The Korea Herald

Universities slash tuition fees by average 4.5%

Feb 29, 2012

Korean universities lowered their annual tuition fees by 4.5 percent on average, caving in to pressure to ease the financial burden for students and their parents. The average tuition fees at 186 four-year universities this year amount to about 6.7 million won ($6,000), down 4.48 percent from last year, according to a data compiled by the Education Ministry and released on Wednesday. It is the first time that universities have cut tuition fees since Korea was founded in 1948.Students have repeat
Korea to forge ahead with Jeju naval base

Feb 29, 2012

Some design alterations to be made to enable safer passage for cruise shipsThe government will go ahead with the construction of the Jeju naval base according to schedule but with small changes to its layout and operations, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Wednesday.“The harbor (the Jeju naval base) is an important project that will contribute to protecting our seas, and creating jobs and increasing the local residents’ income by creating a new resource for tourism,” Prime Minister Kim Hwa
Kang donates PyeongChang land; chaebol keep theirs

Feb 29, 2012

Former TV celebrity Kang Ho-dong has decided to donate 2 billion won ($1.76 million.) in real estate in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, home of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, to charity, local media reported Wednesday. Kang, once a popular show host and former Korean traditional wrestling champion, is currently taking a hiatus from showbiz. He quit his broadcasting activities last year when his purchase of the 5,300 square-meter tract of land near Alpensia Resort in 2009 and 2010 was denounced by
Prosecution set to probe allegations on Lee’s brother

Feb 29, 2012

The prosecution on Wednesday said that it has launched an investigation into allegations that Rep. Lee Sang-deuk of the Saenuri Party, the elder brother of President Lee Myung-bak, received bribes from a mutual savings bank in exchange for favors in bank evaluations. This is the first time the six-term lawmaker has become an official target of an investigation, though it has been rumored he was involved in several more corruption scandals.According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Offi
Kwak draws ire over personnel decisions

Feb 29, 2012

Kwak No-hyun, Seoul’s education superintendent, has drawn fire for a series of personnel decisions that critics say are based on cronyism or retaliation against his opponents. In the latest of his controversial decisions, Kwak on Tuesday had his subordinate overseeing personnel affairs at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education transferred to an English training center in Seoul’s suburbs.The abrupt transfer is widely seen by many SMOE employees as punishment for the leak of information to the
Elder sister sues Samsung chairman over inheritance

Feb 28, 2012

The elder sister of Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun-hee has filed an inheritance suit against her brother, demanding some 190 billion won ($169 million) in shares left by their late father, Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull, a law firm said Tuesday.The move comes two weeks after Lee Kun-hee, 70, was sued on similar grounds by his eldest brother Lee Maeng-hee, who demanded some 710 billion won in shares and cash.The sister, Lee Sook-hee, filed the suit with the Seoul Central District
Prosecutors summon Cho Joong-pyo over CNK stock scandal

Feb 28, 2012

Prosecutors have summoned former Minister for the Prime Minister’s Office Cho Joong-pyo in connection to allegations of stock-rigging at CNK International, on Tuesday. Cho, who was a deputy minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade before serving in the Prime Minister’s Office, has held an advisory role at CNK since April 2009. Cho is suspected of having a hand in composing the exaggerated report that the Cameroon mine, the development rights of which were awarded to CNK, held 420 mi
Korea begins another study on suspected Agent Orange storage

Feb 28, 2012

A basic environmental study to determine the level of pollution in areas surrounding the U.S. military base in Bupyeong, Incheon was launched on Tuesday.The study, conducted by a team consisting of experts and government and non-governmental organization officials, aims to determine whether areas around Camp Market are polluted. Along with Camp Carroll in Daegu, Camp Market has been pointed to as having been a storage facility for Agent Orange by U.S. Army veterans. The team collected 721 soil s
Nurseries to revoke strike

Feb 28, 2012

Private day care centers nationwide have decided to withdraw their strike Tuesday and promised to normalize operations from Wednesday. The Korea Edu-Care Association, a group of private day care centers in the country, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare said they have decided to prioritize the welfare of the children. According to the ministry, the KEA leadership met with Sohn Gunn-yik, vice welfare minister, Tuesday morning and held marathon negotiations. The nurseries decided to call off t
Tourists caught crossing from Jeju without visas

Feb 28, 2012

Korean Coast Guard officials are investigating several Chinese tourists on suspicions of attempting to illegally enter mainland Korea without a visa on Monday, said officials.According to the Jeju Coast Guard, six Chinese tourists entered Jeju Island and attempted to cross over to the mainland without visas.As the nation’s free international city, Jeju started offering visa-free entry in 2005 and has since become a popular destination among Chinese tourists because of its close proximity.Coast g
Probe on Roh’s daughter reopened

Feb 28, 2012

Nearly three years after former President Roh Moo-hyun killed himself during an investigation into a bribery scandal, the prosecution has reopened the case. They are looking into whether his daughter used his alleged bribes to buy an apartment in the United States. However, opposition parties have protested the investigation, calling it politically motivated. They noted that the probe was reinitiated just weeks before the April 12 general elections to hurt the reputation of Roh’s aides expecting
SNU Hospital opens New York office

Feb 28, 2012

The Seoul National University Hospital on Monday (local time) opened an office in New York to forge ties between the medical staff of the two countries and draw patients to visit the Seoul-based hospital. According to the hospital, the office is located on 420 Lexington Ave. Suite 2360 of Manhattan, inside the Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s local branch. The hospital said the New York office is expected to forge academic and clinical ties among hospitals in the two countries. It
Jeju government decries military base simulation

Feb 28, 2012

The process of building a naval base on Jeju Island ran into yet more opposition on Monday with the island’s government disputing the results of a Ministry of National Defense-sponsored simulation.On Monday, the Jeju government submitted a remonstrance to the Prime Minister’s Office saying that the Defense Ministry’s simulations did not reflect the recommendations outlined in the technical verification committee’s report.The committee was organized on Jan. 26 to verify technical aspects in the n
Couple booked for stealing trade secrets for UN bids

Feb 28, 2012

A couple has been booked without detention by police here for stealing trade secrets from a Korean company and gaining advantages in contract bids with the United Nations, officials said Tuesday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, a Chinese woman and her Korean husband had spent the last four years stealing industrial and trade secrets from a tent manufacturing company here.The victimized manufacturing company had been the first Korean company to secure contracts for U.N. Peacecke
Seoul donates half of entry fees from distance run

Feb 28, 2012

By Lee Wung Seoul Metropolitan Government said they will donate half of the entry fees of last year’s running event “We Run Seoul 10K,” co-organized by the sports brand Nike and the city government.“We are donating 23 million won ($204,000), half of the total entry fees collected from the 30,000 participants in the distance running event last October, to three charity organizations ― Seoul Welfare Foundation, World Love Sharing Foundation and The Korea Heart Foundation,” said a city official.Par