The Korea Herald

Bar owners want card commission cuts too

Joining in on the popular outrage directed at credit card firms, bar and karaoke owners demanded Wednesday that they benefit from the same reduction in credit card commission rates as restaurant owners. “People in the nightspot business are discriminated against by credit card companies, which exclu

Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2011

Dozens probed for pro-N.K. online activity

Korean Air pilot accused of posting pro-Pyongyang messages onlineAbout 40 internet users, including a Korean Air pilot, are under investigation for their postings online that praise North Korea, which law enforcement authorities in the South view as a breach of the national security law. According t

Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2011

Restaurateurs demand lower card costs

Tens of thousands of restaurant owners rally at Olympic Stadium in Seoul on Tuesday, demanding credit card firms lower commission rates for restaurants. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)In a rare collective action, owners of restaurants across the country rallied in Seoul on Tuesday, demanding a cut

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2011

Third labor group to launch next month

A third umbrella labor group is to launch next month, with nearly 70 trade unions and 30,000 workers as its members, a union activist leading the move said Tuesday. “We plan to hold an inaugural meeting early next month and submit the necessary documents to register with the Labor Ministry,” said Je

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2011

Hwang claims to have cloned coyotes

Hwang Woo-suk, a veterinary scientist who doctored his research data claiming to have cloned the world’s first human embryonic stem cells, claimed Sunday that he had become the first to succeed in cloning endangered coyotes. “We produced the cloned coyotes by extracting adult skin cells from coyotes

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2011

Environmental budget tops 5 trillion won

Korea’s budget for environmental projects will exceed 5 trillion won next year for the first time, the Ministry of Environment said last week. The Ministry of Environment expects to receive 5.15 trillion won ($4.4 billion) for 2012.“The annual budget topping 5 trillion won is very meaningful for the

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2011

Environmental budget tops 5 trillion won

Garuda targets Korean travelers

Indonesian airline adds new flights, hires Korean flight attendantsJAKARTA ― Garuda Indonesia, after years of concentration on safety improvements, is preparing to aggressively target Korean passengers, adding new flights and hiring Korean flight attendants. “Korea is a prospective market for us. Bu

Industry Oct. 16, 2011

Lee, Obama vow ‘stronger alliance’

Summit talks focused on FTA, security partnership, North KoreaWASHINGTON, D.C. ― President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday said Korea and the United States have agreed to develop their ties into an “even stronger alliance,” a day after the U.S. Congress ratified the two countries’ free trade agreement.“He

Politics Oct. 14, 2011

Sung Kim confirmed as U.S. envoy to Korea

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Sung Kim, a career diplomat, as the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea, more than four months after his nomination, officials here said.The unanimous approval came as South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak is on a state visit here. The

Foreign Affairs Oct. 14, 2011

Sung Kim confirmed as U.S. envoy to Korea

Na’s spokesman quits after drunk TV debate

A spokesman for the ruling Grand National Party’s Seoul mayoral candidate Na Kyung-won resigned over the weekend after being accused of appearing on a live TV debate show while intoxicated. “I offered to resign because I didn’t want to be a burden to Na,” Shin Ji-ho, a GNP lawmaker and chief press o

Politics Oct. 9, 2011

Na’s spokesman quits after drunk TV debate

Ex-vice culture minister questioned over bribery

Former Vice Culture Minister Shin Jae-min on Sunday was questioned by state prosecutors after a businessman claimed to have given him nearly 1 billion won ($847,000) over the space of a decade. The interrogation is expected to widen investigations into the scandal including President Lee Myung-bak’s

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2011

Ex-vice culture minister questioned over bribery

Seoul kicks off conference of lawyers from Asia-Pacific

South Korea kicked off an international legal conference Sunday to discuss new developments in financial, intellectual property and energy issues, the event’s organizers said.Some 900 lawyers, judges, prosecutors and other legal experts from the Asia-Pacific region also plan to exchange opinions on

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2011

Lee to visit Detroit together with Obama

President invited to deliver speech to Congress during U.S. visit Friday Korean President Lee Myung-bak will visit the Detroit area later this week with U.S. President Barack Obama, a presidential aide here said Saturday, in what appeared to be a trade-related visit.Lee and Obama are scheduled to vi

Politics Oct. 9, 2011

Only 20 N.K. defectors work in officialdom: lawmaker

Only 20 North Korean defectors work as public servants in South Korea, an opposition lawmaker said Sunday, the latest sign that North Koreans are struggling to join mainstream South Korean society.The figure represents just a small fraction of the more than 22,000 North Korean defectors in South Kor

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2011

Lone Star found guilty of stock price manipulation

Ex-Korean chief of U.S. firm sentenced to three years in jailA Seoul court on Thursday found Lone Star Funds and its former chief of its unit guilty of stock-price manipulation, overturning an acquittal in 2008. The Seoul High Court ruled that the Texas-based private equity fund and Paul Yoo rigged

Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2011

Articles by Lee Sun-young