The Korea Times

Row over prosecutor recruitment deepens

By Lee Hyo-sik A group of lawyers have joined forces with judicial trainees to put greater pressure on the government to retract its controversial plan of recruiting elite law school graduates as prosecutors next year. About 20 lawyers in their 20s and 30s, who are members of the Seoul Bar Association organized a protest rally in front of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in southern Seoul Monday. They called on the Ministry of Justice to withdraw its disputed plan to interview top-class law school students who will graduate early next year as candidates for prosecutors. In a joint statement signed by 575 lawyers practicing in Seoul they said, “It is unfair to judicial trainees who must undergo a series of tests if law school graduates are hired as prosecutors without a test. If prosecutors are selected by recommendations from law school deans, the objectivity and fairness cannot be guaranteed as it is under the current bar examination system.” The lawyers also insisted that law school graduates will not be able to properly perform as prosecutors because they do not stu

Mar 7, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Bacteria found in baby formula

By Lee Hyo-sik Bacteria causing food poisoning and other illnesses in humans were found in one of the baby formulas produced by Maeil Dairies, the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service said Friday. Following the discovery of the staphylococcus aureus bacteria, also called golden staph, in the Absolute Premium Plus-2 formula made by Maeil, the state-run quarantine service agency requested the Gyeonggi Provincial Government to immediately withdraw all contaminated products from retailers’ shelves. Consumers were also asked to return the formula to stores or the manufacturer. The agency demanded that the provincial government toughen administrative action against the maker and introduce a range of measures to prevent such contamination in the future. The contaminated baby formula was produced in Maeil’s plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on Feb. 6. The company produced a total of 49,774 cans of the formula that day. Of the total, 37,714 cans have been distributed across the country, with the remaining 12,060 cans still in the firm’s warehouse. Staphyloc

Mar 4, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Coast Guard shoots violent Chinese sailors

By Lee Hyo-sik The Coast Guard shot at violent Chinese sailors illegally fishing in South Korean waters in the West Sea, Thursday. At around 3 p.m. the Coast Guard captured two Chinese fishing boats 64 miles west of Taean, South Chungcheong Province, as they had entered seven miles into Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and were there without a permit, according to the Taean Coast Guard Division. When the Coast Guard attempted to board the Chinese vessels, the sailors forcefully resisted, threatening the Korean officers with sharp objects. In accordance with protocol, the officers used a firearm to subdue the 10 violence-wielding sailors. During the violent confrontation, one coast guard was wounded, and one Chinese sailor sustained a gunshot wound to the leg. It was the first incident of a Korean Coast Guard firing at Chinese fishermen for crossing marine borders illegally, a move aimed to send a strong message to those who attempt to operate in the nation’s waters in the future. The captured sailors were taken to a hospital in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, by

Mar 4, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Male workers face dilemma over paternity leave

By Lee Hyo-sik Kim Sung-tae, a 33-year-old public relations manager at one of Korea’s largest construction firms, faced a dilemma over whether to take paternity leave or not in November last year when his wife gave birth to a baby girl. He had sleepless nights for a week or so, agonizing over the matter. But in the end, he decided not to take a leave of absence. “I was extremely concerned about how I would be seen in the eyes of my superiors and colleagues if I took paternity leave for a year. I just didn’t want to be the first male employee in the company to take a break from work to care for a baby. I didn’t even dare to ask for a three-day unpaid vacation following my daughter’s birth,” Kim said. He said a 500,000-won monthly-subsidy provided by the state employment insurance discouraged him from taking leave, adding he could not survive on that amount. Regardless of income levels, both male and female salaried workers are currently given 500,000 won per month during parental leave. This is expected to go up to one million won next year. “It has become the norm f

Mar 4, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Travel & Food

Abu Dhabi emerges as popular tourist destination

By Lee Hyo-sik Abu Dhabi is attracting a greater number of Korean tourists, boosted by the Dec. 10 inauguration of Etihad Airways’ direct flight between Incheon and the capital of United Arab Emirates. “Judging from our initial business performance, we are quite confident that Abu Dhabi will emerge as a new popular tourist destination in the Middle East sooner or later,” said Kwak Ho-chul, country manager of Etihad Airways Korea Office. The mainstay of tourist traffic on the route is expected to be business travelers for the time being in view of the ever growing bilateral economic relations between Korea and Abu Dhabi. “I am quite sure that we will quickly establish our foothold here by offering both Korean business and leisure travelers onward connections via Abu Dhabi to a number of key destinations across the airline’s global network, including the Gulf, Istanbul, Athens, London, Paris and South Africa,” he said. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi in Yas Island, especially the museum coasts, which includes the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, the Louvre and the Guggenhe

Mar 3, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Tobacco suit heading toward Supreme Court

A group of lung cancer patients who claimed long-time smoking was the cause of their illness have decided to take a “tobacco suit” to the Supreme Court after losing two previous legal battles. The Seoul High Court said Wednesday that the plaintiffs comprised of six cancer patients and 25 family members filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming that KT&G, the largest cigarette maker in South Korea, should be liable for compensating the patients. On Feb. 15, the Seoul High Court upheld a lower court ruling that rejected the claims for compensation. But at the same time the court recognized the cause-and-effect relationship between smoking and lung cancer in line with the first verdict in a case filed against KT&G. The dispute over whether the tobacco firm is responsible for compensating the patients dates back to 1999 when the six and their family members filed a damages suit against KT&G and the government, demanding a 307 million won ($274,000) settlement.

Mar 2, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

Paternity lawsuits steadily increasing

An increasing number of Koreans are filing paternity lawsuits to verify relationships among family members through DNA testing as the genetic test has become more readily available, according to the Supreme Court, Wednesday. A total of 4,301 paternity suits were filed at family courts across the country in 2009, up from 3,467 in 2008 and 2,671 in 2007. It attributed the rise to legally check biological relations to an increasingly simpler and cheaper DNA test offered by private clinics. A paternity test at these private clinics normally costs between 300,000 won to 500,000 won and the results are usually available within 24 hours. Thanks to this more convenient and less expensive DNA test, more Koreans seek to confirm biological relationships with their offspring and other family members amid growing cases of out-of-wedlock childbirths. Also, some individuals want to verify their genetic relations with possible descendants of relatives who have long ago moved to China or other foreign countries. An official at the Seoul Family Court said many go to Seoul National Univ

Mar 2, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

1 in 10 female high school students smoke cigarettes

By Lee Hyo-sik One out of every 10 female high-school students smoke cigarettes habitually, ringing alarm bells at schools and with parents in search of an effective way to discourage young women from picking up the habit. According to a study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHSA), Wednesday, the smoking rate among female high-school students stood at 10.2 percent in 2009, up from 2.4 percent in 1992. The rate of female middle school students rose to 5.1 percent from 2.8 percent over the same period. Smokers are defined as those lighting up at least once a month. About 7.4 percent of adult women were found to smoke regularly in 2009, up from 5.1 percent in 1992. “I am pretty positive that more young women smoke in reality than the official statistics indicate because many are reluctant to publically admit they are smokers. Also, an even larger proportion of female students now smoke cigarettes than in 2009,” a KIHSA fellow Suh Mee-kyung said. Suh said female adolescents are easily influenced by outside factors, stressing that if they are encour

Mar 2, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

HS 77 percent of elderly living alone in Seoul are female

By Lee Hyo-sik Nearly eight out of every 10 senior citizens living alone in Seoul were found to be women, according to the latest survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan City Government, Sunday. The elderly residing without family members earn an average of 460,000 won ($400) per month, accounting for only 33 percent of the average-monthly income single-member households make, with 66.1 percent of them living in a rental house. The city government said there are a total of 82,776 people aged over 65 and living alone in Seoul and it surveyed each of them to take a closer look into their living conditions. Seoul City said results reveal that 77.1 percent of them are female. About 34 percent of the senior citizens living alone own their home, with the remaining 66 percent paying either monthly rent or paid a one-time lump-sum deposit to landlords. They earn a monthly average income of 460,000 won, substantially lower than the 1.38 million won salaries of an average single-member household. Some 64,644 senior citizens, or 78.1 percent, said they suffer from at leas

Mar 1, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

South Korea

US soldier arrested for assaulting elderly couple

By Lee Hyo-sik A U.S. army soldier has been taken into custody following the issue of an arrest warrant by a local court, Monday, on charges of attempting to rape an elderly Korean woman as well as violently attacking her and her husband. The Uijeongbu District Court said it issued the warrant for the unidentified 20-year-old army private belonging to the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division based in Dongducheon, about 70 kilometers north of Seoul. The soldier is accused of breaking into the home of a 70-year-old man in the city at around 9 a.m. last Saturday and attempting to rape his 64-year-old wife, according to the Dongducheon Police Station. After failing to sexually assault the elderly woman, the private physically attacked the couple with a blunt object and fled the scene with the woman’s cellular phone. The police said the soldier was caught three hours later while wandering nearby the couple’s home, adding he was heavily under the influence of alcohol at the time of the arrest. The elderly couple was taken to the hospital for treatment, but neither of them sustained serio

Mar 1, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik

Lee Hyo-sik

Read more

Row over prosecutor recruitment deepens

Bacteria found in baby formula

Coast Guard shoots violent Chinese sailors

Male workers face dilemma over paternity leave

Abu Dhabi emerges as popular tourist destination

Tobacco suit heading toward Supreme Court

Paternity lawsuits steadily increasing

1 in 10 female high school students smoke cigarettes

HS 77 percent of elderly living alone in Seoul are female

US soldier arrested for assaulting elderly couple

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