Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn released a set of safety measures on Wednesday to enhance screening for public transport drivers, chemical management at factories and workers’ safety in construction sites in light of a series of man-made accidents. “The government will reinforce safety management for vehicles used for businesses exposed to bigger danger of large-scale accidents,” Hwang said in a meeting with relevant ministries at Seoul Government Complex. Hwang said that the government would enfor

South Korean customs authorities have seized tens of thousands of pills filled with powdered human flesh over the past several years as they were being smuggled from China into the country, it was revealed Tuesday. According to data released by the Korea Customs Service at the request of Rep. Lee Jong-ba of the ruling Saenuri Party, 107 smuggling attempts have been made from 2012 to June this year, involving some 57,000 capsules. (Yonhap)The traders attempted to bring the pills from China into K

Some 40 students and faculty members from Incheon National University joined an eight-day volunteer program in Vietnam to promote Korean culture and help local communities earlier this month. Incheon National University, which aims to place itself within the country’s top five national universities by 2020, has run the annual volunteer program since last year to enhance its students’ spirit of giving and to enhance their sense of community, the university said.Participants pose for a photograph

The Korea Herald and The Investor publish a series of in-depth articles analyzing rising business tycoons and their company’s governance structure. This is the sixth installment on Lee Jae-yong and Samsung Group. – Ed.Samsung Group, South Korea’s most powerful family-run conglomerate and a driving force behind the nation’s rapid economic growth, has been a global symbol of pride for many Koreans with its brand name recognized almost everywhere in the world. According to a survey by job portal Sa

About two months ago, a 33-year-old prosecutor hung himself at his home in southwestern Seoul. A suicide note next to his body indicated that he had suffered extreme stress at work. During the investigation into the death of Kim Hong-yeong, his father and colleagues highlighted the severe verbal abuse and mistreatment by his boss as the reasons why he took his own life. Text messages exchanged between Kim and his colleagues before his death were later made public, revealing that he had often com

A South Korean worker hired by the world’s biggest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries died on Tuesday while working on a shipbuilding project for Norwegian oil company Statoil. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Shin, died after falling off scaffold at 2:20 p.m. He was taken to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead two hours later. He sustained injuries to his face and neck as well as fractures in his arms and both legs. A 39-year-old worker, surnamed Shin, died after falling off scaffold at H

A senior presidential secretary denied on Monday local news reports that said arrested senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon had pulled strings for him, allegedly leading to local gaming company Nexon buying his family’s real estate.Woo Byung-woo, a presidential secretary for civil affairs, flatly denied in a statement Jin’s involvement in his personal real estate dealings, saying that his wife sold the property legally through a real estate agency.Local news reports raised speculation on Monday that

Prosecution officials arrested a senior prosecutor over suspicions that he took bribes from gaming company Nexon’s cofounder Kim Jung-ju on Thursday night. The arrest came 13 hours after the prosecution began interrogating prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon, who is suspected of taking kickbacks and benefitting from shady stock transactions with the money at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Senior prosecutor Jin Kyung-joon (Yonhap)The prosecution suspects that Jin took 425 million won from Kim

At a glance, Indonesia’s bustling capital Jakarta seems like many other metropolitan cities in Southeast Asia. Its streets are lined with cutting-edge skyscrapers and packed with cars and motorbikes that cause heavy congestion. Highrise buildings at the center of Jakarta, Indonesia. (Ock Hyun-ju/The Korea Herald)But only a few hours away, the tropical country, composed of more than 17,500 islands, boasts natural beauty in every corner -- from white sandy beaches and colorful marine treasures to

More of South Korea’s state-run organizations are joining the drive to shut down their in-house cafeterias at least once a week as part of efforts to spur the local economy amid the deepening economic downturn. Mostly municipalities, police stations and state-run organizations across the country are seen joining the campaign to boost spending at nearby restaurants once a week or twice a month. Among them is Seoul’s Seocho District Office, which decided to close its in-house cafeteria every Frida

Opposition parties, labor unions and civic groups launched a committee on Tuesday to spearhead a movement to reform what they see as family-owned conglomerates’ abuse of power and illegal business practices. During a press briefing in central Seoul, the committee, consisting of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea, the Justice Party, the nation’s two biggest umbrella labor unions and progressive civic groups, urged the government to abolish polices that favor the personal interests of f

The Education Ministry said Tuesday that it has decided to dismiss a high-ranking official over his controversial remarks that described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs,” in an apparent attempt to ease public outrage. “The Education Ministry decided to expel the ex-head of policy planning for making inappropriate remarks as a public servant and hurting the public,” Vice Education Minister Lee Young said during a press briefing at the Seoul Government Complex on Tuesday afternoon. Na Hya

A high-ranking official from the Education Ministry made a tearful apology on Monday amid growing controversy over his remarks that described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” Na Hyang-wook, the director general of the ministry’s policy planning bureau, apologized for “making inappropriate remarks as a public servant, distressing Korean people and causing a stir,” during a parliamentary meeting in the afternoon.Na was initially absent from the parliamentary meeting held in the morning,

The Education Minister Lee Joon-sik on Monday apologized and vowed strong punishment over the controversy caused by a high-ranking official who described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” During a parliamentary meeting held in the morning, Lee apologized for “greatly disappointing the people” with the ministry official’s “inappropriate” remarks. Lee said that he plans to take stern action in accordance with the result of the investigation into the case. “There cannot be any excuse for t

The prosecution said Sunday it indicted the suspect who stabbed a 23-year-old woman to death near Gangnam Station, concluding that it was a “planned” crime by a person suffering from mental illness.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that the 34-year-old man, only identified by his surname Kim, had committed the murder due to his symptoms of schizophrenia and persecution complex, denying what many saw as the misogynist nature of the crime.  Prosecutors, however, viewed the crime