South Korean financial authorities plan to announce a set of measures to expand their surveillance of price rigging on the country's stock markets, sources said Wednesday.The Financial Services Commission is to hold a meeting with governmental authorities, including the Ministry of Justice, the National Tax Service, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and the Korea Exchange, on Thursday to prepare countermeasures against price manipulations.Sources said the envisioned plan includes giving i

April 17, 2013

One in 10 female migrant workers in South Korea has been raped or subjected to sexual harassment, a report said Monday.The findings by the Korea Support Center for Foreign Workers and MNTV, an Internet broadcasting company for migrant workers, showed that 10.7 percent of the 1,218 people polled said they were victims of sexual abuse.Of the 975 male and 205 female workers surveyed, 22 women and 15 men claimed they were abused or harassed at their workplaces by their Korean employers or co-workers

Social Affairs March 4, 2013

South Korea's retail giant E-mart, apparently under pressure, granted 10,000 dispatch workers regular employee status Monday after the government ruled that they were working for the company illegally.These dispatch workers, who E-Mart had previously paid a sub-contractor for them to work in 146 stores nationwide, will now be directly hired by the company.Regular employees are ensured employment until retirement age, various welfare benefits including medical care, education support and pay up t

Social Affairs March 4, 2013

South Korean police say they are questioning U.S. soldiers over a high-speed car chase that resulted in a Seoul officer shooting a soldier after being hit by a car.The soldiers reportedly fired a BB gun at pedestrians on a Seoul street Saturday night before fleeing in a car.Police say an officer chased them in a taxi and fired at the car as it rushed by him. Police say the officer was injured and one U.S. soldier was shot in his shoulder but their injuries aren't life threatening.Police say two

Social Affairs March 4, 2013

The South Korean economy is likely to expand at a slower pace than expected this year due to the negative impact of the Japanese currency's depreciation on its overseas shipments, Goldman Sachs said Friday.In its latest forecast, the global investment bank said Asia's fourth-largest economy will likely grow 3.1 percent this year, down from its earlier estimate of 3.4 percent made in December.Kwon Goo-hoon, the managing director and co-head of research at Goldman Sachs Asia, attributed the lower

Feb. 8, 2013

South Korea is ready to request the U.N. Security Council hold an emergency meeting if North Korea follows through on its plan to conduct a nuclear test, a senior Seoul diplomat said Friday.Predicting when North Korea will carry out the nuclear test is difficult, but the North's threats of a third nuclear test have kept officials in South Korea on tenterhooks.South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan is scheduled to visit New York early next week to preside over the Security Council's open deb

North Korea Feb. 8, 2013

A North Korean media outlet on Friday claimed that the United States is using the Unha-3 rocket launch as an excuse to develop its own missile defense system, as part of its grand plan to dominate the world.Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, said in an article monitored in Seoul that Washington aims to create a global missile interception network to ensure its continued military supremacy.A missile defense system aids in the detection, tracking, and destruction of att

North Korea Feb. 8, 2013

South Korea's central bank said Friday it provided a net 4.35 trillion won (US$3.98 billion) in liquidity into the financial system to help money smoothly flow ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.The Bank of Korea (BOK) said that its money injection for the 10 business days leading up to the holiday was slightly down from a net 4.39 trillion won provided the previous year.The BOK said the reduced supply mainly came as this year's Lunar New Year holiday is one day shorter than last year.The Lunar

Feb. 8, 2013

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Friday that it has unveiled a concept car of its large hybrid crossover vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show as it looks into offering a full-size luxury crossover.The Cross GT -- 8.4 inches longer, 4.9 inches wider and 1.6 inches shorter than Kia's award-winning Sorento -- features Kia's signature grille and cuts an imposing figure."The debut of the GT in 2011 heralded a new frontier for Kia, both from a design and a business perspectiv

Business Feb. 8, 2013

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a pro-North Korean activist to four years in prison for making an unauthorized trip to the communist country.Ro Su-hui, the vice-chairman of the South Headquarters of the Pan-national Alliance for Korea's Reunification, was found guilty of illegally visiting North Korea by way of China in March of last year, in violation of the National Security Law.The Seoul Central District Court also ordered that his rights, such as suffrage, be stripped for three years after

National Feb. 8, 2013