Six out of 10 workers with a college diploma quit their first job within four years, according to a study released Thursday. The report by state-run Korea Employment Information Service analyzed the employment status of about 440,000 people who graduated from universities or two-year colleges in 2007, through a sample survey of some 18,000. Some 40.5 percent of them were still at their first job in 2010, three years after graduation, while 46.3 percent had found a new job. Some 13.2 percent were

Seoul Global Center said Thursday it would offer expatriates more counseling services in more neighborhoods.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Onsite Counseling will be expanded to include more sites, professionals and areas of counseling for those who cannot visit the current centers.The service that began in 2009 offers counseling in daily issues for foreigners living in highly foreign-populated areas such as Itaewon and Daerim Village.Its services will be expanded to include help

South Korea’s Marine Corps on Thursday conducted the first live-fire drill at the islands near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.The late North Korean leader died of heart failure on Dec. 17.Thursday’s exercise was conducted by Marine Corps units based on the West Sea islands including Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo, and involved Vulcan anti-aircraft guns, 81 millimeter mortars and K-9 self-propelled artillery.According to the Marine Corps

Seoul City voiced concerns over South Korea’s free trade agreement with the U.S., saying it possibly clashes with several local laws, capital officials said Thursday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, after analyzing 7,138 city and district regulations they found 30 that may disagree with the Korea-U.S. FTA.The capital recommended that the central government create countermeasures for eight of the regulations that have a possibility of clashing with the FTA. The regulations affect

Plans to tighten on-the-spot checks especially at metal and food companiesThe Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to strengthen the monitoring of working conditions in industries known for excessive overtime and weekend work, as part of its drive to shorten labor hours, officials said Thursday. Starting from next month, local labor authorities will conduct on-the-spot checks on up to 35,000 workplaces around the country. The inspections, though an annual event, will have a clear focus on work

The state watchdog on Thursday reportedly demanded the Foreign Ministry slap a “heavy penalty” on Kim Eun-seok, the ministry’s ambassador for energy and resources, who is suspected of involvement in pumping up the stock prices of CNK International in 2010.The Board of Audit and Inspection’s council of commissioners held a meeting earlier in the morning and decided to demand punishments for eight officials including Kim, a local media outlet said, prior to the watchdog’s announcement of investiga

President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday South Korea should continue to pursue “green growth,” a policy that seeks economic growth through environment-friendly technologies and industries, stressing that the era of fossil fuels is drawing to an end.“Green growth is a task that not only South Korea, but the entire world is faced with. It is a task that will last more than fifty and even a hundred years,” Lee said during an annual policy briefing by the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, accordi

The ruling Grand National Party decided to change its official name next week in an attempt to fundamentally renew the party’s image prior to the April general elections.This will be the first time for the right-wing party has changed its name since it began in 1997 through a party merger.The party’s emergency leadership council agreed to the change Thursday through a majority vote.The decision largely reflected the pledges of council leader Rep. Park Geun-hye.“I am ready to adopt a new party na

Korea’s credit card spending jumped nearly 10 percent last year despite regulators’ policy that attempted to keep the purchases through plastic at bay, data showed Wednesday. According to the Bank of Korea and the Credit Finance Association, the country’s credit card spending last year is estimated at upward of 540 trillion won ($478.5 billion) as of the end of 2011, up from 493.7 trillion won in the previous year. The 2011 figure ranked second-highest after 622 trillion won recorded in 2002, a

President Lee Myung-bak is being criticized for his grandchildren’s expensive outfits.Online bulletins are abuzz over a set of photographs showing his granddaughter wearing a high-end winter jacket in a family outing during the Lunar New Year’s Day holiday. The pictures, uploaded to show Lee’s caring, family-centered side, prompted an outcry over the luxurious clothes worn by his family, a stark contrast to his pledge to empathize with ordinary people’s economic hardship.In the photos released b