Korea to expand project keeping wild boars from threatening residents

The Environment Ministry said Wednesday that it will expand a project to prevent wild boars inhabiting Mount Bukhan in Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi Province from entering downtown areas, as the animals have increasingly posed challenges to residents there.The project, which started last year in cooperation with the regional governments of Seoul and Gyeonggi and the Korea National Park Service, calls for capturing wild boars and setting traps or other facilities on their major trails to make it

April 5, 2017

Air pollution aggravates Parkinson's disease

Exposure to air pollution increases risk of aggravating Parkinson's disease and may cause neurological disease progression, a study showed Friday. According to the study by Kim Ho at Seoul National University, patients with the neurodegenerative disease are more likely to visit emergency rooms during days with high levels of air-pollutant particles.(Yonhap)Data for the study were drawn from 1 million cohort samples of South Koreans provided by the National Health Insurance Service between 2002 a

March 24, 2017

Military begins environmental impact assessment on THAAD site

South Korea has begun an environmental impact assessment of a local golf course ahead of the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system there, the military said Thursday, speeding up the deployment amid growing threats from North Korea.  The defense ministry picked a firm in December to conduct the assessment of the site in Seongju in the southeast, which will host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. Late last month, the company began looking into the location to see if THAA

March 16, 2017

Gov't to toughen monitoring of hepatitis C

The government will strengthen nationwide monitoring of hepatitis C as part of efforts to prevent a mass outbreak from recurring, officials said Monday.Hundreds of South Koreans were infected with the virus between 2015 and last year, which causes both acute and chronic infection.There is currently no vaccine, though about 15 to 45 percent of infected persons are known to spontaneously recover and clear out the virus within six months of infection without treatment.The Ministry of Welfare and He

March 13, 2017

More than half of captive marine mammals in Korea killed: data

More than half of captive marine mammals raised since 1990 in Korean aquariums are killed, data showed Tuesday, prompting concerns about the sub-par conditions in their breeding facilities.Out of 98 lives sent to Korean aquariums since 1990, 52 died of diseases while caged, according to environmentalists.“The remaining 41 marine mammals should be released to their homes,” said a member of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement in a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. (Herald DB)The cas

March 7, 2017

Endangered brown long-eared bat found in eastern Korea

An endangered species of bats has been found in caves in Gangwon Province, a study showed Tuesday. The recent study by Inje County in Gangwon Province indicated that three species of bats -- the brown long-eared bat, eastern long-fingered bat and greater horseshoe bat -- had been found in caves across the province. The brown long-eared bat is listed as an endangered species level II, whereas the other two are believed to be the most common bat species in the nation.  A brown long-eared bat (Gaya

March 7, 2017

Bird flu in Korea unlikely to infect humans: health authorities

South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that there is very low risk that the avian influenza virus strain in the country will infect humans.The H5N6 strain of AI is not very contagious when it comes to people, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. South Korea has yet to report any human infection of the flu.The announcement comes as the country has struggled to contain the animal disease for nearly three months.(Yonhap)The KCDC said it intentionally infected a weasel wi

March 7, 2017

Korea confirmed to have 47,000 indigenous species of animals, plants

South Korea is confirmed to have more than 47,000 indigenous species of animals and plants for the first time in 20 years, with more than 100,000 native species presumed to exist on the entire Korean Peninsula, a state-run think tank said Thursday.The National Institute of Biological Resources, affiliated with the Environment Ministry, put the number of the country's indigenous biological species at 47,003 as of December last year, which it has listed as part of a project to establish a comprehe

Feb. 9, 2017

Half of Koreans say fine dust action plan ‘unsatisfactory’

Amid growing public anxiety over the Korean Peninsula’s gray skies and health risks linked to air pollution, more than half of South Koreans find themselves unsatisfied with the government’s countermeasures against fine dust, a survey showed Wednesday.According to the poll conducted by the state-run Korea Environment Institute, 53.1 percent of Koreans said the government’s fine dust countermeasures are unsatisfactory, while another 55.2 percent said they worry about the current fine dust level h

Feb. 1, 2017

Porpoises biggest victims of incidental catches, poaching among whales

Seven out of 10 aquatic mammals accidentally caught in nets or poached in South Korea are finless porpoises, designated as a maritime mammal to be conserved by the government last year, with the number of such victims reaching some 1,300 on average annually, the coast guard here said Thursday.According to the Ulsan Maritime Security Police, a total of 9,710 whales were trapped in nets or illegally captured inside the South Korean waters between 2011-15.  (Yonhap)Of the total, porpoises took for

Jan. 12, 2017

Study blames windstorm for warmer Arctic

Excessive warmth in the Arctic was triggered by the entry of a strong Atlantic windstorm, a team of South Korean researchers has revealed. According to a study released Thursday by researchers of the Korea Polar Research Institute, the warm and moist air driven to the Arctic by a windstorm named “Frank” is the primary contributing factor of the extremely warm weather in the region. Storm Frank, the worst winter flooding on record in the United Kingdom, left hundreds homeless for two days in late

Jan. 5, 2017

Korea to reduce greenhouse gases 37% by 2030

South Korea unveiled a set of measures on Tuesday to promote renewable energy usage and expand research and development in order to meet the long-term target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent.The plan, approved by the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, is aimed at changing the country's energy structure into a more environmentally friendly power supply system and preparing for the upcoming low-carbon era, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.South Kore

Dec. 6, 2016

[Weekender] Best places for winter bird-watching

Migratory birds visit South Korea from around October as the air begins to grow cool, heralding the change in season. These winged guests come annually from Russia, China and Mongolia, flying without rest for 15 hours per day to spend a “warmer” winter on the peninsula and nurture new life.Their arrival here makes winter prime time for bird-watching, with several spots that are especially popular. These sites are usually near river basins and deltas, where rivers meet the sea.  A flock of migrat

Nov. 18, 2016

[Weekender] Arrival of winter guests

CHEORWON, Gangwon Province -- From October, hundreds of winged guests arrive at Cheorwon, a rural town near the northern border. On a long, arduous journey to southern wintering grounds, about 800 cranes make a stopover at Cheorwon for its some 10,500 hectares of rice fields, which provide abundant food and resting places for them. Kim Su-ho, a local vet for wild birds with over 20 years of experience, says he is able to tell the difference between cranes that have been there before and those vi

Nov. 18, 2016

Use of disposable cups surges to record volume

Use of disposable cups in South Korea surged to a record-high volume last year mainly due to heavy coffee drinking, government data showed Sunday.The Ministry of Environment said more than 672.4 million disposable cups were used in South Korea last year, up 7.7 percent from the 2014 tally of 624.32 million. The actual amount of single-use cups used here can be much greater than the government tally because the ministry's data was based only on sales from 12 large coffee chains and five fast food

Oct. 16, 2016

Seoul to resume policing operations to protect Han River waters

South Korea will resume its policing operations next month to prevent Chinese fishermen from illegally entering neutral waters of the Han River estuary ahead of the peak season for crab fishing, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. In June, the joint military police unit composed of the Marine Corps personnel and police forces under the approval of the UNC Military armistice commission successfully completed its first round of operations near the Han River to expel Chinese fishermen, th

Aug. 31, 2016

Korea's finance minister meets with GCF head

South Korea's finance minister on Thursday held a meeting with the head of the Green Climate Fund to discuss ways to enhance the country's contribution to the development of the organization, the finance ministry here said."The South Korean government is concerned about the development of the GCF, which is headquartered in our country," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho was quoted as saying in a meeting with Hela Cheikhrouhou, the executive director of the GCF, in Seoul.South Korea`s Finance Minister Y

Aug. 11, 2016