The period of court receivership for bankrupt companies is to be reduced from several years to a minimum of six months, according to officials Monday.The Seoul District Court’s bankruptcy division will implement a “fast track” policy to reduce unnecessary downtime, allowing companies to return to the market sooner.Through the policy, the court hopes to put previously insolvent corporations into th

The National Red Cross has collected a record 20 billion won to aid Japan’s quake victims, the highest sum ever raised here to help victims of a natural disaster.The organization said donations totaled 21.3 billion won ($19.1 million) as of Saturday, breaking the previous record of 19.3 billion won collected for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. in 2005. The Katrina fund was collected o

South Korea's teenagers are among the worst in the world when it comes to getting along with others, a report showed Sunday, reflecting the country's educational emphasis on knowledge, not interaction.South Korean teens scored an average of 0.31 out of 1.0 for social interaction skills, ranking the country 35th out of 36 nations that took part in the survey, according to the report by the Korean E

Koreans came last in an international youth survey in terms of social skills, a state research institute reported Sunday.According to the National Youth Policy Institute, Korean teens on average ranked the lowest among 36 countries in terms of relationship orientation and social cooperation.The results were based on an analysis of a survey by the International Association for the Evaluation of Edu

Nuclear reactor breakdowns in South Korea have cost the country 333 billion won ($299 million) over the past 10 years, a report by a state-run atomic power company showed Sunday.In the report to the National Assembly, the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. said there were 89 malfunctions that caused reactors to go off-line temporarily from 2001 onwards.The country currently operates 21 reactors that

The Thai government has requested Seoul to send Korean language teachers to the country, as Thailand is running short.According to the Korea International Cooperation Agency, the Thai government sent the request to the Korean embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday for tutors for 12 north east provinces.If the request is accepted, the tutors will teach laborers and soldiers hoping to work in Korea.The Tha

  Another South Korean national has been confirmed dead from the massive Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the South Korean foreign ministry said on Saturday.   The recent finding brought to four the number of South Korean citizens killed in the disaster.   "Police headquarters of Japan's Miyagi Prefecture notified the South Korean Consulate General in Sendai that an 86-year-old South Korean woman

The government will start a nationwide inspection on all school buildings for their earthquake preparedness, officials said Friday. Based on the data collected, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology plans to order up to 20 percent of the subject buildings to adopt earthquake-resistant designs by 2015.The nationwide overhaul comes after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northe

Seoul City will launch new tourism programs Saturday in which travelers are guided to visit rare spots in every corner of the city, officials said Friday. The city has run the program Culture Experience of Seoul since 2008 and last year alone some 7,500 international visitors, students and diplomats participated in the tourist activities. As part of the program, the city introduces “Seoul Explorat

Groups of North Korean defectors here were set to fly anti-Pyongyang leaflets to the North on Friday and Saturday despite the communist state’s renewed threat to strike the South’s “strongholds of psychological warfare” and safety concerns raised by South Koreans living near the border.Residents of Cheorwon in Gangwon Province and Paju in Gyeonggi Province have protested the leaflet campaigns out

South Korea's police said Thursday they booked the second son of Kim Seung-youn, chairman of Hanwha Group, after he was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident last month.According to Gangnam Police Station, Kim was suspected of hitting a car that was waiting to make a U-turn in the affluent southern part of Seoul on Feb. 27 and then fleeing the scene without reporting the accident to police.