South Korea’s audit agency warned Thursday that some municipalities’ push for creating ecological parks could lead to a massive waste of taxpayer money as their plan fails to follow necessary guidelines.In the audit report concerning the feasibility of local governments’ construction projects, the Board of Audit and Inspection noted that 34 local government offices had failed to reflect the river management guidelines in their plans to restore 42 rivers across the nation.  (Yonhap)The budget for

Three out of 10 job seekers in South Korea think their appearance hurts their job prospects, with women being more conscious about it than men, a survey showed Tuesday. According to a multiple-choice survey of 872 job seekers by job search engine Saramin, 31.5 percent of respondents said that they have felt disadvantaged due to their looks while seeking a job.  (Yonhap)The survey suggested that Korean women (38.4 percent) were more prone to feel frustrated by this than men (26.4 percent). Those

The key suspect in a reopened murder case denied his charges of stabbing a South Korean college student to death in Itaewon, Seoul, nearly two decades ago at the first court hearing on Thursday. Arthur John Patterson, a 35-year-old U.S. citizen, was extradited to Korea late last month to face a new trial on charges of murdering Cho Joong-pil, 22, in 1997 at a Burger King restaurant in Itaewon, a multicultural district frequented by expats residing in Seoul. Arthur Patterson (Yonhap)At the hearin

With risks and challenges faced by refugees across the world having become one of the greatest global issues of today, the status and conditions of the asylum seekers in South Korea have also been highlighted. The Korea Herald will publish a series of articles shedding light on refugees in Korea, their hardships, the systematic fallout, the country’s own history and ways to go forward. The following is the first installment. – Ed.The afternoon was sunny and peaceful, as the crisp wind signaled t

The Seoul government is set to push for reforming the labor market following a deal reached at the trilateral committee on labor, business and government on Sunday, despite vehement opposition from some unionists and a grueling process ahead at the National Assembly. Some members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions stage a rally opposing the compromise reached on labor reforms during a cetral executive committee meeting Monday in Seoul. YonhapThe compromise came after months-long negotiatio

Long working hours and social pressure against them taking leave for child care are some of the major difficulties faced by modern fathers in their 30s and 40s, a survey in Seoul showed Tuesday.According to the survey conducted by Seoul Foundation of Woman & Family from May 28 to June 10, 48.5 percent of the respondents cited long working hours and heavy workload as the reasons for poor work-family balance, followed by social pressure deterring them from taking child care leave (24.5 percent), l

More than 100 international marriage brokers have been caught illegally offering matchmaking services, the police said Sunday. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency booked 111 brokers belonging to 72 international matchmaking agencies without detention for violating the Marriage Brokers Business Management Act.The brokers were accused of receiving an average of 15 million won ($12,700) from Korean men in return for arranging marriages with underage girls, offering a list of foreign women from which t

South Korea’s largest trade union group decided to return to the long-stalled trilateral negotiations among labor, management and government Wednesday, giving a boost to the government’s push for labor market reform. Key officials from the Federation of Korean Trade Unions made the decision at a high-level meeting four months after the three-way talks collapsed in early April. (Yonhap)The union officials entrusted Kim Dong-man, head of the FKTU, with the authority to decide when to return to the

As South Korea reached a landmark deal with North Korea on Tuesday to defuse cross-border tensions after recent military confrontations, South Koreans expressed relief for being pulled back from the brink of war. “I was worried about the possible breakout of war, but I am so relieved that the two Koreas struck a deal,” Nam Bo-ra said. “It is not that I couldn’t continue on with my life due to the inter-Korean conflicts, but I couldn’t help but think that if a war broke out, it could kill us all,

For Kim Ji-hwan, a 30-something office worker, punishing work hours and a heavy workload allowed him barely any time see his kids back home. Kim felt that he was growing apart from his kids, which led him to consider taking paternity leave, despite concerns over financial problems and his reputation at the office. “But I knew that this moment when I can be with my children will never come back,” he said. (123rf)Kim is one of some 2,200 fathers who have chosen to take paternity leave in Korea thi

A Seoul court ruled Monday that the South Korean government should compensate a Korean citizen paralyzed from the waist down in an industrial accident while working at the U.S. military base.The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the man, whose name remained unidentified, ordering the government to pay 360 million won ($305,000) in compensation.  (Yonhap)The man, who has worked for the U.S. troops in Gyeonggi Province since 1994, filed a compensation suit after he suffered injuries t

Gov. Hong Joon-pyo (Yonhap)Lawyers for Hong Joon-pyo, governor of South Gyeongsang Province, denied charges that he received illicit political funds from the late business tycoon Sung Woan-jong during the first hearing held Friday in connection with a high-profile graft scandal.　The hearing took place at Seoul Central District Court, about three weeks after the prosecution indicted Hong and former premier Lee Wan-koo without detention for violating the Political Fund Act by accepting illicit pol

An appeals court upheld an earlier ruling Tuesday that the media does not have to compensate a woman for publishing a poster containing her photo without her consent. But those who made the poster should compensate the woman, according to another ruling.  (Yonhap)The Seoul Central District Court rejected the 30-something woman’s appeal for financial compensation from five media outlets that published the poster containing the photo featuring her playing in the mud along with others, officials sa

Last year, Kim Sang-sik agreed to work long hours on low wages as a building night guard in Incheon after several job-hunting attempts ended in vain. The 32-year-old worked from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day, but received only 1.3 million won ($1,140) a month for his 13-hour days of labor. When he took a day off, 50,000 won was deducted from his wages each time. The pay was far lower than the stipulated minimum wage of 5,210 won per hour for 2014, but he continued to work there for lack of other op