President Lee Myung-bak named Yu Bong-ha, chief of the Korean traditional medicine division at Kyung Hee Medical Center, as his second family doctor, Lee’s spokesperson Kim Hee-jung said Monday, upon lobbying by local practitioners of oriental medicine. Yu will be officially appointed to the vice ministerial position early next month. The president is allowed to appoint a physician and an orien...

When South Korea’s first-ever female Supreme Court justice retired from the bench in August, she was surprised to learn how much she could earn in her first year if she practices law. “I heard that I could make up to 10 billion won ($9.2 million) in my first year as a lawyer, which is nearly 1 billion won a month,” said Kim Young-ran, 55, who now heads the government’s Anti-Corruption and Civil ...

The Army’s college-based program to train officers is drawing keen attention among young women now that they are allowed to enroll in the Reserve Officer Training Corps as of last year, officials said Monday. South Korea’s Army picked 60 female ROTC cadets from seven selected universities last year as part of its efforts to secure more talented female officers and give more opportunities to wome...

Four teenagers have been charged with the gang rape of an English teacher in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. The three university students and one unemployed man are accused of taking turns raping the 24-year-old hagwon teacher at a motel on April 12 after meeting her at a bar. The teacher, who is from the U.S., had been drinking with the men after friends she had been with left, according to Anyang...

The South Korean military has deployed a set of multiple launch rocket systems on two of the northwestern border islands in efforts to prepare for North Korean provocations, a government source said Monday. The source said some 10 systems have been sent to Bangnyeong and Yeonpyeong Islands near the western maritime border, where North Korean military attacks have persisted. “The rocket systems ...

FKTU, KCTU leaders agree to team up against labor policy The heads of the nation’s two umbrella unions vowed Monday to stand against what they call a oppressive Lee Myung-bak administration and influence the by-elections slated for Wednesday. This is the first time the two groups jointly and publicly denounced the administration. Lee Yong-deug, head of the more moderate Federation of Korean Tr...

A Korean delegation team led by Second Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Park Young-june will visit South America from April 26 to May 5 in an effort to boost energy ties with the region, the ministry said Monday. The delegation, which includes officials and local developers, will tour Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru, the ministry said. Officials from state-run firms Korea Electric Power C...

S-LCD Corp., a venture between Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp., said Monday that it will reduce capital through a share cancellation as part of efforts to improve its capital structure. In a regulatory filing, the venture said the number of its shares will be reduced to 660 million from the current 780 million, with its capital base to be cut to 3.3 trillion won ($3.05 billion) from 3.9 t...

Income inequality widened over the past decade, with the gains among the top 20 percent rising by more than half while those of the poorest 20 percent more than halved, the tax agency said Monday. Taxable income reported by the wealthiest 20 percent stood at an average of 90 million won ($83,210) in 2009, up 55 percent from 1999 when the figure was 58 million won, the National Tax Services said....

LG Uplus said Monday it recently launched a location-based social shopping service which enables people to save points or take part in events while they shop in its listed stores. Having launched the service named “Ding dong” last Monday, it is currently offering it in 1,000 locations in Seoul, including at The Face Shop, Beautiplex and some coffee shops and restaurants, said Ro Se-yong, senior ...