The National Assembly on Friday approved a bill that will make it obligatory for tobacco-makers to display graphic warnings on cigarette packs. The passage of the antismoking bill came after 11 attempts dating back to 2002. It requires image and word warnings on cigarette packs.The amendment to the National Health Promotion Act, aimed at deterring Koreans from smoking by highlighting its dangers, mandates that pictorial warning labels cover more than half of the cigarette packs, with the image m

Prosecutors raided on Friday the residence of a former official of the ruling Saenuri Party as part of the probe into the high-profile graft scandal surrounding late business tycoon Sung Woan-jong and President Park Geun-hye’s top aides.Investigators stormed into the residence of the former deputy spokesman for then-presidential candidate Park’s election campaign, identified only by the surname Kim, to secure evidence, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Kim was suspecte

Rhee Sol-bi, a 24-year-old job seeker based in Seoul, sometimes thinks that she should have studied engineering at university as she struggles to find a job amid tough competition. “I think it is tougher for me to get a job because I studied humanities at school,” said Rhee, who studied Russian language and international business at a Seoul-based university. “I cannot even get past the resume-screening process,” she said, adding that her application to nearly 30 companies this year ended in vain

Families of victims who died of lung disease allegedly after using a humidifier disinfectant from Reckitt Benckiser vowed to take legal action against the British consumer goods maker on Wednesday. The victims’ families and activists from Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health said they are consulting with a British law firm to file a lawsuit in a British court, accusing Reckitt Benckiser of dodging responsibility. The announcement came about three weeks after a woman who had used the

A sex offender was arrested Friday in Seoul for sexually abusing children at a hospital.The man was wearing an electronic tag at the time of the offence, raising questions over the effectiveness of monitoring devices.Police arrested the 48-year-old man, only identified by his surname Lim, on charges of sexually molesting children who were being treated at the hospital, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday. Lim was apprehended Tuesday evening for taking two children’s clothes off and touc

The Supreme Court Thursday upheld the acquittal of a student activist who was jailed by the former military-backed government for abetting a fellow activist’s suicide. The highest court confirmed the ruling by lower courts that delivered a not-guilty verdict to Kang Ki-hoon, citing the “lack of credibility” of forensic evidence. Kang, 51, was convicted in 1991 for helping a fellow activist Kim Ki-sul set himself on fire and jump to his death from a university building in Seoul, and ghostwriting

Violent crimes committed by people aged 65 or more soared nearly 40 percent over the past two years, with poverty, illness and loneliness cited as the major reasons, data showed Sunday. Seniors have increasingly committed more crimes in recent years than before, with the total number of cases reaching 77,260 in 2013, up 12.2 percent from 2011, according to data by the Korean National Police Agency. In particular, the increase in the number of violent crimes including murder, robbery, rape and ar

Men had double the suicide rate than women in Korea in 2013, with elderly men especially at risk, a study revealed. Just over 10,000 men committed suicide in 2013, compared to just over 4,300 women. This means 39.8 per 100,000 men and 17.3 per 100,000 women committed suicide that year, according to a recent study published by the Korea Institute of Criminology. Korea has one of the highest suicide rates among OECD countries, with 29.1 Koreans per 100,000 people taking their own lives, compared t

An investigation is underway into a pharmaceutical company suspected of providing rebates worth billions of won to local doctors, police said Wednesday. Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency booked the local drug firm, whose name was not revealed, and its CEO without detention on charges of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Police also booked 10 doctors without detention on charges of breaching the Medical Law in a case that allegedly involves hundreds of other medical professionals. The dru

The prosecution sought an arrest warrant late Monday for Park Bum-hoon, former senior presidential secretary for education and culture, in connection with wide-ranging corruption allegations including bribery and embezzlement.The prosecutors’ office said Park, who served in the Lee Myung-bak administration from 2011-2013, faced six charges including abuse of authority. The move came three days after the 66-year-old was grilled over his alleged influence-peddling for 19 hours from Thursday mornin