South Korea - The Korea Times

Father and son

Will Smith, left, and his son Jaden Smith pose for photographers during apress conference to promote their film “After Earth,” in Tokyo, Thursday./ AP-Yonhap

May 2, 2013

Last remaining personnel at Kaesong may return home Thursday

The last remaining South Korean personnel at the inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea may return home on Thursday after settling all necessary accounts on behalf of local companies, a government source said."The government plans to announce details on the issue by the end of the day," said the official, who declined to be identified.There are currently seven South Korean nationals at the Kaesong Industrial Complex who stayed behind to discuss payment of outstanding wages for North Korean workers, tax issues and various service charges. The team is led by Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee (KIDMAC) chairman Hong Yang-ho.Seoul ordered all South Koreans out on Friday after Pyongyang repeatedly declined to accept talk proposals that could help normalize operations. The North effectively shut down Kaesong after it told all workers not to report to work on April 9.The exact amount of money being demanded by the North has not been confirmed, but it may exceed US$10 million. This includes $7.2 million that the 123 South Korean companies should have paid the laborers i

May 2, 2013

Death penalty sought for sexual assault

  By Lee Kyung-minUlsan district prosecutors have asked for the death penalty for an Ahn, in his 40s, for sexually assaulting 13 women in their teens and 20s. "Since 2008, he committed the crimes repeatedly and methodically. Most of the young victims will live with devastating memories for the rest of their lives," one of the prosecutors said. Among his crimes was recording parts of victims’ bodies, they added. He broke kitchen windows to get in, according to the report. The police said that CCTV (closed-circuit television) showed no one suspicious in particular, so they assumed that the suspect is a resident in the area. They narrowed down the suspects to a few men, and asked for their DNA samples.Unlike others, Ahn was reluctant. Since then they kept an eye on him, and took his cigarette butt.It matched, and confirmed his crime, according to the police.

May 2, 2013

Threatening letter sent to U.S. Embassy in Seoul: police

An investigation has been launched into a threatening letter found at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, police said Thursday.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said the letter was delivered to the embassy in downtown Seoul on Monday that contained threats against American citizens in South Korea.The letter, which was also written in Korean, said in English, "American citizens living on the territory of South Korea will be subject to the attack if they continue with a war game," according to the SMPA.The letter also attached a photo of a pressure-cooker bomb similar to the ones used in the Boston Marathon terrorist attack last month, police officers said.While it is not immediately known who was behind the incident, police officers said they are open to the possibility that it could be the same suspect who threatened the South Korean defense minister last week.Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin received a similar parcel containing a threatening letter and suspicious white powder on April 23, which turned out to be wheat flour.Police said they have raided the house of a prime suspect behi

May 2, 2013

Opposition alliance?

Rep. Moon Hee-sang, left, chairman of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), shakes hands with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a former independent presidential candidate, at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Ahn recently hinted at creating a new political party after being elected the lawmaker of Seoul’s Nowon-C district in the April 24 by-elections, raising concerns of seriously threatening the DUP. / Yonhap

May 1, 2013

Stunt flying

Stunt flying:ROK Air Force’s Black Eagles, fume colorful smokes in formation flight at a demonstration competition at Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Representatives of such countries as the United States, Sweden and Spain on top of Korea took part in the show. Korea Times

May 1, 2013

Demanding sincere apology

A student of Kwangwoon University stages a protest in front of the Japanese Embassy against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s alleged denial of the“invasion”of Korea during World War II. He is demanding a sincere apology from Japan for its war crimes. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-cheol 

May 1, 2013

Bees: Nature's little helpers under threat

Bees play a key role in human food production, pollinating more than two-thirds of the world's 100 most important crop species and providing a free service valued at tens of billions of euros.They account for about 80 percent of pollination by insects, say agriculture agencies. Without bees, many plant and animal species would disappear and farmers would be left to fertilize crops by hand.Yet the number of bees has slumped in Europe and the United States in the past 15-odd years due to a worrying phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD).The mysterious plague, often characterized by a rapid loss of adult worker bees, has been blamed on everything from agricultural pesticide use, a loss of wild bee habitat, a virus or fungus, mites -- or a combination.The disorder has killed off about 30 percent of bees annually since 2007.According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, a third of the food we eat depends on bee pollination.Some economists have valued the pollination services of insects, mainly bees, at about $190 billion.Bees transfer pollen that gets st

May 1, 2013

Return of last 7 from Gaeseong delayed

The return of the last seven South Koreans from the Gaeseong industrial complex in North Korea is being delayed with Pyeongyang demanding payments of $8 million in backlog wages and communication and utility charges.South Korean government officials said it is unlikely that the seven will return to Seoul Wednesday before the payment issue is settled.“We are closing in on a compromise but it is going to take a little more time to complete the negotiations,” one official said.The payments include $7.2 million in wages for March to be paid to North Korean employees with the rest being income taxes and communication bills.On the other hand, companies which have been operating in the industrial complex are demanding that they be allowed to withdraw parts and components as well as finished products.Where the South Korean government is concerned, I is looking at the possibility of making the payment from government coffers and retrieving the liabilities from the companies after all issues are settled.

May 1, 2013

Greeting with ex-sex slave

Eni Faleomavaega, right, a member of U.S. House of Representatives, greets Kim Gun-ja, a former “comfort woman” or sex slave at a welfare center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. The American politician criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for denying the existence of wartime sex slaves who were forced to work for Japanese soldiers during World War II./ Yonhap

Apr 30, 2013

Others

Others

Father and son

Last remaining personnel at Kaesong may return home Thursday

Death penalty sought for sexual assault

Threatening letter sent to U.S. Embassy in Seoul: police

Opposition alliance?

Stunt flying

Demanding sincere apology

Bees: Nature's little helpers under threat

Return of last 7 from Gaeseong delayed

Greeting with ex-sex slave

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