The Korea Herald

‘Neonatal death rate halves in 20 years’

Sept 1, 2011

Korea’s neonatal death rate has halved in just two decades and is now 16th lowest in the world, marking 2.2 per every 1,000 newborns in 2009.North Korea also saw a slight decrease but still remained among the worst countries, pointing to hygiene and nutrition problems in the country. The World Healt
Tension rises over Jeju naval base

Sept 1, 2011

Local government to remove all installations put up by opponentsTension surrounding the construction of a strategic naval base on Jeju Island is mounting as the government is pressing ahead with the controversial project following a recent court ruling in support of it.Since Gangjeong Village in Seo
Navy Academy unveils bust of late Adm. Sohn Won-il

Sept 1, 2011

The Navy Academy held a ceremony unveiling a bronze bust of Sohn Won-il, Korea’s first chief of naval operations, in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday.Hong Eun-hye, the late admiral’s widow, and several top naval officials including Navy Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Won Tae-ho atten
Doubts over direct election of education chiefs

Aug 31, 2011

Some fear backpedaling on education autonomy, others see elections wasting taxpayers’ moneyThe election corruption scandal involving Kwak No-hyun, Seoul’s education superintendent, has many Koreans questioning whether a direct popular vote is the best way to select education chiefs. The city’s first
Ministers renew call for activists to drop protests over naval base

Aug 31, 2011

The two ministers of defense and land, transport and maritime affairs on Tuesday renewed calls for civic groups to halt opposition to a strategic naval base being constructed on Jeju Island. They made a joint statement two days after a Jeju court accepted the petition the government and the Navy fil
SOS Public Relief Service expanded nationwide

Aug 31, 2011

The government will start expanding a crime prevention system nationwide this September as its pilot program has proved effective in safeguarding vulnerable people such as women and children, officials said Tuesday.The Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the National Police Agency hav
Senior prosecutor resigns over adultery

Aug 31, 2011

A senior prosecutor in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, offered to resign Wednesday after his affair with a housewife was revealed, the Yonhap news agency reported.(Yonhap News)The two were found together by the woman’s husband at a restaurant at 5 a.m. the previous day.The prosecutor reportedly
Woman arrested for pretending to be pregnant

Aug 31, 2011

A 30-year-old woman was booked without detention on Wednesday after she pretended to be pregnant to steal household goods, the police said.The woman surnamed Lee left a mall in Daegu without paying for 900,000 won ($880) worth of household items. When a security guard stopped her, Lee said that she
Court says Seoul‘s inaction over former ‘comfort women’ unconstitutional

Aug 30, 2011

A top South Korean court said Tuesday that it is unconstitutional for the government to make no tangible effort to settle disputes with Japan over its refusal to compensate Korean women mobilized as sex slaves during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.The Constitutional Court ruled in
Prosecutors to summon Kwak’s wife, confidants

Aug 30, 2011

The prosecution will summon the wife of Seoul’s education chief for questioning Wednesday, on allegations that her husband bought a rival candidate out of race in last year’s election, officials said Tuesday.It will also subpoena two confidants of Kwak No-hyun, superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan O
Prosecutors set to summon Kwak

Aug 30, 2011

Seoul education chief uspected of bribing former election rivalSeoul’s education chief Kwak No-hyun may face subpoena as early as Wednesday in an intensifying probe into allegations that he bought a rival candidate out of race during last year’s election, sources at the prosecution said Tuesday. The
Samsung, SNU top patient survey on health checkups

Aug 30, 2011

Samsung Medical Center and Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center in southern Seoul were selected as the best hospitals for medical checkups in a Korea Consumer Agency survey. The agency said Tuesday that in a poll of 450 consumers, both Samsung and SNU hospitals scored
Standoff escalates over Jeju naval base

Aug 30, 2011

Court accepts government petition to prohibit obstruction of constructionCalls are mounting for a referendum on the ongoing construction of a Jeju Island naval base just one week after Seoul City’s failed vote on free school meals, which saw the mayor’s resignation,Ever since the Defense Ministry na
Children start learning English by age 4: report

Aug 30, 2011

Children in and around Seoul start learning to speak English at an average age of 3.7 years, the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education said. Its latest survey of 1,200 elementary school first- and second-graders in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, found that 92.7 percent received their first-ever
Judiciary pendulum set for conservative swing

Aug 30, 2011

The Aug. 18 announcement of the nominee for new Supreme Court chief justice came as a surprise to most reporters and judiciary members, who had been closely watching the selection process for the past weeks.Former Justice Yang Sung-tae was not considered to be on the shortlist, as he went on a trip