The Korea Herald

Eight Koreans on ill-fated copter in Peru

Jun 8, 2012

LIMA (AP) ― Snow and fog impeded efforts Thursday to locate a helicopter that went missing in Peru’s highlands with 14 people aboard, including eight South Koreans and three Europeans. Authorities said the aircraft’s emergency beacon indicated it was on rugged terrain.The last communication with the helicopter owned by Cuzco-based Helicusco was late Wednesday afternoon as it headed for Cuzco from the town of Mazuco in neighboring Madre de Dios state, said police Gen. Hector Dulanto.The helicopte
Six restaurants found to sell U.S. beef under false labels

Jun 8, 2012

Six restaurants have been selling U.S. beef falsely labeled as Australian beef, the Chungnam judicial police said Friday after a month-long investigation into 562 different restaurants.Also, 48 out of 933 different public eateries including school cafeterias were found to have sold U.S. beef under false labels. Seventeen of these facilities were suspended and thirty fined.The police have forwarded the case to the prosecutor’s office and are awaiting the results.Should the allegations be confirme
Peru officials detect rough location of missing helicopter carrying 8 Koreans

Jun 8, 2012

The Peruvian air force has detected with satellite signals the rough location of a missing local helicopter carrying 14 people, including eight South Koreans, a South Korean diplomat in Lima said Thursday.The helicopter was located between the cities of Mazuco and Cusco in southeastern Peru at a latitude of 13 degrees and 27 minutes south and a longitude of 71 degrees and seven minutes west, Kim
Fines set for watching DMB while driving

Jun 7, 2012

The government plans to impose fines for watching in-car TVs while driving after a deadly accident two months ago. The penalty is likely to range from 30,000 won ($26) up to 70,000 won, official said Thursday. The proposal was approved during an economic policy meeting presided over by President Lee Myung-bak. It will add new clauses to the traffic law, including imposing a 15-point penalty for watching digital multimedia broadcasting. A driver’s license is canceled if a driver gets 121 points i
Seoul English camps recruit students

Jun 7, 2012

Seoul City Government said on Thursday its three English immersion camps will aim to recruit 4,192 elementary and middle school students during the summer vacation. The city’s Pungnap, Suyu and Gwanak camps will provide 14 vacation programs starting July 22.The students will stay at dormitories during the 10 to 13-day camps, which are themed “Olympics Story, English in Sports” in celebration of the 2012 London Olympics.The participating children will have an opportunity to learn English from nat
Toxic gas leak at polysilicon factory poisons 42 in Yeosu

Jun 7, 2012

YEOSU (Yonhap News) ― A gas leak accident occurred Thursday afternoon at a polysilicon factory based in Yeosu, a port city 455 kilometers south of Seoul, poisoning more than 40 workers, fire authorities said.A total of 42 affected employees of Hankook Silicon Co. were taken to several nearby hospitals, with 41 of them experiencing bouts of nausea, the fire authorities said, but no casualties were reported.The company had been conducting test operations after it built an additional factory in the
Toxic gas leak at polysilicon factory poisons 42

Jun 7, 2012

A gas leak accident occurred Thursday afternoon at a polysilicon factory based in Yeosu, a port city 455 kilometers south of Seoul, poisoning more than 40 workers, fire authorities said.A total of 42 affected employees of Hankook Silicon Co. were taken to several nearby hospitals, with 41 of them experiencing bouts of nausea, the fire authorities said, but no casualties were reported.The company h
Korea to slap fines for watching TV while driving

Jun 7, 2012

South Korea plans to impose fines ranging from 30,000 won ($25.6) to 70,000 won on drivers caught watching a dashboard-mounted television while driving, officials said Thursday. Officials laid out the plan at an economic policy meeting presided over by President Lee Myung-bak earlier in the day. The current law prohibits drivers from watching television while driving, but there is no penalty.The p
KBS workers to end strike

Jun 6, 2012

The labor union and management at state-run broadcaster KBS on Wednesday reached a tentative agreement to end a 93-day strike. The union said its delegates will vote on the deal during a general meeting on Thursday. The workers began the walkout on March 6 demanding the resignation of its chief executive close to President Lee Myung-bak. The two sides agreed to establish a committee to ensure fair coverage of the December presidential election, the union said. It did not disclose other details.
‘Eco-friendly golf’ a green innovation?

Jun 6, 2012

A government plan to give tax incentives to “environmentally friendly” golf courses has reignited a long-standing controversy over the sport, largely considered a luxury and environmental nuisance in Korea. The Environment Ministry announced last month that it is working on a set of criteria for “green” courses. It aims to finalize them in July and form the certification committee in the following month, so that the first such course could debut in the fourth quarter of the year. “We hope to see
Opposition criticizes top court nominees as too conservative

Jun 6, 2012

Supreme Court insists diversity in background consideredThe four nominees for the Supreme Court face an uphill battle for parliamentary approval as opposition politicians and civic activists have derided them as a club of conservatives. Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae on Tuesday submitted to President Lee Myung-back the list of four candidates to replace incumbents retiring in July. The top court argued that the selections respected integrity, diversity and minority rights. “The four have gone under
Rare butterfly to be reintroduced

Jun 6, 2012

An endangered species of butterfly is to be reintroduced to the wild Thursday, after a six-year effort by a private entomologist to rescue it from the brink of extinction. Lee Kang-woon, head of Holoce Ecosystem Conservation Research Institution, will release 20 pairs of red-spotted Apollo butterflies to one of their few known habitats, located in Samcheok, Gangwon Province. It will be the second batch of the rare butterflies, captive-bred by Lee, to be reintroduced to their natural habitat, fol
Ex-police chief’s guard hurts reporter

Jun 6, 2012

Former police chief Cho Hyun-oh, currently at the center of a libel investigation, came under fire over excessive police protection during his questionings after a reporter was injured on Tuesday.As Cho was leaving the prosecutors’ office in southern Seoul on Tuesday, reporters swarmed around him and clashed with police officers who tried to fend them off, witnesses said.The police officers shoved and pushed off the reporters and made way for their former boss to get to his car.The car then sudd
Azeris killed in deadliest clash with Armenia amid Clinton visit

Jun 6, 2012

This photo is not directly related to the story. (Yonhap Photo)Five Azeri soldiers were killed in a border clash with Armenian soldiers in the deadliest incident between the neighbors in four years as visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of risks of a regional conflict.The servicemen were killed while repelling an attack by an Armenian “saboteur” squad in the western Qazax distr
Four nominated as Supreme Court justices

Jun 5, 2012

Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae recommended on Tuesday four nominees as top justices for President Lee Myung-bak’s approval. They are Koh Young-han, vice minister of the National Court Administration; Kim Byeong-hwa, chief of the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office; Kim Shin, chief of the Ulsan District Court; and Kim Chang-suk, president of Supreme Court Library of Korea. Yang picked them among the 13 recommended by the Supreme Court’s nomination committee last week.They are expected