A high-ranking official from the Education Ministry made a tearful apology on Monday amid growing controversy over his remarks that described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” Na Hyang-wook, the director general of the ministry’s policy planning bureau, apologized for “making inappropriate remarks as a public servant, distressing Korean people and causing a stir,” during a parliamentary meeting in the afternoon.Na was initially absent from the parliamentary meeting held in the morning,

The Education Minister Lee Joon-sik on Monday apologized and vowed strong punishment over the controversy caused by a high-ranking official who described the public as “nothing but dogs and pigs.” During a parliamentary meeting held in the morning, Lee apologized for “greatly disappointing the people” with the ministry official’s “inappropriate” remarks. Lee said that he plans to take stern action in accordance with the result of the investigation into the case. “There cannot be any excuse for t

The prosecution said Sunday it indicted the suspect who stabbed a 23-year-old woman to death near Gangnam Station, concluding that it was a “planned” crime by a person suffering from mental illness.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that the 34-year-old man, only identified by his surname Kim, had committed the murder due to his symptoms of schizophrenia and persecution complex, denying what many saw as the misogynist nature of the crime.  Prosecutors, however, viewed the crime

Foreign students in South Korea find the nation’s hierarchical culture the most difficult to adjust to, a survey showed Thursday. According to the survey by the Institute of Language Research and Education, 32.8 percent of foreign students said that they had trouble adapting to the country’s hierarchical culture while living and studying in Korea. Just over 16 percent of the students had difficulties adjusting due to Koreans’ indifference toward them, followed by gender discrimination at 16 perc

South Korea’s civic groups called on the government Monday not to disband the Sewol Special Committee tasked with investigating the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014, four days after its term legally ended. The public interest lawyers’ group Lawyers for a Democratic Society said its members will go on a hunger strike in protest against the government’s decision to dissolve the Sewol Committee. “Our demand is simple. We want the government to guarantee the Sewol committee’s term by abiding by th

Nearly 40 percent of employees at South Korean conglomerates are irregular workers, the Labor Ministry said Friday, highlighting the level of job insecurity and low quality of jobs in Korea. According to data on the types of employment in 3,454 conglomerates involving 4.73 million workers, 38.7 percent of the Korean workers at large companies were either hired temporarily by the firms or indirectly through outsourcing firms. Of the irregular workers, 19.7 percent of the laborers were recruited t

 To bring attention to the shrinking right to freedom of peaceful assembly in South Korea, Amnesty International organized a holographic Ghost Protest in Gwanghwamun Plaza, downtown Seoul, in February this year. Fortunately, the assembly took place without a hitch. But consider for a moment what would have happened had a participant suddenly become violent. What if in their frustration they had suddenly struck out, kicking a police vehicle parked nearby?The police might intervene to prevent an e

남들보다 도드라지게 큰 엉덩이 둘레로 놀림 받던 여성의 성공 스토리가 주목을 받고 있다. 　지난 30일(현지시각) 영국 일간 미러는 인터넷 방송에서 ‘아름다운 빅사이즈 모델’로 활동하며 한 달에 고수익을 올리는 여성을 소개했다.　보도에 따르면 미국 펜실베이니아 주에 살고 있는 여성 보비-조 웨슬리(Bobbi-Jo Westley)는 2m가 넘는 엉덩이로 과거 상처를 많이 받아온 경험이 있다.　그럼에도 그녀는 자신의 콤플렉스를 극복하고 자신감 넘치는 모습으로 인터넷 방송에서 큰 인기를 끌고 있다. 매체는 그녀가 한 달에 230만 원 이상의 수익을 올린다고 보도했다. 　한편, 보비는 인터뷰를 통해 “사람들은 나의 엉덩이에 대해 악담을 한다”며 “옛날에는 그런 말에 상처를 받았지만 지금은 나의 모습을 있는 그대로 인정하고 내 방송을 보는 사람들과 소통을 하고 싶다”고 말했다.　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

Renowned South Korean artist Lee U-fan confirmed Thursday once again that he did paint all 13 paintings that are suspected of being forgeries.In a press briefing in central Seoul, the artist said the paintings in question were his work beyond a doubt."I checked them with my own eyes and they are certainly all mine judging from their breath, rhythm and colors," the artist said.He continued: "Breath and rhythm are like fingerprints, which no one can copy. A third person, however talented the perso

Park Yu-chun, the troubled member of popular K-pop boy band JYJ, appeared before police Thursday to face questioning over his sexual assault allegations which have been rocking the local entertainment scene. The 30-year-old singer-actor appeared at the Gangnam Police Station in southern Seoul about three weeks after he was first sued over allegedly raping a woman working at a local bar."First of all, I am very sorry for causing many people concern," he told reporters before entering the office,

Samsung Group denied rumors circulated Thursday that its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who has been hospitalized for over two years, has died.Earlier in the day, rumors that the 74-year-old has died and that the news will be made public at 3 p.m. were circulated around the local stock market and social media.Samsung Electronics Co., the flagship of South Korea's largest family-run conglomerate, said the rumors are "groundless," shortly after the Korea Exchange (KRX) demanded an explanation over the spec

The head of a private education institution has received a jail term for leaking questions from a U.S. college admissions test and teaching students with the material, court records showed Thursday.The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the defendant, identified only by her surname Kim, to a year in prison, suspended for two years, for obtaining questions of earlier Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) from her acquaintances and students, and using them in classes in 2011. Previous tests are not

Negotiations among employees, employers and laborers to set next year’s minimum wage fell through without an agreement Wednesday, failing to meet the June 28 legal deadline.  The Minimum Wage Council was not able to reconcile differing views over the growth rate of the minimum wage, with business representatives calling for a freeze and labor counterparts demanding it be raised by 65.8 percent. Extra meetings are scheduled to be held for three consecutive days from July 4, with both sides set to

South Korean police chief on Wednesday addressed the recent suspicion over Busan police’s attempt to cover up the case in which their officers had sex with underage girls, pledging to punish them.Kang Sin-myeong, the National Police Agency chief, admitted that high-ranking police officials were involved in the alleged cover-up of their officers’ irregularities during a parliamentary committee meeting. National Police Agency Commissioner General Kang Sin-myeong answers questions at the parliament

Foreign and local experts from human rights organizations and academia addressed on Tuesday the danger of the use of water cannons by South Korean police at street rallies and called for better protection of human rights in keeping the public order. An association of human rights organizations investigating the use of police force in last year’s antigovernment rallies held a symposium in Seoul, bringing together a former German judge, a British campaigner and Korean activists and scholars.The ev

While South Korea scrambled to assess the impact of Great Britain’s decision to leave the European Union over the weekend, little impact will be made on its domestic legal market, experts said Sunday.The “Brexit” decision came amid the U.K. law firms’ ongoing efforts to cement their standing in South Korea, with the final stage of opening the local legal industry to come into effect on July 1 under the Korea-EU free trade deal.Experts and government officials noted that Brexit would not affect B

이탈리아의 한 마을에 초대형 ‘미확인미행물체’(UFO)가 나타났다. 얼핏 보면 마치 외계인이 침공한 것처럼 보인다. (사진=세계기상기구)최근 세계기상기구(World Meteorological Organization)는 공식 페이스북을 통해 이탈리아 시칠리아 섬의 에트나(Etna) 산 정상에서 흡사 UFO를 연상시키는 신기한 구름 사진들을 소개했다. 　이탈리아 매체들은 앞다투어 ‘외계인의 침공’ 등과 같은 익살스러운 제목으로 신비한 구름에 대해 보도했다. 　산 정상을 완전히 뒤덮고 있는 사진 속 구름의 정식 명칭은 ‘층적운’으로, 상승하는 기류가 산맥에 부딪쳐 상승 기류가 만들어질 때 형성된다.　층적운은 대개 높은 산맥에서 형성되며 히말라야나 안데스, 로키 산맥에서 자주 나타나는 것으로 알려졌다.　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

세계적인 포르노 스타로 한 때 이름을 날렸던 치치올리나(64)가 컴백을 선언했다. 　최근 이탈리아 잡지 바니티 페어는 ‘포르노 퀸의 귀환’을 알리면서 이 같이 보도했다. (사진=Ilona Staller Cicciolina 페이스북)치치올리나는 인터뷰에서 “영화 제작을 위해 프로듀서를 모집 중”이라며 “팬들에게 최고의 선물이 될 것”이라고 밝혀 그녀의 컴백에 대한 기대감을 높였다.　치치올리나는 1951년생으로 올해 만 64세이다. 하지만 여전히 젊고 아름다운 외모를 자랑해 많은 팬들을 깜짝 놀라게 했다.　한편, 그녀는 약 30년 전 20편 이상의 포르노에 출연하며 스타덤에 오른 바 있다. 현재 치치올리나의 촬영 계획은 구체적으로 알려지지 않았다. 　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Foreign ministers of the EU‘s founding member states, gathering in Berlin for crisis talks after Britain’s shock referendum outcome, said London must begin the process of leaving “as soon as possible”. 　France‘s Jean-Marc Ayrault went as far as to call for David Cameron, who has said he would resign by October, to make way more quickly for a new British prime minister to manage the transition out of the union. (Yonhap News)As the EU grappled with the first defection in its six-decade history, Eu

A South Korean umbrella labor union and progressive civic groups held a massive rally Saturday to protest the government's policy on labor reform, police said.About 15,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gathered at Seoul Plaza in central Seoul to protest the government's push for labor reform, according to police. An association of farmers also held a rally at a separate place to call for a parliamentary hearing on the alleged violent crackdown by police on last year's rally