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Education ministry unveils measures to fight fine dust

 By Lee Kyung-min The government will set up a comprehensive negotiating body to devise measures to raise awareness of fine dust, it said Thursday. Additional facilities will also be set up to encourage indoor physical activities to limit outdoor sessions amid the poor air quality.  The Ministry of Education unveiled a set of measures to effectively tackle the growing health threats caused by fine dust, a problem increasingly affecting young, still developing students who are more vulnerable to the health risks than adults.The move followed repeated calls from the students and their parents on the need for educating students early about what could have long-term consequences on human respiratory function.The group, comprised of officials from the ministry and education offices nationwide, as well as environmental and education experts, will be launched as early as next month.The group will discuss ways to effectively take preventative measures against fine dust and conduct studies to assess indoor air quality.The ministry will increase a number of training sessions for

Apr 27, 2017

Residents up in arms over rushed THAAD installation

By Lee Kyung-minResidents in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, and civic groups continued Thursday to denounce the overnight operation to transport a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to its deployment site a day earlier.“The clandestine work to transport some of the anti-missile defense system here pushed ahead by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) overnight is nothing short of subjecting us to military martial law,” they said.“The government has mobilized forces to railroad its unilateral decision, against which we have every right to protest. This shows it has absolutely no regard for the residents whose lives are directly affected by such a political decision,” they added.The groups vowed to continue to hold rallies until the anti-missile system is withdrawn.The response followed the transport in the early hours Wednesday of an AN/TPY-2 X-Band radar, mobile launchers and other equipment needed to set up the THAAD unit to a former golf course in Seongju.The land, previously owned by Lotte Group, was secured by the USFK following an

Apr 27, 2017
Residents up in arms over rushed THAAD installation

Novartis fined for offering bribes

By Jung Min-hoNovartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical giant, has been fined 55.1 billion won ($49 million) and given a six-month suspension of insurance benefits on its nine medicines available here for allegedly bribing doctors.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday it has decided to take the punitive measures against Novartis, which is charged with offering 2.59 billion won to doctors from January 2011 to January 2016 in return for more prescriptions of its drugs.This move came after prosecutors indicted six Novartis executives on the charges last year. The trial is now underway.The ministry decision means the nine medicines will remain expensive for the next six months without insurance reimbursement; thus, patients may have to seek other alternatives.Glivec, the firm’s blockbuster cancer drug, is not included in the list due to concerns that patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) would not be able to find a proper alternative.About 3,000 of 5,000 CML patients in Korea rely on the drug for treatment. After the issue came to the fore, they urged the ministry to find

Apr 27, 2017
Novartis fined for offering bribes

Star-studded campaign trails? No such thing in this election

Jeon In-kwon, lead vocalist of the rock band Deulgukwha, poses at a restaurant in central Seoul on April 18 during a news conference to preview his concerts slated for May 6 and 7. The singer later canceled the May 7 concert for poor ticket sales following threats from some supporters of presidential candidate Moon Jae-in to boycott his concert. The singer drew the ire of some Moon supports for his open support for Moon’s rival Ahn Cheol-soo. / YonhapCelebrities forgo presidential endorsements for online extremistsKang Hyun-kyungJeon In-kwon, lead vocalist of the folk rock band Deulgukwha, reaffirmed his unwavering support for presidential hopeful Ahn Cheol-soo, amid unusually low celebrity presidential endorsements.“Ahn and his wife are nice and thoughtful,” he wrote on Facebook on Monday to make his endorsement public. “I’ve supported Mr. Ahn for five years and my friends and acquaintances already know this. I didn’t make it public, though.”His presidential endorsement came days after his support for Ahn drew a backlash from hardcore suppor

Apr 27, 2017
Star-studded campaign trails? No such thing in this election

'Disabled refugee should be guaranteed social benefits'

 By Lee Kyung-min The human rights watchdog urged the government, Wednesday, to guarantee disabled foreigners staying here with refugee status the same social benefits as locals.The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it submitted a recommendation to Health and Welfare Minister Chung Chin-youb, calling for an amendment to related laws to recognize such a universal right and come up with additional measures.The recommendation followed a media report last year in which a child suffering from a brain injury was denied a state subsidy usually granted to such a patient, after the ministry rejected the request to register the child “disabled” citing refugee status.The child, whose identity is being withheld, could not attend elementary school and was denied monthly financial support, the NHRC said.Following the report, the human rights watchdog has been reviewing related laws to help end the discriminatory practice.“According to the related law and treaty on the status of refugees, disabled refugees should be guaranteed an equal degree of social benefit

Apr 26, 2017

Scholars submit letter of protests to Chinese leader over Trump's controversial remark

 Shim Baek-kang, president of the Research Institute of Korean Studies, third from right, and former Agriculture Minister Huh Shin-haeng, center, pose in Sajik Park, central Seoul, Tuesday, ahead of sending a letter of protest to Chinese President Xi Jinping. / Courtesy of Shim Baek-kangBy Lee Kyung-min A group of scholars submitted a letter of protest to the Chinese embassy in Seoul, Tuesday, following a recent controversial remark made by U.S. President Donald Trump that “Korea used to be a part of China,” quoting Chinese President Xi Jinping, it said Wednesday.In the letter, the group comprised of noted historians, professors and lawmakers demanded Chinese leader Xi answer questions on Korea’s almost 10,000-year existence referenced to in both Chinese and Korean history books.  “The Chinese government has consistently dismissed its organized efforts to annex the history of Korea to China as part of the nationalist history project under the Chinese Communist Party for a couple of decades,” the group said in a statement.“However, su

Apr 26, 2017
Scholars submit letter of protests to Chinese leader over Trump's controversial remark

Chinese int'l school blasted over 'cover-up' of Korean students' deaths

/Screen captured from Yantai Huasheng International School homepageBy Lee Han-sooPictures of the dead students posted on the school’s website. / Screen capture from YHIS homepageYantai Huasheng International School (YHIS) in Yantai, Shandong Province, is under heavy criticism for the alleged cover-up of the deaths of two Korean students during a field trip.The students, surnamed Cho and Choi, drowned while swimming in the Moei River in Thailand during the school trip on Mar. 24.The school has avoided investigating the incident and refused to pay compensation to the bereaved families.About five people a year drown in the river but the school did not properly educate the students, according to the families."The school did not even prepare a life jacket,” Cho’s father told the Donga Ilbo, a Korean news outlet. “They also did not apply for any form of insurance.”Meanwhile, the school has done little to investigate the accident or resolve it."We received a letter of resignation from three teachers who are responsible for the accident," a school official

Apr 26, 2017
Chinese int'l school blasted over 'cover-up' of Korean students' deaths

Chinese man gets 30 years for murdering Korean woman in Jeju

A local appellate court on Wednesday sentenced a 51-year-old Chinese man to 30 years in prison for murdering an unrelated South Korean woman who was praying at a church on the country's southern resort island of Jeju last year.Chen Guorui attacked the 61-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Kim, in September when she was praying alone inside a Catholic church. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead a day after the incident took place.The Jeju District Court overturned a 25-year sentence handed down to the defendant earlier in February, saying the original sentence was too light."The crime was very brutal and premeditated," the court said. "The defendant does not show any signs of remorse and the bereaved family has also asked for a strict punishment."The court of first instance had earlier said it took into consideration that the defendant has been mentally feeble for the past five to six years.During a police investigation, Chen said he killed Kim because she reminded him of his former wives who ran away after having extramarital affairs.But du

Apr 26, 2017
Chinese man gets 30 years for murdering Korean woman in Jeju

Court orders 1.6 billion won for family of late singer

By Kim Se-jeongA court in Seoul ordered the surgeon of the late rock singer Shin Hae-chul to pay 1.59 billion won in compensation to his family, Tuesday.Shin’s family filed a compensation suit in 2015 after an abdominal operation at Kang Se-hoon’s hospital resulted in his death. Police concluded the surgeon’s malpractice was to blame. Separately, Kang is undergoing a criminal trial for charges of professional negligence.Shin was treated for intestinal adhesion and obstruction on Oct. 17, 2015, and died 10 days later. Forensic scientists found an intestinal perforation which turned out to be made during an additional procedure performed on Shin without the patient’s consent.Lawyers representing the family argued Shin had died because the surgeon performed an unwanted operation and failed to provide adequate care for the patient.  An appeals court is reviewing the case. The surgeon appealed the lower court’s verdict which sentenced him to 10 months in prison and two years of probation.    

Apr 25, 2017

American arrested over election poster vandalism

Presidential candidate posters for the upcoming election. / Korea Times fileBy Lee Han-sooPolice have booked an American man, 64, who works as a part-time English instructor at Hongik University, for allegedly vandalizing a presidential campaign poster.  Under Korean election law, unlawfully removing or vandalizing a political campaign poster can lead to a two-year jail term or a fine of 4 million won ($ 3,500).Mapo Police Station said on Monday the man allegedly tried to remove a poster from the side of his house on Apr. 21. His neighbors tried to stop him but he repeatedly said "my home" and continued to dismantle the poster before being arrested.It is unclear whether the neighbors explained clearly to the suspect that removing an election poster is against the law. The man is known to have told police he did not know it was unlawful.Police refused to comment on the case but plan to hand it to prosecutors. 

Apr 25, 2017
American arrested over election poster vandalism
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