South Korean government said Tuesday that it found what appears to be the remains of a victim of the Sewol ferry disaster during its ongoing salvage operation, nearly three years after it sank with more than 300 people trapped inside.The Ministry of Oceans and Fishers were in the process of checking whether the six pieces of bones found are of any of the nine passengers whose bodies remain unaccounted for. The ship's crew look around it after they found what appears to be the remains of a victim

South Korean lawmakers have failed to reach an agreement on reducing the maximum weekly working hours, leaving the matter up to the next administration.Members of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee agreed that a proposed reduction to 52 hours from the current 68 hours would help improve working conditions and generate more jobs. But they failed to narrow their differences on some important details, such as weekend pay rates and a grace period to be granted to businesses.Ha T

The Sewol ferry was safely placed onto a semisubmersible vessel on Saturday morning, completing the trickiest part of the salvage and increasing the chance of a completion by early April, as scheduled.  "We completed loading the ferry onto the semisubmersible ship at 4:10 a.m.," Lee Cheol-jo, an official in charge of the operation from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said during a briefing. Loading the ferry onto the semisubmersible vessel was one of the most challenging stages of the salv

Salvage operators raised the sunken ferry Sewol to the target height in the sea Friday, with the ferry set to be moved onto another vessel later in the day, a major step toward bringing it back to land by early April. 　According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the salvage team began to carry the 6,825-ton ship connected to two barges at 4:55 p.m. to a semisubmersible ship some 3 kilometers away. 　“If we finish fixing the ferry to the semisubmersible ship, there will be no big risks (in

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province – As the sunken ferry Sewol began to be seen above the water Thursday, South Koreans flocked to Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, home to hundreds of victims of the maritime disaster on April 16, 2014, to pay their respects.As the salvage comes right before the third anniversary of the Sewol's sinking, emotions ran high in the city, where many of the memories about the victims still remain intact.At the joint memorial altar set up in the city, South Koreans left flowers and lett

JINDO, South Jeolla Province -- Several hours after rusted parts of the sunken Sewol ferry’s structure finally emerged from the waters on Thursday, the mother of a victim still missing at sea wept aloud at the port nearest the wreckage on the island Jindo. “I really miss you, my son. I hope he gets out of the freezing water and meets me here,” the mother of Yang Seung-jin, a teacher at Danwon High School in Ansan, told The Korea Herald at the Paengmok port. “How handsome my son is! He was a good

After questioning ousted President Park Geun-hye, at the core of a corruption scandal that has rocked the country, the prosecution is expected to quicken its investigation into local conglomerates and ex-Presidential Secretary Woo Byung-woo. For now, the investigation team has not revealed details on how the remaining probe will go or who will be summoned. It is also keeping mum on whether Park will be arrested and which charges she additionally faces during the briefing Wednesday. Former Presid

South Korea ranked 10th out of 188 countries in terms of gender equality, the highest among Asian nations, the UN rankings for 2015 showed. According to the Gender Gap Index released by the United Nations Development Program on Tuesday, South Korea scored 0.067 in 2015, up 13 notches compared to a year earlier, mainly on the back of a decrease in maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rate. (123RF)The GGI evaluates gender disparity using the measurements – women’s reproductive health, wom

South Korea's nuclear commission on Tuesday approved the restart of a reactor along the west coast that was shut down 10 months ago for maintenance.The Hanbit No. 2 reactor at the nuclear power plant in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province stopped operations on May 4, 2016, for routine inspections."After inspecting 87 categories, we have confirmed there is no problem related to safety," the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said.The commission found corrosion on the back of one of plates durin