The Chinese Embassy owes the highest amount in parking fines among foreign missions in Korea taking advantage of diplomatic immunity, Seoul City data showed Wednesday. In the first eight months of the year, the city government issued 440 tickets worth around 19 million won ($17,000) to embassies. It has so far collected only some 6.3 million won, or about 33 percent. China topped the list with fines worth more than 5.3 million won. Trailing next is Russia with about 1.3 million won, followed by

The Seoul Metropolitan Government decided Wednesday to push ahead with its plan to build a new bullet train station in Suseo, southern Seoul.The city’s urban development committee confirmed plans to build a new KTX line connecting the southern district to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province by 2015.The government had planned to operate the new KTX line between Suseo and Busan from 2015, but the plan was delayed after the city government tried to build the station in a more central location in Samseong

Workers in the sex industry called Wednesday for the scrapping or revision of anti-sex trafficking laws, saying it restricts their right of sexual autonomy.South Korea has banned the sex trade since two pertinent laws went into effect in 2004, dealing a serious blow to the industry.“Part of the anti-sex trafficking laws about those who sell sex is against the Constitution,“ a sex worker said in a news conference in Seoul hosted by their trade association, Hanteo.The clause limits sex workers‘ ri

Prosecutors are investigating a relative of Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik as part of an on-going investigation into a massive admission fraud case involving several foreign schools.Prosecutors said Monday that they had summoned the wife of Kim’s nephew on suspicion of fabricating documents in order to enroll her child in a foreign school. The 36-year-old, surnamed Park, is believed to have acquired a forged foreign passport through a broker, according to Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office.The m

The ruling Saenuri Party is pushing to move the country’s top-ranked Seoul National University to the new administrative city of Sejong in a move to woo voters ahead of December’s presidential election, party officials said Monday.The move would help the Seoul-based state-run university attract additional investment and cut tuition if it sells its land and buildings, a party official said, asking that he not be identified.The official is a key member of a party committee in charge of drawing up

The Gay Voters Party, an LGBT organization, said on Tuesday it plans to request police protection for the transsexual cast of talk show “XY Her.”Produced by cable channel KBS Joy, the first transsexual TV program in the nation debuted on Sept 6. It was canceled after one episode due to harsh opposition from conservative activists.National Mothers Association for True Education and 240 other conservative organizations allied to demand the cancellation of the show, through the Internet and full-pa

In preparation for tourist peak season in October, Seoul City plans to crack down on rip-offs targeting foreign tourists for the next three weeks. Officials said Monday the city government will focus on five special tourist zones and popular areas such as Sinchon and Hongdae to ensure that merchants fulfill the obligation to list prices, and check for illegal activities in taxis and call vans.Karaoke rooms, which do not have to list prices under the current law, will put up a voluntary price lis

Free daycare policy faces overhaul seven months after its implementationThe Health Ministry said Monday it was scrapping a controversial childcare program that provided free day care for all children aged 2 or under. Instead, families belonging to the bottom 70 percent of income bracket will receive cash subsidies of between 100,000 to 200,000 won a month per child, it said. “I apologize for all the confusion that might be caused by the proposed change in policy,” Minister Lim Chae-min told repo