An appeals court has lowered the sentence for a South Korean man charged with making an unauthorized visit to North Korea after finding him not guilty of paying his respect to late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, a court official said Sunday.The defendant, identified only by his surname Cho, 54, made the visit to the North via Germany, Japan and China in 1995, and attended a series of events, including paying homage at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Palace, where the embalmed body of the country's found

Social Affairs Sept. 29, 2013

The government seeks to revise related laws to allow consumers to cancel trips anytime before departure without being charged cancellation fees starting in the first half of 2014.The Ministry of Justice said on Sunday the revision would ban the widespread practice as part of efforts to strengthen customers’ rights.Travelers will also be able to request price reductions when travel programs are different from those stated in the contract. Travel agencies require customers to pay penalties for boo

Social Affairs Sept. 29, 2013

The government plans to increase its support for small and medium enterprises to create jobs next year including 37,000 part-time positions, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Sunday. The government has set aside about 11.8 trillion won ($11 billion) of its proposed 357.7 trillion won budget for next year to help create jobs as part of the Park Geun-hye administration’s goal of raising the employment rate to 70 percent by 2017 from the current 64.2 percent. Spending for job provision will

Social Affairs Sept. 29, 2013

The government and ruling party decided Tuesday to loosen a new regulation that requires companies to register chemical substances, in the face of strong backlash from businesses.During a policy consultation, the Ministry of Environment and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to exempt chemicals used in small amounts or used for research and development purposes from the requirement, which will come into force in late 2014. The National Assembly passed the new law in April to tighten rules on indust

National Sept. 24, 2013

A progressive teachers’ group pledged Tuesday to fight the government’s order to expel fired teachers or risk losing its status as a full-fledged trade union.The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday sent a one-month ultimatum to the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union to change a contentious bylaw which allows dismissed teachers to be members.Unless the group complies with the order by Oct. 23, the ministry said it would be deprived of its rights as a trade union, including the

National Sept. 24, 2013

The Japanese government is moving to protest South Korea’s ban on all fisheries products from Fukushima and adjacent regions for fear of radioactive exposure, posing another strain on the bilateral relations already frayed by historical rows. A high-ranking official at Japan’s Fisheries Agency is set to visit South Korea on Monday in an apparent move to pressure Seoul into lifting the import ban, reports said.Kenji Kagawa, director-general of Resources Enhancement Promotion Department, will requ

Foreign Affairs Sept. 15, 2013

One of Korea’s two major umbrella union groups decided to boycott talks with the government and management over the so-called ordinary wage system, dampening the Park Geun-hye administration’s hopes of settling the controversy through social compromise within the year. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions said on Wednesday that it will not attend the dialogue panel being hosted by the Labor Ministry’s advisory committee on wage. The decision is expected to further aggravate the already wide cha

Politics Sept. 11, 2013

The average annual income of new college graduates at big firms reached 37.12 million won ($34,000) this year, according to data by online recruiting agency JobKorea.The starting pay for entry-level workers at 167 large Korean firms grew by 7.3 percent from 34.59 million won last year, the biggest increase since the 2007-2010 global financial crisis, the statistics showed.By industry, workers in the shipbuilding sector were the highest earners, receiving an average annual pay of 41.32 million wo

Social Affairs Sept. 8, 2013

The Korea National Park Service is planning to introduce a gene analysis system as part of its wildlife management support for Asiatic black bears on Mount Jirisan, the Ministry of Environment said Sunday.The authorities will set up security cameras and fur traps that could pluck hair bulbs for identifying the population and tracking down their routes. The officials explained the new system was adopted due to the habitat expansion and to relieve the bears’ stress when being captured to attach tr

National Sept. 8, 2013

Central government and municipal organizations will introduce flexible part-time jobs from next year as part of efforts to achieve a 70 percent employment rate by 2017, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced Sunday. The ministry released an interim report on key plans and policy directions of its major employment task envisioned by President Park Geun-hye, which focuses on the “flexible part-time job system.”In addition to an 8-hour flexible job system, the new measure allows two people

Politics Sept. 8, 2013

Major retailers are joining a campaign to reduce gift wrapping and adornments to save costs and protect the environment ahead of the the Sept. 18-20 Chuseok holidays, according to the Ministry of Environment.Major department stores, large supermarkets and online shopping malls promised to replace expensive ribbons and packaging with environmentally friendly materials for food gift packages.The new practice aims to reduce the environmental impact and cut production costs for retailers. Getting ri

National Sept. 4, 2013

More than 600 children aged between 10 and 13 were found to have been investigated for rape, arson or robbery in 2011 to 2012, according to the National Police Agency.The number of early teens booked for the three kinds of violent crimes was 322 in 2011 and 304 in 2012. Rape was the most common serious crime, accounting for 58 percent of cases, followed by arson and robbery at 32 percent and 10 percent, respectively. More than 21,800 other cases of teenage crimes, including theft and violence, w

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2013