The Ministry of Strategy and Finance is looking to devise a supplementary budget worth 10 trillion won to boost jobs and support the middle class.At is confirmation hearing on Tuesday, deputy prime minister Hyun Oh-seok, the nominee for the minister of strategy and finance said the ministry would need to consider devising a supplementary budget in line with the government’s macroeconomic policy.It will further look into ways to raise the budget in terms of timeline by comprehensively viewing all

March 19, 2013

미국의 뉴스 전문 채널인 폭스뉴스의 한 지역방송국이 ‘여성의 날’ 보도 중 여성의 가슴을 클로즈업한 자료화면을 내보내 공분을 샀다. WTIC-TV는 수요일 (현지시각) 방송국 트위터 계정을 통해 전날 방영된 가슴 노출 화면에 대해 “폭스는 오늘 발생한 자료영상 오류에 대해 사과한다. 우리는 코테니컷주(州)를 넘어 세계 각지 여성의 위대한 사회적 기여를 인정할 것이다”라고 멘션을 남겼다. 이날 방송에서는 앵커가 스튜디오에서 여성의 날에 대한 뉴스를 진행하는 동안 화면에서 거리를 걷고 있는 여성들의 가슴만 찍은 영상이 약 20초 동안 비춰져 논란이 됐다.인터넷 언론 매체인 허핑턴포스트는 이 사건을 보도하면서 트위터 상의 사과가 자료영상을 잘못 처리한 “오류”의 결과라고 전했다.사과에도 불구하고 여성지위위원회는 “정신 나간 성차별”이라며 방송을 비난했다. 위원회는 공식성명을 통해 “이는 여성지위위원회와 국회의사당 앞에서 여성의 날을 맞아 행사에 참여한 여성 뿐 아니라 (성차별의) 대상이

English Eye March 18, 2013

South Korea's top 10 conglomerates plan to fill one-third of their new auditor positions with former bureaucrats and law enforcement officials, data showed Monday, a move that critics claim is meant to take advantage of their personal connections for corporate benefits.A total of 66 companies affiliated with the country's family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol, have either selected or plan to select 81 new finance managers through an annual general meeting of shareholders, according t

Business March 18, 2013

President Park Geun-hye asked her Cabinet Saturday to work out a new policy roadmap as quickly as possible to better serve people.Park took office on Feb. 25 but her 17-member Cabinet could not be fully organized until earlier this week due to conflicts with opposition politicians over her government reorganization proposal.On Saturday, Park addressed a meeting of about 100 senior presidential and government officials, including Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, to discuss ways to share the goal of

Politics March 16, 2013

China's parliament on Saturday announced Wang Yi, a former ambassador to Japan and currently in charge of Taiwan affairs, had been nominated as the country's new foreign minister.Wang replaces Yang Jiechi, who has served since 2007. Yang was nominated to the State Council, according to an announcement by the National People's Congress, China's rubberstamp parliament.The changes are part of a broad revamp of personnel as China concludes a once-a-decade leadership transition that saw Communist par

World News March 16, 2013

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States on Saturday vowed to maintain their strong alliance and cooperate to deter North Korean threats during their first phone talks, Seoul officials said.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shared their opinions about North Korea and regional issues over the phone prior to Kerry visiting Seoul next month as part of his first Asia trip, officials at the foreign affairs ministry said. Kerry will travel

North Korea March 16, 2013

The United Nations says that more than a fourth of all North Korean children are stunted from chronic malnutrition and fully two-thirds of the country's 24 million people don't know where their next meal is coming from.The U.N. said Friday that its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found that 2.8 million North Koreans ``are in need of regular food assistance amidst worrying levels of chronic malnutrition and food insecurity.''The OCHA report read out by U.N. spokesman Eduardo d

North Korea March 16, 2013

South Korea's labor force participation rate is expected to decline after peaking in 2021 due to fast population aging, a state-run think tank said Saturday.Korea's labor force participation rate, or the share of working-aged people in the labor force, is likely to hit 61.6 percent in 2021 and will likely steadily drop afterwards, according to a report by the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI).The report said that the participation rate is expected to stay in the low 61 percent range be

Social Affairs March 16, 2013

Conservative Muslim and Roman Catholic countries and liberal Western nations approved a U.N. blueprint Friday night to combat violence against women and girls, ignoring strong objections from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood that it clashed with Islamic principles and sought to destroy the family.After two weeks of tough and often contentious negotiations, 131 countries joined consensus on a compromise 17-page document that Michelle Bachelet, the head of the U.N. women's agency, called historic becaus

World News March 16, 2013