The Korea Herald

Asbestos risk threatens baseball schedule

Sept 27, 2011

The Environment Ministry plans to request that related organizations suspend the use of five baseball fields used in national league games, where a civic group claimed harmful asbestos was detected, officials said Tuesday.Later in the day, officials from relevant ministries, the Korea Baseball Organ
Disgraced soprano sues SNU for reinstatement

Sept 27, 2011

Former music professor and acclaimed soprano Kim In-hei has sued Seoul National University to get her job back.In filings to Seoul Administrative Court, Kim, who was dismissed from SNU for abusing her students, defended her alleged violence as disciplinary action. She also claimed that the school’s
Weather agency to forecast flu probabilities

Sept 27, 2011

The state’s weather agency will provide the probabilities of catching a cold along with their forecasts, in an effort to help citizens’ maintain their health, said officials on Tuesday.The Korea Meteorological Administration will offer a national flu report on the possibility of catching a cold or t
Koreans spent W2.3tr in Macao, Philippine casinos in 2010: report

Sept 27, 2011

More than 220,000 South Koreans visited casinos in Macao and the Philippines last year and lost a total of 2.3 trillion won (US$ 1.9 billion), a lawmaker said Tuesday, calling for government measures to curb overseas gambling.South Korea strictly regulates gambling within the country for its citizen
New chief Supreme Court justice sworn in

Sept 27, 2011

Yang Sung-tae was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in South Korea on Tuesday, vowing to bolster transparency and openness of the judiciary.The 63-year-old incoming chief justice, who replaced predecessor Lee Yong-hun, said the current level of South Koreans’ trust toward the ju
Weather agency to introduce 'flu infection index'

Sept 27, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- The nation's weahter forecast agency is to start alerting residents to how likely they are to catch a cold as part of its efforts to address growing public concern about health and disease, officials said Tuesday. (Bloomberg)The so-called "flu infection index" will be cal
Prosecutors investigate head of Jeil Savings Bank

Sept 26, 2011

Prosecutors said on Monday they were investigating the head of a suspended savings bank over allegations that executives of the bank offered illegal loans and engaged in other financial irregularities.Prosecutors earlier arrested Lee Yong-jun, president of the Jeil Savings Bank, along with another e
Zenith Travel probed by police for not paying refunds

Sept 26, 2011

A local travel agent that caters to foreigners is under police investigation after failing to refund millions of won in cancelled flights ― and is still operating despite having its business suspended by a local government office.A spokeswoman at Korea Travel Organization’s Tourist Complaint Center
Suicide attempts over Han River every other day

Sept 26, 2011

A suicide attempt happens once every two days off the bridges that overlook the Han River in Seoul, a government report said Monday.According to the report by Seoul Metropolitan Government, over the past five years 892 people have attempted suicide over the Han River.The report, submitted to the Nat
Number of elderly people living alone rises

Sept 26, 2011

Demographic shift demands independence from childrenSouth Korea’s elderly demographic is increasingly living alone. The traditional family model of children supporting parents has broken down and more elderly people are choosing to live on their own rather than depend on their offspring. According t
Women account for three of every four elementary teachers

Sept 26, 2011

More than three out of every four elementary school teachers in South Korea are women, government data showed Monday, indicating potential problems in the education of young students caused by a serious gender imbalance and the lack of presence of male teachers.Among a total of 180,623 teachers at e
Osaka University offers SNU faculty exchanges

Sept 25, 2011

Seoul National University said Sunday that Osaka University had requested mutual exchanges with it.According to Seoul National University, 12 professors from Osaka University’s Graduate School of Science visited SNU’s College of Natural Sciences and discussed plans to develop education and research
Companies fail to provide mandatory child care

Sept 25, 2011

More than a fifth of the nation’s biggest corporations were found to have neglected to provide some form of day care to its employees’ infants as required by law, a government report said Sunday. According to a report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 22 of the top 100 corporations failed to pr
Regional environment forum to start this week

Sept 25, 2011

Hundreds of environmentalists from the Asia-Pacific region will gather in Incheon this week for a four-day meeting to discuss and prepare a roadmap for a larger gathering to be held in Korea next year, organizers said Sunday. Members of the International Union of Conservation of Nature will hold a R
Appeals court upholds spousal rape conviction

Sept 25, 2011

An appellate court here legally recognized spousal rape for the first time, ruling against a husband who was found to have forced himself upon his wife using a weapon, court officials said Sunday.But the Seoul High Court reduced the sentence against the 40-year-old to two years and six months in pri