South Korea’s top court on Sunday sent back a case of a Ugandan asylum seeker who claimed that she was persecuted in her home country because she was homosexual, citing a lack of credibility in her testimonies. The Supreme Court annulled an earlier ruling in favor of the plaintiff and ordered a retrial, saying she lacked coherency and reasoning in her claims. The Ugandan filed a lawsuit against the chief of the Korea Immigration Service in Seoul after she was refused refugee status.  (Yonhap)“Sh

Social Affairs Jan. 14, 2018

A former aide of ex-President Lee Myung-bak denied all allegations of bribery involving the nation’s intelligence agency, as he underwent overnight questioning Saturday, prosecutors said Sunday. Kim Paik-joon, Lee’s former senior secretary for administrative affairs, left the prosecutors’ office in the wee hours of Sunday morning after 11 hours of questioning.  Kim Paik-joon, a former senior aide to ex-President Lee Myung-bak, appears in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office to

Social Affairs Jan. 14, 2018

The prosecution is expected to freeze an additional 3 billion won ($2.81 million) belonging to ousted President Park Geun-hye, which her lawyer returned to her account Friday. According to prosecutors Sunday, Park’s lawyer Yoo Young-ha deposited the money into an account belonging to Park just before the court ordered Friday a freeze on Park’s assets totaling 6 billion won. The assets included the 3 billion won which had been kept by Yoo, and a 2.8 billion won residence in southern Seoul.Yoo pre

Politics Jan. 14, 2018

The severe cold snap is easing and the weather on Sunday is expected to be much warmer.The overall temperature is forecast to stand higher, with the day time high expected at 3 to 10 degrees Celsius, and the low at minus 13 to 0 degrees Celsius. In Seoul, the days highest temperature will be 5 degress Celsius.  (Yonhap)Special cold wave warnings are in effect in Gangwon Province and Chungcheong provinces, but the regions will also see increases in temperature, with the flow of the relatively war

Social Affairs Jan. 14, 2018

President Moon Jae-in reiterated Wednesday his pledge to hold a referendum on constitutional amendment in tandem with the upcoming local election in June, urging the National Assembly to come up with an agreed revision bill by March. In the New Year’s press conference at the Blue House, Moon also said the government is willing to prepare a proposal of its own if necessary. “The Constitution that was last amended 30 years ago cannot reflect the will of the people,” Moon said during the televised

Politics Jan. 10, 2018

A Christian university in Korea has come under fire for punishing students and professors for their involvement in a seminar on gender identity and prostitution in December. Handong Global University brought five students to the student guidance committee -- three of them for hosting an academic seminar on different perspectives on the subjects and two others for writing and posting about the seminar on social media. English literature professor Na Youn-sook has also been investigated and is awa

Social Affairs Jan. 9, 2018

While the long-frozen inter-Korean relations appear headed for a thaw following an agreement to hold high-level talks on North Korea’s possible participation in the PyeongChang Winter Games on Tuesday, South Korea’s main opposition leader warned against the high possibility of a contingency on the peninsula after the sports event. In an interview with The Korea Herald On Jan. 2, conservative Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo warned the country could face a critical situation before mid-

Politics Jan. 8, 2018

The chairman of the board of directors of an unaccredited cyber university has been arrested on suspicion of running a fake diploma mill and swindling some 200 people out of billions of won. Seocho Police said Wednesday that they had arrested Kim Moon-kap, chairman of the board of directors of Templeton University and booked the dean of its business department, Park, without detention on suspicion of fraud and violation of the Higher Education Act. Kim, 45, is suspected of issuing fake universit

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2018

Private English language education institutes for preschoolers are expected to be put under stricter operating regulations. The Ministry of Education on Friday said it is currently discussing ways to regulate hagwon, or private education institutions, aiming to reduce the study load, especially for young children. “We will soon decide on specific measures to regulate hagwon hours and tuition and also propose a law revision to change the criteria for establishing such institutes,” a ministry offi

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2018

After days of frigid cold, temperatures are forecast to ease up Friday, recording an average low of minus 11 degrees Celsius and rising to 9 C during the day. As of 9 a.m., Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, was showing minus 7.8 degrees Celsius, Daejeon minus 2.9 degrees Celsius, Gwangju 0.3 degrees Celsius and Busan 2.1 degrees Celsius, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.  (Yonhap)In Seoul, the morning temperature was at minus 6 degrees Celsius at 9 a.m. and expected to rise to 2 d

Social Affairs Jan. 5, 2018

South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan said Tuesday the upcoming Winter Olympics in the country will usher in an era of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.In his New Year's address to Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism employees, Do also welcomed North Korea's show of interest in participating in the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Winter Games. South Korea's Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan (Yonhap)On New Year's Day, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he would consider sending a delegatio

Olympic Games Jan. 2, 2018

An internal feud has erupted within Fantagio Corp., a mid-sized entertainment agency in South Korea, in the wake of the recent dismissal of its CEO by a China-based shareholder, according to employees Tuesday.Last Thursday, Fantagio founder and CEO Na Byeong-joon was unilaterally fired by JC Group, a China-based private equity fund which acquired a 50.07 percent controlling stake in the agency in October last year. JC’s Korean branch, Gold Finance Korea, which controls Fantagio, announced that t

Television Jan. 2, 2018

South Korea’s two minor parties are speeding up their merger process, following the People‘s Party’s all-member vote that favored the proposed merger with Bareun Party.In the four-day vote of confidence for Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo, who proposed the merger with the center-right Bareun Party, 74.6 percent voted for Ahn, while 25.6 percent opposed, the party’s election committee announced on Sunday. Ahn vowed to take the lead in creating a new party that would bring changes to South Korean politics.

Politics Jan. 2, 2018

South Korea’s two minor parties are speeding up their merger process, following the People‘s Party’s all-member vote that favored the proposed merger with Bareun Party.In the four-day vote of confidence for Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo, who proposed the merger with the center-right Bareun Party, 74.6 percent voted for Ahn, while 25.6 percent opposed, the party’s election committee announced on Sunday. People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo delivers a New Year’s speech at the party’s headquarters in Yeo

Politics Jan. 1, 2018

A North Korean nuclear scientist, who was caught in China while attempting to defect to South Korea, took his own life after he was forced to return home, a US broadcaster said Friday. According to Radio Free Asia, the defector who was a researcher at the physics center of the State Academy of Sciences in Pyongyang took poison in a state security cell while awaiting interrogation. (Yonhap)“He killed himself only a few hours after he was placed in solitary confinement at the State Security Depart

North Korea Dec. 29, 2017