The Korea Herald

Nuclear reactor halts operation due to malfunction

Oct 2, 2012

A nuclear reactor at South Korea‘s Gori Nuclear Power Plant stopped operation Tuesday due to what appeared to be a problem in the reactor’s control system, plant operators said, adding there was no risk of radiation leakage.The Shingori 1 Reactor was shut down at 8:10 a.m. after a warning signal indicated a malfunction in the control rod, which is used to control the rate of fission of nuclear materials, according to the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.It is the first time that reactor, located 4
Holiday travelers cause congestion on major expressways

Oct 1, 2012

Expressways to and from Seoul were packed with vehicles Sunday evening as residents continued to head for their hometowns on the second day of Chuseok, the traditional thanksgiving holiday.But the traffic jams on major expressways eased to some degree after peaking around 5 p.m., according to transportation authorities.Traffic congestion on major highways linking Seoul and other major regional cit
Holiday homebound travelers caused congestion in major expressways

Sept 30, 2012

Expressways to and from the capital South Korean Seoul were packed with vehicles early Sunday as residents continued to head for thier hometowns on the second day of the traditional thanksgiving holiday.Transportation authorities said traffic congestion on major highways linking Seoul and other major regional cities may worsen in the evening and continue until midnight.A road trip from Seoul to th
Connecticut man shoots his son after mistaking him for a burglar

Sept 29, 2012

A man who believed his sister's home was being broken into shot and killed his teenage son, who was wearing a mask and carrying a knife, a newspaper reported Friday.Jeffrey Giuliano, 44, went to his sister's home with a gun early Thursday after she called to say someone suspicious was trying to break in. Police told the Hartford Courant that when Giuliano arrived he saw someone dressed all in blac
Technology as a blessing for physically challenged

Sept 28, 2012

Professor Lee Sang-mook has been heading a government-funded project to improve the quality of life of disabled people through technology for over two years. The project called Quality of Life Technology, or QoLT, falls in line with Lee’s belief that the advancements in the field of information technology are the biggest blessing for the physically challenged.Ultimately, those behind the program hope to establish a “welfare-industry state” and to nurture the so-called QoLT industry into a major
‘Korea should become the world leader in disability issues’

Sept 28, 2012

Following are excerpts from the interview with professor Lee Sang-mook of Seoul National University. ― Ed.Korea Herald: What happened after the accident?Lee: A helicopter came to the middle of the desert (to rescue us) after 40 minutes, and I slipped in and out of consciousness for three days. A nurse told me that I didn’t know how to speak.It was as if an executioner cut off my neck but was ordered to put it back on. The accident severed all the muscles in my neck. The spinal cord, which is lik
Six students injured in rampage by teenager

Sept 28, 2012

Six schoolchildren were injured after a depressed teenage dropout went on a violent rampage and attacked young students with a shovel at an elementary school in southern Seoul, police said Friday.The 18-year-old boy surnamed Kim broke into the school's campus shortly before noon and wielded the entrenching shovel in a classroom, hurting three girls and three boys, the Bangbae Police Station said,
Six elementary schoolers injured in rampage by teenage dropout

Sept 28, 2012

A high school dropout stormed into a class in an elementary school in southern Seoul on Friday and threw around a shovel, wounding six children, the police said. The 18-year-old, surnamed Kim, broke into the school compound in Bangbae-dong at 11:50 a.m. and allegedly hit children who were taking a morning class with a toy gun and a shovel, a rampage that lasted for five minutes. Six elementary school students were wounded and taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment. The suspect, who is s
Korea's Stephen Hawking: I've never cried

Sept 28, 2012

Seoul National University professor Lee Sang-mook. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)Lee works to improve lives with technology, facilitate science education for disabled studentsIn July 2006, marine geophysics professor Lee Sang-mook of Seoul National University was on a field trip in the U.S. along with his 12 students when the vehicle carrying them rolled over in the desert. One student was killed and
Chemical plant explosion kills 4, injures 8

Sept 27, 2012

An explosion at a chemical plant in Gumi in the southern part of Korea killed at least four workers and injured eight others Thursday, police said.The death toll may rise as some of the wounded are in critical condition, police said. The blast broke out at around 3:45 p.m. at the Gumi National Industrial Complex in North Gyeongsang Province when the employees of Hube Global were unloading hydrochloric acid from a tank truck, according to the police. The Seoul-based company makes chemicals and ma
Seoul’s chief educator ousted from office

Sept 27, 2012

Supreme Court convicts Kwak of bribery, hands down one-year term, orders return of W3.5bThe Supreme Court on Thursday found Seoul educational chief Kwak No-hyun guilty of bribery during his election in 2010, upholding a lower court ruling that sentenced him to one year in prison. The superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education was stripped of his position immediately and will be back in prison for the eight months remaining on his sentence.Kwak will also have to return the 3.52
HUFS bans drinking on campus

Sept 27, 2012

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul has decided to ban the sale of alcohol on campus and cut funding for departments that house violators, school officials said Thursday. “(The decision) is to stop alcohol-related accidents and crimes on university campuses, which have become a social problem. It is also to create sound campus life,” officials at HUFS said in a statement.Students at the university used to open makeshift bars during school festivals held in the spring and fall.The gover
High-caffeine drinks may be banned from school stores

Sept 27, 2012

The Korea Food and Drug Administration has drafted new guidelines for children’s food safety under which high caffeine energy drinks such as Hot Six and Red Bull may be banned from school stores and areas around schools.The agency on Thursday unveiled a set of nutrition management guides for children’s snacks and school lunches.According to the plan, schools stores will be banned from selling beverages containing over 0.15mg of caffeine per 1ml. The “Children’s Food Safety Protection Zone,” init
Blood mercury levels higher in Koreans than Americans: study

Sept 27, 2012

Mercury levels in Koreans’ blood are three times higher than those of Americans and five times higher than those of Germans, a new study found. This, however, does not necessarily mean that Koreans experience more adverse health effects from the toxic heavy metal, as the concentrations were under levels associated with health problems, it said. The study, conducted by the state-run National Institute of Environmental Institute, found that the average concentration of mercury in the blood to be 3
KDI, KOICA host Africa development conference

Sept 27, 2012

The Korea International Cooperation Agency and the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management jointly hosted an international conference on development for African countries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday.The conference discussed how to enhance the economic development of African countries, as well as successful strategies employed by various African countries including Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt. Participants included Dean Nam Sang-woo of KDI School, State Mi