The Korea Herald

Conductor Chung’s brother probed for embezzlement

Aug 31, 2012

World-renown conductor Chung Myung-whun’s elder brother is under investigation for embezzlement of government subsidies, prosecutors said Friday. The 70-year-old man who runs an arts and performance agency is suspected of misappropriating billions of won from a 14 billion won ($12 million) government subsidy for the “Incheon and Arts” project, which his company undertook to promote local art and performances from 2005 to 2010, the Incheon District Prosecutors’ office said. Prosecutors confiscate
Korea to bolster fight against sex crimes

Aug 31, 2012

The government plans to increase the number of police officers in charge of overseeing sex offenders prone to recidivism and dealing with emergency hotline by more than 1,000 in the wake of a series of violent sex crimes in recent weeks, the home affairs ministry said Friday.According to the plan devised by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, up to 700 additional police officers will be mobilized to oversee former convicts who are prone to repeat violent crimes such as murder, ra
Arrest warrant issued for child rape suspect

Aug 31, 2012

A local court issued on Sunday an arrest warrant for a 23-year-old man suspected of kidnapping and raping a seven-year-old girl in the latest sex crime that has shocked South Korea.The Gwangju District Court said it issued the warrant to detain the suspect, identified only by his surname Ko, for allegedly abducting the sleeping girl from her home and brutally raping her in Naju, 350 kilometers south of Seoul."The arrest warrant was issued, given the gravity of the case and fear of the suspect's
Tembin brings heavy rain, claims two lives

Aug 31, 2012

Typhoon Tembin brought heavy downpours and strong winds while cutting across South Korea at high speed Thursday, leaving two dead and forcing scores of people to evacuate their homes, weather and police officials said.Tembin, named after a Japanese term for the zodiac sign Libra, was moving northeastward at a speed of 29 kilometers per hour through Gangwon Province as of 10 p.m. and is expected to reach the East Sea late Thursday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The w
Ph.D. program to open at Seoul National University of Education next year

Aug 31, 2012

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced on Thursday that Seoul National University of Education will open a Ph.D. program to strengthen the expertise of elementary school teachers starting next year, according to news sources.Until now, students at the university could only study up to a masters. The Ministry of Education will receive applications until the end of October from other schools that want a doctoral program in primary education. It will decide at the beginning of
Typhoon Tembin hits Korea

Aug 30, 2012

Typhoon Tembin slammed into Korea on Thursday, dumping heavy rains on southern and western regions, leaving at least two dead and three injured. Nearly 50 people were forced to evacuate their homes. Though smaller and less powerful than Typhoon Bolaven, which skirted the Korean Peninsula three days ago, Tembin wreaked havoc on the country as it passed through South Jeolla Province, quickly moving northeast-bound.One person was killed and another was injured when a giant steel structure collapsed
Using microbes to clean up pollution

Aug 30, 2012

Fledging green venture taps Chinese market with pollution-eating fungiThe Korea Herald, in collaboration with the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, is presenting a series of articles introducing small but promising environmental tech firms. The following is the second installment. ― Ed.Whether it is an abandoned mine, an oil spill site or a reservoir contaminated with toxic chemicals, Coenbio Co. sticks to its principle in finding solutions: Let the microbes clean up. Microbes
Red foxes to be released into wild

Aug 30, 2012

A pair of red foxes is to be released into the wild in October as part of a national project to restore the population of the mammal, believed to have gone extinct in South Korea. The pair, born and raised in Seoul Zoo, will undergo a month-long adjustment program before the release on Mount Sobaek, North Gyeongsang Province, in a facility in the mountain, designed to help them adapt to nature. They are among eight offspring of 10 foxes, brought from North Korea in 2008 to the zoo. The duo was c
Jeju Congress a moment for change

Aug 30, 2012

The World Conservation Congress is organized by IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, every four years and is decidedly a global event in every sense of the word. Its participants come from all parts of the world, the topics of its discussions concern the predicament of the entire planet’s resources, and its messages are aimed at the international community. Having said that many thousands of participants will be in Korea and will no doubt have an opportunity to see the dynam
Korea, Sweden to cooperate on aging

Aug 30, 2012

The Korean and Swedish health authorities on Thursday agreed to join hands in tackling low birthrates and problems stemming from an aging society. They also shared understanding in the development of dementia vaccines and elderly people-friendly commodities.During his four-day visit to Stockholm from Wednesday, Health and Welfare Minister Rim Che-min and his Swedish counterpart Maria Larsson decided to develop a memorandum of understanding in the entire field of health and welfare and annualize
Obesity and disease

Aug 30, 2012

It is well known that obesity has a significant detrimental effect on human health. It has also been known that obese people are more likely to develop diseases. Conditions that have been found to be associated with obesity include diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, coronary artery disease and artherosclerosis. Other conditions include cancers such as colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer, as well as joint problems. Recent studies have shown that obese women are more likely to d
Court says deportation of illegal aliens is constitutional

Aug 30, 2012

The Constitutional Court has ruled that the current law stipulating the deportation of illegal aliens is constitutional, officials said Thursday.Under the Immigration Control Law, immigration offices can take illegal foreign workers into emergency custody and put them under compulsory expulsion. The foreign workers are subsequently repatriated to their home countries unless they are granted refuge
Two more bodies of missing Chinese fishermen found

Aug 29, 2012

Two more bodies of missing Chinese fishermen were found off the southern island of Jeju on Wednesday, the Coast Guard said, bringing to seven the death toll in the running aground of two boats amid a powerful typhoon the previous day.Still missing are eight crew members of the fishing boats that ran aground in waters off Jeju on Tuesday amid strong winds and high waves spawned by Typhoon Bolaven.
Doctors Without Borders head urges support in humanitarian aid

Aug 29, 2012

Saving lives in war zones or extreme poverty or disaster-stricken countries is sometimes not so complicated: The provision of clean water, vaccinations and food could prevent substantial casualties. Still, five children die every day in South Sudan and one in two children less than two years old are severely malnourished in these areas. Malaria is rampant in most of such states, despite its preventability with a few pills, while mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus still
Another typhoon appoaches

Aug 29, 2012

Another typhoon is heading toward Korea, just as the nation recover, from one of the strongest storms it has seen in decades. Typhoon Tembin, the 14th typhoon this year, is expected to make landfall in Korea as early as Thursday, dumping heavy rains, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. It is expected to take almost the same route across the Korean Peninsula as Typhoon Bolaven, which pounded the country’s southern and western parts on Monday and Tuesday, leaving at least 25 dead or miss