Four out of five foreign teenagers who come to Korea to live with their foreign mothers or fathers when they remarry Korean spouses are not attending school, according to research by a think tank on Friday. There are a total of 875 foreign teenagers living in Seoul, but their school attendance rate is only 21.7 percent, the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family said in a report. The number of foreigners under the age of 21 registered with the immigration office is 5,726, and 34 percent of them ar

Prosecutors on Thursday arrested a former secretary of National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae for involvement in a cyber attack against the National Election Commission website on Oct. 26.The former secretary, identified by his family name Kim, is suspected of having masterminded the attack with Gong, a former aide of ruling Grand National Party lawmaker Choi Gu-sik. According to investigators, Kim had dinner with a low-ranking Chong Wa Dae official and former aide of another GNP lawmaker, Chung

A new year brings a sense of hope and a hint of worry, and the same goes for Koreans and expatriates facing 2012. For most, the topic of family comes up when thinking about their hopes and worries about the future, whether it be starting a new one, or adding to the old.For Jang Sou-ie, a recent graduate student, starting her own family next year is a hope she wants to realize.“Every year my New Year’s resolution is to get married,” said 28-year-old Jang.“I don’t have to get married next year, as

Many couples-to-be and mothers-to-be believe 2012 will be lucky  Planning to wed sometime next winter, 27-year-old Jeon Hye-seong said that she would choose December 2012 rather than wait until 2013. “I heard that 2012 is supposed to be lucky, being the black dragon year. Given that I get to ch

ULSAN, Dec. 30 (Yonhap) -- An explosion occurred at a shipyard in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan on Friday, killing four workers, police said.The explosion is believed to have been set off by an oxygen cutting machine and took place at a small-size shipmaker, Sejin Heavy Industries, based

A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for SK Group’s vice chairman on Thursday on charges of embezzling a massive amount of group funds, possibly in collusion with his elder brother. The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant to arrest Chey Jae-won, 48, on charges of misappropriating about 100 billion won ($87 million) from SK affiliates to make up for futures investment losses incurred by his elder brother and group chairman Chey Tae-won.Eighteen affiliates of SK Group, whose key busi

Prosecutors said Wednesday they have summoned ruling Grand National Party (GNP) lawmaker Choi Gu-sik as part of their ongoing probe over the controversial hacking of the country‘s election watchdog in October.The two-hour attack paralyzed the web sites of the National Election Commission and Park Won-soon, a leading Seoul mayoral candidate, during the Oct. 26 by-election for the mayoralty and other governmental posts. Park was elected mayor despite the attacks.Choi, a two-term GNP lawmaker, was

The capital will offer recommended immunizations for free from next year, city officials said Thursday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city will cover the 5,000 won ($4) co-payment for citizens receiving vaccinations in 2012. The government covers 10,000 won of the cost of immunization, but the capital decided to help cover the entire cost to help those struggling with the cost of childrearing here.The capital is also planning to set up agreements with local governments surro

The government decided to increase next year’s quota for foreign workers by 19 percent, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Thursday. According to the plan, approved by the Cabinet, the Ministry will give work permits to 57,000 foreigners in 2012, up from 48,000 in 2011. The quota is only for those applying for E-9 visas. The increase comes as nearly 67,000 migrant workers under the employment permit system are expected to leave the country next year due to expiration of their visa. That n

Trace amounts of chemicals in Camp Carroll do not indicate defoliant’s presenceA joint Korea-U.S. investigation team found no definitive evidence that a toxic defoliant was buried at one of the U.S. military camps in Korea, officials said Thursday.According to the official results of the investigation, the team has “found no definitive evidence that confirms the burial of Agent Orange at Camp Carroll at any time in the past.The investigation took place to verify a claim by U.S. veteran Steve Hou

One out of three Koreans are likely to be diagnosed with cancer once in their lifetime mainly due to changes in diet and increased longevity the National Cancer Center said Thursday. According to its annual report on cancer, 192,561 people were newly registered as cancer patients in 2009, up about 90.6 percent from 101,032 in 1999. The growth of cancer prevalence was greater among women, marking annual growth rate of 5.5 percent, much higher than 1.6 percent for males. The total number of people

The Education Ministry on Thursday listed 36 universities to face sanctions for poor management of international students. The move aims to clamp down on increases in foreign student enrollment for financial benefit and lax management, which has led to more illegal immigrant students here. The ministry conducted a four-month inquiry into 347 schools ― 201 four-year universities and 146 vocational colleges ― to assess how well they manage foreign students. Of the 36 schools, 17 will face restrict