooks, and also h
Foreign schools show Korea’s social divide

Oct 9, 2012

Elitism coupled with obsession with English learning and lack of regulations create highly expensive schoolsAbout 60 parents were recently summoned by prosecutors on suspicion of acquiring forged documents to enroll their children in a special international school in Korea.They are said to have paid some 50 million won ($45,000) to brokers in Latin American countries including Guatemala to obtain fake citizenship certificates and passports. Under the current law, only children who have lived ove
Second-hand luxury dealer caters to status-conscious customers

Oct 9, 2012

During the economic boom of the late 1990s, Koreans developed a taste for things very expensive although unnecessary, and high-end clothes and accessories became ways to broadcast new wealth. As people say, timing is everything in business, and Lee Sang-kwon couldn’t have picked a better time to hop on the boom.After finishing his military service in 1997, Lee went into business for himself, trading toys and other goods. He soon moved to luxury goods like handbags and watches, right when the pop
Shame hampers struggle against suicide

Oct 9, 2012

South Korea’s efforts to curb its alarming suicide rate are being undermined by a deep-rooted belief that seeking help for mental problems leads to social and professional exclusion, health experts say.Suicide, fuelled by an intense pressure for academic and career achievement, has become a perennial blight on a country whose rapid economic development has otherwise raised living standards and encouraged social mobility. Figures released by the Health Ministry earlier September showed South Kore
Acid-hit region will take over 5 years to recover

Oct 8, 2012

Government designates area a disaster zoneThe government on Monday designated the area in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province hit by an acid leak a disaster zone amid criticism over its belated response to the incident.Experts said it may take more than five years for the town to fully recover its agricultural land and crops, which are the main source of income and food for residents in the area.The tardy response of the government and miscalculation by the state-run scientific institute is being bl
Acid-hit region will take over five years to recover

Oct 8, 2012

Government designates area a disaster zoneThe government on Monday designated the area in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, hit by an acid leak a disaster zone amid criticism over its belated response to the incident.Experts said it may take more than five years for the town to fully recover its agricultural land and crops, which are the main source of income and food for residents in the area.The
Hundreds evacuate as public incensed over acid leak response

Oct 7, 2012

Public anger is growing over perceived government nonchalance in the face of an acid leak almost two weeks ago in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province.The accident at a factory owned by Hube Korea, a local manufacturer of hydrofluoric acid used for the production of displays, has claimed five lives. More than 2,000 residents have also suffered from the effects of the acid on their skin, eyes and respiratory system, while some 300 local residents have opted to temporarily relocate.Despite growing call
One in six sex offenders is 50 or older

Oct 7, 2012

One in six sex offenders is aged 50 or above, data from the Ministry of Justice shows.The number of sex offenders aged 50 and above marked 8,885 out of the total 51,876 convicted between 2010 and the first six months of this year, or 17.1 percent.The number has seen a steady increase, from 3,460 in 2010 to 3,834 in 2011.In the first half of this year, 1,591 seniors were charged for sexual crimes. Sex offenders in their 60s recorded 5.1 percent (805) of the total in 2010, 5.4 percent (887) in 201
2 KOICA volunteers killed by lightning in Sri Lanka

Oct 7, 2012

Two members of the Korea International Cooperation Agency were killed and three others were injured after being struck by lightning in Sri Lanka on Saturday, local time. The state-run volunteer group said its five members were hit by lightning at around 5:30 p.m. in Haputale, a mountainous area in the central region of the nation. A man surnamed Kim, 22, and a woman surnamed Jang, 24, were killed.Three female workers were taken to a nearby hospital.The female members had joined the volunteer gro
Family separation haunts civil servants in Sejong

Oct 7, 2012

A 30-year-old newly-wed employee of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is bitter about the ongoing relocation of key government offices to Sejong City, located some 150 kilometers south of Seoul.The female civil servant, who asked to be known only as Park, deliberately got pregnant years before she initially planned to take advantage of government rules that allow years of maternity leave, thus delaying her move to Sejong.Park said she feels relieved after hearing of the ordeals suffered by colle