Most pupils stay home as schools lack activities, extra-curricular programsMost schools nationwide started a five-day school week the first week of March in line with the 40-hour work week measure that was expanded in July. More than 99 percent of elementary and secondary schools will no longer have classes on Saturdays, according to the Education Ministry.Some schools have replaced classes on every other Saturday with arts and sports activities and field trips, but other schools have not introd

Prosecutors investigating allegations of match fixing in baseball said Saturday that a second active professional baseball pitcher partially admitted, during questioning, his involvement in match fixing.Park Hyun-jun, a right-hander for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), was grilled by prosecutors in Daegu, a metropolitan city some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for eight hours on Friday. The 25-year-old player is under suspicion of accepting bribes in return for trying t

Lotte Tour chief executive Kim Ki-byung has been indicted without detention on charges of tax evasion.According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Kim is suspected of having evaded 47.6 billion won in gift taxes when transferring ownership of 1.85 million Lotte Tour shares to his two sons. Lotte Tour is independent of Lotte Group, but Kim is married to the younger sister of Lotte Group chairman Shin Kyuk-ho and Dongwha Duty Free CEO Shin Jung-hee.Kim’s sons ― Kim Han-sung and Kim

Busan District Prosecutors’ Office said Sunday it arrested and charged a pharmacist on suspicion of making diet food with obesity medicines and selling it online.Korea does not allow obesity medicines to be used in food manufacturing.The 66-year-old suspect, only identified by his surname Park, allegedly mixed powdered persimmon leaves with sibutramine (reductil). He sold 2,362 boxes of the illegal product via cosmetic shops and online stores, according to prosecutors.Sibutramine is known to hav

Thirteen people were wounded when gunfire erupted during a rap music concert at a nightclub in Tempe in the US state of Arizona, police said early Saturday."At this point, Tempe police officers and detectives have identified 13 shooting victims from the incident," Tempe Police Department spokesman S

A bioartificial liver device develop here that could take over liver function during a transplant is heading toward clinical trial, Samsung Seoul Hospital said Friday. Dr. Lee Suk-koo and Dr. Kwon Choon-hyuck of the hospital’s transplant division in the surgery department said they are looking for people who will participate in the clinical trial testing the safety and effectiveness of their extracorporeal device, which allows the liver to regenerate properly upon acute liver failure or bridge t

A prosecutor who claimed she was pressured by a judge to indict a netizen that slandered the judge’s wife resigned Friday amid a dispute over the veracity of her claim.  While the prosecution is not commenting on the reason for the resignation, opposition parties have criticized the investigati

A prosecutor who claimed she was pressured by a judge to indict a netizen that slandered the judge’s wife, resigned Friday amid a dispute over the veracity of her claim. While the prosecution is not commenting on the reason for the resignation, opposition parties have criticized the investigative body and called for a thorough probe into the scandal. Prosecutor Park Eun-jeong of Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office Bucheon Division announced her decision to resign on the organization’s intranet

A second active professional baseball pitcher is to face questioning Friday over fixing allegations, officials here said. Park Hyun-jun, a right-hander for the LG Twins in the Korea Baseball Organization, appeared before prosecutors in Daegu, a metropolitan city some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Park is under suspicion of accepting bribes in return for trying to fix baseball games last season.His teammate, pitcher Kim Seong-hyun, was put under arrest Thursday for his alleged connection in

A major stakeholder of the Yonhap news agency, the country’s largest news wire service, on Thursday nominated Park Jung-chan, the incumbent president of the company, as the next president despite fierce opposition from the labor union. Unionists threatened to do “whatever it takes” to reverse the nomination. If the agency union goes on strike, nearly all news outlets in the country may have serious trouble gathering news.The Korea News Agency Commission, the largest shareholder in Yonhap, said P

A judge allegedly asked for probe over slander of his politician wifePolice are considering whether to question a prosecutor over allegations that she had been asked by a judge to indict a citizen who slandered his wife, a ruling party politician.If the judge is found to have peddled his influence, which is a serious offense, he may be stripped of his position. According to media reports, police may question prosecutor Park Eun-jeong of Incheon Prosecutors’ Office’s Bucheon division over an alle

Judge allegedly asked for probe over slander of politician wifePolice are considering whether to question a prosecutor over allegations that she had been asked by a judge to indict a citizen who slandered his wife, who was a ruling party lawmaker.If the judge is found to have peddled his influence,