An embattled nominee to South Korea's top court has withdrawn his nomination amid mounting pressure over his alleged ethical lapses, defusing a looming political standoff between the rival parties.Kim Byung-hwa, one of four Supreme Court justice nominees, said in a statement late Thursday that he was stepping aside because a delay in forming a new bench would cause a problem for the country.Kim ha

Social Affairs July 27, 2012

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of computer memory chips and smartphones, said Friday its second-quarter earnings jumped 48 percent from a year earlier, powered by strong sales of smartphones.Net profit reached a record 5.2 trillion won (US$4.5 billion) in the April-June period, compared with a net income of 3.5 trillion a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sa

Industry July 27, 2012

LG Display Co., the world's No. 2 maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, said Thursday it stayed in the red for the fourth straight quarter as a one-off payment for a price-rigging settlement outweighed recovering profitability.Net loss came to 112.3 billion won ($98 million) in the April-June period, shifting to negative territory from the previous year, the company said in a regulatory f

Industry July 26, 2012

The newly-introduced North Korean first lady has presumably visited South Korea and previously participated in several inter-Korean exchange programs, an analysis of media reports showed Thursday.North Korea disclosed young leader Kim Jong-un's marital status for the first time on Wednesday by confirming that the woman accompanying him at recent public events is his wife, Ri Sol-ju, without elabor

North Korea July 26, 2012

Ssangyong Motor Co., the smallest automaker in South Korea, said Thursday that its net loss narrowed in the second quarter from a year earlier mainly due to decreased costs.Net loss came to 20.9 billion won ($18.23 million) in the April-June period, compared with a loss of 34.9 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales fell 2.3 percent on-year to 712 trillion won. T

Industry July 26, 2012

SK Hynix Inc., the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, said Thursday it logged a net loss for the fourth straight quarter as weak cheap prices and currency losses ate into its profit.Net loss reached 53.3 billion won ($46.4 million) in the April-June period, a sharp turnaround from a 473 billion won profit a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales slipped 4.6 percent on-year to 2.

Industry July 26, 2012

The quarterly growth of the South Korean economy more than halved in the second quarter from three months earlier as the persisting eurozone debt crisis eroded exports, the central bank said Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.4 percent in the April-June period, slowing from a 0.9 percent on-quarter expansion tallied in the first quarter, according to an advance estimate by the Bank of K

July 26, 2012

France is to ask the European Union to put its Free Trade Agreement with South Korea under surveillance as part of a recovery plan for its auto sector, according to elements of the plan obtained by AFP.The plan, to be presented to cabinet Wednesday, will also boost purchasing bonuses for buying environmentally friendly cars and see the government committing to 25 percent of its new vehicles being

July 25, 2012

They feed the powerful and are most at home in the kitchen. But French President Francois Hollande contends that the chefs who cook for the leaders of the world have a behind-the-scenes role at the negotiating tables of international diplomacy.``If your dish is a miss, it's more difficult to plead a cause,'' Hollande told nearly 20 chefs on a visit Tuesday to the presidential Elysee Palace.What co

Food July 25, 2012

Canadian researchers say people who eat high-salt diets tend to develop kidney stones and osteoporosis because when sodium leaves the body, so does calcium.Principal investigator Todd Alexander and his team at the University of Alberta discovered an important link between sodium and calcium -- they both appear to be regulated by the same molecule in the body.When sodium intake becomes too high, th

Technology July 25, 2012