The Korea Herald

Smokers at Seoul squares to be fined 100,000 won

May 24, 2011

Smokers will be slapped with a 100,000 won ($91) fine if caught smoking at major squares in central Seoul starting next month.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it has designated Gwanghwamun, Cheonggye and Seoul Squares as no-smoking areas.The capital will dispatch patrol teams to the squares from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. They will use PDAs to issue tickets on the spot to those caught taking a
Police get new powers to tackle domestic abuse

May 24, 2011

The government has strengthened measures against domestic violence, enabling police to take stronger emergency action to protect victims.The steps are designed to address the high rate of domestic violence here compared to other countries, officials said Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, one out of every two households experiences some form of domestic abuse, emotion
Expats promote tourist jewels of Gangnam

May 24, 2011

District’s foreign publicity ambassadors share Seoul experiences through SNSFor Chinese student Yu Wenbo, who has been studying journalism in Korea for more than five years, Gangnam, in southeastern Seoul, is an area with many wonders yet to find.“I often hang out with my friends at COEX, which has a huge underground shopping center, a movie theater and restaurants. But I had never known the World
Lee, volunteers celebrate accomplishments

May 23, 2011

President lauds World Friends Korea, stresses aid to developing countriesKorean volunteers celebrated the accomplishments they have made abroad in the brand of World Friends Korea on Monday.In a ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae, they also vowed to widen their assistance and aid to developing countries. “Already nearly 4,500 Koreans are volunteering in lots of countries, wearing the logos of World Friends
Agent Orange probe progresses

May 23, 2011

Whistleblower says he felt barrels explode while tamping groundThe Korea-U.S. joint investigations into the alleged burial of deadly herbicides three decades ago at a U.S. military base in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province yielded some results, according to the U.S. military on Monday.According to John Johnson, commanding general of the Eighth Army, who overseas Camp Carroll, the United States Fo
English-speaking assistant teachers in lower grades

May 23, 2011

More than half of native English-speaking assistant teachers are in the three lowest grades of a nine-grade system determined by qualifications upon employment, according to the capital’s education office on Monday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, of the 1,215 assistant teachers, some 36 percent are given the second-lowest grade of G, which states that the teacher has at le
College tuition fees soar 30% in five years

May 23, 2011

Seoul considers paying interest on student loans for low-income familiesThe nation’s university fees saw a nearly 30 percent increase over the past five years, according to reports from central bank and the government Monday.The figure came a day after the ruling Grand National Party resumed the discussion on a “half-tuition” policy. According to the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea on Monday, t
MBC Sports Plus announcer jumps off apartment: report

May 23, 2011

MBC Sports Plus announcer Song Ji-seonSong Ji-seon, an MBC Sports Plus announcer, has jumped from the 19th floor of her apartment building in southern Seoul Monday afternoon, a few weeks after stirring controversy over a suicide note on her Twitter, news reports said.Local media outlet News En said on Monday she was pronounced dead by 119 rescue staff at the scene, after jumping from her apartment
Fire hits building in downtown Seoul

May 23, 2011

(Yonhap News)A fire broke out at a building next to major fashion mall Migliore in downtown Seoul Monday afternoon.People were rushing to the rooftop of the building in Myeongdong, Seoul’s main shopping street.Smoke was seen rising from the building.
U.S. fee waiver scholarship introduced for students

May 22, 2011

Seoul-area Korean students can take advantage of a scholarship which would allow them to study at a U.S. university at in-state prices. John Fox, director of the International Students Program at Georgia Southwestern State University, introduced its tuition waiver scholarship program for international students during a presentation Saturday. John FoxThrough the program, students who meet the qual
Environmental assessments for businesses lax

May 22, 2011

The government put on hold less than one percent of development projects after undergoing environmental impact assessments, according to Seoul’s Environment Ministry Sunday.The data highlights the strain between faster development and environmental consciousness. According to the ministry, environmental impact assessments prior to development have put a brake on less than five percent of projects
Missing woman found dead, police arrest husband

May 22, 2011

A 50-year-old housewife missing for 50 days was found dead in a hiking sack in Busan on Saturday, police said. Police arrested her husband in connection with her death. The woman went missing after leaving her home in the port city on May 2. Her body was discovered in the 1-meter-long bag thrown away on an islet on the Nakdong River that runs across the city. Environmental activists and students f
Cardinal may retire as archbishop of Seoul: report

May 20, 2011

Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk may resign as archbishop of Seoul by the end of the year, a local news report said Friday.The Vatican is looking to accept Cheong’s resignation before the end of the year, or at least by early next year, the report said citing an unnamed high-ranking official of the Korean Catholic Church.Cheong, who was appointed as the archbishop of Seoul in 1998, tendered his re
Defoliant probe team sent to U.S. base area

May 20, 2011

Ministry may seek joint on-the-spot inspection with U.S. militarySouth Korea’s Environment Ministry dispatched Friday an investigation team to an area around a U.S. military base in Korea where barrels of Agent Orange were allegedly buried about 30 years ago.A U.S. cable TV network reported on May 13, citing three former American soldiers who served in the U.S. Forces Korea, that they had buried t
Gov't launches investigation into alleged Agent Orange burial

May 20, 2011

SEOUL, (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Environment Ministry has launched an investigation into the area where the U.S. military allegedly buried leftover Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used during the Vietnam War, ministry officials said Friday.The ministry said it has sent a group of its officials and environment experts from the ministry's research institutions to Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southe