Halting all training and daily tasks, all military personnel from commanders to draftees will receive a one-day special human rights education this week following a series of tragic incidents in barracks, the defense ministry said Thursday.Last week, an Army private first class, who died in April from asphyxiation after being hit by his senior comrades and choking on some snacks he had been eating, was found to have long suffered brutal physical, mental and even sexual abuse. In June, an Army se

Defense Aug. 7, 2014

South Korea's Army chief offered to resign Tuesday over the death of a conscript who allegedly suffered physical, sexual and mental abuse by his comrades, the defense ministry said Tuesday.   The 23-year-old Army private first class died in April after allegedly being hit in the chest by his senior colleagues at their barracks in Yeoncheon, just south of the inter-Korean border.   An initial investigation found that the deceased recruit had suffered severe physical abuse as well as sexual harass

Politics Aug. 5, 2014

South Korean officials accused North Korea of being hypocritical on Tuesday, responding to Pyongyang's condemnation of the South's military over the death of a bullied young Army conscript.The 23-year-old Army private first class died in April after allegedly being hit in the chest by his colleagues at their barracks while eating snacks, which led a chunk of food to get stuck in his airway. The private, identified only by his surname Yoon, was found to have suffered chronic bullying. The inciden

Defense Aug. 5, 2014

South Korea can boost its potential economic growth by employing more women in the workforce, a report said Tuesday, urging lawmakers to come up with relative measures for the country where female labor participation is among the lowest in developed nations."Underemployment in some segments of the (Korean) population is an important labor market challenge and a factor contributing to lower potential growth," the report jointly written by the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Korea said

Aug. 5, 2014

South Korea denounced Japan's repeated claim to Seoul's easternmost islets of Dokdo on Tuesday, calling it an "unjustifiable" move that would not help improve already chilled bilateral relations.Seoul's criticism came as Japan's Cabinet approved Tokyo's defense white paper for 2014 earlier in the day, in which Japan laid claim to the East Sea islets. Japan has asserted its claim to Dokdo in its defense report for the past 10 years.The Dokdo islets, which lie closer to South Korea than Japan in w

Foreign Affairs Aug. 5, 2014

South Korean lenders have seen a rise in counterfeit $100 bills in the first seven months of the year following the release of the redesigned denomination with bolstered security features, data showed Tuesday.The worth of fake U.S. notes found at seven local banks reached $73,143 in the January-July period, compared with $47,576 the previous year, according to industry data. Most of the counterfeit bills in circulation were $100 bills, which are the highest denomination in the U.S. currency syst

Aug. 5, 2014

The military prosecution said Tuesday it will bring an additional charge of sexual assault against one of the six soldiers accused of harassing and beating their junior conscript to death.The 23-year-old Army private first class, surnamed Yoon, died in April after allegedly being hit in the chest by his colleagues at their barracks while eating some snacks. The assault caused a piece of food to obstruct his airway, leading him to die of asphyxiation.Four of the alleged assailants were indicted o

Defense Aug. 5, 2014

Officials of the White House and the State Department have met secretly with two elderly Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of women, sources said Tuesday, an unprecedented move that suggests Washington's policy on the issue may change.The two -- Lee Ock-sun, 87, and Kang Il-chul, 86 -- met with White House officials last Tuesday before holding a meeting with State Department officials the following day, the sources said. It was the first time that White House and State Departm

Foreign Affairs Aug. 5, 2014

An overloaded ferry sank in rough conditions in central Bangladesh on Monday with up to 200 passengers on board, in the latest disaster to hit the country's rivers.Emergency workers said around 100 survivors and two dead bodies had been pulled out of the river, but the rest remain unaccounted for."The waves were huge, the ferry was rolling heavily from side to side," said survivor Syed Saadi, whose wife and two sons were still missing."The boat flooded with water after a huge wave hit it, and ti

World News Aug. 5, 2014

Another worker from a Samsung Electronics Co. chipmaking facility died earlier this month from leukemia after working at the company for 27 years, a labor advocacy group said Tuesday, just days after compensation talks between the two sides for similar victims ended without much progress.The Protector of Health and Human Rights of Semiconductor Workers said Lee Beom-woo, 47, died a month after being hospitalized for leukemia. He worked for 23 years at Samsung's facility in Onyang, South Chungche

Technology Aug. 5, 2014

South Korea's top two automakers -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. -- lagged behind their overseas rivals last year in terms of dividend payout ratio, one of the reasons for their low valuations, data showed on Tuesday.Hyundai Motor, the country's top automaker, paid 6.2 percent of its net profit to shareholders last year, higher than the 6 percent ratio posted in 2012, according to the data compiled by Meritz Securities Co.Hyundai's dividend payout ratio, a percentage of earnings a comp

Industry Aug. 5, 2014

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it plans to invest some 1.8 trillion won ($1.74 billion) this year to boost safety in its facilities across the country, following a series of accidents that led to deaths and injuries.This year's investment will mark a 50 percent rise from the 1.2 trillion won in 2013, the company said, adding it has already injected 1 trillion won through July, and the remaining budget will also be invested as scheduled."Most of the budget will

Technology Aug. 5, 2014

Mark Lippert, the nominee for U.S. ambassador to South Korea, has excellent qualifications to take up the job and would well serve both nations if the Senate confirms his nomination, the State Department said Monday.Lippert, chief of staff to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, was nominated in early May to replace Sung Kim as the top U.S. envoy to Seoul. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a confirmation hearing for him on June 18 and approved the nomination on June 24.But his appointment ha

Foreign Affairs Aug. 5, 2014

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves climbed to a new high last month, extending its record-breaking streak to a 13th straight month, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's foreign reserves came in at $368.03 billion as of end-July, increasing by $1.48 billion from the previous month, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights an

Aug. 5, 2014