Environment-related officials from 124 countries agreed to widen the scope of global coordination on preserving biodiversity worldwide during the 12th meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which closed on Friday in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.Reaching a consensus through senior-level gatherings, participants said they adopted the “Gangwon Declaration” and “Pyeongchang Road Map,” both of which summarize conservation initiatives and global development suggestions made

A district appeals court on Thursday increased the jail term of a 41-year-old woman by three years to 18 years for beating her 8-year-old stepdaughter to death.In a lower court ruling earlier this year, the stepmother, only identified by her surname Park, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for striking the victim multiple times in the head and chest at their home in the southern city of Ulsan in October 2013.On Thursday, the Busan High Court sentenced Park to 18 years in prison, stating that

A 34-year-old father has became the first person in South Korea to receive a police-issued restraining order for allegedly beating his child, police said Thursday.The father living in Busan, identified only by his surname Park, was arrested last Monday on charges of beating his 13-year-old son upon coming home inebriated, the National Police Agency said.The man was immediately banned from coming within 100 meters of his son and 34-year-old wife. He was also prohibited from using electronic means

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan has pledged to build more state-run day care facilities nationwide in an effort to induce women to participate in the economy. He added that funds will be raised via donations from major enterprises as part of their social contribution activities.His remarks came during an economy-related ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, at which they unveiled supplementary measures to activate part-time job hiring and elevate the female employment rate.

The Cabinet approved a bill on genetic resources usage on Tuesday as South Korea’s effort to operationalize the Nagoya Protocol, which took effect on Oct. 12 under the global community’s join effort to preserve biodiversity.The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources at its 10th conference in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010.The pact, ratified by 54 countries, stipulates on access to genetic resources and the fair and

Three out of every 10 businesses that hire migrant workers were found have breached the law on their employment in each of the past few years, Labor Ministry data showed Monday.Rep. Jasmine Lee of the ruling Saenuri Party cited the figures on breaches of the Act on the Employment etc. of Foreign Workers, which affects migrant workers on E-9 and H-2 visas, during the parliamentary audit on the ministry. The percentage of firms in violation of the law came to 31.3 percent in 2012, 31.2 percent in

BEIJING/SEOUL (Yonhap) ― China called Monday for South Korea to release three Chinese fishermen who have been arrested on charges of illegally fishing in South Korean waters and violently resisting a crackdown by the South Korean Coast Guard that caused the death of a Chinese captain. According to the South Korean Coast Guard, dozens of Chinese fishermen resisted violently with knives and beer bottles during the crackdown in waters 144 kilometers off South Korea‘s western coast on Friday. Some C

Gangwon Province will host a biodiversity summit of municipal governments from Oct. 13-14 as a sideline event of the 12th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which is underway in Pyeongchang.As part of the international community’s efforts to further the conservation of biological diversity (genetic, species and ecosystem variation), the summit is designed to identify the role of local governments in accomplishing global biodiversity goals.“The number of participants will reach ab

A Seoul appellate court has ruled that the late actress Jang Ja-yeon had been coerced by her management agency to entertain socially influential figures at drinking sessions against her will.A recent verdict from the Seoul High Court ordered the agency’s chief to pay the family of Jang, who committed suicide, 24 million won ($22,600) for sexually exploiting her.The initial revelation took place in March 2009, when then-aspiring actress Jang killed herself and left a seven-page suicide note claim

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The International Monetary Fund has slightly lowered its outlook for global economic growth this year and next, mostly because of weaker expansions in Japan, Latin America and Europe.The IMF says the global economy will expand 3.3 percent this year, one-tenth of a point below what it forecast in July. World growth should pick up to 3.8 percent in 2015, the IMF says in the latest installment of its World Economic Outlook.The global lending organization has a more optimistic vie