Seoul City will confer honorary citizen certificates to 16 people from a dozen countries for their contribution in developing the capital and promoting Korea’s culture around the world, officials said Thursday. Among the beneficiaries is Benjamin Hughes, 46, an international arbitrations expert and Christopher Vaia, 65, a soldier-turned-“Bridgebuilder.” A retired Sergeant Major for the U.S. For...

The International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom), given to local communities to recognize the best management of environment, kicked off its five-day event at Lotte Hotel in the Seoul district of Songpa, Thursday. It is the first time for Songpa to host the event in Korea since the award was launched in 1997 in partnership with the U.N. Environment Program. About 80 countries selected...

Park expected to halt civil engineering projects Signing off on a plan to finance free lunches for all elementary school students starting next month was the first thing new Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon did as he began his job Thursday. With his signing, the free school meal program, currently offered to first through fourth graders, will be extended to fifth and sixth graders, two months after ex...

The chief of police here is facing heated opposition from human rights organizations and even some officers after telling front line police to use their firearms more often. This will be the third time that the National Police Agency Commissioner-General Cho Hyun-oh has ordered his officers to more readily use their firearms after officers simply watched a massive gang fight unfold. “Police wil...

Samsung Group revamped its healthcare unit Wednesday by splitting Samsung Medical Center into three independent hospitals for the sake of management efficiency, officials said. Currently, Samsung Medical Center includes Samsung Seoul Hospital in Ilwon-dong in southern Seoul, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in northern Seoul and Samsung Changwon Hospital in South Gyeongsang Province. The group headquar...

Konkuk University opened an animal stem cell research institute Wednesday to treat rare or hard-to-cure animal diseases. Professor Jung Pyung-hyun of the school’s veterinary department said the Animal Stem Cell Center will treat animals by using stem cells extracted from fat tissue. The center said it has enhanced efficiency because it takes less than three hours for veterinary surgeons to extr...

Police are investigating what and who caused the state election watchdog’s website to crash for about two hours on Wednesday morning, keeping in mind the possibility of a so-called “distributed-denial-of-service” attack, officials said. The website of the National Election Commission crashed between 6:15 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. when many voters visited it to locate polling stations where they could c...

The Education Ministry has authorized five new online universities, which are expected to open next year, officials said Wednesday. Konyang University in South Chungcheong Province has been approved by the ministry to provide undergraduate online courses, which will be available next March. For graduate courses, four universities, Daegu, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Sejong and Hanyang, ...

The chief of police here is facing heated opposition from human rights organizations and even some officers after telling front line police to use their firearms more often. This will be the third time that the National Police Agency Commissioner-General Cho Hyun-oh has ordered his officers to more readily use their firearms after officers simply watched a massive gang fight unfold. “Police wil...

The government and businesses have stepped up efforts to create job opportunities for vocational high school students in a country where too many college graduates compete for too few jobs. The education, labor and economy ministries signed a memorandum of understanding Monday with five major business organizations including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean In...

Rival parties are pushing to abolish the statute of limitations for those charged with sexual assault against disabled people or children under 13. The bill review subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee examined and passed the so-called “Dogani” bill regarding sexual assault on children and the disabled. The bill is now awaiting approval by the National Assem...

The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday advised the administration to abolish police conscription and hire professional police officers to replace draftees. It also advised the Ministry of National Defense to cooperate with the National Police Agency in replacing personnel. The panel recommended the Ministry of Public Administration and Security increase recruitment of police officers an...

More foreigners who have made large corporate investments will be able to obtain temporary residency visas, while a new visa class will be opened for foreign spouses, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday. According to ministry officials, foreigners currently holding a corporate investment (D-8) visa may now obtain an F-2 visa if they have spent three continuous years here. The revised bill passed ...