The Korea Herald

Father’s fight to save his family

Jun 23, 2011

Mom, two daughters stricken by mysterious lung diseaseAt 0:30 on Sunday morning, Jin-ju finally stopped breathing.It was the 93rd day since the 15-month-old baby girl had been hospitalized with flu-like symptoms, which turned out to be an unidentified acute lung disease that has claimed the lives of four patients since May. “I went to Busan (where she was hospitalized) upon hearing the news, had h
Baby found dead in subway locker

Jun 23, 2011

A single mom, who discarded her newborn baby in a subway locker, is under police investigation, Yonhap News has reported. The woman, surnamed Kim, 20, said that four days after she gave birth alone in a motel room, she found her son suffocated to death, face down in a blanket. She apparently then put the dead body in her carrier filled with her clothes, before placing it in the subway locker of Sh
Seoul launches annual global student forum

Jun 22, 2011

The fourth Seoul International Student Forum will kick off on Friday, with 84 members from 32 different countries attending, the Seoul Global Center, a city-run support center for foreign residents, said Wednesday. The program, launched in 2008, is aimed at reflecting the ideas and proposals of international students studying in Seoul to better serve foreign residents and visitors here. After hold
Heavy rain expected throughout this week

Jun 22, 2011

The rainy season officially started Wednesday, with up to 150 milliliters of rainfall expected to hit the central part of the peninsula through Thursday. The state weather agency forecast that the country would be under the rainy spell until the end of July, with up to 20 percent more precipitation than previous years. Over the weekend, typhoon Meari, which is heading north from the Philippines, i
Critics say public officials’ conduct code is unrealistic

Jun 22, 2011

Attention is being drawn to the code of conduct for civil servants as a recent string of corruption cases involving public officials has upset the public, seriously tarnishimg the government’s vision of a “fair society.”Critics argue that while the intention of the code that prohibits officials from receiving expensive meals and other pricy entertainment services from people they meet on official
Seoul to probe forced colonial laborers’ deaths

Jun 22, 2011

Some 30,000 Koreans believed to have been drafted for construction work in SakhalinThe Korean government will launch its first official investigation into the deaths of Koreans forced to labor under the Japanese colonial rule in Sakhalin, an island in Russia’s Far East, a Seoul fact-finding panel said Wednesday. The investigation will be carried out in July and August at a public graveyard in Yuzh
Girl group member stabbed to death

Jun 22, 2011

Lee Eun-mi, member of the girl group "Iris"A member of the K-pop group Iris was stabbed to death by her boyfriend on Sunday. Lee Eun-mi, 24, was stabbed multiple times by her boyfriend, surnamed Cho, who got angry after she broke up with him. She was attacked on a street at around 2 a.m. as she was going home.The police arrested Cho at a highway service station the next day. Cho later confessed to
British children in danger of sexual exploitation

Jun 22, 2011

Children in Britain are unprotected from sex crimes due to lack of governmental inspection, the Daily Mail reported. The research conducted by Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center said that 2,083 young victims of sexual grooming had been identified since 2008, and that the number was likely the tip of the iceberg. The report said among the victims, 842 were runaway girls.The report arou
Electrical glitch shuts down nuclear reactor

Jun 21, 2011

A nuclear reactor in southeastern South Korea went offline on Tuesday because of a glitch in a power transmission line, which came in contact with a sheet of vinyl used for greenhouses, a state-run power company said. Electricity in the line, one of three high-voltage power lines connected to the reactor, was cut off suddenly when a 5-meter-wide vinyl sheet carried by wind touched the line, acc
More celebrities get into social activism

Jun 21, 2011

Entertainers may voice opinions on social issues, but some lack focusKorean entertainers who voice their opinions on political and social issues have been making headlines in recent weeks. The controversy ― whether entertainers should take advantage of their fame to draw fans to join their causes ― was sparked anew after singer Kim Heung-guk was forced to quit as a DJ. He was pushed out of his MBC
Quality of university education questioned

Jun 21, 2011

This is the second installment of a three-part series looking into problems in Korea’s tertiary education. ― Ed. Lee, a 30-year-old computer engineering graduate, has been jobless since he graduated from a university in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, more than a year ago. There seemed to be a lot of job openings in the information technology industry, but for some reason, he did not feel he was qualif
Japanese subtitle service offered for Korean movies

Jun 21, 2011

Seoul City has started showing Korean movies with foreign language subtitles, including Japanese for the first time, officials said Tuesday. In cooperation with CGV Theater, one of the country’s largest cinema chains, the city has offered the foreign language service at five theaters since 2009.This month the Japanese language subtitle service began first at a CGV branch in Myeong-dong, a popular
More local governments suffer from bad finances

Jun 21, 2011

The financial health of provincial governments is getting worse due to stagnant local tax revenues and increasing welfare demand, the home affairs ministry said Tuesday.The average ratio for measuring their financial independence from the state was 51.9 percent as of this year, 5.3 percentage points lower than seven years ago, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said in a statement.
Seoul mayor keeps mum over political future

Jun 21, 2011

Oh and city council clash over school meals during first meeting in six monthsCity council members Tuesday fired questions at Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who appeared at the council’s plenary meeting after a six-month hiatus. The political path of Oh, who is considered a potential presidential candidate for the Grand National Party, in particular drew keen interest. “Your political future can affect y
[Herald Interview] OECD helps green growth, aid programs

Jun 21, 2011

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which provides advice and guidance to donor countries on aid programs to developing nations, is Korea’s key partner in formulating green growth strategies as well.The OECD’s Development Cooperation Directorate tracks aid performance of the OECD member nations, the volume and effectiveness of their aid programs, undertakes peer reviews, or