Record heat waves have been gripping most of the country for the past week, prompting the government to issue a preliminary warning of power shortages Thursday. Heat alerts were issued for a broad swath of the nation with peak temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius. No relief is in sight for the next week, weather officials said.In Ulsan the mercury reached a 30-year high at 38.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the hottest day since the Korea Meteorological Administration began keeping rec

Australia’s Macquarie Group and other large shareholders will withdraw from the subway business in Seoul after a year-long dispute over fares, city officials said Wednesday. Three Korean insurance companies, including a major life insurer, will take over the controversial Seoul Metro Line 9 Corp. owned by a consortium of Macquarie Korea Asset Management Co. and Hyundai Rotem. The potential investors are expected to inject around 700 billion won ($630 million) while not being directly involved in

The Seoul Institute, a city research center, is pushing to form a research community with metropolitan cities in Asia, to build common ground for solving city issues and sharing policies. “General consensus among global cities is necessary as they all share similar issues such as environment and traffic problems. I believe Seoul can take a lead in such areas,” Seoul Institute President Lee Chang-hyun told The Korea Herald on Friday. In Asia, a coalition of local authorities called CITYNET has be

Seoul City’s local tax revenue decreased 4.3 percent on year to 5.3 trillion won ($4.75 billion) in the first half of the year due to an economic slowdown, officials said Wednesday.Its tax intake reached 42 percent of the original goal for the whole year.Income tax collection dropped by 180 billion won from the same period last year, mainly due to the reduction in corporate tax. Real estate acquisition tax revenue also decreased by 100 billion won to 1.2 trillion won due to the tax breaks aimed

The government shut down or suspended over 80 international marriage agencies in the first half of the year, the Gender Equality and Family Ministry said Wednesday.The number of such firms dropped by 12 percent to 1,204 during the period, slightly declining since last year. The ministry closed 27 for failing to meet qualifications and halted operations of 54 firms for not writing out contracts with their clients. (rene@heraldcorp.com)

Seoul City and private partners began to operate the largest solar power plant in the metropolis Tuesday as part of efforts to boost the electricity supply and increase the use of clean, renewable energy sources.The 5-megawatt plant marks the first phase of a joint project by the municipal government, chemicals and utility firm OCI, and environmental civic group Energy & Peace to build a combined 100-MW solar power stations in the city by 2014. The Amsa plant, located on a 76,800-square-meter si

Some district offices in Seoul plan to designate streets near colleges as nonsmoking zones. Smoking will be prohibited on a 250-meter pedestrian street in front of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, eastern Seoul, from next year, a Dongdaemun-gu Office official said Monday. This is the first time that a smoking ban has been imposed on university streets. In 2003, the 250-meter walkway in front of Sungshin Women’s University, northeastern Seoul, was named a smoke-free zone, but it was not lega

Seoul opened a one-stop job center for female marriage immigrants on Monday. The Western Women’s Development Center in southwestern Seoul, selected as the first career center for multicultural families, will offer consulting, job coaching and various courses such as computer technology and sales services.The center will be affiliated with 24 other women’s career centers and multicultural family support systems, sharing employment information and consulting services. Only marriage immigrant women

The government plans to conduct a public image survey of Korea targeting citizens in major countries for the first time, Foreign Affairs Ministry officials said Sunday. More than a thousand citizens of 10 countries in four continents including India, Germany, Canada and Egypt will be asked their impression of Korea over the course of two months. The purpose of the survey is to collect preliminary data for the state’s goal of creating an “attractive Korea trusted by the world” by reflecting the r

The prime ministers of Korea and France agreed to enhance the bilateral partnership in trade, investment and high-tech businesses on Thursday. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault visited Seoul as part of an Asian tour and met with President Park Geun-Hye and his counterpart Chung Hong-won. Jung and Ayrault promised to harness the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement to boost economic ties and further cooperate in the future growth sectors of information technology, robotics, medicine and pharmaceut

Seoul City on Wednesday announced a plan to build nine new light rail transit routes over the next 10 years to reduce blind spots in its subway and bus networks.Officials said the new passenger train corridors on a combined 85.41 kilometers of routes will help improve public transport and reduce citizens’ reliance on roads.“Sticking to the rail-centered public transport policy, the city will restructure the system over the next 10 years, allowing citizens to get to any subway station within 10 m

Retired police officers and former public servants are likely to join police to protect foreign visitors in Seoul’s major tourist spots, a city official said Monday. Seoul Police Agency plans to launch a 100-member police corps by October to crack down on abuses against tourists by illegal taxi vans, unauthorized guides and others. Seoul City is considering deploying 12 former officials with local knowledge as “tourist sheriffs” to assist police in the most popular tourist areas, such as Myeongd

Police on Thursday referred former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui and other key figures in a sex-for-favor scandal to the prosecution on multiple charges, including rape and drug use. The National Police Agency announced the result of its four-month investigation, recommending that prosecutors indict the 18 people involved. They were booked without physical detention.Investigators confirmed that Yoon Joong-cheon, a 52-year-old local construction contractor, provided some high-profile figures w

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon apologized Wednesday for a deadly accident at a water supply reservoir and vowed to carry out a thorough investigation into alleged violation of safety protocol.“I feel responsible and offer my apology for failing to protect citizens’ lives and safety,” he said during a visit to the construction site where seven workers were swept away in a flood Monday. Two were confirmed dead as of Wednesday afternoon.He said the city government would thoroughly investigate the incide

A deadly accident at a water facility construction site in Seoul on Monday sparked criticism about the lax enforcement of safety protocol. One worker was killed and six others went missing after the Hangang River suddenly flooded the underground water distribution reservoir in Noryangjin located near the river.The workers were replacing old water pipes in the 48-meter-long tunnel.Construction managers came under fire for failing to evacuate the workers while heavy rain hit the city. “After I got

Earning money is not just about acquiring personal wealth for You Hyun-ju. The self-made businesswoman returned her 7 billion won ($6.3 million) poultry business to society in 2011 in the form of social enterprise. She uses 70 percent of its profits for charity and public causes. Nearly half of her employees are poor, elderly and social vulnerable people. “There is no such thing as ownership over money. We can only keep it temporarily,” the chief executive of Doome Sangol Farming told The Korea

Nine conglomerates have pledged to invest 2.8 trillion won ($2.4 billion) by 2015 in industries to prevent toxic leaks as part of joint measures to prevent environmental disasters at factories, the government said Friday.Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and others will be injecting the funds to improve old facilities, enhance safety installations and build up toxic gas monitoring systems. All industries will be required to adopt the leak detection and repair system, which currently only appli

Helping those in need offers its own rewards, and this may be no more true of anyone than Kim Kyung-ran. The once high-flying TV anchorwoman suddenly quit her job at KBS last year not only to become a freelancer but to start a second life as a philanthropist helping children at home and abroad. “It’s not obvious volunteer work voicing out for help. It’s literally a fun activity for both children and us,” Kim, 35, told The Korea Herald.She was one of the most promising announcers of the state-run

Seoul City said Wednesday it is to provide job training and entrepreneurship programs for marriage migrant women.The one- to three-month courses on beauty care, hotel room assistance and SNS marketing will be run in seven women career centers in various districts, including Jungnang, Gwanak and Seongdong.A government survey showed that 41.5 percent of migrant women in the country were unemployed last year. Applications will be received through each center starting Thursday. (rene@heraldcorp.com)

Nearly half of “super supermarkets” and convenience stores in Seoul are illegally selling alcohol to teenagers, a survey by the city government showed Tuesday.The city government announced the result of its one-month undercover inspection of retail stores, in which 40 teenage volunteers and college students participated.A total of 43.5 percent of 200 SSMs and 55.2 percent of 1,000 convenience stores violated the Juvenile Protection Act that prohibits the sale of alcohol to those under 19.They us