Cigarette makers once again escaped liability for lung cancer prevalence among their customers as an appellate court ruled in their favor Tuesday. However, the ruling seems to be a step forward from a lower court’s verdict as it acknowledged the health risks of smoking.Judge Seong Kee-moon of the Seoul High Court said, “There seems to be cause-and-effect relations between smoking and cancer preval

A North Korean man crossed the inter-Korean border and defected to South Korea, a military official said Wednesday. The man in his early 20s passed through the heavily armed border and was spotted by South Korean soldiers patrolling a frontline guard post at around 5 p.m. on Tuesday in Cheorwon County, some 120 kilometers northeast of Seoul, the official said.  North Korean military guard post sta

As the nation marks the second anniversary of the death of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, which falls on Wednesday, a government agency said Tuesday that the number of organ donation pledges in South Korea exceeded the 100,000 mark for the second straight year, apparently influenced by a precedent set by the late cardinal.According to the Korean Network for Organ Sharing, a total of 124,300 South

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Tuesday that he would spend reserve funds to continue the city’s projects that have been suspended due to the opposition of the city council.The announcement comes after a series of talks between Oh and the Seoul City Council ended without reaching any agreement by Monday. “(The city government) has decided not to neglect any more citizens’ inconvenience and suspended s

Police said Monday they have launched a manhunt for the husband of a woman after her body was found over the weekend, at least 12 years after her death.Her 20-year-old daughter found the body wrapped in 10 layers of vinyl and contained in a cardboard box at her home in Seoul on Saturday and then alerted police, officials said. (MCT)Fingerprints have shown the body was that of her mother, identifie

Lovers nationwide celebrated Valentine's Day yesterday, with 250 couples registering their wedding at Bangkok's Bang Rak (Village of Love) district, while Pattaya hosted a contest for the longest kiss - and seven couples broke the world record.As has become tradition, couples made their weddings memorable at various sites in Thailand. Nine couples in Chiang Mai registered their marriage midair in

Another round of heavy snow hit the nation’s east coastal area Monday, which had already received a record snowfall of more than 100 centimeters over the weekend. While officials and local residents were busy clearing streets and vehicles, the weather agency expected more snow of up to 50 centimeters in Gangwon Province until Monday evening. On Friday alone, Gangneung, a major city in the region,

A 36-year-old Seoul man has been arrested on charges of distributing over 33,000 files of pornographic materials to Internet cafes nationwide and earning at least 200 million won ($178,000) in illegal profits, police said Monday.The suspect, identified only by his surname Suh, is accused of having uploaded 33,353 files of sex videos and other pornographic materials to two Web sites since last July

Ewha Womans University Law School could be forced to accept male students, breaking the university’s 125-year tradition and raising question about its identity.The Constitutional Court held a public hearing last Thursday, over whether or not the law school’s women-only admissions policy is in violation of constitutional rights, after three male law students filed a petition against the private uni

Seoul will expand its "no-smoking zone" to include bus stops and neighborhood parks, starting next year, stepping up efforts to heighten public awareness of the health hazards from secondhand smoking, officials said Monday.Under the toughened policy, those caught smoking at bus stops or neighborhood parks in Seoul will be fined 100,000 won (US$89) from 2012, said the officials at the Seoul Metropo

A record snowfall almost paralyzed city life on Korea’s east coast over the weekend, as officials and soldiers struggled to restore normal life. As of Sunday morning, some 1,280 residents of 640 households were stranded in their homes in major cities including Gangneung, Donghae and Samcheok, the emergency management agency in Gangwon Province said. Damage caused by the snow was estimated to surpa