Lawmaker-elect Kim Hyung-tae appeared for questioning late Thursday over the allegation that he attempted to sexually assault the wife of his late brother, but denied most of the accusations, police said.Kim, who left the ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday over the scandal, requested the investigation be delayed, citing he had incomplete data, the Pohang Southern Police Station said.The former KBS reporter who won in the South Pohang and Ulleung Island constituency had filed a defamation suit aga

Men in the northeast of the country tend to smoke more than those living in the southwest, government research suggested Thursday. A similar pattern was detected with drinking, and generally the health of men living in the northeast was worse than that of those in the southwestern region.According to an annual Ministry of Health and Welfare report on health by region, released Thursday, the male adult smoking rate in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces marked 49.6 percent and 49.3 percent, re

The number of marriages involving couples tying the knot for the first time rose to a nine-year high last year mainly due to favorable demographic factors, a government report showed Thursday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the number of men and women getting married for the first time reached 258,600, or 78.6 percent of all marriages tallied last year. This is the highest percentage since 78.7 percent reached in 2002.“The increase of about 4,000 couples is mainly due to the rise in

The number of people killed in domestic violence rose from 69 in 2010 to 79 last year, a women’s rights group found on Thursday. The number of females killed in domestic violence was much higher than males, as 65 wives were murdered by their husbands last year, with the remainder being husbands killed by their wives, according to statistics by Korea Women’s Hotline. The numbers jumped from 57 homicides by husbands and 12 by wives in 2010.The group estimates there were more domestic homicides as

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that public denunciation of the president by school teachers could be a violation of the National Public Services Law. The ruling which upheld a lower court’s decision is expected to fetter teachers’ political activities. Earlier, the lower court had ruled that a Daejeon school teacher and two colleagues’ public criticism of President Lee Myung-bak and declaration of an emergency situation in Seoul in June, 2009, violated the legal requirement for public offic

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will increase the number of foreign residents invited to local Korean homes because of the rising popularity of its home visit program among foreigners and citizens, officials said Thursday. The city government plans to select 120 foreigners to visit local Korean families on May 13 to experience culture and customs, and enhance their understanding of Korean people by having dinner together and playing traditional games, they said. Last year, about 100 foreign re

Police are interrogating an entertainment firm chief suspected of arranging gang rapes of its aspiring singers or habitually harassing them himself. The investigation is expected to unveil the dirty laundry of showbiz, such as extorting sexual and other favors from young and vulnerable aspiring singers or actors/actresses. According to the police at Gangnam in southern Seoul, the prosecution on Wednesday has requested a local court to issue an arrest warrant for a 38-year-old trot singer who rep

When a 17-year-old girl said to have the mental capacity of a 5-year-old was reported missing four weeks ago in the sprawling South African township of Soweto, police distributed her photo and asked neighborhood residents for help.Then a video emerged of seven men and boys raping the girl. Within a day of media alerting them to the video, police said, they found the girl Wednesday in a house acros

Foreign survey respondents picked Seoul’s mlange of ancient and modern culture as the best thing about the city.In the survey released Wednesday by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, foreigners chose the “cheap but quality” shopping as the second-best thing about the capital. The 1,323 foreign respondents followed that by acknowledging the capital’s extensive subway system.Seoul City’s survey was answered by 601 people from English-speaking countries, 604 Chinese-speakers and 118 Japanese. For t

A local court on Wednesday sentenced two pitchers charged with fixing matches to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and 7 million won ($6,154) each in fine.The Daegu District Court also ordered 120 hours of community service for Park Hyun-jun and Kim Seong-hyun, who played for the Seoul-based LG Twins in the nation’s top professional baseball league.Last month, the Korea Baseball Organization, which runs the league, suspended the two players indefinitely after allegations they took k

Police detained nine teenagers Wednesday for killing a 17-year-old girl and burying the body in a park.Police in Ilsan, on the outskirts of Seoul, said the runaway boys and girls beat the victim with blunt weapons on April 5 for badmouthing them. Two of them, however, felt guilty and later turned themselves in.Police will seek arrest warrants for the five suspects who are believed to have led in c