A court in Busan on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against Lee Jong-chan, the senior executive vice president of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. implicated in a snowballing corruption scandal. The court issued the warrant out of concerns that the suspect could destroy evidence or flee, officials said. The prosecution on Tuesday detained the 53-year-old executive and requested a warrant against him.Lee, who heads KEPCO’s overseas business division, allegedly conspired with parts suppl

Social Affairs Aug. 15, 2013

Record heat waves have been baking East Asian countries including Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan due to a Pacific high pressure system. In South Korea, the scorching weather has killed at least six people and left hundreds sickened over the past week, Seoul officials said.Heat wave alerts have been issued in most parts of the country, with peak temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius. Tropical nights have also continued as night temperatures stayed above 25 degrees. On Sunday, two elderl

Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2013

The Seoul government said Sunday that it would ease visa rules for visitors from China, Southeast Asian countries and foreign patients, as part of efforts to promote the local tourism industry and offer convenience to travelers from neighboring nations.Starting next month, the Justice Ministry will expand the issuance of multiple visas for Chinese nationals to their spouses and children. Seoul will also issue multiple-entry visas to Chinese nationals who have memberships in condominiums in Korea

Foreign Affairs Aug. 11, 2013

Seoul City’s plan to build new light rail lines is mired in controversy as questions grow about its feasibility, cost-effectiveness and even the mayor’s political intentions. Seoul Metropolitan Government in July unveiled the project to lay nine rail transit routes in 10 years to reduce gaps in the city’s public transportation network. The total cost of construction is estimated at 8.553 trillion won ($7.69 billion). The city plans to fund half of it from municipal and central government coffers

Social Affairs Aug. 11, 2013

Australia’s Macquarie Group and other large shareholders will withdraw from the subway business in Seoul after a year-long dispute over fares, city officials said Wednesday. Three Korean insurance companies, including a major life insurer, will take over the controversial Seoul Metro Line 9 Corp. owned by a consortium of Macquarie Korea Asset Management Co. and Hyundai Rotem. The potential investors are expected to inject around 700 billion won ($630 million) while not being directly involved in

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2013

The Seoul Institute, a city research center, is pushing to form a research community with metropolitan cities in Asia, to build common ground for solving city issues and sharing policies. “General consensus among global cities is necessary as they all share similar issues such as environment and traffic problems. I believe Seoul can take a lead in such areas,” Seoul Institute President Lee Chang-hyun told The Korea Herald on Friday. In Asia, a coalition of local authorities called CITYNET has be

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2013

Seoul City’s local tax revenue decreased 4.3 percent on year to 5.3 trillion won ($4.75 billion) in the first half of the year due to an economic slowdown, officials said Wednesday.Its tax intake reached 42 percent of the original goal for the whole year.Income tax collection dropped by 180 billion won from the same period last year, mainly due to the reduction in corporate tax. Real estate acquisition tax revenue also decreased by 100 billion won to 1.2 trillion won due to the tax breaks aimed

Social Affairs July 31, 2013

The government shut down or suspended over 80 international marriage agencies in the first half of the year, the Gender Equality and Family Ministry said Wednesday.The number of such firms dropped by 12 percent to 1,204 during the period, slightly declining since last year. The ministry closed 27 for failing to meet qualifications and halted operations of 54 firms for not writing out contracts with their clients. (rene@heraldcorp.com)

Social Affairs July 31, 2013

Seoul City and private partners began to operate the largest solar power plant in the metropolis Tuesday as part of efforts to boost the electricity supply and increase the use of clean, renewable energy sources.The 5-megawatt plant marks the first phase of a joint project by the municipal government, chemicals and utility firm OCI, and environmental civic group Energy & Peace to build a combined 100-MW solar power stations in the city by 2014. The Amsa plant, located on a 76,800-square-meter si

Social Affairs July 30, 2013

Some district offices in Seoul plan to designate streets near colleges as nonsmoking zones. Smoking will be prohibited on a 250-meter pedestrian street in front of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, eastern Seoul, from next year, a Dongdaemun-gu Office official said Monday. This is the first time that a smoking ban has been imposed on university streets. In 2003, the 250-meter walkway in front of Sungshin Women’s University, northeastern Seoul, was named a smoke-free zone, but it was not lega

Social Affairs July 29, 2013

Seoul opened a one-stop job center for female marriage immigrants on Monday. The Western Women’s Development Center in southwestern Seoul, selected as the first career center for multicultural families, will offer consulting, job coaching and various courses such as computer technology and sales services.The center will be affiliated with 24 other women’s career centers and multicultural family support systems, sharing employment information and consulting services. Only marriage immigrant women

Social Affairs July 29, 2013

The government plans to conduct a public image survey of Korea targeting citizens in major countries for the first time, Foreign Affairs Ministry officials said Sunday. More than a thousand citizens of 10 countries in four continents including India, Germany, Canada and Egypt will be asked their impression of Korea over the course of two months. The purpose of the survey is to collect preliminary data for the state’s goal of creating an “attractive Korea trusted by the world” by reflecting the r

Foreign Affairs July 28, 2013

The prime ministers of Korea and France agreed to enhance the bilateral partnership in trade, investment and high-tech businesses on Thursday. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault visited Seoul as part of an Asian tour and met with President Park Geun-Hye and his counterpart Chung Hong-won. Jung and Ayrault promised to harness the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement to boost economic ties and further cooperate in the future growth sectors of information technology, robotics, medicine and pharmaceut

Politics July 25, 2013