The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday refused to promulgate an ordinance passed by the city council last month to provide free school meals to all students. The decision is forecast to escalate the conflict between the two sides as the council is moving to make an arbitrary proclamation later this week. Mayor Oh Se-hoon, affiliated with the conservative ruling Grand National Party, said h

Educational institutes will face a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,800) if found to have hired sex offenders, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Wednesday.Under a related revision, which will take effect from February, institute owners will be obliged to check new teachers’ and other employees’ records for sex crimes. If the owner violates the rule or makes a false report of a sex crime

A 24-hour call center will be set up to help North Korean defectors deal with problems while resettling in the South, according to the Unification Ministry on Tuesday.The North Korean Refugees Foundation plans to support the call center by organizing a network of social assistance with resettlement officers, counselors and additional volunteers. They also plan to build a nationwide network of supp

The prosecution has dropped its appeal against Park Dae-sung, better known as online economic pundit “Minerva,” Tuesday, earlier acquitted of charges stemming from the posting of online articles denouncing government financial policies. The move came after the Constitutional Court last month ruled the relevant law unconstitutional, freeing Park and several others who had been indicted for spreadin

S. Korean panel wraps up investigationAt least 5,000 civilians were killed by the U.S. military during the Korean War, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found Tuesday.According to the truth panel, which was established in 2005 to reinvestigate past atrocities, a total of 4,091 civilian casualties were caused by the U.S. military in the first three months of the war, before the reclaim of Seo

Taekwang Group chairman Lee Ho-jin appeared before prosecutors Tuesday to face questioning over his alleged slush fund and stock price manipulation.Prosecutors have been investigating the 49-year-old on his suspected involvement in creating tens of billions of won in a secret fund to lobby influential figures to get business favors and manipulating stock prices to evade inheritance taxes in transf

Schools whose staff members were found to be involved in corruption cases will be named on the Internet from March as part of efforts to stem school irregularities.The measure is designed to get individual schoolmasters to take more responsibility for directing their teachers and other staff, The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said on Monday. Anyone can have access to the regular audit res

A local court ordered a Seoul hospital to pay 40 million won ($35,500) in compensation to the family of a patient who died last year after winning the country’s first legal battle for the right to “die with dignity,” court officials said Monday.The 78-year-old woman fell into a vegetative state after suffering brain damage from heavy loss of blood while undergoing a bronchial endoscopy in February

The Middle East-based news channel Al Jazeera will open a bureau in Seoul in the first half of this year to provide in-depth coverage of current issues on the Korean Peninsula, the station said Monday.   The Qatar-based network is currently searching for an office and checking the city's broadcasting infrastructure before launching the bureau with a correspondent, a cameraman and a producer, Al An

South Korea's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has continued to spread through the central part of the country despite nationwide quarantine efforts, the government said Monday.   The farm ministry said a pig farm in Boryeong, 170 kilometers southwest of Seoul, tested positive for FMD, along with a cattle farm in Chuncheon, east of the capital city.   The outbreak in Boryeong marks the third time that