The Korea Herald

Additional FMD cases reported in S. Korea

Feb 5, 2011

South Korea has confirmed three additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the country's central region, after initial vaccination of all livestock in the country has been completed, the government said Saturday. The additional cases bring the total number of officially confirmed FMD outbreaks to 144, after animals started showing symptoms in late November, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture,
No more smoking in Seoul main squares from March

Feb 4, 2011

Smokers in Seoul will no longer be able to light up in the city’s main squares under the toughened anti-cigarette ordinance taking effect next month, the city council said Friday. The smoking ban ordinance, which will come into effect on March 1, affects three main squares in downtown of the capital -- Seoul Plaza, Cheongyecheon Plaza and Gwanghwamun Plaza -- in a bid to reduce side effects of sec
Rescued captain recovers consciousness

Feb 3, 2011

The captain of a rescued South Korean freight vessel has regained his consciousness and has begun to recognize some family members 13 days after he was wounded, his medical team said Thursday. Medical staff take care of Seok Hae-kyun, the wounded captain of a rescued South Korean freighter, at Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province Wednesday. (Yonhap News)The 58-year-old captain, Seo
A successful charity venture, Beautiful Store inspires many

Feb 1, 2011

Founder Park says Koreans are not stingy but lack system for monitoring charitiesPark Won-soon, then a human rights lawyer, was surprised to drop in to an Oxfam charity shop in London back in 1991. In the early 1990s, Korea’s tradition of sharing had weakened over the years of rapid modernization and democratization. There was almost no culture of giving in Korea.For Park, who spent a year in the
Jobless insurance claims decline

Feb 1, 2011

The number of people seeking unemployment insurance claims has steadily declined for the past two months, possibly blueprinting a better job market for 2011, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday. The number of new claimants for unemployment insurance stood at about 130,000 in January, down 6.5 percent from a year earlier. The figure was 82,000 in December, a 12.8 percent decrease from
Korea to have warmer spell during Seollal exodus

Feb 1, 2011

Koreans all over the country are participating in the largest exodus of the year to spend the Lunar New Year holiday this week with loved ones, taking advantage of the mild temperatures.“I’m beyond the age of being excited about Seollal but it will be nice to see my relatives and we always have fun during the trip,” said Kwon Ji-won, a 26-year-old piano teacher in Seoul, headed for Gangneung, Gang
Hundreds evacuate as Japan volcano erupts

Feb 1, 2011

TOKYO — Hundreds of people living near a Japanese volcano that has been spewing columns of smoke and ash thousands of metres into the air were forced to evacuate their homes Monday, a local official said.More than 600 residents of the town of Takaharu in Miyazaki prefecture, on the eastern outskirts of the erupting Mount Shinmoedake, were sheltering in school gyms and community halls, an official
Extra-long Lunar New Year holiday set to begin

Feb 1, 2011

Millions of South Koreans headed to their hometowns Tuesday, on the eve of the three-day Lunar New Year holiday, which will extend through the weekend. This year's Lunar New Year holiday, which falls from Feb. 2-4, is followed by the weekend and could last for nine days for those who took off the preceding Monday and Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs
For 4, life of prostitution and death by 1 killer

Feb 1, 2011

GARDEN CITY, New York (AP) -- The four women were prostitutes in their 20s, advertising their services online, living on the margins of society and not likely to be immediately missed. They appeared to share similar middle-class childhoods, but it is the way they lived their adult lives that has authorities chasing a serial killer. The bodies were found in mid-December, strewn 500 yards (meters
Number of jobless college grads hits record high

Feb 1, 2011

The number of unemployed college graduates jumped to an all-time high last year despite faster-than-expected economic recovery, the nation's statistics agency said Tuesday. According to data offered by Statistics Korea, the number of jobless people with college degrees totaled 346,000 last year, the highest ever since the agency compiled related figures in 2000. The jobless people in the cat
13-year-old boy who got AIDS through sex is youngest ever

Feb 1, 2011

TAIPEI--A 13 year-old boy has become the youngest person to become infected with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) through sexual intercourse, according to health officials. It is suspected that the boy became infected while working part- time for a 50 year-old male, who lured him into sex with money, said Lin Ting, deputy director-general at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).The boy
Taekwang chairman indicted for corruption

Jan 31, 2011

Taekwang Group chairman Lee Ho-jin and six other senior executives have been indicted on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust, prosecution officials said Monday, capping an investigation that initially raised suspicions of political and business lobbying.The 49-year-old Lee is charged with pocketing 53.6 billion won ($47.7 million) through accounting maneuvers and causing damage to the comp
Civic groups to push for vote to rescind free school meals

Jan 31, 2011

An association of 150 conservative civic groups Monday filed a petition with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to collect signatures from citizens to hold a plebiscite vote on the controversial free school meal ordinance passed by the city council twice last year. “Free school meals and other splurging welfare policies are just tools of populism by populists. If the system goes around for more tha
Watchdog probes cases of abuse in riot police

Jan 31, 2011

A state-run human rights watchdog has decided to investigate recent abuse cases among police troops, officials said Monday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said it will look into three separate cases, involving two deaths, to see if the policemen suffered physical assault or other forms of bullying in their barracks. A 21-year-old policeman at a combat unit in South Chungcheong Provi
Yongsan to grant scholarships to students from Vietnam

Jan 31, 2011

The Yongsan-gu office will be connecting students from its sister city in Vietnam with top universities within its district to help promote Korea’s image, officials said Monday.Starting this year, the central Seoul district will nominate an exemplary student each year from Qui Nhon City for a full scholarship at Sookmyung Women’s University and Dankook University.The city on Vietnam’s central sout