The Korea Times

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Spreads Farther Inland

By Cho Jae-hyon Staff Reporter A sixth outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed at a dairy farm in Gimpo, about 50 kilometers west of Seoul, raising concerns that the contagious disease might spread further inland, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday. One of the 120 cattle on the farm developed blisters on its udders and was confirmed to have been infected with the disease that affects all cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs and deer. "We received a report on a suspected case from a dairy farm in Wolgot, Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, and the diary cow tested positive for the disease Tuesday," a ministry official said. This is the first outbreak outside of Ganghwa Island on the west coast, where five cases were confirmed on April 9 and 10. The dairy farm is located 5.3 kilometers east of the island. The authorities have made all-out efforts to prevent the disease from spreading inland but the latest outbreak of the disease, caused by an "O-type" virus strain, the same type found on Ganghwa Island, means that the d

Apr 20, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

MBC TV PD Notebook Will Expose List of Dirty Prosecutors

By Cho Jae-hyon Staff Reporter MBC TV's investigative journal "PD Notebook" has announced it will disclose corrupt "sponsorship" connections between prosecutors and company officials in its April 20 special edition. It will make public the names of 57 former and current prosecutors who have allegedly received prostitution services and other illegal forms of entertainment from businessmen, known as "sponsors," from March 1984 to April 2009. According to the program's staff, the source behind the list is an unidentified man who ran a large-size construction firm in the 1980s in South Gyeongsang Province and has acted as a sponsor for prosecutors over the last 25 years. "My main mission was to buy drinks and provide prostitution services to prosecutors whenever I met them," he told the program. He also confessed that he had to provide cash and other gifts regularly to prosecutors. In the documents acquired by the program staff, not only the names but also other details, including the dates and places, when and where these prosecutors received entertainment were record

Apr 19, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Conflict Removal a Must for Korea’s Advance

By Cho Jae-hyon, Kang Shin-who Staff Reporters From ideological rift to constant clashes between labor and management, South Korea is a nation full of conflicts. This seemingly everlasting strife remains a major damper on the country's potential to join the ranks of developed nations. "If conflicts continue to deepen, we will shrink to a peripheral nation just sitting next to China. But if disaccord dissipates, China will become our market and Korea will emerge as one of the top countries in the world," Konkuk University President Oh Myung said in an interview with The Korea Times. A former deputy premier and well-known technocrat, Oh said the country has been spending a phenomenal amount of money to resolve social differences and the costs will continue to surge. "The money our country is investing to resolve issues is equal to about 27 percent of GDP, according to reliable research institutes," he said. "No matter how high the GDP figure rises, it will be meaningless if conflicts remain unresolved." Of course, the easing of these clashes is not a sufficient cond

Apr 14, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

KBS to Sue SBS Over Broadcasting of World Cup

By Cho Jae-hyon Staff Reporter KBS, the nation's largest public broadcaster, said it will file a suit against SBS, accusing the commercial network of fraud and breach of contract, Monday, as their talks on joint broadcasting of the upcoming World Cup finals came to a halt. At a press conference KBS executives insisted that SBS had violated an agreement signed on May 30, 2006 by the three presidents of KBS, MBC and SBS. The agreement calls for the three broadcasters not to seek separate bidding for the rights to broadcast the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and the Olympic Games that take place between 2010 and 2016. They attested that SBS was later found to have already secured exclusive contracts earlier that month to broadcast the World Cup and the Olympics in Korea. "SBS signed a secret contract with IB Sports on May 8, even before the agreement made by presidents," said Lee Joon-an, a lawyer representing KBS. "While tying the hands of KBS and MBC, SBS obstructed KBS's and MBC's operations to bid for the broadcasting rights." KBS recently made public the 2006 agreement co

Apr 12, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Paik Medical to Open Hospital in Afghanistan

Paik Medical Center, a leading local medical institution, said Friday it will open a hospital in Afghanistan next week to provide medical care for local residents in the war-ravaged nation. A total of 23 medical staff members, including five doctors and eight nurses, has already been dispatched. Park Soek-san, a urology specialist at Paik Hospital in Seoul, was named head of the hospital near Bagram Airbase in Kabul. The hospital will focus on treating infectious diseases and the injured while running public health projects to improve local medical conditions. It expects to treat an estimated 200 patients per day. The hospital plans to hold a ceremony Monday to officially open the Bagram hospital, which is expected to be attended by some 300 related officials from South Korea, the United States and Afghanistan.

Apr 9, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Reported Again

Virus Suspected to Have Been Imported From China; More Outbreak Reports Expected By Cho Jae-hyon Staff Reporter A new outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed on a cattle farm in Ganghwa, about 60 kilometers west of Seoul, Friday, less than a month after the government had declared the country clear of the highly contagious disease. Animals at the farm began showing signs of symptoms on Thursday and tested positive shortly afterwards, forcing quarantine officials to close off the farm and restrict movement of the people and vehicles in the area, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported. "We are taking all preventive countermeasures after suspected cows tested positive. Of the 180 heads of 'hanwoo' (cows raised in Korea) on the farm, 10 showed blisters on their mouths," said Lee Chang-buhm, head of the ministry's livestock bureau. Additional reports from cow farms in the vicinity were made at the ministry Friday, with other cows also showing blisters. Quarantine officials are inspecting the farms. More outbreaks may be reported

Apr 9, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

South Korea

KBS May Sue SBS Over World Cup Broadcasting

KBS, the nation's largest public broadcaster, said Thursday that it will take legal action against SBS if their talks on joint broadcasting of the upcoming World Cup finals break down. KBS said it will file a civil suit if the commercial network refuses to share rights to broadcast the World Cup and the Olympics in violation of an agreement between the two sides reached in 2006. KBS officials say that heads of the two TV networks and a third broadcaster, MBC, agreed in late May of 2006 to push for joint broadcast rights to the World Cup and Olympic games. SBS was later found to have already secured exclusive contracts earlier that month to broadcast the World Cup and Olympics in Korea, according to KBS officials. They insisted that SBS paid the International Olympic Committee $72.5 million for exclusive broadcasting rights to the summer and winter Olympic Games in the 2010-16 period and bought the rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments from the International Football Federation (FIFA) for $140 million. Under the contract, SBS was the exclusive broadcaster

Apr 8, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

Companies

Sakhalin to Hold Investment Forum April 14

Russia's Sakhalin region's local government will host an investment conference to draw interest from Korean companies on April 14th at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul. The Sakhalin government and the Korea International Trade Association will co-host the conference to discuss topics such as the investment climate in Sakhalin, large investment projects in various fields and investment incentive policies. Sergey Yefimovich Donskoy, deputy minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, and other 100 or more Russian politicians and entrepreneurs seek to attract investment from the Korean government and corporations. ``Through this conference, I look forward to building a strong economic connection between the Sakhalin Region and Korea, and achieve a win-win investment situation by introducing abundant energy resources such as oil, gas and coal in the Sakhalin region, and providing construction and economic development opportunities to large, medium and small Korean corporations,'' said Alexander Khoroshavin, governor of the Sakhalin region. During the con

Apr 6, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

People & Events

Blind Golfers Swing With Mind's Eye

Korea Blind Golf Association Chairman Yoo Jeong-il, second from left in the back row, poses with other members after playing a game at a screen golf center in southern Seoul on Jan. 16. / Courtesy of KBGABy Cho Jae-hyon Staff Reporter Lifting the head during the downswing is the most common and critical mistake of recreational golfers. However, it’s not as big a concern for Cho In-chan. “One thing good about sightlessness when it comes to golf is that you don’t have to lift your head as you swing to see the ball’s flight,” Cho said in an interview with The Korea Times. “After I became virtually blind, I was able to develop a more solid ball contact when striking the ball. Without having to lift up my head, I became able to keep my head still and maintain a straight spine angle during the swing.” The 57-year-old board member of the Korea Blind Golfers’ Association (KBGA) is one of the top players of the association, which has about 50 registered members. He has a handicap of 16 that has been acknowledged by the International Blind

Jan 28, 2010By Cho Jae-hyon

Cho Jae-hyon

Read more

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Spreads Farther Inland

MBC TV PD Notebook Will Expose List of Dirty Prosecutors

Conflict Removal a Must for Korea’s Advance

KBS to Sue SBS Over Broadcasting of World Cup

Paik Medical to Open Hospital in Afghanistan

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Reported Again

KBS May Sue SBS Over World Cup Broadcasting

Sakhalin to Hold Investment Forum April 14

Blind Golfers Swing With Mind's Eye

Top 5 stories