The Korea Herald

[Graphic News] New disposal system reduces household waste

The amount of Korean household waste has fallen sharply over the past 20 years thanks to the introduction of a new disposable system, a report showed Wednesday. Since 1995, the government has implemented a volume-rate disposal system which requires residents to purchase and use special trash bags. The price of the trash bag is proportional to its volume. As of 2013, Koreans threw out about 49,000 tons of waste each day, which is 16.2 percent lower than before the system was introduced. The dail

July 8, 2015

[Graphic News] New disposal system reduces household waste

Korea tops ranks of government data releases

South Korea topped the ranking of open government data releases among major countries, a global report showed Tuesday. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea recorded 0.98 out of 1 point in the ranking of “Open, Useful, Reusable Government Data.” The average score of the 30 OECD members was 0.58 point. A higher score means the public information is more available and accessible on the national portal, and that the government actively supports the reuse of t

Social Affairs July 7, 2015

Official dies while probing China crash

A senior South Korean official was found dead Sunday in the northeastern Chinese city of Jian while he was handling affairs surrounding a deadly bus crash that killed 10 Koreans, the government said. Choi Doo-yeong, the president of the Local Government Officials’ Development Institute, was found dead on the ground outside a hotel. He seemed to have fallen from his fourth-floor hotel room, but the reason for it had not been confirmed, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs sa

Social Affairs July 5, 2015

Korean response team sent to China over deadly bus accident

The South Korean government on Thursday sent an emergency response team to China to handle a deadly tourist bus accident that killed 10 Koreans and one Chinese, officials said. (Yonhap)On Wednesday afternoon, a bus carrying 28 passengers fell 15 meters into a river from a 4-meter-wide bridge in the northeastern Chinese city of Jian, killing 11, including nine Korean public servants and one Korean tour guide. The injured are under treatment, with five in critical condition, the Ministry of Gover

Social Affairs July 2, 2015

Korean response team sent to China over deadly bus accident

Korean cars greener than imports: report　

Korean cars emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants than imported vehicles, a government report showed Wednesday. According to the Environment Ministry, the average emissions grade of local vehicles was 2.46, which is 0.27 lower than foreign-made automobiles. Cars were rated from grade 1 to 5 based on the emissions level of air pollution substances, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. With grade 1 being the greenest, each higher grade indicates the emissions of 15 percent more air

Mobility July 1, 2015

Korea eyes 37% emissions cut

South Korea on Tuesday offered to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 37 percent from the expected business-as-usual level by 2030, revising its previous targets in the face of criticism that the country was backtracking in its progress.The latest target comprises actual mitigations of 25.7 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and the purchase of global carbon credits equivalent to 11.3 percent. This will lead to emissions of 536 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, the Environment Ministry

Social Affairs June 30, 2015

[News Focus] Incheon landfill deal stirs controversy

Controversy has stirred over the metropolitan landfill agreement for household waste management that Seoul City and the neighboring provinces reached over the weekend after a yearlong dispute. The Incheon city government agreed to extend the use of its landfill site for the capital and Gyeonggi Province to dump their household waste in exchange for financial benefits. The landfill site was set to close by next year as it was expected to be full by then. The landfill site of 16 million square met

Social Affairs June 29, 2015

Another Samsung doctor contracts MERS

Another Samsung Medical Center doctor was found to have been infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome, raising questions over measures to protect medical staff treating patients with the deadly virus, health officials said Friday. The Health Ministry said a 26-year-old doctor caught the virus while treating the 135th patient -- an emergency worker who was infected while taking a MERS patient to the hospital. Park Chang-il, director of Konyang University Hospital in Daejeon, hugs the

Social Affairs June 26, 2015

Half of Seoul residents feel unsafe: survey

More than half of Seoul City residents do not feel safe in the capital with anxiety growing over their daily life, a public think tank’s survey showed Thursday.According to a survey by the Seoul Institute, about 52 percent of the respondents said the capital is not safe, with 9 percent replying that the city is very unsafe. Over 60 percent of the surveyed said the city has become more dangerous than 10 years ago, with 11.6 percent saying that it became a lot more dangerous. Women, white-collar w

Social Affairs June 25, 2015

Half of Seoul residents feel unsafe: survey

Bus drivers call off strike

Bus drivers in Seoul called off their scheduled strike early Thursday after they reached a wage increase agreement with employers.The unionized bus drivers and bus company owners agreed to raise hourly wages by 3.7 percent. The drivers were demanding a 7.29 percent rise and additional welfare benefits while bus owners sought to freeze wages. The drivers’ union had threatened to stage a strike from Saturday unless their demands were accepted. Over 90 percent of the union members on Wednesday vote

Social Affairs June 25, 2015

Roh Moo-hyun’s brother quizzed in Sung scandal

An elder brother of late President Roh Moo-hyun was summoned Wednesday for allegedly exerting his influence in securing a special presidential pardon for Sung Woan-jong, a business tycoon who committed suicide in April. Roh Gun-pyeong is suspected of pressuring government officials to allow Sung to be pardoned at the end of his brother’s term in 2007. The summons is part of the investigation into the “bribery list” that Sung left before he killed himself. In 2007, the businessman was sentenced t

Social Affairs June 24, 2015

Seoul, Hyundai begin Gangnam land talks

Seoul City and Hyundai Motor Group kicked off discussions Tuesday over the use of land in Gangnam bought from Korea Electronic Power Corp., as controversy persisted over the scope of its development. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)In September last year, the conglomerate purchased the 79,345-square-meter plot of land in southern Seoul for 10.55 trillion won ($9.5 billion), which was nearly triple its appraised value. It proposed to invest about 5 trillion won in constructing its new headquarter

Social Affairs June 23, 2015

Tour package booking plummets by over 80%

Reservations of Korea travel packages plummeted by more than 80 percent for the upcoming peak season this summer, amid concerns over the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak, a union of travel agencies said Monday. According to the Korea Association of Travel Agents, about 200,000 foreign visitors booked Korean tour packages for July and August, down 82 percent from a year ago. This is expected to cause a loss of over 100 billion won ($90 million) in sales. By nationality, the number of Jap

Social Affairs June 22, 2015

S. Korean finance chief to join signing for China's AIIB

South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan will visit China later this month to attend the signing ceremony for the charter of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a diplomatic source said Monday. With Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to oversee it, the signing ceremony will be held on June 29 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the source said on the condition of anonymity. South Korea is among 57 founding members of the AIIB, which is seen as a potential counterbalance to

June 15, 2015

N. Korea to send two S. Koreans back home

North Korea notified South Korea on Monday of its plan to repatriate two South Koreans, alleged to have illegally entered the communist nation, later this week, the Unification Ministry said.In a fax message, the North said it will send a 59-year-old man, only identified by his surname, Lee, and a 51-year-old woman, surnamed Jin, back to the South on Wednesday via the truce village of Panmunjom that sits on the inter-Korean border, according to the ministry.The North said they "illegally" entere

North Korea June 15, 2015

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