The Korea Herald

Park names new top prosecutor

President Park Geun-hye named Kim Soo-nam, vice chief of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, as the next prosecutor general Friday, the presidential office said. Kim, 56, was nominated to replace current prosecutor general Kim Jin-tae, whose term is expected to end on Dec. 1. But he must go through a National Assembly hearing before he can take over the post. “Kim has gained insight and experience in the prosecution by leading probes into large-scale corruption cases,” Cheong Wae Dae spokesperson J

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2015

Gyeongsang men’s wives do more chores

South Korean women married to men from regions with stronger preference for sons tend to spend more time on housework than those in less conservative households, a study showed Friday. Korean men born in regions such as Gyeongsang Province with strong tendencies toward traditional gender roles cause imbalance in the amount of shared domestic chores with the wife, the report said.Led by economics professor Lee Chul-hee of Seoul National University, the research team studied the gender ratio at bi

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2015

Court orders retrial on soldier’s bullying death

South Korea’s top military court on Thursday ordered a lower court to reconsider the ruling that jailed four sergeants and corporals for beating a junior soldier to death, questioning the murder charge applied on three of them as accomplices.The court upheld the murder charge for a sergeant, surnamed Lee, for physically abusing a 23-year-old private first class Yoon Seung-joo to death, but differed on the other three equally accused of murdering Yoon as accomplices. “The murder charge can be app

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2015

South Korea on alert as 31 hit by mystery illness

Health authorities stepped up monitoring Thursday on students and faculty at Konkuk University in Seoul after an unconfirmed virus infected a total of 31 people and a school building was shut down.　Ten more were confirmed to be suffering from similar symptoms on the same day, after 21 had shown symptoms of high fever and coughing since last week. 　　The government said it is closely monitoring over 850 students and lecturers who have been using the College of Animal Bioscience and Technology buil

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2015

Foreign construction workforce increases

The proportion of foreigners working on construction sites is steadily increasing, with those in their 40s forming the largest group, government data showed Tuesday. According to the survey released by the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association, the number of migrants who work on construction sites has risen at a fast pace, with the proportion doubling from 7 percent in 2010 to 15.5 percent last year. The government agency compiled the data based on the workers’ membership in its welfare sc

Social Affairs Oct. 27, 2015

Court puts brake on police attempts to block protests

A Seoul court ordered the police on Tuesday to withdraw its decision to ban a demonstration in memory of Sewol ferry tragedy in central Seoul, questioning the authenticity of a petition that was cited.The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of a man, identified only by his surname Kim, who asked the court to lift the prohibition order by the police on holding a demonstration to pay tribute to the victims of the politically sensitive Sewol ferry disaster. Kim applied for a permit from the J

Social Affairs Oct. 27, 2015

Smoking leading cause of stroke: study

Smoking is the greatest contributing factor to ischemic strokes among young men, a recent medical study showed Monday. The research team, led by neurology professor Bae Hee-joon of Seoul National University, found that smoking plays the largest role in causing strokes for men aged 65 and younger, while high blood pressure was the main cause behind the fatal disease for those older than 65. The team studied the habits and medical records of 4,743 stroke patients, both men and women, aged 18-90 wh

Social Affairs Oct. 26, 2015

Korea, Laos mark 20 years of diplomatic ties with seminar

Marking 20 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Laos, the Korea-Laos Friendship Association hosted a seminar Friday in Seoul to share Korean culture to Lao students studying here as part of efforts to bolster bilateral ties and mutual understanding. The two-hour seminar, sponsored by the Korea Foundation, was held at Seoul Mapo Garden Hotel in central Seoul from 4 p.m., with 220 people in attendance. (From left) Korea Foundation auditor Lee Jong-chil, former Korea National Park Servic

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2015

Korea, Laos mark 20 years of diplomatic ties with seminar

Korea to deport Nigerian fleeing Boko Haram

A Nigerian man, who smuggled himself into South Korea to take shelter from his country’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram, faces deportation as an appeals court overturned its initial ruling Thursday. The court ruled against the Nigerian, who illegally entered the country by sea last year and applied for refugee status upon his arrival citing attacks and threats from the terrorist group in his home country. While the refugee application was in process, he filed a lawsuit to cancel the deportat

Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2015

Japan angered as Seoul seeks jail term for reporter

The prosecution sought an 18-month jail term for a Japanese journalist accused of defaming South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday, a decision that sparked fury from Japan.Prosecutors said that Tatsuya Kato, former Seoul bureau chief for Japanese right-wing paper Sankei Shimbun, intended to libel the South Korean president by reporting false rumors about her whereabouts at the time of the sinking of the Sewol ferry in April last year. Tatsuya Kato (Yonhap)Kato was indicted last October f

Social Affairs Oct. 20, 2015

Japan angered as Seoul seeks jail term for reporter

[Graphic News] South Korea’s life satisfaction among lowest in OECD

South Korea reported one of the lower levels of life satisfaction among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a recent report showed.According to the OECD’s How‘s Life 2015 report, South Korea ranked 27th among the 34 OECD countries, with a score of 5.8, substantially lower than the OECD average of 6.58. Denmark topped the list, followed by other Nordic countries -- Iceland, Switzerland and Finland. Japan came in 26th, a notch higher than Korea. The OECD

Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2015

[Graphic News] South Korea’s life satisfaction among lowest in OECD

Gov't assures enough time for new history textbooks

Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea said Friday that there is enough time to author a single history textbook for secondary school students apparently to dispel public concerns over the lack of preparation.The Ministry of Education announced on Monday that history textbooks for middle and high school students nationwide will be written by the government-designated authors and in use by the 2017 academic year.Following the announcement, some raised concerns that there is only one year left, saying t

Social Affairs Oct. 16, 2015

Korea, U.S. to adopt statement on N.K.

WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on Friday will adopt a joint statement on North Korea by renewing their strategic alliance to effectively contain its nuclear ambitions and provocations, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.　During a summit at the White House, the highlight of Park’s four-day trip to Washington, the two leaders are also expected to reaffirm their bilateral partnership and agree to upgrade their ties for shared economic prosperity an

Politics Oct. 16, 2015

Eco parks waste of tax money: auditor

South Korea’s audit agency warned Thursday that some municipalities’ push for creating ecological parks could lead to a massive waste of taxpayer money as their plan fails to follow necessary guidelines.In the audit report concerning the feasibility of local governments’ construction projects, the Board of Audit and Inspection noted that 34 local government offices had failed to reflect the river management guidelines in their plans to restore 42 rivers across the nation. (Yonhap)The budget for

Social Affairs Oct. 15, 2015

Prominent U.S. figures flock to Park’s dinner

WASHINGTON -- In a ritzy dinner event hosted by President Park Geun-hye in Washington on Wednesday, a number of prominent U.S. figures graced the occasion, expressing their full commitment to keep the bilateral friendship vital.　Representing the U.S. government, Secretary of State John Kerry attended the event spending the entire evening side-by-side the South Korean leader on the second day of her four-day visit to the U.S. 　President Park Geun-hye talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

Politics Oct. 15, 2015

Prominent U.S. figures flock to Park’s dinner

Articles by Ock Hyun-ju