The prosecution raided the National Intelligence Service Tuesday as part of its widening probe into the agency’s alleged politicking in the presidential election last year. It was the second time in history for the top spy agency to undergo a search and seizure.The prosecution’s move came a day after former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon was questioned for more than 14 hours for his alleged role in the scandal.A team of 25 prosecutors reportedly seized relevant documents, digital files, and hard disks f

Social Affairs April 30, 2013

Seoul City government has published a new food and restaurant guide in three foreign languages for travelers visiting the city, officials said Tuesday.The booklet named “Soul Food of Seoul” recommends representative Korean dishes and the 10 must-visit restaurants in the city and is available in English, Chinese and Japanese. It introduces various dining places on popular food streets such as Shindang-dong Tteokboggi (rice cake with spicy sauce) Alley, Hamheung Naengmyun (cold noodle) street and

Social Affairs April 30, 2013

A group of lawyers accused the National Intelligence Service of fabricating a pro-North Korea espionage charge against a Chinese-Korean man. In February the former Seoul City employee identified by his surname Yoo was indicted for handing information on around 200 North Korean defectors to Pyongyang agents. The Lawyers for a Democratic Society said Saturday that NIS agents threatened and coaxed his sister to make false confessions about her brother’s espionage activities. “Yoo’s sister made the

Social Affairs April 28, 2013

A string of cases involving parents killing their children have recently shocked the nation, ringing the alarm on the dangers of broken families and mental vulnerability.On Sunday, a mother in her 30s stabbed her two children to death in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, after reportedly suffering from depression. Her husband told police that he had found his wife bleeding from self-inflicted wounds on her neck. The 13-month and 3-week-old sons were found on the bed stabbed in the neck multiple times. Th

Social Affairs April 23, 2013

Police in Daegu are searching for two suspects in an arson attack on a private English institute which the self-proclaimed anti-American activists apparently mistook for a U.S. government facility. Police said the fire appeared to have been started by improvised explosives on Monday morning. A cleaning worker, surnamed Lee, called the police after she heard an explosion and found smoke with fliers scattered in front of the institute on the third floor of a nine-story building in the city. Police

Social Affairs April 23, 2013

An investigation into intelligence agents’ alleged interference in politics took a new turn over the weekend upon whistle-blowing by a police chief investigator that sent ripples through political circles and the nation’s intelligence agency. Kwon Eun-hee, a former chief investigator at the Suseo Police Station, confessed Saturday through several media interviews that there was pressure from high-ranking police officers from the National Police Agency during the investigation against agents of t

Social Affairs April 21, 2013

The National Assembly is set to debate a proposal to give incentives to working mothers in employment with the government and state-run firms as part of steps to tackle the declining birthrate.Rep. Shin Eui-jin from the ruling Saenuri Party submitted a bill to promote gender equality in employment and help women balance work and family life last December. It demands that additional points within a range of 2 percent should be given to moms when seeking a job at government offices and some privat

Social Affairs April 17, 2013

The government and political parties reached an agreement Monday to readjust the proposed rules for real-estate tax breaks aimed at boosting the lackluster property market.The government has proposed that transaction tax for houses worth up to 900 million won ($799,000) and up to 85 square meters be exempted for five years.In a three-way meeting, representatives of the Finance Ministry, the ruling Saenuri Party and the opposition Democratic United Party agreed to lower the threshold to 600 milli

Social Affairs April 15, 2013

The Seoul High Court on Monday lowered the jail term for Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn from four years to three years after confirming most of the charges of embezzlement and breach of trust.The court cleared him of some charges related to breach of trust in connection with a corporate takeover. But the court additionally found him guilty of illegally supporting an affiliate, for which he was acquitted by a lower court. Kim was imprisoned last year but released in January due to poor heal

Social Affairs April 15, 2013

The Supreme Court has recently opened a website to provide legal assistance in more than a dozen languages to foreign residents in Korea. Aside from the court’s English website, the new website (jifi.scourt.go.kr) provides detailed explanations of the principles and rules of the legal system such as civil and criminal lawsuits, judicial independence, and types of courts in 15 languages. The language services include Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai.“The Supreme Court set up the website to meet an in

Social Affairs April 14, 2013

A middle school student in Incheon was apprehended Thursday for allegedly killing a mentally disabled girl after a failed rape attempt.Police said the 16-year-old suspect tried to rape the 12-year-old victim at a building after kidnapping her on her way home from school Wednesday.After failing to rape her, he lured her to a nearby field by asking her to play. He reportedly made a hole in the field with a small shovel he had brought with him, made her lie in the pit, and suffocated her to death b

Social Affairs April 11, 2013

A mother and father who allegedly killed their two children after failing to commit family suicide were apprehended, according to police Thursday. Police said they caught the husband surnamed Lee, 46, and his wife surnamed Jeong, 37, at a farm in Busan on Wednesday. The family left their home in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in February 2011 and were out of contact since then. The bodies of their two daughters, aged 10 and 12, were found near a valley in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province in December of th

Social Affairs April 11, 2013