Korea's Internet Freedom Diminished Last Year

Korea is a world leader when it comes to many Internet-related figures, including number of users, average connectivity speed and price. But in terms of web freedom it's still lagging behind.

Research by U.S.-based Freedom House ranked Korea 19th out of 60 countries in its annual report, categorizing the country's web freedom status as "partly free."

While it highlighted improvements like relaxed regulations on election campaigning on the net, the report criticized the country's continued government censorship and a scandal that involved intelligence agents who went online to influence the 2012 presidential election.

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Samsung Father and Son Korea's Richest People

Lee Kun-hee (left) and Lee Jae-yong

Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee and his son Jae-yong are the two richest people in Korea, according to Bloomberg's latest list of the world's 400 wealthiest people.

The elder Lee, who is worth $12.2 billion, ranks 92nd worldwide and is the only Korean among the 100 richest.

The younger Lee ranked 224th with assets of US$6.2 billion, coming in second among Koreans. Until September of this year, he was only the fifth-richest person in Korea, but the value of his stakes in Samsung SDS surged following its listing.

Samsung SDS, listed last month, is currently worth around W350,000 per share, which is around double the offering price of W190,000 (US$1=W1,111).

Lee Jae-yong pushed Amore Pacific chairman Suh Kyung-bae down to third place in Korea. Suh, who was included among the 200 world wealthiest individuals for the first time last month, ranked 229th in the latest list with $6.1 billion.

Nothing has changed at the top since the last list came out. Bill Gates is No. 1 in the world with $87.8 billion, followed by Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim and Warren Buffett.

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Health Gap Between Two Koreas Widens

Malnutrition, a lack of clean water and poor public health infrastructure are chronic problems in North Korea -- all leading to a widening health gap with the South.

For one thing, North Korean men are 15 cm shorter than their counterparts in the South on average. For 11-year-old boys, it's worse, with the gap reaching nearly 20 cm. Due to stunted growth, the North Korean military was forced to lower its minimum height requirement to 138 cm two years ago.

The dire conditions have caused the gap in life expectancy and infant mortality rate to widen as well. The life expectancy gap is 12 years, with North Koreans living an average of less than 70 years, while South Koreans live 81 years on average. The infant mortality rate in North Korea is nine times higher than that of South Korea.

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