The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said Friday that its online portal on civil complaints and proposals, “e-People,” had won a United Nations Public Service Award.On June 23, U.N. Public Service Day on June 23, the U.N. honors creative and innovative administrative achievements every year.The commission had entered the “e-People system, knowledge management for people’s voice” in the

A Seoul court has granted refugee status to an Iranian who hoisted a banner reading “Free Iran” in a soccer stadium in 2009, as Iran was engulfed by anti-government demonstrations.The 28-year-old Iranian, whose name was not disclosed for safety reasons, was born to a Muslim family and grew up as a Muslim but decided to convert to Christianity at 16, inspired by his Christian teacher, Yonhap news a

  A South Korean forestry helicopter appears to have crashed on the east coast Thursday, local police said.   The helicopter from the Korea Forest Service (KFS), carrying two people, apparently crashed around 11:32 a.m. near the Sogeum River, about 237 kilometers east of Seoul. Rescue workers have been dispatched to the area for a further search.

U.S. police rescued a disabled six-year-old who was kept in a cage by her parents for months and almost starved to death. The girl, who has Down syndrome, was eating the flaky skin of her forehead when she was found by Virginia police, Mail Online reported. Her parents were also accused of burying another child of their own. They face charges of first degree murder.Brian and Shannon Gore, the pare

Police are investigating a former Olympic judo gold medalist who allegedly assaulted a female massage parlor owner under the influence of alcohol.The man, who is now a Yongin University professor, was booked without detention. The professor visited the massage shop near his school in Yongin, south of Seoul, at 11 p.m. on April 26. He started to take his clothes off. When the owner in her 30s, trie

You Young-koo, head of the Korea Baseball Organization, was arrested on Wednesday for misappropriating funds from his school foundation in 2006. He has offered to resign from the governing post of the Korean professional baseball league, officials said. Officers at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said You had made a payment guarantee for a 150 billion won ($138 m) loan to Myongji Co

Prosecutors requested a local court on Wednesday to issue an arrest warrant for Hong Song-won, head of Gallery Seomi, one of the most prominent art galleries in Korea, for laundering slush funds of business conglomerate Orion Group. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Hong received 4 billion won ($3.7 million) in slush funds from Orion last year and bought several pieces o

Kim Min-joo, an 18-year-old student, feels extremely exhausted at the end of each day, swamped with a slew of things to study. She finds little time or energy to share even small talk with her family and friends.She is one of many final-year high school students undergoing one of the most grueling periods in their lives to survive the fierce competition for entry into universities. In Korea, admis

A taxi driver said to have had fanatical religious beliefs was found dead Sunday on a wooden cross in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, police said.In an apparent emulation of the crucifixion of Jesus, his hands and feet were found nailed to a cross in an abandoned quarry mine. The 58-year-old man surnamed Kim wore something similar to a crown of thorns on his head. He was wearing only underpa

The government’s efforts to facilitate domestic adoption are not paying off as the number of cases has failedto increase strongly. The number of adoptions was 1,462 in 2010, compared to 1,314 in 2009, 1,306 in 2008 and 1,388 in 2007, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.The ministry has offered several perks to adoptive families including special days off for civil servant-parents, exem

The happiness index for Korean teenagers was the lowest among the 23 OECD member states for the third consecutive year, according to a survey released on Wednesday by two civilian institutes.The “subjective well-being index” for Korean students between the ages of 10 and 18 was 65.98, far lower than the OECD average of 100, the survey showed. The index for Spanish teenagers was the highest with 11