Faulty wiring and flammable ceiling materials are suspected as the major causes of the fire at a hospital in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, which has so far claimed 38 lives and left 151 people hurt, investigators reported on Sunday, after a third on-site inspection.The special probe team, which includes officials from police, fire and forensics departments, focused on the structure of the building and whether the electrical wiring system had been managed properly, suspecting that defective

Social Affairs Jan. 28, 2018

(Yonhap)GENEVA (Reuters) -- South Korea has launched a tradedispute at the World Trade Organization to challenge US safeguard tariffs on washing machines, a filing published by the WTO showed on Thursday.“Korea considers these measures to be inconsistent with the United States’ obligations under the relevant provisions of the GATT 1994 and Agreement on Safeguards,” South Korea’s complaint said.

Industry Jan. 25, 2018

The Korea Skating Union said Thursday that it has decided to permanently expel a coach for beating Olympic short track speed skating champion Shim Suk-hee.The skating authorities convened an independent disciplinary committee of eight experts to make a decision on the coach, whose name has been withheld from the media. (Yonhap)“We have decided on the heavy punishment of permanent expulsion after we discussed the gravity of the issue following statements from the attacker,” Kim Sang-kyum, the cha

Olympic Games Jan. 25, 2018

A hardline labor confederation decided Thursday to return to a dialogue panel with the government and management for the first time in eight years.The recently elected leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions made the decision during a central committee meeting. (Yonhap)The tripartite dialogue panel was set up in 1998 in the wake of the Asian foreign exchange crisis. The KCTU, one of the country’s two major union groups, walked out of the committee the following year. The Federation o

Social Affairs Jan. 25, 2018

　The prosecution on Thursday raided offices of the auto parts maker DAS linked to former President Lee Myung-bak, and companies associated with the firm, over allegations that Lee’s government helped the firm recoup an investment.  　The Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office collected documents and computer files from the DAS office located in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and the residence of the DAS President surnamed Kang. 　It is the second time prosecutors have searched the office. The Seo

Politics Jan. 25, 2018

More than 200,000 people have signed an online petition demanding the removal of a conservative lawmaker from the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics, prompting an official response from the presidential office.Four-term lawmaker Rep. Na Kyung-won of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party came under fire after she sent an email to the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, claiming that creating a unified inter-Korean women’s i

Politics Jan. 24, 2018

The second eldest brother of former President Lee Myung-bak was found unconscious inside his home, a local broadcaster reported Wednesday, two days before his scheduled questioning over alleged bribery involving the nation’s spy agency funds. Lee Sang-deuk, a former six-term lawmaker, has been admitted to the intensive care unit at Seoul National University Hospital, according to Channel A. The details of his condition have not been released.Lee Sang-deuk (Yonhap)The 83-year-old had been summone

Politics Jan. 24, 2018

An appellate court handed down increased jail terms for former presidential aides to ousted former President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday for abusing authority in creating a blacklist of artists deemed critical of Park’s government and disadvantaging them. Seoul High Court raised the previous sentence of three years to four years for Park’s ex-chief of staff Kim Ki-choon, while Cho Yoon-sun, a former culture minister and presidential secretary for political affairs, was sentenced to two years in pri

Social Affairs Jan. 23, 2018

A South Korean conservative politician and member of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee came under fire after she sent a letter to the International Olympics Committee demanding a reconsideration of its approval of parts of inter-Korean agreements related to the North’s participation at the Winter Games.On Friday, Rep. Na Kyung-won, a four-term lawmaker from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and a member of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympics and Paralympics, sent

Politics Jan. 22, 2018

With the goal of fostering scientists of tomorrow, the National Children’s Science Center was reopened on Dec. 22, providing unique opportunities for young children to easily approach the magic of science through interaction and exploration.Since its opening in 1927 as the nation’s first science museum in Namsan, Seoul, the institute has evolved over time but has remained as a core institute offering a peak into the complex world of science. Today, the National Children’s Science Center is locat

Culture Jan. 21, 2018

Clear skies are expected Friday, but parts of the country will continue to see unhealthy levels of find dust, the weather agency said. The average temperature for this time of the year is forecast for the day, with daytime highs of 3 to 11 degrees Celsius. (Yonhap)Morning temperatures recorded minus 4 C in Seoul, minus 7 C in Chuncheon, 2 C in Busan, minus 2 C in Gwangju, and 4 C in Jeju.The northern part of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon, North Chungcheong and Gyeongsang provinces will suffer fr

Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2018

South Korea’s national ice hockey team announced the full roster for the PyeongChang Olympics on Thursday, a day after South and North Korea agreed to field a joint women’s ice hockey team.Sarah Murray, the national team coach, a former Canadian star and daughter of ex-National Hockey League coach Andy Murray, announced her 23-player team with 14 forwards, six blueliners and three goaltenders. For the men’s team, coach Baek Ji-sun announced his 25 players, with 14 forwards, eight defenses and th

North Korea Jan. 18, 2018

Graduate students have established the first labor union in South Korea, to fight unfair treatment they may receive as school assistants, the labor union said Wednesday. Students from six graduate schools in Seoul gathered to create the National Graduate Student Labor Union last month.  Statement released by the National Graduate STudent Labor Union (National Graduate STudent Labor Union-Yonhap)“While graduate students contribute to the academia and school’s administrative processes as assistant

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2018

More men appear to be doing household chores, and the number of men taking on the role of full-time househusbands peaked in 2016, a state statistics agency reported Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of men in charge of child-rearing and housework amounted to 170,000 last year, marking the highest since the ministry started to compile the data in 2003. The number of full-time househusbands was 166,000, while 4,000 took charge of child-rearing.  (Yonhap)The number o

Social Affairs Jan. 17, 2018

SEJONG -- The Education Ministry on Tuesday said it will postpone by one year the decision on a controversial plan to ban extracurricular English courses for preschool children. “We have found that the country lacks a social consensus on English language education as a whole. And we concluded that we need to first resolve the problems caused by private institutes encouraging advanced learning for young children,” said Shin Ik-hyun, chief of Student Welfare Policy Bureau at the Education Ministry

Social Affairs Jan. 16, 2018