South Korea's senior presidentialpress secretary Lee Jung-hyun has offered to step down, sources at the presidential office said Saturday.Lee expressed his wish to resign following the June 4 local elections to President Park Geun-hye, according to the sources. The senior press secretary, a close aide to President Park, is forecast to join the Cabinet as the minister of culture, sports and tourism in an upcoming reshuffling.Officials are in the process of tapping Lee's successor among a pool of

Politics June 7, 2014

A subway collision in central Seoul that has injured more than 200 passengers was caused by a mechanical malfunction, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Saturday.Two trains collided on Seoul's busiest subway line at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, injuring 238 passengers. No fatalities have been reported. Some 1,000 other passengers escaped safely around 10 minutes after the collision.The collision happened at Sangwangsimni Station on Subway Line 2 when a train ran into the back of another train

Social Affairs May 3, 2014

Prosecutors raided the office of the operator of a subway line on Saturday to look into what caused a train collision that injured more than 200 passengers a day earlier.Two trains collided on Seoul's busiest subway line at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, injuring 238 passengers. No fatalities have been reported. Some 1,000 other passengers escaped safely around 10 minutes after the collision.The collision happened at Sangwangsimni Station on Subway Line 2 when a train ran into the back of another t

Social Affairs May 3, 2014

Swift currents and high waves caused by heavy winds have hampered divers in their search of a sunken ferry for some 70 people still missing amid concerns that their bodies may have been swept away, officials said Saturday.Navy, Coast Guard and civilian divers recovered two more bodies earlier in the day, bringing the death toll to 230. Seventy-two people are still missing from the sinking off South Korea’s southwestern island of Jindo on April 16.Concerns are growing that the bodies of the missi

Social Affairs May 3, 2014

A landslide triggered by heavy rain buried large sections of a remote northeastern Afghan village on Friday, killing at least 350 people and leaving more than 2,000 missing. Villagers looked on helplessly and the governor appealed for shovels to help dig through the mass of mud that flattened every home in its path.The mountainous area in Badakhshan province has experienced days of heavy rain and flooding, and the side of a cliff collapsed onto the village of Hobo Barik around midday. Landslides

World May 3, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed sympathy Friday for the loss of scores of South Korean students in the sinking of a ferry last month."As a father and grandfather myself, I cannot begin to imagine the pain so many in the Republic of Korea are enduring," he said in a statement issued on the occasion of South Korea's Children's Day that falls on May 5. It marked the secretary's first statement on South Korea's worst ferry disaster in decades."No parent should ever have to experience th

International May 3, 2014

A jury awarded Apple $119.46 million, far less than it demanded, in a patent battle with Samsung over alleged copying of smart phone features, and the jury made the victory even smaller by finding that Apple illegally used one of Samsung's patents.The verdict was a far cry from the $2.2 billion Apple sought and the $930 million it won in a separate 2012 trial making similar patent infringement claims against older Samsung products, most of which are no longer for sale in the United States.The ju

Industry May 3, 2014

Leading automakers gathered in Beijing Sunday for China's biggest car show, expressing confidence in the world's largest car market even though lacklustre economic growth and environmental restrictions have generated uncertainty. Spectators and journalists crowded around displays at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, which features more than 1,100 vehicles and opens to the public on Monday, while female models drew the attention of photographers.General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen a

World News April 20, 2014

검찰이 16일 오전 9시 30분께 포스코의 자회사인 포스코P&S를 압수수색했다고 밝혔다.울산지검 특수부(박종근 부장검사)는 이날 서울 강남구 역삼동 테헤란로에 위치한 포스코P&S 본사로 수사진을 보내 사무실에서 철강 거래와 관련한 각종 자료 및 컴퓨터 하드디스크, 회계 장부 등을 확보한 것으로 알려졌다.검찰은 포스코 그룹 전반에 대한 조사가 아닌 자회사 포스코P&S의 간부에 대한 개인 비리 수사라고 강조했다.하지만 포스코P&S의 핵심 사업이 철강 가공·판매와 비철소재 가공사업, 자원 리사이클링 등 철강업 전반에 관련돼 매출의 대부분이 포스코와 연관된 점을 고려하면 앞으로 경과에 따라 수사가 확대될 가능성도 있다.포스코는 이미 지난해 9월 세무조사에서 자회사들과의 거래 과정에서 탈세나 위법 행위가 없는지 조사 받았다. 국세청은 이달 중으로 조사를 끝내고 법인 과징금 및 경영진에 대한 벌금 부과 등의 제재 방안과 수위 등을 검토하는 것으로 알려졌다.서울지방국세청은 포스코가 철강 거래 중

한국어판 April 16, 2014

롯데홈쇼핑 임직원들이 납품업체로부터 받은 뒷돈의 상당 부분이 회사 차원의 비자금으로 조성된 정황이 검찰에 포착된 것으로 알려져 이 사건이 정·관계 로비로 확대될 수 있을지에 대한 관심이 일고 있다.서울중앙지검 첨단범죄수사1부(부장 서영민)는 전날 오전 9시부터 신헌 롯데쇼핑 사장을 조사해 이날 오전 5시에 귀가조치했다. 검찰은 신 사장이 2008-2012년 롯데홈쇼핑 대표 이사로 재직하던 당시 임직원들이 납품업체로부터 금품 수수를 받는 것을 암묵적으로 허용하고 이 중 상당 금액을 그룹 내 고위층이나 정관계 인사 등에게 전달했을 가능성을 열어두고 조사 중인 것으로 알려졌다.금품 수수 경위와 흐름이 아직 명확하지 않은 가운데 신 사장은 정관계 인사등에게 전달한 사실에 대해서는 함구한 것으로 알려졌다. 검찰 관계자는 “신 사장에 대한 조사가 상당 부분 이뤄졌다”며 이번 주 내로 구속영장을 청구할 방침이라고 밝혔다. 검찰은 20 시간 동안 걸쳐 진행된 조사에서 신 사장이 납품업체로부터 직·

한국어판 April 15, 2014

지난해 8월 경북 칠곡에서 의붓딸을 때 려 숨지게 한 혐의(상해치사 등)로 구속기소된 계모 임모(36)씨가 1심에서 징역 10년이 선고 받았다.대구지법 제11형사부(김성엽 부장판사)는 11일 오전 열린 선고공판에서 “혐의가인정된다”며 징역 10년을 선고했다.재판부는 이어 숨진 딸(당시 8세)을 학대했던 혐의(아도복지법 위반)로 불구속기소된 친아버지 김모(28)씨에게도 징역 3년을 선고하고 법정구속했다.(코리아헤럴드 석지현 기자 monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)<관련 영문 뉴스>Woman sentenced to 10 years for murdering stepdaughterA South Korean woman was sentenced to a 10-year prison term on Friday for allegedly beating her 8-year-old stepdaughter to death.The 36-year-old woman, surnamed Lim, is a

한국어판 April 11, 2014