A Seoul court ordered the police on Tuesday to withdraw its decision to ban a demonstration in memory of Sewol ferry tragedy in central Seoul, questioning the authenticity of a petition that was cited.The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of a man, identified only by his surname Kim, who asked the court to lift the prohibition order by the police on holding a demonstration to pay tribute to the victims of the politically sensitive Sewol ferry disaster. Kim applied for a permit from the J

Smoking is the greatest contributing factor to ischemic strokes among young men, a recent medical study showed Monday. The research team, led by neurology professor Bae Hee-joon of Seoul National University, found that smoking plays the largest role in causing strokes for men aged 65 and younger, while high blood pressure was the main cause behind the fatal disease for those older than 65. The team studied the habits and medical records of 4,743 stroke patients, both men and women, aged 18-90 wh

Marking 20 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Laos, the Korea-Laos Friendship Association hosted a seminar Friday in Seoul to share Korean culture to Lao students studying here as part of efforts to bolster bilateral ties and mutual understanding. The two-hour seminar, sponsored by the Korea Foundation, was held at Seoul Mapo Garden Hotel in central Seoul from 4 p.m., with 220 people in attendance. (From left) Korea Foundation auditor Lee Jong-chil, former Korea National Park Servic

A Nigerian man, who smuggled himself into South Korea to take shelter from his country’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram, faces deportation as an appeals court overturned its initial ruling Thursday. The court ruled against the Nigerian, who illegally entered the country by sea last year and applied for refugee status upon his arrival citing attacks and threats from the terrorist group in his home country. While the refugee application was in process, he filed a lawsuit to cancel the deportat

The prosecution sought an 18-month jail term for a Japanese journalist accused of defaming South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday, a decision that sparked fury from Japan.Prosecutors said that Tatsuya Kato, former Seoul bureau chief for Japanese right-wing paper Sankei Shimbun, intended to libel the South Korean president by reporting false rumors about her whereabouts at the time of the sinking of the Sewol ferry in April last year.  Tatsuya Kato (Yonhap)Kato was indicted last October f

South Korea reported one of the lower levels of life satisfaction among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a recent report showed.According to the OECD’s How‘s Life 2015 report, South Korea ranked 27th among the 34 OECD countries, with a score of 5.8, substantially lower than the OECD average of 6.58. Denmark topped the list, followed by other Nordic countries -- Iceland, Switzerland and Finland. Japan came in 26th, a notch higher than Korea. The OECD

Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea said Friday that there is enough time to author a single history textbook for secondary school students apparently to dispel public concerns over the lack of preparation.The Ministry of Education announced on Monday that history textbooks for middle and high school students nationwide will be written by the government-designated authors and in use by the 2017 academic year.Following the announcement, some raised concerns that there is only one year left, saying t

WASHINGTON -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on Friday will adopt a joint statement on North Korea by renewing their strategic alliance to effectively contain its nuclear ambitions and provocations, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.　During a summit at the White House, the highlight of Park’s four-day trip to Washington, the two leaders are also expected to reaffirm their bilateral partnership and agree to upgrade their ties for shared economic prosperity an

South Korea’s audit agency warned Thursday that some municipalities’ push for creating ecological parks could lead to a massive waste of taxpayer money as their plan fails to follow necessary guidelines.In the audit report concerning the feasibility of local governments’ construction projects, the Board of Audit and Inspection noted that 34 local government offices had failed to reflect the river management guidelines in their plans to restore 42 rivers across the nation.  (Yonhap)The budget for

WASHINGTON -- In a ritzy dinner event hosted by President Park Geun-hye in Washington on Wednesday, a number of prominent U.S. figures graced the occasion, expressing their full commitment to keep the bilateral friendship vital.　Representing the U.S. government, Secretary of State John Kerry attended the event spending the entire evening side-by-side the South Korean leader on the second day of her four-day visit to the U.S. 　President Park Geun-hye talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

WASHINGTON -- In the eyes of James Robert Lunney, a retired rear admiral of the U.S. Navy, the true heroes of the 1950-53 Korean War were the tens of thousands of Koreans who left everything behind in pursuit of freedom -- the foundation that built South Korea today from the ashes of the brutal war.　“The true heroes were the Koreans themselves who sacrificed everything to leave their villages and their homes to obtain freedom,” said Lunney in an interview.　“We look back with great pride having h

Three out of 10 job seekers in South Korea think their appearance hurts their job prospects, with women being more conscious about it than men, a survey showed Tuesday. According to a multiple-choice survey of 872 job seekers by job search engine Saramin, 31.5 percent of respondents said that they have felt disadvantaged due to their looks while seeking a job.  (Yonhap)The survey suggested that Korean women (38.4 percent) were more prone to feel frustrated by this than men (26.4 percent). Those

The prosecution said Monday that it will launch a fresh investigation into South Korea’s largest-ever fraud case as a close aide of Cho Hee-pal, a notorious swindler, was arrested in China three days ago. 　Kang Tae-yong, Cho’s No. 2 man in the pyramid scheme, was caught by the Chinese police at his apartment in Jiangsu Province on Saturday, seven years after he fled to China to avoid the police probe.　“We expect Kang, who is a key suspect, to give us decisive clues in investigating the fraud cas

With risks and challenges faced by refugees across the world having become one of the greatest global issues today, the status and conditions of asylum seekers in South Korea have also been highlighted. The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles shedding light on refugees in Korea, their hardships, the systematic fallout, the country’s own history and ways to go forward. The following is the second installment. - Ed. 　 When Yiombi Thona, a former spy agent for the Democratic Republi

The key suspect in a reopened murder case denied his charges of stabbing a South Korean college student to death in Itaewon, Seoul, nearly two decades ago at the first court hearing on Thursday. Arthur John Patterson, a 35-year-old U.S. citizen, was extradited to Korea late last month to face a new trial on charges of murdering Cho Joong-pil, 22, in 1997 at a Burger King restaurant in Itaewon, a multicultural district frequented by expats residing in Seoul. Arthur Patterson (Yonhap)At the hearin

Rival parties traded barbs again during a parliamentary audit of the Education Ministry on Thursday over the government’s impending decision on whether or not to reinstate contentious state-published history textbooks for secondary education.　Members of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy stepped up their offensive, arguing that state history textbooks would allow the government to whitewash the flaws in controversial figures such as President Park Geun-hye’s late father, for

South Korean FIFA presidential hopeful Chung Mong-joon said Wednesday he will seek embezzlement charges against incumbent boss Sepp Blatter, calling him "a hypocrite and a liar."In a speech at the Sport Business Summit in London, Chung said he will take legal action against the outgoing world football honcho, who is under investigation by Swiss authorities over financial misconduct.Chung, who himself is facing possible FIFA sanctions, said Blatter must pay for the damage he inflicted on FIFA."Mr

Most regions of the country are suffering a severe drought particularly Seoul City and its surrounding areas, officials said Wednesday.　According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the accumulated precipitation in the country from January to early this month recorded 754.3 milliliters, accounting for only 63 percent of the average of the past 30 years -- 1,189 milliliters. 　Seoul City and Gyeonggi Province had the lowest accumulated precipitation with 572.4 milliliters, making up 43 per

The elder brother of former President Lee Myung-bak was summoned for questioning Monday over influence-peddling and bribery allegations involving POSCO, the country’s largest steelmaker. 　Lee Sang-deuk, a former six-term lawmaker, appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at around 10:20 a.m., two years after he completed a 14-month jail term on charges of receiving kickbacks from local savings banks. 　 (Yonhap)This time, the former ruling Saenuri party member is accused of pres

Police said Sunday that the man they had apprehended on suspicion of stabbing the owner of an indoor shooting range and running away with a handgun and bullets in Busan, committed the crime as part of a plot to rob a local post office.　The 29-year-old man, identified only by his surname Hong, was arrested on Saturday, four hours after he stabbed the range’s owner, who attempted to stop him from stealing a handgun and 19 bullets, according to the police.　(Yonhap)After his arrest, the suspect init