The Korea Times

Hotels offer one more night promotion

This is the fifth in a series of introductions featuring hotels that offer a ``one-more-night promotion,’’ under which guests who stay for three or four nights are given one-night complementary accommodation. The series introduces three hotels each at a time biweekly. A total of 36 hotels across the country will be presented over the six-month period. This is part of a nationwide campaign to promote the ``2010-2012 Visit Korea Years.’’ — ED. Imperial Palace Hotel In commemoration of the ``2010-2012 Visit Korea Year,’’ Imperial Palace Hotel provides one free night to foreign visitors who stay at the hotel for more than three nights through Nov. 31 this year. A one-night stay in the superior room costs 220,000 won, while the rate for deluxe room goes up to 250,000 won, in addition to a 10-percent value-added tax and a 10-percent service charge. For more information and reservation, please call at 02-3440-8000. Best Western Premier Songdo Park Hotel To celebrate the ``2010-2012 Visit Korea Year,’’ Best Western Premier Songdo Park Hotel offers special bene

Jun 2, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Is this new act of NK brinkmanship?

By Kim Young-jin, Kwaak Je-yup North Korea’s revelation that Seoul requested a series of summit talks during a secret meeting last month reinforced an earlier pledge that its days of dialogue with the Lee Myung-bak administration were over, analysts said. It also appeared to signal its displeasure with a proposed plan for the two Koreas to meet for bilateral denuclearization talks ahead of multilateral negotiations. “The North’s unilateral revelation of secret talks on possible summits mean that it will no longer discuss the issue, and that it will no longer discuss anything with the Lee Myung-bak government,” Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said. “Also, the North’s criticism of the Lee administration’s double-standards is a message to the United States and China to not demand the North to have dialogue with the South.” The move came just days after Pyongyang angrily said it would never again speak with Lee’s government. Observers said that move reflected its frustration with Seoul as well as Beijing, which has been pressing

Jun 1, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Civil servants taking childcare leave jumps 30%

By Lee Hyo-sik Nearly 10,000 civil servants at both central government agencies and municipal administrations took childcare leave in 2010, up nearly 30 percent from a year ago. According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, 9,806 workers employed at both central and local governments took a leave of absence for childcare last year, up 29.3 percent from 2009. The figure has been increasing at a faster pace over the past few years. In 2009, 7,584 civil servants across the country took leave, up sharply from 5,953 in 2008 and 3,712 in 2007. About 4,300 employees at 42 central government agencies took the leave in 2010, up 28.9 percent from a year earlier. Municipal administrations saw 5,497 workers take time off for childcare, up 29.6 percent. Under the law, both male and female workers in public and private sectors are allowed to take leave for a year when their children are under 6 years old. They are also entitled to a 500,000 won state subsidy per month from employment insurance. Before and after the birth, men can also take a three-day unpaid

Jun 1, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Society

Collegians struggle to juggle work, study

By Kim Tae-jong Many university students are challenged to earn as much money as possible through various part-time jobs to cover rising tuition. And a growing number of students prefer jobs where they can work for longer periods. With well-paying part-time jobs rarely available, collegians must sacrifice time they would spend studying for long hours toiling away for what is often less than minimum wage. To get a slightly bigger paycheck, students are taking on riskier jobs. Kim Hyeon-jun, a 24-year-old university student in Seoul, participated in a bioequivalence test at a hospital last January. What he did was to take medicines and have his blood taken regularly while staying at a hospital for six days. For this, he got paid 350,000 won ($324). “I first thought it could be a little bit risky, but I was curious and the job was so attractive given the pay. It was boring as there was nothing interesting to do at the hospital, but I guess the job is quite popular for those who want to make good money,” Kim said. Having completed his military service, Kim has had

Jun 1, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Court asked to rule on highway toll

By Lee Hyo-sik Civic groups will take Korea Expressway Corp., the state-run operator of highways and other motorways, to court for the second time in a bid to abolish toll charges imposed on motorists using the Gyeongin Expressway connecting Seoul and Incheon. The Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice and other civic organizations said Wednesday that they will file a lawsuit with a court against Korea Expressway to scrap the tolls on the Gyeongin route, which was opened to traffic in December 1968. “Korea Expressway should immediately stop collecting tolls from motorists using the Gyeongin Expressway because it has been making money on that road for over 30 years, which is against the law. It is not allowed to earn more than what it spent to build and operate the road,” they said in a statement. Under the law concerning roads carrying tolls, Korea Expressway cannot collect fees from drivers if the aggregated sum exceeds the amount of money it spent to construct and maintain the road. Additionally, it is only allowed to impose tolls for 30 years. As of the end of 200

Jun 1, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Calls grow for SOFA revision

Experts stress need for clearer pact for greater access to camps By Kim Tae-jong Amid allegations of the dumping of toxic chemicals by the U.S. military here, civic groups and experts are mounting calls for a revision to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to allow for more independent and effective investigation into environment-related incidents involving the U.S. military here. “The issue of Agent Orange is actually just a small part of environmental pollution by the U.S. military stationed here,” said Kim Hye-jin, an official from Green Korea United. “The problem, as we see now, is we don’t have the right to take preventive measures against environmental pollution inside camps, investigate any allegations involving the U.S. military and demand proper compensation, due to SOFA.” She argued that one of the biggest problems regarding SOFA is it prevents access to necessary information, records and research data to monitor the environment inside camps. “No one knows what’s happening inside the camps. It is often said a lot of oil and toxic chemicals are buried there, p

Jun 1, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Supermarket sales of OTC drugs unlikely

By Lee Hyo-sik Aspirin and other over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are unlikely to be sold at supermarkets as the nation’s top health official expressed a negative view of the idea. Currently, only pharmacists can sell OTC drugs including pain killers. But there has been a growing voice over the past few years calling for supermarkets and other retail outlets to sell non-prescription drugs because pharmacies close relatively early and do not open on Sundays and public holidays, inconveniencing consumers. Health and Welfare Minister Chin Soo-hee told reporters Tuesday that it is difficult to allow supermarkets to sell medicine in reality, stressing that what matters most is how to help the public cope with medical emergencies when pharmacies are closed. “Under the current law, medicines have to be sold to consumers through pharmacies. Even if the government allowed supermarkets and convenience stores to deal with OTC drugs, the move would not work unless pharmacies agreed to it,” Chin said. Despite intense public pressure on the ministry to permit the sale of OTC drugs b

May 31, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Dae-sung under probe for running over motorcyclist

By Lee Hyo-sik Dae-sung, a member of K-pop idol group Big Bang, has been booked without physical detention on charges of running over a motorcyclist and ramming into a taxi in his sedan on a Han River bridge early Tuesday morning, police said Tuesday. According to the account from the Yeongdeungpo Police Station, the 22-year-old pop star whose real name is Kang Dae-sung was driving his Audi on Yanghwa Bridge around 1:30 a.m. when he ran over a 30-year-old man lying on the road and then crashed into a parked taxi in front of the man. Police said Dae-sung did not spot the man, surnamed Hyun, while driving at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour, well above the speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour, at the time of the accident. Shortly before the accident, a 64-year-old taxi driver, surnamed Kim, found Hyun lying on the road next to a motorcycle. Kim stopped his vehicle to check on the motorcyclist. “The taxi driver saw Hyun and stopped the car. But it appears that Dae-sung could not spot the man because he failed to slow down. Dae-sung told us that after seemingly hitting

May 31, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

13,000 Chinese tourists to visit Korea in Sept.

By Lee Hyo-sik A Chinese healthcare and medical product maker plans to send nearly 13,000 workers to Korea as part of an employee incentive program in September, providing a boost to Korea’s goal of attracting 10 million foreign visitors this year, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Monday. In a recent business agreement signed with KTO, Pro-Health Product, a healthcare and first aid goods manufacturer based in Guangzhou, China, will send eight tourist groups of its best performing sales agents between Sept. 16 and 28. Each group will consist of 1,600 employees, totaling 12,800. They will stay in Korea for six days, taking part in a company workshop and a tour agenda that includes Seoul and Jeju Island. In 2009, Pro-Health Product organized a corporate incentive tour scheme for its employees to visit Taiwan in 2009. In 2008, the destination was Australia. ``It will be the largest corporate incentive tourist group Korea has ever attracted from a foreign country. It will encourage more companies in Asia to hold conferences and organize employee tours to Korea, h

May 30, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Denial of treatment linked to draftee’s suicide

By Lee Hyo-sik A draftee who committed suicide at the nation’s largest boot camp in February was found to have been denied proper medical treatment by army doctors and other officers, the National Human Rights Commission said Monday. The recruit took his own life after being accused of faking illness to evade training and was verbally abused by his platoon commander, the commission said, citing letters and memos found in his uniform pockets and witness testimonies. On Feb. 18, the 20-year-old conscript, surnamed Jung, went to the medical corps at the Korean Army Training Center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, to ask an army doctor to send him to a civilian hospital for treatment for an ear infection as his symptoms had not improved. He had previously been treated at military medical facilities several times, but to no avail. Jung’s request was denied by the army doctor who said he suffered from no serious illness, according to the commission’s investigation. As the conscript kept begging for further treatment, he was kicked out of the medical corps by force.

May 30, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

Hotels offer one more night promotion

Is this new act of NK brinkmanship?

Civil servants taking childcare leave jumps 30%

Collegians struggle to juggle work, study

Court asked to rule on highway toll

Calls grow for SOFA revision

Supermarket sales of OTC drugs unlikely

Dae-sung under probe for running over motorcyclist

13,000 Chinese tourists to visit Korea in Sept.

Denial of treatment linked to draftee’s suicide

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