The Korea Times

SLS Group chief faces summons today

Allegations heaped against former presidential aide Shin Jae-min By Lee Hyo-sik A businessman has revealed new evidence against a former aide to President Lee Myung-bak who he alleges had received more than 1 billion won ($850,000) won from him over the past decade. At a press briefing in his office in southern Seoul, SLS Group Chairman Lee Kook-chul made public a spending list of a corporate credit card which Lee claimed Shin Jae-min, former vice minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, had used. His revelation came before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office plans to

Oct 2, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Surveillance camera efficacy questioned

By Lee Hyo-sik Surveillance cameras are seemingly omnipresent in Seoul and other parts of the country as law enforcement authorities increased installments of the devices to help prevent crime and identify criminals. While the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras have proven effective in apprehending law-breakers to some degree, their effectiveness suffers from a lack of monitoring personnel. Increasing installments of cameras have also drawn criticism from human rights groups that claim misuse by the state and corporations as a tool to spy on people, raising public concerns over the invasion of privacy. Citing the data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Rep. Yoon Jeong-bok of the Grand National Party (GNP) said a total of 9,682 surveillance cameras were installed and are monitored by 217 personnel at 31 police stations in Seoul. If screeners work in three shifts, one has to monitor an average of 135 CCTV cameras at a time. By district, only one police officer was found to monitor 174 cameras in Gangbuk district. In the case of Dobong district i

Sep 28, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Late delivery man honored for helping needy children

By Lee Hyo-sik A 54-year-old Chinese food delivery man who died in traffic accident has been honored in cyberspace for his good deeds to help unfortunate children. Thousands of condolence messages flooded the website of Child Fund Korea to which Kim Wu-soo has been making donation for years, despite personal financial difficulties. It is a nonprofit organization caring for orphans and other marginalized children locally and abroad. Hundreds of tweets were also posted in his memory for his generosity. Kim was involved in a motorcycle accident at around 8 p.m. on Sept. 23 while making a delivery. He was immediately transferred to a hospital but was pronounced dead at 11 p.m. on Sept. 25. Kim appeared on several TV programs for his good deeds. Of his monthly wage of 700,000 won ($667), he was said to donate up to 100,000 won to the organization over the years. Kim also purchased a life insurance policy in 2007 under which beneficiaries, who are children he sponsored through the group, would receive up to 40 million won at the time of his death. He made monthly insur

Sep 28, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Society

Let’s save nature if we want to savor it

By Suh Yoo-ji To be frank, I’m not much interested in going green. I do not care even the slightest about what happens to sea levels, the world’s average temperature, or even to the polar bears in the North Pole, much less to the pandas in Si Chuan Province. I have always believed that all of the above problems were part of a scheme to divert attention away from other more imminent issues. That was me before the trip. My trip to China on a “2011 Green Explorers” program was organized by Cathay Pacific. I had applied to the program on a completely selfish motive: to enjoy a free trip. To make that into a reality, I submitted a two page English essay and attended two interviews to get selected as a Korean member of the green explorer along with two other Korean colleagues. With the kick-off ceremony, I, with 41 other students from all parts of the world, began a long journey into nature, away from man-made civilization. The long bus rides got weary after a few days and every once in a while, the air conditioning on the bus would malfunction, and we would all si

Sep 28, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Society

Open up and globalize university education

By Yun Suh-young Korean universities are unable to attract foreign professors and overseas students despite ongoing efforts to globalize the schools, foreign and Korean educators say. At the Korea-Australia Higher Education Conference on Monday at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul, professors and researchers from Korea and Australia discussed ways to enhance the globalization of Korean universities and to promote educational exchanges between the two countries. “Although the overall number of students studying outside their countries has increased consistently over the past ten years, the number of foreign students who come to South Korea out of those students that still remain is 1.4 percent,” said Kim Tae-wan, president of the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI). “If we want to globalize Korea’s higher education, we need to open up our educational market and build a global mindset at the same time.” The conference was hosted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Korea and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations of the

Sep 28, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Airlines did not return W4 billion to passengers

Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and three low cost carriers have not returned airfares amounting to billions of won to passengers who bought tickets but did not take the flight over the past year, an opposition party lawmaker said Tuesday. Citing the data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Rep. Kang Ki-gap of the Democratic Labor Party said the country’s two flagship carriers and three budget airlines ― Jeju Air, Air Busan and Jin Air ― have not returned the combined 3.8 billion won ($3.2 million) back to customers who purchased seats but were not able to board the airplane over the past year. Korean Air topped the list as it did not refund 1.86 billion won, followed by Asiana Airlines at 1.1 billion won and Jeju Air at 400 million won. ``Airlines do not voluntarily reimburse airfares to air travelers who did not board the airplane. Companies return money only when passengers demand a refund. Airlines should make more efforts to inform customers that such a return policy exists,’’ Kang said. In response, airliners said it is not easy for them t

Sep 27, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Man convicted of spraying red paint on women

The Seoul Southern District Court Tuesday sentenced a 39-year-old man surnamed Kim to one year and two months in prison, suspended for two years, for spraying a dozen women with red paint using a syringe. In June, Kim splattered red paint over a female pedestrian while riding a motorcycle in Yangcheon district, southwestern Seoul, soiling her shirt and bag worth 290,000 won ($240). He was found to have committed a dozen similar offenses against women in May and June, causing property damage totaling 4.2 million won. Kim also sexually harassed some of the victims by groping their buttocks after they changed clothes following the paint attack. The man used to run a screen door installation business. But the company went bankrupt after a female accounting clerk of one of his clients made a payment behind schedule. Following the incident, Kim committed crimes against decently-dressed young female office workers walking on the street, police said. The court said it decided to hand out a suspended sentence as the defendant deeply regretted what he did and made a genuine eff

Sep 27, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Larva found in popular KTandG ginseng product

By Lee Hyo-sik A larva was allegedly found in a popular ginseng product manufactured by Korea Ginseng Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of KT&G. It is yet undetermined whether the foreign substance was included during the manufacturing process, according to the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) Tuesday. The company has cautiously raised the possibility that a consumer who discovered the caterpillar might have intentionally put it into the product to get a payoff. On Sept. 19, a consumer residing in the Yeonsu district of Incheon, reported to the ginseng product maker that a larva was found in ``Whalgidan Royal,’’ from the brand Cheong Kwan Jang. The consumer said he bought the problematic item from a nearby store in March. Whalgidan Royal contains pellets made of ginseng concentration, vitamins and health-boosting vegetable properties. The company immediately notified KFDA of the finding and asked the agency to inspect the product in question. The state food safety inspection body then asked the Yeonsu District Office to retrieve and examine the product. ``The

Sep 27, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

79,000 transient seniors remain unregistered

By Lee Hyo-sik A governing party lawmaker said Monday that there were nearly 79,000 senior citizens without a permanent residence across the country, with only 1 percent of them collecting state pension for the elderly. Citing data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Rep. Son Sook-mee of the Grand National Party said the number of Koreans aged over 65 who do not register their residence with the government totaled 78,905 nationwide. By municipality, Seoul topped the list at 30,836, followed by Gyeonggi Province at 13,714 and Busan at 7,566. Even though they are entitled to various state subsidies and health insurance, Son said only 0.86 percent, or 679, were found to regularly receive a government pension, which pays low-income senior citizens up to 88,000 won per month. “The elderly without a valid address can apply for the pension, which is designed to help senior citizens maintain a minimum standard of living. The ministry should actively carry out publicity campaigns to inform the elderly of the benefit, as well as expand welfare programs for them,” t

Sep 26, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Tours seek to draw foreigners to provinces

By Lee Hyo-sik The majority of foreign visitors eat, shop and stay only in and around Seoul, getting the impression that the sprawling metropolis is Korea’s sole tourism spot. However, to find real Korea and many more attractive destinations, they need to try visits outside the capital city, tour experts say. To make it easier for inbound tourists to travel in provincial areas, a state-funded tourism promoter overseas has developed more than a dozen quality tour programs. The Visit Korea Committee (VKC) said Monday that it has finalized a list of tours, which normally take 3 to 4 days, in cooperation with municipal administrations, adding it will soon be a lot easier for foreign visitors to see and experience what every corner of the country offers. “Many inbound travelers stay only in Seoul and return home. This is unfortunate because there are many other places they ought to see. So, we have created 15 tours covering all municipalities, particularly for those traveling individually,” said Han Kyung-ah, executive director of the VKC. Han said the committee will comple

Sep 26, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

SLS Group chief faces summons today

Surveillance camera efficacy questioned

Late delivery man honored for helping needy children

Let’s save nature if we want to savor it

Open up and globalize university education

Airlines did not return W4 billion to passengers

Man convicted of spraying red paint on women

Larva found in popular KTandG ginseng product

79,000 transient seniors remain unregistered

Tours seek to draw foreigners to provinces

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