Hundreds of college students were found to have been admitted illicitly by abusing a special admission system for rural students and overseas Koreans.The Board of Audit and Inspection released the results of a probe into college admission on Wednesday, and said that it found 865 students illicitly enrolled in colleges nationwide under a program for rural students and overseas Koreans. “We discovered illegal admission practices for seven students under the overseas Koreans program. Their parents

The state watchdog on Thursday reportedly demanded the Foreign Ministry slap a “heavy penalty” on Kim Eun-seok, the ministry’s ambassador for energy and resources, who is suspected of involvement in pumping up the stock prices of CNK International in 2010.The Board of Audit and Inspection’s council

Six out of 10 workers with a college diploma quit their first job within four years, according to a study released Thursday. The report by state-run Korea Employment Information Service analyzed the employment status of about 440,000 people who graduated from universities or two-year colleges in 2007, through a sample survey of some 18,000. Some 40.5 percent of them were still at their first job in 2010, three years after graduation, while 46.3 percent had found a new job. Some 13.2 percent were

Seoul Global Center said Thursday it would offer expatriates more counseling services in more neighborhoods.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Onsite Counseling will be expanded to include more sites, professionals and areas of counseling for those who cannot visit the current centers.The service that began in 2009 offers counseling in daily issues for foreigners living in highly foreign-populated areas such as Itaewon and Daerim Village.Its services will be expanded to include help

Seoul City voiced concerns over South Korea’s free trade agreement with the U.S., saying it possibly clashes with several local laws, capital officials said Thursday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, after analyzing 7,138 city and district regulations they found 30 that may disagree with the Korea-U.S. FTA.The capital recommended that the central government create countermeasures for eight of the regulations that have a possibility of clashing with the FTA. The regulations affect

Plans to tighten on-the-spot checks especially at metal and food companiesThe Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to strengthen the monitoring of working conditions in industries known for excessive overtime and weekend work, as part of its drive to shorten labor hours, officials said Thursday. Starting from next month, local labor authorities will conduct on-the-spot checks on up to 35,000 workplaces around the country. The inspections, though an annual event, will have a clear focus on work

The state watchdog on Thursday reportedly demanded the Foreign Ministry slap a “heavy penalty” on Kim Eun-seok, the ministry’s ambassador for energy and resources, who is suspected of involvement in pumping up the stock prices of CNK International in 2010.The Board of Audit and Inspection’s council of commissioners held a meeting earlier in the morning and decided to demand punishments for eight officials including Kim, a local media outlet said, prior to the watchdog’s announcement of investiga

President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday South Korea should continue to pursue “green growth,” a policy that seeks economic growth through environment-friendly technologies and industries, stressing that the era of fossil fuels is drawing to an end.“Green growth is a task that not only South Korea, but the entire world is faced with. It is a task that will last more than fifty and even a hundred years,” Lee said during an annual policy briefing by the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, accordi

Education ministry seeks suit to prevent implementationThe Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and the Education Ministry clashed over the controversial ordinance on students’ human rights on Thursday as the ministry sought legal action to prevent its implementation.As soon as Seoul Metropolitan Government proclaimed the ordinance in the name of the SMOE chief on Thursday morning, the education ministry filed a suit to the Supreme Court. “It’s a historical event that the city council passed t

Six out of 10 workers with a college diploma quit their first job within four years, according to a study released Thursday. The report by state-run Korea Employment Information Service analyzed the employment status of about 440,000 who graduated from universities or two-year colleges in 2007, thro

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday proclaimed an ordinance to protect the human rights of students, which have been at the center of public controversy.With an aim to expand students' rights at school, the student human rights ordinance bans corporal punishment by teachers as well as disc

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday proclaimed an ordinance to protect the human rights of students, which have been at the center of public controversy.With an aim to expand students' rights while at school, the student human rights ordinance bans corporal punishment by teachers as well a

South Korea plans to start inspecting 35,000 local workplaces next month as the country is gearing up to reduce its conventionally long workweek here, the labor ministry said Thursday.South Korean workers have the longest workweek among the 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooper

President Lee Myung-bak is being criticized for his grandchildren’s expensive outfits.Online bulletins are abuzz over a set of photographs showing his granddaughter wearing a high-end winter jacket in a family outing during the Lunar New Year’s Day holiday. The pictures, uploaded to show Lee’s caring, family-centered side, prompted an outcry over the luxurious clothes worn by his family, a stark contrast to his pledge to empathize with ordinary people’s economic hardship.In the photos released b