Articles by Jo He-rim
Jo He-rim
herim@heraldcorp.com-
Average compensation increased for defectors reporting on North Korea in 2018: lawmaker
The average compensation given to North Korean defectors for reporting information valuable to the South’s national security has quadrupled from last year, a lawmaker said Tuesday.According to data that Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the Democratic Party of Korea received from the Unification Ministry, the average compensation given to a defector was 79 million won ($69,600) in September, 4.6 times more than the figure recorded in the same month last year. (Yonhap)The South Korean government provides
Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2018
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Cause of Goyang oil tank blaze still unknown
Fire authorities on Monday conducted a joint state inspection of a gasoline storage tank that exploded and was engulfed in a massive blaze in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. However, they had yet to determine the exact cause of the explosion, as of Monday evening. The inspection began at noon and ended in about an hour, faster than the expected three hours, due to the extensive damage to the accident site, according to the police.(Yonhap)The blaze was completely extinguished at 3:48 a.m., some 17 hou
Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2018
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‘World policymakers should limit global warming to 1.5 C’
INCHEON -- Governments and policymakers around the world should quickly take action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as higher temperature increases of global warming may lead to far-reaching and unprecedented changes, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in a new assessment Monday.According to the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, global warming is likely to reach hit an increase of 1.5 degrees C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues at the cu
Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2018
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Former presidential chief of staff sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison for abuse of power
A Seoul court on Friday sentenced former President Park Geun-hye’s chief of staff Kim Ki-chun to 1 1/2 years in prison and former Presidential Secretary Cho Yoon-sun to one year in prison suspended for two years over the abuse of power. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to the two former presidential aides for creating a list of pro-Park civic organizations to illicitly provide them with hundreds of millions of won in support. Kim Ki-choon (left) and Cho Yoon-sun (Yonhap)
Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2018
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Lee Myung-bak sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption
Former President Lee Myung-bak was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday, over a series of corruption charges including abuse of power and embezzlement.The Seoul Central District Court also ordered a fine of 13 billion won ($11.5 million) and the forfeiture of 8.27 billion won. Prosecutors had demanded 20 years in jail, a 15 billion won fine and the forfeiture of 11.1 billion won against Lee.“As a president who was given great authority from the people, he had the responsibility to use his p
Politics Oct. 5, 2018
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[Newsmaker] Two Yemeni asylum seekers attacked by Koreans in Jeju
Two Yemeni asylum seekers were attacked by Koreans on the southern island of Jeju, police said Thursday. According to Jeju Dongbu Police Station, two Yemeni asylum seekers reported they were beaten by a group of Koreans near Jeju City Hall at 2:41 a.m. on Tuesday. When police arrived at the scene, the suspects had already fled.(Uto Image)Police identified one suspect as a man who appears to be in his 20s from footage obtained from surveillance cameras installed nearby the crime scene. The asylum
Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2018
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More weirs to be opened in monitoring four rivers
The Environment Ministry opened the Ipo Weir on the Han River on Thursday in an effort to revive the four major rivers that underwent refurbishment under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration. The Ipo Weir will release water to a level that does not affect the water supply to nearby farmlands, the Ministry of Environment said. The Ipo Weir is one of 16 weirs constructed as part of a project involving four major rivers in the country. Nine weirs have already been partly or completely open
Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2018
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Former Japanese Prime Minister apologizes to Korean survivors of atomic bomb
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama apologized to atomic bomb survivors in Korea on Wednesday. During a visit to a welfare center for atomic bomb survivors in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, Hatoyama consoled the Korean survivors, in a first for a former Japanese prime minister. He also paid his respects at a memorial altar for atomic bomb victims. (Yonhap)“Hello, I am Yukio Hatoyama,” the former prime minister said in Korean, before switching to Japanese to deliver his apology. “
Social Affairs Oct. 3, 2018
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Woman serving life sentence granted retrial, a first in Korea
A woman who has served 18 years of a life sentence for killing her father will be retried, the top court confirmed Wednesday. It is the first time that a retrial has been granted for a convict serving a life sentence that is already in progress.The Supreme Court granted a retrial for Kim Sin-hye, who was given a life sentence in 2001, accepting Kim’s claim that she confessed under duress during police questioning. Kim has been incarcerated for the past 18 years at the Cheongju Women’s Penitentia
Social Affairs Oct. 3, 2018
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A North Korean provocation could nullify all previous inter-Korean agreements: PM
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Monday that a North Korean provocation could lead to the nullification of all inter-Korean agreements, stressing at the same time that Washington-Pyongyang denuclearization talks were pivotal. At a parliamentary interpellation session on foreign policy and national defense, lawmakers across the aisle clashed over recent inter-Korean agreements. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (left) answers question from Rep. Yoo Ki-june of the main opposition Liberty Kor
Politics Oct. 1, 2018
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Political clash over state budget information leak deepens
The clash over a state budget information leak involving an opposition lawmaker appears set to escalate, raising concerns the National Assembly may again grind to a halt while a series of interpellation sessions are scheduled from Monday. The presidential office and the Finance Ministry have pressed charges against five-term lawmaker Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and his aides for accessing and leaking confidential government data on the state budget. Rep. Shim,
Politics Sept. 30, 2018
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[Feature] Judiciary at critical juncture for reform
The prosecution enforced search and seizures into the car of former Supreme Court Chief Yang Sung-tae and homes and offices of former top court justices on Sunday, closing in on figures at the center of the judiciary power abuse scandal. It is the first time the court has granted warrants requested by the prosecution against the former top court figures since the prosecutorial investigation kicked off in June, amid public calls for thorough investigation into the judiciary. Protestors hold sign
Social Affairs Sept. 30, 2018
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Moon’s approval rating surges after Pyongyang Summit
President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating in South Korea has jumped into the 60 percent range since the recent inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un. According to a local poll conducted by Realmeter on Monday, Moon’s approval rating was 61.9 percent, up 8.8 percentage points from a week earlier. The weekly surveys involved 2,507 adults and were carried out throughout the nation from Sept. 17 through Friday. (Yonhap)Only 32.3 percent of respondents answered that Moon
Politics Sept. 24, 2018
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Holiday season is crime season, lawmaker warns
Burglary rates tend to increase increase during national holidays, when many homes and farm buildings are empty, said Rep. Son Kum-ju in a recent statement, citing data from the National Police Agency. A total of 5,682 home burglaries took place during the Lunar New Year’s holidays from 2013 through 2018. Another 362 burglaries targeted farms and agricultural goods. (Yonhap)Of all the home burglaries during that timeframe, 1,223 took place in Seoul, the prime target for holiday home burglars. Th
Social Affairs Sept. 24, 2018
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Naval cadet installed secret camera inside women’s bathroom
A naval academy cadet was found to have installed a secret camera inside a women’s bathroom in a dormitory, the state naval academy said Thursday. The camera was first discovered by another cadet who was cleaning the women’s toilet. She found a smartphone wrapped in paper and reported it to the disciplinary office on Sept. 11, according to the naval academy. (Yonhap)The smartphone was hidden behind the toilet in a piece of A4 paper with a hole to expose the device’s camera. “If you report it, I
Defense Sept. 21, 2018
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