Nine out of 10 people in Korea say the low birthrate is serious, but are reluctant to have children due to financial problems, a survey by the Health Ministry showed Tuesday. The majority of the respondents supported the government’s pro-birth campaigns but said society was not yet ready to support child rearing. According to the nationwide survey of 2,000 adults, 86.6 percent said the falling birthrate was serious, and 91.1 percent said Korea advancement into an aging society was a critical sit

Police plan to seek an arrest warrant Tuesday for a former expat who returned to Korea to confess the murder of his girlfriend.According to Yongsan Police Station, the 38-year-old Canadian confessed Saturday to the murder of his Korean girlfriend three years ago, which was initially ruled a suicide.Police said the expat confessed he had suffered from paranoia believing that his girlfriend was planning to have him murdered after the couple began to fight over religious differences and marriage is

Voters and non-governmental organizations will be able to openly criticize or praise policies of the government and political parties during the official campaign period, National Election Commission’s guidelines showed Tuesday.Under the guidelines, which were sent out to the 16 regional election watchdogs, individual voters and NGOs are able to publicly criticize government and party policies during the 180 days before the election.However, voters will continue to be restricted from mentioning

Ewha Womans University held an old-fashioned essay contest to counter student’s growing dependency on electronic devices, officials said Tuesday.The Seoul university said it held its first ever book report writing contest Monday banning the use of computers, cellphones and other electronic devices in an effort to “unplug” the students.In one of the most wired countries in the world, the contest was a new experience for most.“I initially applied because I thought it would be fun, but actually sit

Senior Washington official links Iran’s nuclear issue to that on N.K.South Korea on Tuesday decided to reduce its oil imports from Iran “in steps” as the U.S. urges its allies to join its tougher sanctions over Tehran’s controversial nuclear programs.The decision came after Seoul officials and the U.S. delegation, led by Robert Einhorn, the State Department’s special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, discussed the sanctions and how to minimize the possible fallout from them.“We show

Prosecutors launched an investigation into whether President Lee Myung-bak’s brother-in-law fabricated a scandal to put one of Lee’s former business partners in trouble and allow Lee to evade stock fraud charges.The case may deal a blow to the ruling party in the general elections, as it involves a close relative of the president, who is already under fire for other financial scandals. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Lee’s ex-business partner Kim Kyung-joon had filed a compla

The VIP guest house formerly operated by Ilhae Foundation in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province is being opened to the public for the first time in 27 years. On Tuesday, the Korea International Cooperation Agency announced that the exhibition marking 20 years of Korea-Vietnam diplomatic relations and 1,000 years of exchange between the two nations will be held at the facility starting Wednesday.The exhibition will run for six months. The KOICA gained management rights over the facility from the Ministr

The newly elected Supreme Council of the main opposition Democratic United Party pledged to fully repeal the disputed Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.The announcement raised concerns that ties between the two countries could take a step back should the liberal camp take power in this year’s elections.“All council members agree that the KORUS FTA was lopsided and flawed,” said Han Myeong-sook, after being elected party head on Sunday.“We shall abolish the entire pact and restart the talks from sc

The Navy has appointed its first two female officers to command fast attack craft, as it looks to expand female presence on vessels in operation, officials said Monday.“We’ve finalized a plan to name female captains to command our Chamsuri boat patrolling the South Sea,” a high-ranking military source said, referring to a 150-ton patrol vessel. “Last Thursday, we named two female officers on a trial basis.”According to the source, Adm. Choi Yun-hee, the Chief of Naval Operations, briefed Defense

Bought shares in Cameroon diamond miner before Foreign Ministry’s announcementRelatives of a senior Foreign Ministry official allegedly bought stocks of a Korean firm before the ministry announced in 2010 that it had won a lucrative right to develop a diamond mine in Cameroon, according to news reports.Kim Eun-seok, a senior diplomat in charge of energy and resource diplomacy, led the work to make the press release on the successful bid. The stock price of the firm, C&K Mining, jumped fivefold w