South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to push for a ban on North Korea's trade of fishing rights if it conducts a fresh nuclear or missile provocation, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.The countries are currently reviewing a plan to craft new UN Security Council sanctions including prohibiting the communist country from selling its fishing rights and exporting its labor, in the event that it carries out another nuclear test or a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, acc

North Korea April 26, 2017

The number of childbirths in South Korea fell for the 15th month in a row in February amid a deepening trend of late marriage and a rapidly aging population, a government report showed Wednesday.About 30,600 babies were born in February, down 12.3 percent, or 4,300, from 34,900 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Childbirths have been on a decline since a 3.4 percent on-year gain in November 2015. (Yonhap)The latest number also marked the lowest number of new chil

Social Affairs April 26, 2017

JEJU -- A local appellate court on Wednesday sentenced a 51-year-old Chinese man to 30 years in prison for murdering an unrelated South Korean woman who was praying at a church on the country's southern resort island of Jeju last year.Chen Guorui attacked the 61-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Kim, in September when she was praying alone inside a Catholic church. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead a day after the incident took place.This file photo

Foreign Affairs April 26, 2017

Not only being overweight but also being underweight causes depression for both men and women, a finding that highlights the importance of maintaining the right weight for psychological health, a study said Wednesday.Published in the recent issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, the study showed that the risk of depression is 16 percent higher for people underweight than for those in the norm range. The risk was 21 percent for men, much higher than 12 percent among women.Obesity also brough

Technology April 26, 2017

The South Korean government on Wednesday finalized a series of additional measures to prevent fires in traditional markets and reduce fine dust pollution as part of efforts to enhance public safety.During a meeting of Cabinet ministers, Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn confirmed the measures and called for enhanced inter-agency cooperation in implementing them.Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting of ministers on public safety at the central g

Social Affairs April 26, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 110,000 ethnic Koreans in the United States petitioned the US government Tuesday to refer to the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as "the East Sea" in addition to "the Sea of Japan," their representatives said.A Korean resident group in Virginia and other representatives said in a press conference in Falls Church, Virginia, that they submitted the petition signed by 108,300 to the White House.  A group of ethnic Korean residents attend a press conference

Foreign Affairs April 26, 2017

Refugees with disabilities are entitled to the same social security benefits as Korean nationals, South Korea's human rights watchdog said Wednesday.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said that it has asked the minister of health and welfare to revise the Welfare of Disabled Persons Act and related guidelines to ensure disabled refugees living in South Korea are treated equally with handicapped Korean citizens. This photo, taken on Jan. 23, 2017, shows Lee Sung-ho, the chairperson of

Social Affairs April 26, 2017

South Korea's women's groups on Tuesday demanded that Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party drop out of the presidential race, following a controversy surrounding his self-professed involvement in a past sex crime."Hong's past act constitutes conspiring in a sexual assault and was a clear and grave crime," the Korean Women's Association United said in a statement.Hong Joon-pyo, presidential candidate of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, explains his oil tax policy on April 25

Social Affairs April 26, 2017

The conservative Liberty Korea Party said Tuesday that it would ask the prosecution to investigate the allegations that presidential frontrunner Moon Jae-in had personally used a law firm's car in a possible breach of the political fund act.The move followed a media report that the candidate of the liberal Democratic Party used a sports utility vehicle belonging to the firm between March 2010 and November 2014 with the firm paying the fees for leasing the car. Presidential frontrunner Moon Jae-i

Politics April 25, 2017

DAEGU -- A man who set a fire at a memorial hall of late President Park Chung-hee, father of South Korea's ousted leader Park Geun-hye, last year was sentenced to four and a half years in prison Tuesday.The Daegu District Court convicted the 48-year-old, identified only by his last name Baek, of setting the fire with paint thinner at the late Park's birth home in Gumi, some 261 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in December, based on seven jurists' unanimous decision to find him guilty.The memorial

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

The US military in South Korea said Tuesday it has resumed the operation of its accident-prone shooting range close to the inter-Korean border.The Rodriguez training ground had been out of service since early this month after two big stray bullets from an Eighth Army helicopter-firing drill dropped at a nearby ranch in the latest-known incident. This photo taken in January 2016 shows a US army helicopter in training over the Rodriguez training ground in Pocheon, north of Seoul. (Yonhap)No one wa

Defense April 25, 2017

Two underdog presidential candidates on Tuesday unveiled a set of election pledges to stamp out gender discrimination and promote equal opportunities for women in their efforts to woo female voters.During a meeting with a women's activist group, Yoo Seong-min of the conservative Bareun Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party vowed to increase the proportion of female Cabinet ministers and pay keener state attention to gender equality. Yoo Seong-min, the presidential candidate o

Politics April 25, 2017

SEJONG -- The South Korean government is considering a move to reduce operations at coal-fired power plants to cope with excessive levels of fine dust particles in the air, the energy minister said Tuesday."As people are deeply worried about fine dust, (the government) is reviewing a plan to restrict power production at coal-fired plants when particle levels become serious," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyung-hwan said during a ground-breaking event in Cheongju. Minister of Trade,

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

The age at which South Koreans think a person can be considered old has been pushed back to reflect the general aging of the population, a new poll showed Tuesday.The survey released by Hyundai Research Institute, a private think tank, showed respondents believed 67.2 should be viewed as the age at which a person can be seen as being old. Those in their 20s said they consider people aged 65.7 years as old. In comparison, people over 60 thought those above 69 should be considered old.A separate p

Social Affairs April 25, 2017

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in vowed Tuesday to enforce the use of vacation days to ensure the notoriously overworked nation gets more rest.The nominee of the liberal Democratic Party made the pledge on his Facebook page as the nation is set to mark a series of public holidays next week.  Moon Jae-in, presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, gives a thumbs-up on the campaign trail in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, on April 24, 2017. (Yonhap)"I want to give the people a life w

Politics April 25, 2017