A group of children and teachers narrowly avoided what could have been a horrible accident last week when the roof of a classroom collapsed at a child care center in Bangbae-dong, Seoul.Eleven students, from age 1 to 3, used the classroom in which the roof caved in. It was pure chance that the children had just stepped out of the room, led by their teachers, to wash their hands before lunch. The accident could have led to the tragic deaths of teachers and young lives. On the day of the accident,

The death of a National Intelligence Service employee by apparent suicide on Saturday has raised more questions about the spy agency’s hacking activities.The 20-year-veteran of cybersecurity at the NIS who was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning in his car in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, left three separate suicide notes, including one addressed to his employer, the NIS, which was made public on Sunday.The man, identified only as Lim, was said to have been responsible for the spy agency’s pu

Supreme Court needs more diverse panel

Move carries complicated implications for Seoul

Blue House, Saenuri Party need to communicate

Government must actively seek return of looted artifacts

Iranian deal is expected to have little impact

NIS should come clear of all suspicions

Assembly Advancement Act must go

Special pardons should be selective

More social workers needed for better welfare services

Gwangju Universiade celebrates indomitable human spirit

HDC Shilla Duty Free and Hanwha Galleria Timeworld, which are affiliated with the country’s major conglomerates Samsung and Hanwha, last week obtained licenses to run new duty-free stores in downtown Seoul.They had good reason to be overjoyed at their success in the high-profile bidding war against five competitors. The duty-free market has been a rare bright spot in the local retail sector struggling with anemic consumer spending amid a sluggish economy. Buoyed mainly by shopping by a growing n

Out of the 11.8 trillion won ($10.4 billion) in the supplementary budget bill submitted by the government last week to parliament, 5.6 trillion won has been earmarked to make up for this year’s tax revenue shortfall. In recent years, tax revenues have consistently fallen short of government-set targets.Under these tightened fiscal conditions, the importance of budgetary efficiency cannot be overemphasized.A recent audit by a group of experts, including professors and researchers, into government

The Education Ministry announced plans last week to increase the number of foreign students studying at the nation’s colleges and universities to 200,000 by 2023. This represents a 250 percent expansion from the current level ― there were about 85,000 international students at Korean campuses at the end of last year. Since peaking at 89,000 in 2011, the number has declined, with the ratio of foreign students to domestic students standing at 2 percent, compared with the 8 percent average among me