A quarry used during the Japanese colonial era will turn into a public park as part of Seoul City’s urban restoration project, officials said Sunday. Seoul Metropolitan Government said a 19,000-square-meter-large quarry cutting area in Jongno will transform into a sightseeing park with an observatory. The cutting side of a 40-meter-high stone pit will be the main ground of the park. The stones quarried were used in constructing historical buildings such as the Japanese Government General of Kore

The number of flu patients has been steadily rising since late last month, health officials said Sunday, stirring concerns over the further spread of the influenza virus. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ratio of flu-suspected patients per 1,000 outpatients in the country reached 10.6 from Dec. 28 to Jan. 2. This is higher by 1.6 from the previous week and about 3 points higher on-year. The disease control agency conducted an influenza sample test at 200 med

Foreign direct investment in Seoul City hit a record high of $8.48 billion last year, driven by a rising inflow of Chinese capital, officials said Thursday. This is an increase of about 55 percent on-year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. The investments in Seoul also made up 41.6 percent of the total $20 billion FDI in Korea. The previous highest foreign investment amount was $7.2 billion in 2005. The sharp rise in Chinese investments contributed to the record-breaking FDI, the city said

Seoul City will provide better free high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access in subways starting from next year to offer faster and more stable Internet service to the public, officials said Thursday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would change the existing in-train wireless broadband, or Wi-Bro, system to high-speed Wi-Fi. Currently, the free Internet access in trains has been provided only through wireless broadband by telecommunications business operators since 2011. The speed of the Wi-br

The government earlier this week lifted ad regulations to create a Korean version of New York City’s Times Square as part of its efforts to boost the ad industry and attract more visitors, officials said.The Interior Ministry said Monday it had eased the rule to create a zone where outdoor digital screens and billboards can freely be installed without any restrictions on types or sizes. The size, type and location of outdoor ads had been strictly restricted prior. The revised rules have been pro

The government will place at least one ambulance with advanced equipment at each fire station in the country to provide quicker treatment for emergency patients, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Public Safety and Security said it would provide special ambulances that are equipped with 12 emergency medical devices to 205 fire stations. In these ambulances, medical staff will be able to conduct emergency treatments, such as intubation or heart-stimulating drug injections, which are difficul

Kim Mi-ra, a 58-year-old businesswoman in Seoul, has not worn a thick and heavy padded coat this winter. She has so far preferred a thin woolen overcoat or a light jacket. “A heavy padded coat with muffler and gloves do not seem to be necessary this winter. I purchased a high-end goose down parka in October last year, but I only wore it once or twice,” said Kim. Unlike previous years, the winter temperature has remained unusually warm this season. The spring flower forsythia has prematurely come

Dozens of young South Koreans took to the streets Saturday to protest a recent agreement between South Korea and Japan to resolve the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.The agreement, reached on Dec. 28, has sparked a wave of public protests among victims and their supporters, who claim Japan got the better side of the deal by obtaining Seoul's promise to settle the issue once and for all if Tokyo fulfills its commitments.Under the deal, Ja

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the opening ceremony of a science technology complex on the first day of the new year, the North's state media said Saturday.The "Sci-Tech Complex" opened Friday to help spread the latest science and technology developed by the North's ruling Workers' Party, according to the Korean Central News Agency."Going round the interior of the complex, (Kim) said this is a great center for all-people study and one for disseminating latest science and technology in

A major overhaul of China's armed forces appears to have affected one of seven regionalized commands in charge of the Korean Peninsula, according to Chinese and Hong Kong media reports on Saturday. The Chinese Shenyang Military Area Command, which is close to North Korea, is one of the seven battle-zone commands and believed to be tasked with coping with contingency plans on the Korean Peninsula. Citing a "source familiar with the matter," Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Thu

South Korean stocks may remain subdued next week, weighed down by slumping global commodity prices and risks stemming from emerging economies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,961.31 on Thursday, the last trading day of this year, down 1.47 percent from a week earlier. The market got off to a weak start this week as Samsung Group affiliates lost ground after the country's regulator ordered them to resolve the complicated cross-shareholding struct

Shortly after a 2012 nuclear deal with Pyongyang, the United States had asked North Korea's chief nuclear envoy to meet bilaterally with his South Korean counterpart, according to a newly released email of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Clifford Hart, then U.S. special envoy for six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, made the request during a phone call with North Korea's deputy U.N. ambassador Han Song-ryol, days after the two sides reached a food aid-for-denuclearization

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday South Korea's President Park Geun-hye had made a "courageous decision" to reach a landmark agreement with Japan on resolving the issue of Japan's wartime sexual slavery."History will laud President Park Geun-hye's courageous decision based on her vision," Ban said during his phone call with Park.Ban also said it is a relief that the two countries reached the agreement before the end of 2015, as it marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of

The head of China Telecom, one of the nation's big three telecoms firms, is under investigation for "severe disciplinary violations", the government said Sunday, the latest high-profile target in a corruption crackdown.News of the probe into Chang Xiaobing, 58, was given in a statement on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the watchdog of the ruling Communist Party.The term is normally a euphemism for graft.Chang had been "taken away", according to an article in the

One in four young Koreans with a bachelor’s degree is not pursuing education, employment or training, the third highest rate among OECD members, a report showed Sunday.According to the National Assembly Research Service’s interim report on education, 24.4 percent of those aged 15-29 who held bachelor’s degree in Korea as of 2012 were grouped as “NEET,” referring to those who are not pursuing any official educational or employment activities.This was double the OECD average of 12.9 percent and th

On the second floor of an old building in Dongdaemun-gu, eastern Seoul, children sit scattered around the floor of a small library, reading. Behind them are walls of bookshelves filled with colorful books. In the next room, others play board games, while in the third room a small group of children intently watch volunteer teachers instructing them how to make creative objects out of large board papers using scissors and glue.“I come here every day after school. I usually read books or play with

The Seoul government on Wednesday released the second phase of its climate change adaptation measures for the next five years, aimed to reduce potential climate change risks and better protect the public health.The Environment Ministry released the measures set up in four categories -- technology, public health, industry and nature. The measures will be implemented starting from next year. Fine dust adds to the smog in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, Wednesday. (Yonhap)The first long-term plan was la

The central government will simplify the system for controlling pollution-generating facilities starting from 2017 as part of its efforts to reduce unnecessary procedural issues and lessen the burdens of businesses, officials said Tuesday. For this, the Environment Ministry said it would integrate polution permit systems. Currently, up to 10 types of separate permissions are required to run one pollution-generating facility. The permissions range from air pollution to water quality.The new syste

Seoul police dispatched a group of investigators to the Philippines to join a probe into the murder of a Korean for the first time amid growing security concerns for Korean citizens in the country, officials said Monday. A 57-year-old man surnamed Cho was shot dead by four strangers who broke into his house early Sunday in Malvar, Batangas. The suspects ran away after stealing money and valuables, Manila authorities said. The Korean National Police Agency said it sent three police officers and o

Korean and Vietnamese police authorities have launched special teams to ensure the safety of their respective citizens in each other’s countries, as they seek to enhance bilateral cooperation.Korean police launched the “Vietnamese Desk” to better support Vietnamese residents in Korea while the Vietnamese authorities installed the “Korean Desk” to better serve Korean residents in the Southeast Asian nation.These moves came after the police chiefs of the two nations signed a memorandum of understa