A 63-year-old female pastor was booked without detention on Tuesday for violation of an election law. Surnamed Choi, the pastor had spread fliers during the election period in April against candidates who had called for equal rights for homosexuals.(Yonhap)Those targeted by Choi for “defending and promoting” homosexuality include candidates who called for including homosexuals in an antidiscrimination law, and those who called for a revision of the military criminal act that would allow homosexu

Social Affairs May 31, 2016

Ulsan District court on Thursday sentenced a man who attempted to rape a woman to 3 1/2 years in prison, along with 80 hours in a rehabilitation program. The woman had been in the same class as the man in university and according to the court, the two had had a fairly close relationship until she began to draw the line.  (123RF)The man had asked the woman out and drugged her coffee while the two of them were in his car, said the court. He then drove her to his house and attempted to rape her, ho

Social Affairs May 31, 2016

POSCO, South Korea's biggest steelmaker, has regained its status as the world's fourth-largest steel-producing firm, data from the World Steel Association showed Tuesday.The Pohang-based company produced 41.9 million tons of crude steel in 2015, ranking as the world's fourth largest steel producer, up one notch in the ranking.It ranked fourth by output in 2011, but it remained fifth for three years till last year.POSCO's production was little changed from the 41.5 million tons recorded in 2014.T

Industry May 31, 2016

Power and construction equipment conglomerate Doosan Group raised a total of 3.3 trillion won by selling affiliates, business units and assets over the past two years to shore up its shaky balance sheet, industry sources said Tuesday.Earlier in the day, Doosan sold off its defense unit, Doosan DST, to Hanwha Techwin Corp., a defense unit of major South Korean business group Hanwha, for 354 billion won, according to the sources.In March, Hanwha Techwin was picked as the preferred bidder for Doosa

May 31, 2016

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday called for fostering a new maritime industry and developing it into a future growth dynamo, underscoring that the maritime sector will present new economic opportunities for Asia's fourth-largest economy.In a video message at a ceremony marking Marine Day, Park also said that the nation, surrounded by the sea on three sides, should capitalize on its geographical features to fuel its growth momentum."(The country) should find a new maritime industry that is link

Industry May 31, 2016

South Korea has contributed more than $100 million to trust funds operated by the Inter-America Development Bank for the past 10 years to help the region develop further, the finance minister said Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy joined the IDB in 2005 and has made contributions to three trust funds -- the Knowledge Partnership Fund for Technology and Innovation, the Korea Poverty Reduction Fund and the Public Capacity Building Korea Fund for Economic Development. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho

May 31, 2016

A pastor was handed down three years in prison by the Incheon District Court on Tuesday for raping a female member of his congregation.He was identified only by his last name, Sim, in the sentencing. 　According to the Incheon District Court, 35-year-old Sim claimed innocence as he and the 23-year-old churchgoer had supposedly had an existing romantic extramarital affair which involved mutually agreed sex. (123RF)On Jan. 4, Sim invited the victim to his house while his wife was away and raped the

Social Affairs May 31, 2016

A steep salary gap may impede South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co.'s post-merger integration efforts even if it obtains government approval for its proposed acquisition of CJ Hellovision, industry people said Tuesday.In the January-March quarter, SK Telecom's 4,184 employees received an average of 51 million won ($43,000) per person, almost four times higher than the average salary of 14 million won for CJ Hellovision's 1,109 workers, according to data from the Financial Supervisory S

Industry May 31, 2016

South Korea's business community appealed to the country's new parliament Tuesday to focus on easing regulations and facilitating a shift in the industrial structure."The term of the 20th National Assembly is when the formula of South Korea's economic growth is changing," Park Yong-maan, president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said as the business lobby group issued a list of suggestions for lawmakers. National Assembly (Yonhap)The new National Assembly began its four-year term

May 31, 2016

South Korean firms suffering months-long financial damage from the shutdown of a joint industrial complex in North Korea expressed discontent with the latest government support measures on Tuesday, saying the partial aid is not enough to compensate for their losses. Seoul shut down the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North's border city of the same name on Feb. 10 in response to Pyongyang's January nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in February.  Gaeseong Industrial Complex (Yonhap)In

Industry May 31, 2016

The delinquency rate for loans extended by South Korean banks edged up in April from a month earlier as some loans extended to households and businesses turned sour, government data showed Tuesday. The average delinquency rate for bank loans stood at 0.64 percent at the end of April, up 0.01 percentage point from a month earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement. Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)Year-on-year, the figure fell 0.12 percentage points from 0.76 percent, it

May 31, 2016

The number of public firms introducing the government-proposed wage system based on workers' performance is growing at a faster rate than hoped for, despite growing labor opposition that might lead to legal battles.As of Tuesday, about 70 state-run firms and public organizations out of the total 120 that are required to introduce the new wage system have done so, well ahead of the June 30 deadline for state-run companies and the Dec. 31 deadline for public organizations set by the government, ac

Industry May 31, 2016