The state-run National Health Insurance Service on Monday confirmed that a mid-ranking official had illegal access to personal information of a woman suspected to be a mistress of former prosecution chief Chae Dong-wook. Prosecutors also said they recently summoned the NHIS official to investigate who else was involved in the illegal act, adding that they are looking into allegations the request was made by Cheong Wa Dae officials.The announcement came after local daily Kyunghyang Shinmun report

An international group of hackers known as “Anonymous” has announced that it will attack the South Korean government’s websites next month, officials said Saturday.According to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the group stated via its Twitter account and YouTube that it will conduct cyberattacks on the South Korean government on April 14, claiming that it has wasted taxpayers’ money, oppressed citizens and distorted the media.The specific targets of the attack were unknown, offi

Prosecutors on Sunday detained Oh Deok-gyun, head of CNK International, who has been allegedly hiding out for two years after being suspected of manipulating the stock price of his company.Investigators took the suspect into custody immediately after his arrival at Incheon International Airport early in the morning and transferred him to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul, officials said.The prosecution is reportedly planning to request an arrest warrant for Oh on Monday and process charge

A city bus carrying three passengers crashed into nearly a dozen vehicles in Seoul on Wednesday, killing the driver and a commuter, police said Thursday.The No. 3318 bus was rolling through the Seokchon Lake junction at about 11:50 p.m. when it veered into a row of taxis and drove 1.2 kilometers further off-course, strking at least six more vehicles, according to the Songpa Police Station. Seventeen people affected by the accident sustained serious injuries.Police said a black box from the bus w

A Seoul district court ruled Thursday in favor of former President Lee Myung-bak in a lawsuit filed by a former tenant of a Seoul building that Lee owned.A Chinese restaurant owner sued Lee in September 2013, claiming that the former president and his charitable organization made millions of undue profits from a building extension fully funded by the tenant. The Seoul District Court cleared the allegations against the former president, citing lack of evidence. The restaurant owner said he would

Police said Wednesday that they believed a financial watchdog official was implicated in a massive loan fraud involving an affiliate of the country’s No. 2 mobile carrier KT Corp.Last month, police launched an investigation into employees of KT ENS Co., a subsidiary of KT, for illegally borrowing 1.83 trillion won from 16 local banks using forged documents between May 2008 and January 2014. The loans were extended to a special purpose company set up by KT ENS’ subcontractors, with fabricated rec

The pledge of allegiance and ceremonial salute to the national flag are practices commonly seen at Korean schools and events hosted by state organizations. The pledge of allegiance reads as follows: “In front of proud Taegeukgi (the national flag), I pledge allegiance to the Republic of Korea to devote myself to the perpetual glory of the free nation.”The practice has been perceived as a symbol of the national bond and patriotism that helped power rapid economic growth in the aftermath of the Ko

Having sex without contraception and implying future cohabitation count as a promise of marriage, a Seoul court said Tuesday.The Seoul Family Court on March 6 ruled in favor of a female school teacher who filed a compensation suit against her former colleague for giving false hope of marriage and cheating. Both women involved with the defendent became pregnant in March 2012.The court ordered the man to pay 25 million won ($23,400) to his ex-fiance in compensation.“It is clear that the victim and

A Seoul appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s ruling to sentence a former police officer to 14 years in prison for murdering his mistress. Chung Wan-geun, 41, was found guilty of murdering a 40-year-old woman surnamed Lee, who was found dead at a closed fishery in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in July 2013.The prosecution initially asked the court to sentence the defendant to 20 years behind bars, but the Seoul High Court reduced the imprisonment period.“Heavy punishment was appropr

President Park Geun-hye has ordered officials to postpone a Cabinet meeting on regulatory reforms amid reports that she was unhappy with deregulation measures proposed by her economic team.Park was to preside over the first round of the meeting on Monday, but Cheong Wa Dae said late Sunday evening that it would hold the meeting on Thursday to better accommodate demands from the private sector. The meeting is aimed at seeking ways to implement a series of regulatory reforms, a key part of her thr

South Korea’s employment rate has surged to the highest level in 12 years, largely driven by a huge return of economically inactive middle-aged workers to employment, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday.The ministry said in its labor report that 767,000 people had been newly employed in January and February, marking the fastest growth since March 2002.Authorities note that the growing participation of economically inactive people in the job market ― those that have either chosen not

More young Korean women see marriage as an option, a study showed on Monday.According to a survey by The Herald Business, about 45.5 percent of the 264 freshmen questioned at Duksung Women’s University said marriage is not a must, five percentage points higher than in a similar survey conducted on women in their 20s and 30s last month.More than 39 percent of the students who said marriage is optional answered that they want to “bet on their life for social success,” followed by 16.6 percent sayi

A dog was found to have been infected by the bird flu virus in Korea, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday, sparking concerns that the disease may affect mammals. Meanwhile, avian influenza was also detected in a goose in Gwacheon, just outside Seoul. Authorities banned the movement of poultry in southern parts of Seoul after confirming the infection.The dog at a poultry farm in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province tested positive for antibodies against the H5 avian influenza virus after eating i

South Korea’s top court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s ruling to sentence a former police chief to eight months in jail for making defamatory remarks against late President Roh Moo-hyun.Former National Police Agency head Cho Hyun-oh was found guilty of defamation for saying in 2010 that Roh committed suicide a day after investigators found his slush funds under a borrowed-name account.The Supreme Court rejected the defendant’s final appeal against a verdict given by two lower courts, saying

A Korean man has been taken into police custody for growing marijuana plants on the rooftop of a building in downtown Seoul, police said Thursday.The 45-year-old suspect is accused of cultivating 18 marijuana plants worth approximately 27 million won ($25,200), for four months from August 2013. Police found them in a greenhouse on the rooftop of a six-story commercial building in central Seoul, which had been converted into a marijuana farm. The greenhouse was equipped with ventilation, lighting

Interest is growing in the two mysterious black rocks found at Korean farms, with early analysis results indicating that at least one may be a meteorite.On Wednesday, a second rock suspected of being a meteorite was found in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. The owner of the farm where the new rock was found, located 4 kilometers from the farm where a suspected meteorite was found on Monday, has requested that it be analyzed. If scientists confirm that the stones are meteorites, they will become

The number of practicing physicians in Korea is the lowest among the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, although the figure has increased over the past few years, according to OECD data. Korea recorded 2.1 doctors per 1,000 people in 2012, well below the OECD average of 3.2. Austria topped the list with 4.8 doctors per 1,000 people in 2011, followed by Italy, Spain and Germany.

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the office of the state-run nuclear power plant operator’s senior executive in Seoul, as part of its investigation into the company’s corruption scandal. Investigators have been widening their probe into Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corp. since last year for turning a blind eye to the falsification of test certificates for parts and materials used in nuclear reactors. The Busan District Prosecutors’ Office confiscated hard drives and documents from KHNP executive v

Police said on Monday they had found no evidence that a female contestant on a matchmaking show had been put under intense pressure by the TV crew before committing suicide. The 29-year-old woman, only identified by her family name Chun, was found dead in a guesthouse on Jejudo Island last Wednesday during shooting of a popular reality show titled “Jjak.” Chun’s body was found by the show’s producer in a bathroom of the guesthouse with a note saying she did not want to live anymore, the police s

The country’s largest group of doctors said Sunday it would go ahead with a scheduled one-day strike Monday to protest the government’s plan to introduce telemedicine and for-profit subsidiaries of hospitals.“We doctors have made a very difficult decision to shut doors and refuse treatment (of patients). We can only blame the government in making such a radical choice,” said Roh Hwan-kyu, president of the Korea Medical Association, in a press conference in Seoul on Sunday. Doctors affiliated wit