The Korea Herald

Korea to raise minimum wage 6.1% in 2013

Jul 1, 2012

A trilateral council comprised of the government, labor and management on Saturday agreed to raise the country’s minimum wage by 6.1 percent to 4,860 won ($4.24) per hour next year.Representatives of the Minimum Wage Council reached the deal in a 10-8 vote with 9 abstentions at the end of overnight negotiations, the council said.The decision will increase the monthly salary of those who work 40 hours a week to 1.02 million won, according to the council. It is expected to benefit roughly 2.58 mil
‘Learning how to learn is vital’

Jul 1, 2012

Bob Pike, a leadership expert, says training should begin with opening the minds of people and teaching them how to learn.“What we need to do in training is probably stop doing 50 percent of training we do now,” said Pike, who has consulted on training development since 1969.The 65-year-old training expert noted that companies should reconsider their traditional training methods.“We have for many years been focusing on delivering content, but you don’t think about how people learn the best,” he
Student volunteers help envoys cross language, culture barriers

Jul 1, 2012

Lim You-nam, a third-year student majoring in communications at Yonsei University, visits the U.S. Yongsan Army Garrison once every week to teach a diplomat’s wife Korean.The 22-year-old is participating for the second year in “Friends of Diplomats,” an organization made up of university students from around Seoul to give one-on-one Korean language and culture classes to foreign diplomats. The group is part of the Gangnam Volunteer Center, which has been operating the program for five years.Volu
S. Korea to raise minimum wage 6.1 percent in 2013

Jun 30, 2012

A trilateral council comprised of the government, labor and management on Saturday agreed to raise the country's minimum wage by 6.1 percent to 4,860 won ($4.24) per hour next year.Representatives of the Minimum Wage Council reached the deal in a 10-8 vote with nine abstentions at the end of overnight negotiations, the council said.The decision will increase the monthly salary of those who work 4
Opposition leader, Saenuri lawmaker face bribery probe

Jun 29, 2012

The prosecution’s probe into a bank-lobbying scandal is set to implicate a key opposition leader, igniting a political firestorm with the presidential election just six months away. Local media reported Friday that Rep. Park Jie-won, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic United Party, is under investigation on suspicions that he received money from a jailed banker in exchange for peddling influence. Rep. Chung Doo-un of the ruling Saenuri Party is also suspected of similar charges, they
Sejong City readies a charm offensive

Jun 29, 2012

This is the second in a series of articles on Sejong City, a new multifunctional administrative city to be launched on July 1. ― Ed. As the official opening of Sejong City draws near, Song Ki-sup’s days are getting busier as he tries to make things right and ready. Much of the new city is still under construction and is expected to remain so for some years to come, as its development plan spans decades. Yet, the city is readying a charm offensive that highlights its unparalleled living environme
Korean pimps caught trafficking in Australia

Jun 29, 2012

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday that it arrested 18 Korean pimps without detention who lured Korean women into working as prostitutes in Australia.The police said the owner of a brothel, surnamed Jang, 32, together with other brokers brought the Korean women to Australia on working holiday visas. Jang has reportedly been bringing them to his brothel in Sydney since 2009.He also held drug orgies where he took drugs such as MDMA,commonly known as ecstasy, and forced the women to u
Seoul City to introduce mobile app for civil service

Jun 29, 2012

Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday that it will develop a smartphone application by 2014 through which citizens can process their civil affairs.The city will invest more than 250 million won ($216,000) in the development of the application equipped with antivirus programs and password protection for the security of personal information.Citizens will be able to use all the services with the mobile app that are currently available on the city’s internet website such as paying taxes and issu
Doctors withdraw strike plan

Jun 29, 2012

The nation’s largest doctors’ group said Friday that it is dropping a plan to strike, scheduled to begin from Sunday, in protest against the government’s new medical service pricing plan. Roh Hwan-kyu, head of the Korean Medical Association, said his organization has tentatively accepted the diagnosis-related group pricing system, giving a green light to the program that is scheduled to come into effect from Sunday. Roh reportedly met with Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the ruling Saenuri Party and oth
U.S. military helicopter burned after emergency landing in southern Korea

Jun 29, 2012

A U.S. military helicopter burned after making an emergency landing at a southern seaside village in South Korea on Friday, rescue authorities said.No casualties were reported.The MH-53 helicopter from the U.S. Navy made the emergency landing on a rice paddy in Pohang, 374 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 12:30 p.m. while performing flight training, according to the southern branch of the Pohang
Truckers' union agrees on fare increase, set to end strike

Jun 29, 2012

The truckers' union said Friday it has reached an agreement with the transportation association over a fare increase, paving the way for ending their ongoing strike.Thousands of unionized truckers across the country have been on strike since Monday, demanding the government increase fees and reduce fuel costs.The union and the Container Transportation and Container Yard Operator's Association resu
Police nab N. Jeolla sexual predator

Jun 29, 2012

Police in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, filed an arrest warrant Thursday against a man, 33, who sexually assaulted and stole from a 20-year-old woman he followed home.The victim was returning home alone at around 3 a.m. Wednesday after finishing her part-time shift near a library in Yeongdeung-dong. The attacker, surnamed Jeong, threatened her with a weapon and sexually assaulted her.Jeong took pictures of the victim’s naked body and threatened to circulate them online if she called the police.H
Pimp charged with attempted murder

Jun 29, 2012

A man running a brothel in Busan was charged Friday for the attempted murder of a gang member who had habitually assaulted him.The man surnamed Chung, 37, reportedly stabbed Lee, 34, in the abdomen and back on a street in Buk-gu, Busan. The incident occurred on April 5 in the early hours of the morning. The victim, Lee, a follower of the Jang Cheol group, had harassed Chung and demanded money or valuables from him on frequent occasions, it has been revealed.Police say that Chung planned to kill
Family members attack unwelcome intruder

Jun 29, 2012

A man who had broken into the room of a 26-year-old woman was arrested after he was fought off and tied up by her family members, police in Changwonseobu, South Gyeongsang Province, said on Thursday.The man, surnamed Choi, allegedly tried to sexually assault the victim when he broke into her room on the second floor of her family’s house at 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning.Hearing her screams for help, the victim’s sister entered the room and engaged in a scuffle to keep him from escaping out the doo
Lee’s brother to be summoned in corruption probe

Jun 28, 2012

To be grilled Tuesday over suspected bribery involving savings banksProsecutors plan to question President Lee Myung-bak’s elder brother Lee Sang-deuk next Tuesday on suspicion of taking bribes from a savings bank, officials said Thursday.The prosecutors have been investigating the source of some 700 million won ($624,000) in his bank account found last year during an inquiry into a separate scandal involving his associates.In March, they were tipped off that Prime Savings Bank had bribed the fo