President Park Geun-hye on Friday pledged to transform Jeju into one of the world's best islands in terms of smart-tourism and energy self-sufficiency, during her visit to a new innovation center there.    The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning joined forces with Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of the country's most popular messaging app, KakaoTalk, and the Internet portal Daum, to open the 1,924-square-meter Jeju Creative Economy Innovation Center on the southern resort island of Je

Politics June 27, 2015

   The United States is confident it can stay ahead of North Korea's nuclear capabilities and is "absolutely committed" to preventing the communist nation from acquiring a nuclear weapon, a top U.S. defense official said.    Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work made the remark during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, stressing the importance of maintaining a strong nuclear deterrent force in the face of nuclear upgrades by Russia and China and the North's continued develop

Foreign Affairs June 27, 2015

 South Korea reported an additional case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Saturday,bringing the total number of people diagnosed with the disease here to 182.    No additional fatalities have been reported since Friday with the country's death toll standing at 31, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.    The latest case involved a nurse who apparently got infected while treating a patient.    Some 90 hospitals throughout the country have been affected by the disease, most

Technology June 27, 2015

More than 500 schools have canceled classes to prevent the spread of a deadly virus that has killed two South Koreans, the Ministry of Education said Wednesday.As of 5 p.m., students and teachers have been told not to show up at 544 schools, about 3 percent of some 20,000 schools nationwide, a ministry spokesman said.The vast majority of the total, or 439 schools, are in Gyeonggi Province, where the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea was reported.The rest are in North

Technology June 3, 2015

With a milestone homer that further cemented his legacy in South Korean baseball, slugger Lee Seung-yuop on Wednesday entered rarefied air that no one has reached, and no one likely will for quite some time.The 38-year-old star for the Samsung Lions belted his 400thcareer home run off Koo Seung-min of the Lotte Giants at Pohang Baseball Stadium. It's the alternate home for the Lions, who are based in Daegu, west of Pohang.Lee became the KBO's career leader in home runs two years ago, hitting hom

Baseball June 3, 2015

A South Korean court on Thursday found Japanese swimmer Naoya Tomita guilty of stealing a camera while at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.The district court in the western port city of Incheon ordered Tomita to pay a fine of 1 million won (US$890).Tomita was convicted of stealing a South Korean journalist's camera that was left at the Munhak Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Center, a swimming arena in Incheon, on Sept. 25."The defendant flatly denies the charges against him, not showing any remorse for his c

Social Affairs May 28, 2015

Prosecutors said Thursday that they have submitted an appeal to reverse an appeals court decision that acquitted the eldest daughter of Korean Air Lines Co.'s chairmen of changing an aircraft's flight route. On May 22, the Seoul High Court sentenced Cho Hyun-ah to 10 months in prison, but suspended the term for two years. Cho was immediately released.Prosecutors of the Seoul High Office handling the appeal submitted it with the Supreme Court, they said."We have appealed the verdict after discuss

Social Affairs May 28, 2015

South Korea said Tuesday it has decided to provide about 1 billion won (US$917,850) to support the physically handicapped in North Korea, a move aimed at boosting inter-Korean cooperation.The Ministry of Unification said that it plans to tap into an inter-Korean cooperative fund to provide rehabilitation goods and nourishing food to those who are physically handicapped in the North.It marked the first time since 2009 that Seoul has used the fund to support disabled people in North Korea.The move

North Korea May 19, 2015

South Korean and Japanese defense chiefs are expected to hold bilateral talks later this month for the first time in four years despite soured ties over historical rows, government sources here said Tuesday.Defense Minister Han Min-koo plans to meet with his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani around the end of this month in Singapore on the sidelines of the regional security forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue, according to a source. The upcoming annual security forum is slated for May 29-31.If held,

Defense May 19, 2015

-인도 정부 포스코에 제철소 건설 사업 “결단 내려라” 압박-포스코, 13조원대 제철소 건설 사업 난항 지속포스코가 인도에서 추진 중이던 13조원 규모의 제철소 건설 사업인 “오디샤 프로젝트”와 관련해 또 다른 장애물을 만났다.26일 인도 현지 보도에 따르면 인도 오디샤 주 정부의 고위 간부가 포스코의 오디샤 프로젝트에 대한 소극적인 자세에 대해 비난했다고 한다.이는 지난달 인도 현지 언론에서 포스코가 오디샤 주에서 진행중인 제철소 건설 프로젝트 사업을 중단할 것이라는 보도가 나온 이후에 나온 것이다.해당 간부는 최근 현지 언론과의 인터뷰에서 “포스코는 제철소 건설을 진행 할 것인지 중단할 것인지에 대해 분명하게 결정을 내려야 할 것” 이라고 경고했다.포스코는 오디샤 프로젝트와 관련해 주정부의 공식적인 입장을 받은 것은 아니라고 일축했지만, 지난 달부터 흘러나오는 사업에 대한 불협화음으로 인해 곤란을 겪고있다.포스코와 오디샤 주 정부간의 제철소 부지와 관련된 것이 논란의 핵심이다.

한국어판 April 27, 2015

Three South Korean firms have paid more wages for North Korean workers in the Kaesong Industrial Complex as Pyongyang demanded, a government source here said Monday.Their move runs counter to the South Korean government's firm stance not to accept the communist neighbor's unilateral decision to raise wages for its 53,000 workers in the North's border town.The North unilaterally decided to raise the minimum wage by 5.18 percent to US$74 per month, starting in March, for those workers employed by

North Korea April 20, 2015

Prosecutors Monday sought a three-year jail term for a former Korean Air executive in the latest development in the "nut rage" case. They demanded that Cho Hyun-ah, former Korean Air Lines vice president and the daughter of the company's CEO, serve the jail term during an appellate court hearing here. A lower court in February convicted her of endangering flight safety after she forced the chief steward off a taxiing flight in New York because of the way she was served nuts -- in an unopened bag

Business April 20, 2015

A South Korean governor apologized Monday for playing golf during his ongoing business trip to the United States, a sport considered to be a luxury here.Gov. Hong Joon-pyo of South Gyeongsang Province, who left for the U.S. on Thursday, was found to have played golf with his wife and two Korean businessmen at the Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, California, on Friday afternoon (local time).South Korea, a traditionally Confucian country that values frugality, has high ethical standards set for nati

Politics March 23, 2015