The poor breeding conditions at poultry farms in South Korea may have accelerated the spread of the bird flu virus, said a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to the report titled “OECD Producer Incentives in Livestock Disease Management: Korea Case Study,” battery cage-facilities at poultry farms and stockbreeding farmhouses have made worse the bird flu damage and fast spread of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu in recent decades. Such facilities,

The state audit agency on Monday revealed that a controversial cable car project on Seoraksan is riddled with irregularities, calling for related Yangyang County officials to be penalized. The project, initiated by Gangwon Province’s Yangyang County in 1995, aims to build a 3.5-kilometer cable car system on the southern region of the mountain in Yangyang. Environmental groups have opposed the project and filed for an audit in December.Mount Seorak (Yonhap)According to the Board of Audit and Insp

South Korea’s youth unemployment has grown by the largest margin among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Sunday.As of April, the jobless rate among Koreans aged 15 to 24 stood at 11.2 percent, a 2.5 percentage point increase from 8.7 percent recorded in December last year, according to data from the OECD.(123RF)Out of 21 member countries of the OECD, Korea topped the list with the sharpest growth in youth unemployment, followed by Austria

Kori No. 1, South Korea’s oldest nuclear reactor located in Busan, ceased operation Sunday at midnight after four decades. Its operator Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. said that it cut the power supply Saturday and began the cooling-down process of the reactor.Kori No.1, South Korea’s first and the oldest nuclear reactor is seen in southern city of Busan. (Yonhap)It was officially decommissioned, with the temperature of the reactor gradually dropping to 90 degrees Celsius, from its normal oper

A farmer knocked down by a blast from a police water cannon during an anti-government rally in November 2015 died due to an external force, not illness, Seoul National University Hospital said Thursday, in a correction made nine months after his death. However, the hospital denied political consideration was the reason behind the rare decision. 　Kim Yon-su, vice president of SNUH, told a press conference that the death certificate of Baek Nam-gi will be revised following a monthslong discussion

The suspect detained over Tuesday’s parcel bomb attack at Yonsei University confessed that he acted out of a personal grudge against his supervising professor, police said Thursday. “Kim said he felt offended when he had arguments with the professor over his thesis and he planned the crime in late May after he was harshly rebuked by the teacher,” Seodaemun police said during a press briefing. The professor had been the suspect’s supervisor since the beginning of his postgrad course.The suspect i

The state-run audit agency said Wednesday that it will launch another probe into a development project involving four rivers, following President Moon Jae-in’s order last month. It will be the Board of Audit and Inspection’s fourth inspection of the 22 trillion won ($19.6 billion) project, which was conceived and pushed by former President Lee Myung-bak. The BAI said the decision was based on “the necessity of an inspection as raised by the public and media and the consideration of the yearly in

The suspect arrested over Tuesday’s parcel bomb attack at Yonsei University has admitted to plotting the blast, taking a cue from a subway terror attack in St. Petersburg, police said Wednesday. He said he made the explosive by himself. Seodaemun Police Station arrested the 25-year-old engineering graduate student near the university campus in Seoul late on Tuesday night, about 12 hours after the bomb went off, causing minor burns to the professor who opened it.(Yonhap)Investigators said the sus

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump will host South Korea's new leader Moon Jae-in for talks on containing North Korea's nuclear program, officials said Tuesday, amid fresh Pentagon warnings that the Pyongyang regime is a "clear and present danger to all."A White House statement said the two leaders will meet June 29-30 to discuss ways of building on what America frequently calls its "ironclad"  alliance with South Korea. Moon, a center-left politician who was sworn in last month after a

United States Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon arrived in Seoul Tuesday to prepare for a summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump.During his three-day stay in Seoul, the undersecretary of state for political affairs will meet with South Korean officials, including Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, to set the agenda for the first talks between the leaders slated for June 29-30.United States Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon arrives in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)Securit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday met with Princess Astrid of Belgium who is visiting Seoul as a special envoy of King Philippe.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with Princess Astrid of Belgium who is visiting Seoul as a special envoy of King Philippe. (Yonhap)During the meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, Moon said Belgium's past role in European integration would give a lesson to South Korea in its diplomatic efforts for international cooperation to solve Nor

Police said Tuesday that a graduate student had been arrested on suspicion of a parcel bomb attack that injured a college professor earlier in the morning.The suspect is a 25-year-old graduate school student who also studies engineering at the same university, according to the police.An unidentified parcel bomb exploded at Seoul’s Yonsei University on Tuesday, causing injury to the professor who opened the parcel. Police said it appeared to be a nail bomb similar to that used in a recent terror

The exact cause behind a massive blackout that affected some 190,000 households in southwestern districts in Seoul and Gwangmyeong on Sunday remains unclear, the state-run electricity provider said Monday.With the investigation to determine the cause underway, the Korea Electric Power Corp. said the latest power failure appears to be from problems in the switchgear of the Yeongseo Substation located in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province.Diners at a restaurant eat in the dark after a power failure at

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approach toward energy production is raising hopes for the end of coal and nuclear power plants in the country.The liberal leader -- an advocate of nuclear-zero Korea -- and his administration have unveiled a roadmap to reduce reliance on nuclear and coal energy, citing public concerns over air pollution and nuclear safety.At present, 25 reactors are in service and the Moon administration aims to begin by shutting down aged facilities and eventually phasing o