The government Friday heaped pressure on labor unions preparing for another massive antigovernment rally next month, warning that it will sternly clamp down on illegal protests at any cost. “Illegal and violent protests are serious and clear challenges to the country’s rule of law and to the public who love peace. Those who ignore the law and deride the government’s power will rightly pay the cost in the name of the public,” said Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong in a press briefing. Justice Minis

A United Nations special investigator on Friday expressed concerns over the Korean government’s insufficient measures that have left a huge burden on Korean industrial accident victims to prove the causality between their diseases and work conditions by themselves.  Baskut Tuncak (Yonhap)Baskut Tuncak, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes, released a preliminary report after investigating a toxic humidifier tragedy and the deaths of Samsung Electronics

A layer of fine dust has blanketed the peninsula for days, raising public health concerns, officials said Thursday. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, many provinces have recorded a high level of fine dust over the past week, prompting the cities to issue alerts. North Jeolla Province issued a fine dust advisory on Thursday morning as the average concentration stayed above 120 micrograms per cubic meter for 24 hours, with Iksan recording the highest of 187 micrograms per cubic

Over a dozen Chinese tourists disappeared during a sightseeing tour in the southern city of Busan, with the purpose remaining mysterious, police said Monday. Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said 13 Chinese visitors -- including seven men -- ran away while traveling to tourist spots in Busan on Sunday. They disembarked from 116,000-ton cruise ship Sapphire Princess in the morning for a day trip in Korea. “They gradually disappeared in small groups of two or three,” the tour guide was quoted as s

Days after a hunger strike by a U.S. civic activist, a public zoo caved in and agreed to buy back the animals that were sold in an auction upon concerns that some of them had been sold to a slaughterhouse.Seoul Zoo, which is run by Seoul Metropolitan Government, said Monday that it has decided to buy back the animals that the zoo had sold at an auction in August. A.J. Garcia, the U.S. branch president of civic group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth, had launched a hunger strike in front of

Controversy is escalating over lowering the minimum age for criminal punishment after the suspect of the recent “Cat Mom” case was found to be a nine-year-old boy. Under the current law, offenders under 10 cannot be prosecuted. Those between 10 and 13 can only be subject to punitive measures that include community service and long-term or short-term probationary periods. According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, tens of thousands of juveniles annually face criminal punishments. Earlier this

The number of overpasses in Seoul City has dropped in recent years, due mainly to concerns over the safety and convenience of pedestrians, officials said Sunday. According to Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of pedestrian overpasses decreased to 166 last year ― down 34 percent from 15 years ago. In 1999, 12 out of the 25 administrative districts in the capital had more than 10 overpasses. But now, only five districts have more than 10 overpasses. Dongjak-gu and Dongdaemun-gu plan to dem

The government and a group of lawyers plans to expand a free legal counseling service ― so far limited to Korean citizens ― to foreign residents from this week, officials said Sunday. The Justice Ministry and Korea Bar Association said they would run the neighborhood lawyer service for foreigners as a trial project from Monday. The service will be launched first in 10 communities in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province with large foreign populations. This includes Daerim-dong, Gwanghee-dong and Hyehwa-do

A historical underground bunker in Seoul will be opened to the public temporarily this month, a decade after its discovery, officials said Thursday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will temporarily open the secret underground bunker of 790 square meters in Yeouido to the public from Oct. 10 to Nov. 1 on a reservation basis. The city will gather public opinion from visitors on how to use the mysterious site ahead of the expected official opening in October next year.  One of the bunker r

Families of Sewol ferry tragedy victims on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the government and the ferry company to seek compensation and urge the state to clearly investigate the cause of the accident. Familes of 131 victims, including 20 survivors, sued the state and ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine Co. for compensation of 100 million won ($84,000) for each victim, totaling 13 billion won in compensation. “It’s been 526 days since the tragedy took place, but nothing has been revealed so far.

After nearly two decades including a botched initial investigation and series of trials, a movie and a reinvestigation, the murder that took place at a fast-food joint in Itaewon returned to the spotlight Wednesday with the extradition of the key U.S. suspect.Arthur John Patterson, handcuffed and donned in all white, arrived at In­cheon International Airport to face charges of murdering 22-year-old Korean student Cho Joong-pill in 1997.Patterson denied the allegations and said his Korean-America

“Welcome to our happy house!” A warm message written in a child’s handwriting on a door greets guests entering the apartment in central Seoul. Opening the door is Alexandre Jollien, a best-selling Swiss author and philosopher. His easygoing smile further comforts the visitor.Jollien speaks and walks slowly due to his cerebral palsy, but it does not deter him from pursuing intellectual work. Instead, it motivates him to create his renowned literature pieces.Since 1999, he has written six French b

Participants attend the DDPP conference in Paris on Monday. Attendants included SDSN executive director Guido Schmidt-Traub (from left), DDPP director Jim Williams, IDDRI scientific director Michel Colombier and IDDRI director Teresa Ribera. (Lee Hyun-jeong/The Korea Herald)PARIS ― Deeply reducing greenhouse gas emissions is technically and economically feasible in the world’s largest economies and developing countries, an international research consortium’s report showed Thursday. According to

A former senior prosecutor who stepped down from his post last year on charges of committing a lewd act in public is likely to return as a lawyer as his request is being deliberated by a group of lawyers.The Seoul Bar Association said it has accepted the lawyer registration request from Kim Soo-chang, the 53-year-old former chief of Jeju District Prosecutors’ Office last week. The Seoul branch sent the application to the Korean Bar Association, its upper body, for final approval. If over six of

Hundreds of thousands of fish were found dead due to the red tide along the southern coast of the country, drawing ecological concerns over the algal bloom, provincial officials said Monday.More than 330,000 sea breams, rockfish and other species raised in an aqua farm in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province have died to the red tide, they said. Over 1.2 million are being raised in the two-hectare fish farm in the coastal city. The dead fish were reported four days after the National Fisheries Resea

By Lee Hyun-jeong Seoul City is pushing to introduce an animal-assisted therapy service to support psychological treatment of citizens suffering from mental illnesses, sources said Sunday. Starting next month, Seoul Metropolitan Government will run a pilot project that offers psychological treatment through the bonding between humans and pets. The program takes a cue from a U.S.-based service that provides a chance for positive interactions with animals for the sake of people’s health and well-b

The dispute between Seoul City and southern Gangnam-gu Office escalated Wednesday over the use of the public contribution fee offered by a conglomerate that purchased a large chunk of public land located in the heart of the district.In a rare battle between the municipality and its subordinated district, Gangnam-gu Mayor Shin Yeon-hee held a press conference and warned of a legal battle against Seoul City, claiming that the city’s construction plan violated relevant administrative rules.“The con

Planning a three-day family vacation at a local resort last summer, serviceman Choi Woo-young was concerned about whether he could take his 15-year-old poodle Rookie on the trip. “I was worried that other guests would not like having Rookie around them, and I wasn’t sure if the resort would allow any pets on the premises either,” said Choi.  An abandoned Maltese is saved by a rescue worker after it was found wrapped in a bag and half-buried in the forest in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 4.

As excited children chatter, cyclists swish by and 20-somethings laugh among themselves, a man swiftly hands out chicken delivery leaflets at Banpo Hangang Park in Seoul. His leaflet catches the attention of six college students, who were planning to have a picnic at the riverbank.Picnickers brave the summer heat at a riverside park in Seoul. (The Korea Herald file photo)After leaving an order with the man, three fried chickens, three seasoned chickens and six cans of beer came just 40 minutes l

Despite the slowing number of new cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome, the public fear over the deadly disease continued to cause a significant change to life across South Korea, creating rare scenes that no one could have expected a month before. Since the authorities confirmed the first case of a patient with the virus on May 20, the nation has fallen into a deeper state of panic with each passing day, pushing the people to change their life patterns to best prepare themselves for the wo