Prosecutors raided more than 30 construction firms Wednesday that are suspected of creating slush funds, embezzlement and price-fixing in connection with the four-river refurbishment project under the former Lee Myung-bak administration. Scores of investigators from two teams at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office searched the headquarters and local offices of GS Engineering & Construction, Daewoo E&C, SK E&C, Samsung C&T Corp, and POSCO E&C, in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and South Jeol

Women in Seoul gave an average 2.67 on a scale of one to five in grading their level of happiness, according to a report released Sunday by the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, a city-affiliated policy developer and evaluator. Among the total of nine categories covered in the report, personal satisfaction in city life (3.23) and safety (3.07) received the highest scores while co-prosperity (2.29) and care (2.36) were among the lowest rated categories. The participants also rated sub-categor

Hacktivist group Anonymous staged another round of online attacks against the North Korean regime’s websites from Sunday morning, closing down those for public organizations and companies run by the regime. The group reportedly used DDos (Distribute Denial of Service) in their online hacking operation named “OpNorthKorea.”Some of the group’s members posted notifications through their Twitter accounts in advance that Anonymous would launch the operation at 1:00 a.m. (GMT) on May 12, which was 10

People from multicultural families are playing greater roles in improving the lives of themselves and their neighbors. Kim Thuy, a 42-year-old Vietnamese, takes pride in helping others and contributing to the community.She has been living in Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province, since marrying her Korean husband 16 years ago.  Working as an interpreter at Haenam Multicultural Family Support Center, Kim has seen members of multicultural families affected by domestic violence and discord with neighbo

Planca Jessa from the Philippines entered a rural community in the Sejong City area seven years ago after marrying a Korean farmer. She managed to adapt to the new life, learning the language, culture and skills at a government-run support center for multicultural families near her home. The facility helped her not only settle but also pursue her childhood dream of becoming a teacher. “We learn various skills of life here such as how to use the computer and how to cook Korean food. The center al

Korea, China and Japan agreed Monday to launch a regular tripartite policy dialogue to tackle air pollution including harmful particulate matters smaller than 10 micrometers and 2.5 micrometers.At the close of the two-day ministerial meeting in Kitakyushu, Japan, they adopted a joint communiqu pledging to build a network for sharing information on environmental policies and prepare a sustainable governance system for dust and sandstorm.They also called for an early launch of the green climate fu

A global carbon emissions watchdog called for the Korean government to go ahead with its plan to introduce a cap and trade system in 2015, despite opposition from businesses and a deepening gloom over the market. Yang Choon-seung, director of Korea Sustainability Investing Forum(KoSIF), said the government should step up proactive efforts for the development of the burgeoning market in which permits to emit carbon are given to firms and can be traded among them. “If we don’t even try to implemen

Korea, China and Japan will pledge joint efforts at an annual trilateral meeting to reduce the environmental impact of air pollution and tackle climate change issues in the Northeast Asia region.The Ministry of Environment said Thursday that Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu would suggest holding regular three-way talks for tackling air pollution, and setting up a network to share information on environmental policies at the annual 15th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting attended by Kore

The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that granted refugee status to a Chinese Falun Gong practitioner who sought refuge here to avoid persecution.The court said in its ruling last Thursday that the fact that the man named Choi was a practitioner of Falun Gong was not a strong enough reason to give him refugee status. “Refugee status can be granted only to those Falun Gong practitioners who are clearly subject to oppression by the Chinese government because of their active involvem

The prosecution raided the National Intelligence Service Tuesday as part of its widening probe into the agency’s alleged politicking in the presidential election last year. It was the second time in history for the top spy agency to undergo a search and seizure.The prosecution’s move came a day after former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon was questioned for more than 14 hours for his alleged role in the scandal.A team of 25 prosecutors reportedly seized relevant documents, digital files, and hard disks f

Seoul City government has published a new food and restaurant guide in three foreign languages for travelers visiting the city, officials said Tuesday.The booklet named “Soul Food of Seoul” recommends representative Korean dishes and the 10 must-visit restaurants in the city and is available in English, Chinese and Japanese. It introduces various dining places on popular food streets such as Shindang-dong Tteokboggi (rice cake with spicy sauce) Alley, Hamheung Naengmyun (cold noodle) street and

About 40 lawmakers on Monday launched a study group aimed at sustaining and expanding hallyu. At its inaugural meeting at the National Assembly, the participants pledged their commitment to maturing the Korean cultural wave. “The group will try to contribute to developing hallyu by working closely with the entire cultural sector,” said Rep. Park Byeong-seug from the Democratic United Party at the meeting.  He co-chairs the group with Rep. Choung Byoung-gug from the Saenuri Party. During the sess

A group of lawyers accused the National Intelligence Service of fabricating a pro-North Korea espionage charge against a Chinese-Korean man. In February the former Seoul City employee identified by his surname Yoo was indicted for handing information on around 200 North Korean defectors to Pyongyang agents. The Lawyers for a Democratic Society said Saturday that NIS agents threatened and coaxed his sister to make false confessions about her brother’s espionage activities. “Yoo’s sister made the

A string of cases involving parents killing their children have recently shocked the nation, ringing the alarm on the dangers of broken families and mental vulnerability.On Sunday, a mother in her 30s stabbed her two children to death in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, after reportedly suffering from depression. Her husband told police that he had found his wife bleeding from self-inflicted wounds on her neck. The 13-month and 3-week-old sons were found on the bed stabbed in the neck multiple times. Th

Police in Daegu are searching for two suspects in an arson attack on a private English institute which the self-proclaimed anti-American activists apparently mistook for a U.S. government facility. Police said the fire appeared to have been started by improvised explosives on Monday morning. A cleaning worker, surnamed Lee, called the police after she heard an explosion and found smoke with fliers scattered in front of the institute on the third floor of a nine-story building in the city. Police

An investigation into intelligence agents’ alleged interference in politics took a new turn over the weekend upon whistle-blowing by a police chief investigator that sent ripples through political circles and the nation’s intelligence agency. Kwon Eun-hee, a former chief investigator at the Suseo Police Station, confessed Saturday through several media interviews that there was pressure from high-ranking police officers from the National Police Agency during the investigation against agents of t

The National Assembly is set to debate a proposal to give incentives to working mothers in employment with the government and state-run firms as part of steps to tackle the declining birthrate.Rep. Shin Eui-jin from the ruling Saenuri Party submitted a bill to promote gender equality in employment and help women balance work and family life last December. It demands that additional points within a range of 2 percent should be given to moms when seeking a job at government offices and some privat

There is no place like home. However, if home has mold on the walls and a sagging ceiling, its residents can hardly feel comfortable at all.Before spring flowers fully bloom, a group of volunteers in Dongjak-gu are planning to renovate the homes of needy people in the district with new wallpaper in the hope of bringing a sense of spring freshness. The volunteers are members of a program called “Love House,” which was started in 2000. Each year around 30 volunteers are recruited and around 500 ho

The government and political parties reached an agreement Monday to readjust the proposed rules for real-estate tax breaks aimed at boosting the lackluster property market.The government has proposed that transaction tax for houses worth up to 900 million won ($799,000) and up to 85 square meters be exempted for five years.In a three-way meeting, representatives of the Finance Ministry, the ruling Saenuri Party and the opposition Democratic United Party agreed to lower the threshold to 600 milli