A new labor umbrella group submitted documents to register with the Labor Ministry on Wednesday, officials at the ministry and the labor group said. “The ministry will review its constitution and other papers for any violation of labor rules. The new group will be given the green light within three days, if no problems are found,” a ministry official said.The Korea Trade Unions Confederation was launched in a ceremony in Daejeon on Tuesday, becoming the nation’s third umbrella group to represent

Prosecution wraps up probe into Busan savings bank scandal, indicting 76 Prosecutors have indicted Kim Jong-chang, a former top financial regulator, for the breach of an ethics law, wrapping up its probe into a failed savings bank in Busan. “A total of 76 have been indicted in connection with our investigation into Busan Mutual Savings Bank, whose financial corruption amounts to 9 trillion won,” Choi Jae-kyung, an official at the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office told a press briefing. Of them,

The government will provide free respite care service to the aged and ailing veterans and patriots under a bill that the Cabinet approved Tuesday to improve the welfare of those people, officials said.Under the program, caregivers will visit homes of veterans and patriots who are aged 65 or older, living alone or suffering from senile diseases to help them eat meals and do house chores and other daily activities, they said.The bill, which now awaits approval from the parliament, also allows regi

A civic group on Tuesday alleged that 18 people have died from a mysterious f pulmonary disease caused by a humidifier sterilizer, a death toll far higher than the government estimated.The activists disclosed 50 additional reports and urged the administration to ban the sales of the sterilizers. According to the Asian Citizens’ Center for Environment and Health, a total of 18 people, one of whom was pregnant, likely to have died of the pulmonary infection caused by the sterilizers. “The governme

A cow at a farm in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, was confirmed negative for foot-and-mouth-disease, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday.Authorities lifted the precautionary measures around the area including a ban on the movement of cows, vehicles and people.The Pohang municipal government received a report on Monday about one of the 14 cows raised in a farm in Shingwangmyeon behaving strangely. FMD swept the nation earlier this year with tens of thousand

Multiple Korean cities were internationally recognized for their management of the local environment at the closing ceremony of the International Awards for Livable Communities held in Seoul on Monday. Tongyeong City, South Gyeongsang Province, received first prize as the most “livable” city with a population of 75,001-150,000, in recognition of its efforts in developing a sustainable island resort for tourists, among other projects.Namwon City, North Jeolla Province, took third place for its hi

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- Public elementary schools in Seoul offered free meals to all students on Tuesday under an expanded meal program, the first policy change by the new mayor who took office after his predecessor resigned over the failed attempt to downsize the plan.The opposition-led city coun

BUSAN, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean professor was sentenced to 30 years behind bars on Tuesday for killing his estranged wife and abandoning the corpse in collusion with his secret lover, a regional court said. The Busan District Court delivered the jail term to the 53-year-old man surnamed Kan

An increasing number of South Korean youth suffer from depression and sleep disorders due to stress, with many of them going untreated, data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the National Health Insurance Corp. (NHIC), 23,806 adolescents aged 10 to 19 nationwide received treatment for

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook was acquitted Monday of charges that she took illegal political funds from a builder in 2007. This is the second time the ex-premier has been found not guilty of accusations by prosecutors. Last April the Seoul Central District Court cleared her of charges that she had received $50,000 from Kwak Young-wook, former chief executive officer of Korea Express, in December 2006 in exchange for helping him obtain the top post at a state-run corporation.This time, H

Private personal information is readily available online a month after a revision of the personal information protection law took effect, leaving much of the population here at risk.According to Internet security experts on Monday, private information including resident registration numbers of Grand National Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who ran for Seoul mayor, civil servants and people with disabilities can be found online.Na’s resident registration number, for instance, was first discovered on