Hydrofluoric acid gas was allegedly discharged into the surrounding environment from the Samsung Electronic Co. semiconductor line in Hwaseong City after a fatal leakage from one of the pipelines last month, according to a police investigation Friday.The latest development runs counter to the earlier statement by the world’s largest semiconductor maker that no toxic chemical was leaked outside the factory.“After analyzing CCTV footage in the central chemical supply system of the factory, the pol

Social Affairs Feb. 15, 2013

Yoo, 55, former minister of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, is one of the closest aides to President-elect Park Geun-hye. The veteran bureaucrat and third-term lawmaker served as top secretary to Park from 2008 to 2010 when she reduced her political activities following her defeat to President Lee Myung-bak in the presidential nomination race of the Grand National Party.He is currently the deputy chief of the preparatory committee for her inauguration.The nominee started his public ca

Social Affairs Feb. 13, 2013

South Koreans who reside in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea were confirmed to be safe amid growing tension in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test Tuesday. “No unusual situation has been found in the district yet after the North’s nuclear test,” an official from the Ministry of Unification said. Currently, 163 South Koreans are said to be staying in the Gaeseong industrial area as many of the residing workers came back home to spend the Lunar New Year holiday with their fa

North Korea Feb. 12, 2013

President Lee Myung-bak’s plan to reduce greenhouse below emissions to 30 percent below projected levels by 2020, one of his flagship green growth initiatives, may fail to reach its target, according to the latest plan for electricity supply and demand issued by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy. Critics say that the outgoing president’s “pipe dream” goals could receive backlash from the international community and damage the credibility of the nation. The ministry rolled out the sixth maste

Social Affairs Feb. 12, 2013

A Seoul appellant court ruled Saturday that the government should grant refugee status to a Myanmarese applicant who campaigned against his government in Korea.It upheld a lower court ruling that the Justice Ministry made an inappropriate decision in 2011 when it rejected his application for asylum though he could face political persecution back home.“He did not leave his nation due to fears of persecution, but it is justifiable to accept his application for refugee status if he faces fears of p

Social Affairs Feb. 11, 2013

The Seoul city government plans to provide a cash reward to anyone who reports on overcharging by taxi drivers. The ordinance passed a deliberative council at the city government on Wednesday. Under the new law, tipsters can receive a reward of 500,000 won ($500). “Either Koreans who have learned of rip-off cases against foreigners or the foreign travelers themselves can call ‘120’ to the Dasan 120 Seoul Call Center and report the unfair treatment,” said Kim Soo-jung, an official from the city t

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2013

A nominations committee for the next prosecutor general picked three candidates on Thursday. They are Kim Jin-tae, deputy general prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office, So Byung-chul, chief public prosecutor at the Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office, and Chae Dong-wook, prosecutor general at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office. “The committee screened the candidates based on their integrity and competence and looked through their financial assets and military duty,” said an official fr

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2013

The morning of Jan. 29 in Seoul, a mother who lost her daughter in a car accident three years ago in Costa Rica gave a tearful testimony in the trial of the suspected killer taking place in the Central American nation.The video-conference trial was the first of its kind since the establishment of the act on international judicial mutual assistance in criminal matters in 1991. The act Korea signed with 73 nations encourages the countries to cooperate in criminal investigations and trials, such as

Social Affairs Feb. 6, 2013

An investigation of a spy agent suspected of conducting an online smear campaign against an opposition presidential candidate during the December election took a new turn as new evidence emerged that another person was involved.Suseo Police Station said Sunday that five IDs made by the spy agent surnamed Kim were also used by a different person, whose name was withheld, in writing posts supporting President-elect Park Geun-hye and favoring other posts amiable to the president-elect.The new suspe

Social Affairs Feb. 4, 2013

A blaze on Sunday swept through containers used as dormitories at a factory in Gyeonggi Province, killing two Vietnamese workers residing in one of them. The fire, which occurred at a metal processing factory in Hwaseong at 12:08 a.m., destroyed four container-dorms before being put out an hour later. The other nine workers who stayed in the dorms were evacuated from the scene unharmed. “When firefighters arrived at the site, the containers had already been engulfed in flames. The blaze spread q

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2013

President-elect Park Geun-hye’s transition team has received tens of thousands of policy suggestions from ordinary people on issues ranging from university tuition fees, real estate policies and measures to help small business owners, an official said Sunday.Yoon Chang-jung, the spokesman for the transition team, told reporters at a briefing that a total of 23,734 policy suggestions have been submitted through Saturday for a daily average of nearly 1,000.Yoon said most of the ideas were closely

Social Affairs Feb. 3, 2013