The Cabinet approved a plan on reinforcing the policy coordination between environmental projects and land development on Tuesday, with the aim of ensuring eco-friendly land management across the country.The plan was mapped out by a task force comprised of officials from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as well as private researchers at the end of 2013.An official of the Environment Ministry noted that the aim of the law revision was to bolster t

South Korean companies will be required to hand back application documents to job seekers who are not hired, starting from January next year, according to a new rule approved at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that the materials submitted by job seekers include academic transcripts, certificates of TOEIC or TOEFL scores, diplomas and resumes.When any failed applicant demands the return of his or her application materials, the recruiter should give the recor

The prosecution is moving to summon Park Ji-man, the brother of President Park Geun-hye, as early as next week for its ongoing investigation into a scandal involving a leak of presidential documents.There is speculation that Park Ji-man had been in a power struggle with Chung Yoon-hoi, once a key aide to President Park. The scandal, ignited by the Segye Ilbo newspaper, involves allegations that Chung was improperly exercising power in the administration.Investigators said they recently revealed

A 56-year-old Chinese man of Korean ethnicity was put under emergency arrest on charges of murdering a woman and brutally damaging her body before abandoning it, police said Friday.The suspect, only identified by his surname Park, is accused of killing his 48-year-old Korean-Chinese girlfriend, surnamed Kim, and chopping her body into pieces, said the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency investigating the case.The agency said it plans to seek a warrant for Park, who refuses to comply with the inves

The police agency said Thursday it was investigating Hana Daetoo Securities over hacking and financial theft of a customer’s stocks.A small investor’s securities account and certificate of authentication were alleged to have been recently hacked and stocks worth 10 million won ($9,000) sold, with the cash immediately withdrawn from the account, according to investigators.Further, the brokerage unit of Hana Financial Group was found to have issued loans to the hacker, which was collateralized by

서울지방경찰청은 최근 금융사고가 발생한 하나대투증권에 대한 내사에 착수했다. 이 증권사 고객의 돈이 타인의 계좌로 무단 이체된 혐의다.11일 경찰과 금융당국에 따르면 하나대투증권 고객 ㄱ씨가 보유한 주식이 본인도 모르는 사이에 전량 매도됐다. 공인인증서가 ㄱ씨의 동의없이 재발급 됐고 해커는 ㄱ씨 몰래 1천만원 상당의 주식을 매도했다.이어 대포통장계좌를 통해 매도 후의 예수금을 인출해간 것으로 알려졌다.하나대투증권은 또 ㄱ씨의 신원확인을 제대로 하지 않은 채 주식을 담보로 대출을 해 준 혐의를 받고 있다. ㄱ씨가 아닌 타인이 대출승인을 받은 것이다.이 증권사는 수사경과 및 금융감독원의 조처를 지켜본 뒤 보상 여부를 검토하겠다는 입장을 밝혔다.<코리아헤럴드 김연세 기자> (kys@heraldcorp.com)

Fifty workers were injured after a lethal chemical was leaked at a plating factory in the southeastern city of Daegu on Wednesday, authorities said.Hypochlorite was leaked at the Yeongnam Metal Co. plating factory at around 12:23 p.m., when some workers mistakenly poured the chemical from a truck into a tank filled with sulfuric acid, which produced toxic gas, according to firefighting authorities and company officials.A total of 50 workers there suffered injuries, and were taken to nearby hospi

The number of deaths through industrial accidents rose for the first time in nine years last year, government data showed Wednesday.According to data compiled by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on 1.97 million workplaces nationwide, the number of workers killed in industrial accidents rose 65 from the previous year to 1,929.The construction sector topped the list with 565 deaths, followed by the manufacturing sector with 459, and the mining industry with 380.The index for fatal industrial a

North Korea would possess some 20 nuclear bombs by 2016, and it could conduct several rounds of detonation tests to miniaturize nuclear warheads, a renowned U.S. nuclear scientist said Wednesday."North Korea is presumed to have the capability of producing some four nuclear bombs per year, and it appears that the North will possess some 20 nuclear bombs by 2016," Siegfried Hecker, a research professor at Stanford University who visited the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex in 2010, was quoted as s

About 3 out of 4 salaried employees welcome the wage peak system, which is actively pushed by the finance and labor ministries for overall economic expansion, a recent poll showed.The wage peak system will extend the retirement age to 60 from the current ages ranging from 53 to 58. The paycheck for elderly workers will be slashed by about 10 percent over their last several years at work.According to Saramin, an online recruitment portal, 72.3 percent of the surveyed 559 salaried workers said the

A Seoul court ruled Tuesday that regular bonuses should be regarded as part of ordinary wages if they are paid out periodically, clarifying that employers are obligated to raise the amount on an on-year basis.The verdict from the Seoul Central District Court came during the litigation filed by 4,509 workers of the Korea Land & Housing Corp. against the state-run agency. The workers demanded payment of combined 2.3 billion won ($2 million) in reflection of yearly growth in monthly wages.The court

An appellate court ruled Monday that the antitrust regulator’s decision to impose fines on Lotte Department Store for bullying subcontractors was legitimate.Though the department store filed a litigation against the Fair Trade Commission demanding withdrawal of the fine levy, it lost the suit at the Seoul High Court following a lower court’s ruling.Lotte Department sanctioned some suppliers after comparing the 35 businesses’ sales performance from January-May 2012. The sanction included a variet