The State University of New York at Stony Brook will open certification courses for teaching Korean to meet the growing demand for Korean language education in the U.S., under an agreement it signed Wednesday with Korea’s Education Ministry. The agreement envisions Korea’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology providing the U.S. university with a total of $460,000 over the next five years to help it develop the programs. Stony Brook University will extend its existing Korean language pro

Suspicion over President Lee Myung-bak’s presidential campaign funds is growing after Choi See-joong, once Lee’s most-trusted advisor, said he received kickbacks from businessmen to support Lee during the 2007 presidential election. All eyes are now on whether his claim will prompt state prosecutors to look into the suspicions surrounding the president whose single five-year term ends in February next year. Yoon Byeong-cheol, Choi’s lawyer, admitted on Tuesday at the first hearing of Choi’s tria

More than 500 university students have pledged to help young school children in learning as a part of a nationwide voluntary tutoring project.The Association of Student Volunteers launched a campaign called “Teacher for Korea,” with a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.Officials from the government, including Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, and more than 500 students attended the ceremony. The volunteer teaching project is designed to help children in elementary and middle schools learn more effective

A former close aide of President Lee Myung-bak will be summoned Friday morning for questioning over his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal surrounding an ailing savings bank, prosecutors said Wednesday.Kim Hee-jung resigned earlier this week as a secretary handling the president's personal affairs after allegations emerged that he took bribes from a savings bank chief accused of a massive lo

South Korea's weather forecasters warned of heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters and strong winds in the country's southern and central regions, as Typhoon Khanun is approaching the southern island of Jeju on Wednesday. Khanun, meaning "jack fruit" in Thai, was 490 kilometers south of Seogwipo in the southern part of Jeju as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday and heading northwest along the country's western

Unionists of the public broadcaster MBC decided to call off a 170-day strike and return to work, the union announced Tuesday.The union said its members unanimously decided to go back to work Wednesday, as lawmakers agreed to discuss the MBC strike issue in the parliamentary session that opened early this month.An estimated 500 employees went on strike in January demanding the resignation of compan

A Korean high-school team won six gold medals at this year’s Math Olympiad to help Korea finish at the top of the annual competition.This is the first time Korea has finished first in the Olympiad, and also the first time to have won six gold medals. The 53rd International Math Olympiad, which was held in Argentina from July 4-16, drew more than 500 students from 100 countries across the world. Korea sent a six-member team led by Song Yong-jin, a professor at Inha University.The six-member Korea

The Ministry of Justice announced on Sunday that it granted three international law firms permission to open offices in Korea as part of eased restrictions due to the EU and U.S. free trade agreements.The three firms permitted to open branches here are London-based law firm Clifford Chance, U.S.-based Sheppard Mullin and U.S.-based Ropes & Gray.The three firms will be able to provide legal consultancy services in Korea after completing registration with the Korean Bar Association, according to t

Suh Nam-pyo, president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, has insisted that he will not resign from his post despite enormous pressure from in and outside of the university.The 15-member board, led by chairman Oh Myung, is scheduled to vote to decide his position Friday. Although his term is until 2014, if the board votes to end his contract prematurely, Suh must leave the office after three months’ notice.But Suh said in a letter on Saturday that “even if they vote against m

Police said Sunday they have requested an arrest warrant for a Japanese man on a sightseeing visit to South Korea's southern Jeju Island on charges of sexually harassing two Korean women at an airport restaurant.   The 67-year-old Japanese man is accused of touching the hips of two female employees in their 40s at a Jeju International Airport restaurant on Friday morning, police said.   The man wa

A long-time aide to President Lee Myung-bak offered to resign Friday after suspicions emerged he took bribes from a now-jailed savings bank chief at the center of a massive lobbying scandal.Presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said secretary Kim Hee-jung, who handles the personal affairs of the president, denied the bribery allegations against him, but expressed his intention to step down to take “moral responsibility.”A local daily newspaper reported earlier in the day that prosecutors are look