POSCO Engineering & Construction, the construction unit of South Korea's top steelmaker, POSCO, may face an investigation over slush funds created by its executives involved in projects in Vietnam, industry sources said Thursday.The South Korean builder confirmed news reports that some of its employees working on its Vietnamese projects, such as the construction of a new city and roads, were reprimanded in July for operating illegal slush funds worth about 10 billion won (US$9.13 million) Prime

Industry Feb. 26, 2015

North Korea has notified South Korea of its unilateral decision to raise the minimum wage for its workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex by 5.18 percent, the unification ministry said Thursday.In a fax message sent Tuesday, the North said it would increase the minimum wage from $70.35 to $74 starting on March 1, a ministry official told reporters.In addition, the North announced that it would collect 15 percent of their basic wage plus overtime payments as "social security," he said. Currentl

North Korea Feb. 26, 2015

If you've recently purchased a laptop computer made by Lenovo, you may want to hear this: Experts say the world's biggest computer maker shipped laptops with pre-installed software that could let hackers steal passwords or other sensitive information when you use the web to shop, pay bills or check email.Lenovo said Thursday that it has disabled the offending software, known as Superfish, and will provide customers with a tool that permanently removes the program from their computers. The compan

한국어판 Feb. 17, 2015

Japan and other nations condemned with outrage and horror on Sunday the beheading purportedly by the Islamic State group of Kenji Goto, a journalist who sought through his coverage of Syria to convey the plight of refugees, children and other victims of war.  The failure to save Goto raised fears for the life of a Jordanian fighter pilot also held hostage by the extremists. Unlike earlier messages, an online video purporting to show an Islamic State group militant beheading Goto, circulated via

World News Feb. 1, 2015

Samsung SDI, a South Korean battery and chemical materials maker, said Monday its fourth-quarter loss sharply increased from the previous quarter mainly due to increased costs from the July merger with a part of its affiliate.Net loss for the October-December period reached 129 billion won (US$119 million), sharply widening from the 12.9 billion won net loss the previous quarter, the company's regulatory filing showed. It didn't disclose comparable on-year figures because Samsung SDI merged with

Technology Jan. 26, 2015

South Korea defeated Iraq 2-0 to reach the final of the AFC Asian Cup on Monday.Forward Lee Jeong-hyeop and defensive back Kim Young-gwon scored a goal apiece in each half to put South Korea on the path to its first Asian Cup title since 1960. South Korea will make its first appearance in the final in 27 years.The championship final will be Saturday, also in Sydney. The other semifinals showdown will be between Australia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday in Newcastle.The 69th-ranked South

Soccer Jan. 26, 2015

South Korea lambasted the extremist Islamic State (IS) group Monday for its killing of a Japanese hostage, saying that innocent civilians should not be the target of terrorism.The militant IS group claimed Sunday that it had executed Haruna Yukawa, one of two Japanese hostages it had been holding.The group is now demanding that Jordan release a female Iraqi terrorist in exchange for the other Japanese hostage, Kenjin Goto, a 47-year-old journalist.The South Korean government said it cannot help

International Jan. 26, 2015

South Korean budget cosmetics brand Missha has closed all of its 20 outlets in Hong Kong, a Hong Kong newspaper reported Saturday, citing notices posted by two of the Missha outlets.One of the notices posted by a Missha store at Queensway Plaza in Admiralty district was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying, "Missha is not available to serve you and we apologize for any inconvenience caused." Public relations officials at Seoul-based Able C&C, which owns the Missha brand, were not imm

Industry Jan. 3, 2015

A South Korean satellite could come close to space debris, officials said Saturday, prompting officials and space experts to come up with measures to avoid a possible collision.The move came a day after the U.S. authorities warned of a possible collision between South Korea's Science and Technology Satellite 3 and a piece of debris measuring 20 centimeters in size.The debris is one of thousands of pieces of debris produced by the 2009 collision between an inactive Russian communications satellit

Technology Jan. 3, 2015

Recovery teams have found two big parts of AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed into the sea last weekend with 162 people on board, Indonesia's top search official said Saturday.News of the discovery came after Indonesia's transport ministry said the plane had been flying on an unauthorized schedule when it crashed, and the airliner has now been suspended from flying the route from the city of Surabaya to Singapore.The parts of the plane were found in the Java Sea off the island of Borneo late Fri

World News Jan. 3, 2015