Explosions involving 20 or so oxygen tanks at a U.S. Army base Camp Carroll at Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province raised alarms on Thursday at around 2:30 p.m. Residents of the area adjacent to the army camp said the explosion sounded like gun fire and that metal debris three times the size of an aerosol can had dangerously shot out of the base.  (Youtube capture)Window panes of houses 200 meters away from the base reportedly shook due to the impact of the blast.No casualties were reported from

Doctors and patients who conspired for an insurance fraud amounting to 90 million won ($75,650) were arrested Thursday, the Daegu Gangbuk police said. According to the police, two orthopedic surgeons and their hospital assistant had plotted a massive scam in collaboration with 14 patients. The chief surgeon of the hospital suggested hospitalization of 11 patients who visited for minor contusions or diabetes between January 2010 and July 2015. (123RF)Through the exaggerated doctor’s consultation

Korean biomedical companies producing dermal wrinkle fillers are seeing buoyed sales from increasing exports to China and Japan. Two firms, Hugel and Medytox, said Thursday that the heightened demand for their wrinkle-smoothing filler products helped boost sales in the first quarter this year. (123RF)Their primary products are botulinum toxin, more commonly known as Botox, however, it was hyaluronic acid fillers -- launched less than three years ago -- that proved to be successful. Hugel said it

A Night Doggaebi Market celebrating the month of May will open at Cheonggyecheon Square near Seoul City Hall from Friday to Monday between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.“Doggaebi” is a Korean word for a type of local goblin that comes out to play tricks on people at nighttime. The city government said this mythical creature suited the nature of the night market, which only comes to life in the night and disappears by morning. Visit http://love.seoul.go.kr/ for more information on cultural events in Seoul. (

A Korean-Chinese meth smuggler was arrested at Incheon International Airport on Thursday.Gyeonggi Province’s Goyang police said the 31-year-old woman surnamed Mun had been caught carrying 20 grams of the substance in her body. This is a stock image. (123RF)Mun initially denied the charges however, an X-ray test at the airport medical center had revealed the drug inside her body. She is being accused of bringing in a total of 440 grams of methamphetamine worth 1.4 billion won ($1.2 million) since

The South Korean government and the central bank agreed to review all viable measures, including the launch of a recapitalization fund, to finance the ongoing corporate restructuring, the finance ministry said Thursday.In the second meeting of a special task force between the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank of Korea, the two shared the view that the lending resources of policy lenders, such as the Korea Development Bank, should be increased to help facilitate much-needed corporate

South Korea's major shipbuilders are pulling out of wind power generation projects as they are reeling from massive losses and a drawn-out slump in the global economy, industry sources said Thursday.Since 2009, local shipyards, led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., have been tapping the alternative energy business sector as part of efforts to diversify their business portfolios.But lower oil prices and mounting losses stemming from their mainstay business are forcing them to close down the loss-g

The distributor of a smartphone application that helped rate and manage more than 110,000 buyers of sex was indicted Monday, according to prosecutors. The prosecution said that the man, surnamed Na and aged 30, helped 41 prostitution brokers manage their clients using the application “Green Light” between October 2015 and April 2016.  The application held the personal information of more than 110,000 men.  (123RF)The brokers had evaluated their clients by categorizing them into green, red and bl

A 31-year-old man surnamed Jung was arrested Wednesday for hitting and robbing a woman he met on an arranged date.South Gyeongsang Province’s Gimhae police said the man, who is unemployed, tricked a 25-year-old woman into thinking that he would pay for her escort services.  (123RF)When they met at a motel in April, he assaulted the woman with a weapon and took 250,000 won ($210) in cash from her. Jung allegedly used a similar method in March to steal 200,000 won from another woman, aged 30, at a

Two Korean men were arrested Wednesday for trafficking methamphetamine. Surnamed Han and Kim, the men are accused of bringing in the drugs from Cambodia and selling them to 34 clients.  (123RF)Han, 35, allegedly paid tourists to bring in the drugs to Incheon International Airport from where he transported it inside fruit boxes as express bus cargo to Kim, 41, on three occasions. Kim then carried the boxes to public bathrooms and taped the sacs to toilet covers for clients to collect.Kim told the

The man held on charges of murdering a 23-year-old woman told the police that the crime was motivated by his hatred for women. The man is suspected of killing the victim, with whom he had no prior contact, in Gangnam on Tuesday night. (TV Chosun Capture, original footage provided by Seocho police)The suspect has since told the police that he committed the crime because he “hated women for belittling him.”Seoul Seocho police said the victim had been drinking at a bar on the first floor of a four-

The net profits of South Korea's top 500 companies increased 10.8 percent last year, data showed Wednesday, a sign of their belt-tightening and more efficient management amid economic difficulties.The combined net profits of the 500 companies stood at 96.6 trillion won ($81 billion) last year, up 10.8 percent from a year earlier, according to CEOScore, a website that tracks conglomerates, financial firms and state-run companies.The operating profits of those companies jumped 13.6 percent to 142.

운동량이 많은 사람은 암 발병률이 비교적 낮다는 연구 결과가 이달 16일 발표됐다. 美 의학 저널 자마 인터널 메디슨 (JAMA Internal Medicine)에 실린 이 연구는 미국인과 유럽인 140만 명을 11년간 관찰한 결과를 담았다.(123RF)피실험자들은 걷기, 수영, 달리기 등의 가볍거나 강도 높은 운동들을 했으며 운동량에 따라 열두 그룹으로 분류되었다. 실험기간 동안 참가자들 사이에서는 총 18만 6천 건이 넘는 암 발병건수가 기록되었다.이 중 운동량이 상위 십 퍼센트로 분류된 사람들은 하위 십 퍼센트에 비해 13가지 암 관련 발병률이 눈에 띄게 낮았다. 아래는 13가지 암의 종류와 발병률이 낮아진 백분율 지수다. 식도암 42퍼센트간암 27퍼센트폐암 26퍼센트신장암 23퍼센트위암 22퍼센트 자궁내막암 21퍼센트 골수성 백혈병 20퍼센트골수종 17퍼센트대장암 16퍼센트두경부암 15퍼센트직장암 13퍼센트방광암 13퍼센트 유방암 10퍼센트 암 종류와 무관하게 운동은 모든 1

2012년까지 약 3년간 14명의 사망자를 낸 세퓨 가습기 살균제의 원료를 제공한 것으로 알려진 덴마크의 케톡스 (KeTox) 대표가 “케톡스는 수입한 PGH를 주로 되파는 중개상”이었다며 새로운 사실을 밝혔다.16일 코리아헤럴드와 진행된 단독 전화 인터뷰에서 케톡스의 프레드 담가르 (Frede Damgaard) 대표는 케톡스는 중간 브로커로 외국에서 PGH를 수입해 덴마크 내 회사들에 판매하는 역할을 했다고 말했다.  가습기 살균제 피해자 유족인 김덕종씨와 이 사건에 관여해온 환경보건시민센터 최예용 소장이 현지시간 9일 덴마크 코페하겐에서 덴마크 환경청 마이클 쉴링 부국장을 면담하고 있다. (환경보건시민센터)이 때문에 PGH의 정확한 출처와 판매 경로를 제대로 밝히는 것이 우선적으로 보인다.하지만 환경보건시민센터의 임흥규 팀장은 “우리가 갖고 있는 MSMD (화학물질 안전 정보 자료)에는 케톡스가 PGH를 제조한 것으로 나와있다”고 말했다.2001년 11월에 발급된 MSMD 자료에

A 54-year-old man who caused a traffic accident while driving without a license was given a year in prison with two years’ probation Tuesday.On Nov. 13, 2015, the man crashed into another vehicle in Iksan, North Jeolla Province. He attempted to put the accident on his 63-year-old companion, who holds a driver’s license, claiming that his companion was behind the wheel.  (123RF)The two also plotted to cheat the insurance company for compensation money.The Jeonju District Court handed the unlicens

The official English lyrics to the song “Marching for our Beloved, which has been making the headlines recently, was translated in 2014 by English literature professor Robert David Grotjohn of Chonnam National University, in joint efforts with Gwangju Cultural Foundation and Gwangju International Center. The song was first written in the ’80s for a spirit wedding of activist Yoon Sang-won who died in the Gwangju Democratic Uprising on May 18, 1980, and his beloved Park Gi-soon, who had passed aw

South Korean fiction writer Han Kang won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for her novel "The Vegetarian," the organizer announced Tuesday. "The story of a Korean woman who awakens from uneasy dreams to find herself transformed into an enigma without a key. Evocative and suggestive, 'The Vegetarian' startles for the depth of its strangeness," the organizer said. Judging panel chairman Boyd Tonkin said: "In a style both lyrical and lacerating, it reveals the impact of this great refusal bot

A teenage girl was booked without detention on charges of damaging and stealing her ex-boyfriend’s belongings at his home, according to the Busan Jungbu police on Monday.  The police said the 19-year-old surnamed Park had entered her ex-boyfriend’s house with an excuse to his parents that she had “come for her things” on April 25. The former boyfriend, 21, was not at home.This is a stock image. (123RF)Park is accused of stealing his watch and other belongings worth a total 2.1 million won ($1,80

Four died and 36 were injured in a pile-up involving nine vehicles in a tunnel in South Gyeongsang Province on Monday. Five tour buses involved in the accident were carrying middle school students on their way to field trip. On Monday morning, seven buses carrying a total of 233 first-grade middle school students from Yangsan were headed to a training center in Goseong County, both located in South Gyeongsang Province. (Yonhap)The accident occurred while passing through 2,556-meter Changwon Firs

The pair of siblings being accused of murdering their father on Parents’ Day in Korea are reportedly satisfied with the food they were served in the detention cell, according to the police on Monday. The police said that while the suspects continued their silence at an on-site inspection on Sunday, making it difficult to gain more insights into the case, they were talkative with other inmates that shared their cell. At mealtimes, the 43-year-old brother had reportedly responded animatedly to the