The Constitutional Court on Monday ruled the current law banning paramedics from staging strikes constitutional. The ruling weighing more on public health than labor rights is expected to fuel controversies among health workers here. “It is true that the Labor Law puts more restrictions on health workers than on those of other industries. But given the fact that a strike at emergency rooms or other paramedical facilities could pose a huge threat in the already urgent situations directly affectin

Daily expenses rose in 2011’s last quarter, increasing the strain on those already struggling with the high cost of living here, officials said Monday.According to research by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, North Chungcheong Province saw a particularly high average rise of 5.2 percent in the cost of the popular Korean meal of kimchi jjigae between September and December.The dish saw similar price rises throughout the country with prices in Ulsan rising 3

The Korea striker scores injury-time winner for Sunderland South Korean striker Ji Dong-won started 2012 brilliantly by scoring a stoppage time winner for Sunderland in a 1-0 win over the English Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday.The 21-year-old found the back of the net in the 93rd minute with the last kick of the game, barely 10 second left in injury time, to excite more than 40,000 home fans.The Korean striker, who came on as a substitute in 78th minute, latched onto Stephane S

The ongoing eurozone sovereign debt crisis is expected to be the main source of concern for South Korea’s financial sector in 2012, a poll said Monday.The survey of 250 financial firms by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed 81.6 percent of the respondents saying that debt problems facing many European countries could affect the industry as a whole. “The eurozone issue will remain the single largest risk factor,” the KCCI said. “Since it is not likely to be resolved in a short perio

A savings bank that came close to being suspended last year was found to have extended loans worth billions of won under borrowed names, sources said Monday.The finding comes as six troubled savings banks in Korea face a make-or-break moment after the grace period for penalties against the lenders with substandard capital ratios expired late last month.In mid-September, Korea’s financial regulators suspended business operations of seven troubled savings banks as part of its efforts to overhaul t

South Korea‘s economy is facing more “difficult and uncertain” factors this year as the eurozone debt crisis and other external challenges are expected to deteriorate, the top economic policymaker said Monday.The government must beef up its contingency plans to better cope with any unexpected shocks from home and abroad, while strengthening its overall economic health, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said.“Last year, our economy went through one unexpected challenge after another,” Bahk told his s

Foreign investment banks have slashed South Korea’s growth outlook for this year, citing unabating market jitters over the eurozone debt crisis, data showed Monday.The average economic growth for Asia’s fourth-largest economy reached 3.4 percent as of end-December last year, down from the 4.5 percent they projected at the end of January in 2011, according to the data by the Korea Center for International Finance.The figure is 0.3 percentage points lower than the government’s growth outlook annou

The government announced Monday that it will cover most of the cost of 10 vaccinations for children.Inoculation fees will be set at 5,000 won ($4.20) a shot, down from the previous average of 15,000 won, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.The 10 vaccines are the BCG (against tuberculosis), DPaP (against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis), IPV (against polio), MMR (against mumps, measles and rubella), DTaP-IPV (against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio), Td (against tetanus an

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― Responding to the new North Korean leadership’s threats to eschew dialogue with South Korea, the United States called Friday for Pyongyang to improve inter-Korean relations. “We continue to monitor the situation on the peninsula and are in close contact with our ally, the Republic of Korea. We share a common interest in ensuring regional peace and stability. We continue to urge North Korea to take steps to improve its relations with its neighbors,”a State Department of

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged Sunday to further move relations between the two countries forward as they exchanged New Year’s messages celebrating 20 years of diplomatic ties.Lee said in his letter to Hu that relations between the two countries have rapidly expanded in all sectors since the 1992 establishment of diplomatic ties and the sides “are more closely communicating and cooperating” with each other for the sake of the “common goal of peace, s

UNITED NATIONS (Yonhap News) ― U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday he hopes to see tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia ease next year, saying 2012 will be a very important one for Koreans.In a New Year’s message to the people of his native South Korea, Ban also said he will provide unsparing support as U.N. chief to help reduce tensions on the divided peninsula and in the region.Ban said that the year 2012 will be “very important” for the Korean Peninsula, apparentl

North Korea will likely become stabilized within months after the death of leader Kim Jong-il due mainly to China’s rapid economic assistance, a major South Korean think tank said Sunday. A report by the Korea Development Institute on the death of Kim Jong-il and its impact on North Korea’s economy forecast that China will soon begin providing economic assistance to North Korea in a rapid manner to help stabilize its communist neighbor.“In that case, North Korea’s economy will escape from a temp