The Korea Herald

Ex-police chief gets six years for taking bribes

Aug 10, 2011

Former National Police Agency commissioner general Kang Hee-rak, was on Wednesday sentenced to six years in prison for taking bribes from Yu Sang-bong, a construction site canteen operator and lobbyist.According to the Seoul Eastern District Court, he was also given a 170 million won fine and will f
Hanjin’s Cho ‘regrets’ strife, keeps layoff plan

Aug 10, 2011

Critics denounce news conference as stunt to evade grilling at parliamentReeling from a long strike and protest over layoffs causing social and political upheaval here, chairman of Hanjin Heavy Industry & Construction Cho Nam-ho vowed Wednesday to take full responsibility for the aftermath of the st
Securities firm employee kills himself after stock loss

Aug 10, 2011

A South Korean securities company employee jumped from an apartment building to his death in a southern city on Wednesday in an apparent suicide after a recent stock market rout triggered by the grim U.S. economic outlook, police said.The 48-year-old man surnamed Seo was found lying dead in front of
Students gather in Songdo for model U.N. conference

Aug 9, 2011

Undergraduate and graduate students from 61 countries will take part in an annual model conference hosted by the United Nations at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, starting Wednesday through Sunday.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to give a keynote speech on Thursday, after which he will
Officials under fire for lack of disaster readiness

Aug 9, 2011

The local and central governments have come under fire for the nation’s lack of disaster readiness made apparent by the floods that ravaged the country this July.Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has also drawn criticism for his decision to continue with the already highly controversial plebiscite vote on free
Kim of Ewha Medical Center wins Hippocrates Award 2011

Aug 9, 2011

Kim Young-hoo, director of Ewha Womans University Medical Center’s Joint Replacement Center, was named the winner of the Hippocrates Award 2011 by the American Biographical Institute, the hospital said Tuesday. ABI is one of the top three biographical dictionaries. The two others are International B
Three receive Proud Korean Award

Aug 9, 2011

Winners honored for making contribution to Korean-American communityFormer National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-seop, Philip Kim, a professor of physics at Columbia University and Colonel Daniel Yoo of U.S. Marine Corps received the Proud Korean Award from the Korean American Leadership Foundation in L
Man found hanged in airplane toilet

Aug 9, 2011

A Korean man was found dead in an apparent suicide in an airplane lavatory on an international flight operated by an unidentified domestic air carrier, police said Tuesday.The 43-year-old man, identified only by his surname Yang, an employee of a private company, apparently hanged himself aboard the
Woman arrested for producing fake bills for luxury shopping

Aug 9, 2011

A woman was arrested for allegedly producing fake money in order to repay debts stemming from her lavish purchases of luxury handbags and cosmetics, police said Tuesday.The 27-year-old woman, surnamed Lee, is suspected of printing out 1.7 million won (US$1,560) worth of counterfeit bills and checks
11 percent of college students at risk of gambling addiction

Aug 9, 2011

A Korean study has found that the prevalence of problem gambling in college students is nearly twice as high as that found by an earlier study on the general population.Daegu’s Catholic University conducted a study on 2,026 students nationwide, and found out that 11 percent of them were dependent on
Vietnamese wife booked for attempting to poison mother-in-law

Aug 9, 2011

GWANGJU, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- Police said Tuesday that a Vietnamese woman married to a South Korean man has been booked without detention on charges of attempting to poison her mother-in-law.Last week, the 23-year-old suspect, whose name is withheld, allegedly put poison in food she had prepared for h
KTX train forced to stop

Aug 8, 2011

CHEONAN (Yonhap) -- A home-made high-speed train stopped abruptly on its way from Seoul to a southeastern town Monday due to unspecified technical problems, the train's operator said.A locally-built KTX-Sancheon train was forced to pull over near Cheonan-Asan Station, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, a
Women still stereotyped in TV commercials: report

Aug 8, 2011

While society moves toward the diversification of gender roles, TV commercials’ portrayals of women are still bound by stereotypes, the National Human Rights Commission said Monday. In its report on 2,046 TV commercials aired in 2010, it found that men were flexibly depicted, moving away from fixed
Airfield link probed in military secrets case

Aug 8, 2011

Prosecutors are investigating whether a private airfield owned by a former South Korean air force official is connected with his indictment on charges of leaking military secrets to a U.S. defense conglomerate.According to Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Monday, Kim Sang-tae owns a 40,0
Korean scientists discover stress-resistant plant genes

Aug 8, 2011

Korean scientists have found the genes that enable plants to grow in harsh environments in a discovery that could help to produce plants resistant to natural disasters. Knowing the genes that help plants grow even when affected by saline, cold or arid habitats could offer a way to tackle global food