Official: Lack of discipline caused extramarital affairs, information leakSouth Korea concluded Friday that the recent sex scandal involving several of its officials in Shanghai and a young Chinese woman was not a case of espionage, avoiding diplomatic fallout with China which has been closely monitoring the investigations.Several officials, including former Consul General Kim Jung-ki, underwent g

Politics March 25, 2011

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is expected to visit North Korea next month to thaw the frozen dialogue between the two sides, reports said Thursday, as Washington continues to snub holding two-way talks with the unpredictable state. “It is highly likely that ex-President Carter will travel to North Korea in about a month as the North Korean mission in New York has been arranging for the visit,

Foreign Affairs March 24, 2011

South Korea will tighten its rules on loans for home purchases amid growing concerns that rising household debts could emerge as a drag on the nation's economic recovery, the government said Tuesday.The plan, announced jointly by the finance, public administration and land and construction ministries, however, calls for the government to lower acquisition tax rates for home purchases in a bid to b

March 22, 2011

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided Orion Group, the nation's major confectionery company, and its affiliates over its chairman's alleged illegal bonds transaction during the process of taking over large shares of an Orion subsidiary.Tam Chul-gon, 56, is suspected of buying bonds with warrants issued by On Media, Orion's media affiliate established in 2000 to diversify its business portfolio, at below-m

Social Affairs March 22, 2011

Foreign ministers of South Korea, China to meet in Beijing next weekTackling North Korea’s uranium enrichment activities within the framework of the stalled six-nation dialogue is the best solution so far, a senior Chinese diplomat said this week, repeating his government’s reluctance to seek a U.N. condemnation of the program. Hu Zhengyue, Beijing’s assistant foreign minister, also called on Sout

Foreign Affairs March 22, 2011

The woman at the center of one of South Korea’s biggest scandals returned with an autobiography that includes accounts of her meetings with former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan and former President Roh Moo-hyun. Shin Jeong-ah, who shook the nation in 2007 when the fabrication of her academic record, embezzlement and an affair with a high-level government official were revealed, appeared in public f

People March 22, 2011

Destroyer on standby near EgyptSouth Korea is ready to pull out all of its nationals from Libya if necessary after examining safety conditions, an official here said Monday as allied forces launch powerful strikes against the Libyan leader’s military. To assist the possible mass evacuation of Korean nationals to neighboring states, Seoul’s 4,500-ton destroyer Choi Young has been on standby off the

Foreign Affairs March 21, 2011

On April 2 of last year, a week after the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, a small fishing boat collided with a Cambodian cargo ship and sank in the West Sea. Nine fishermen, who were aboard the ill-fated private trawler “Geumyang 98” ― mobilized by the government to assist in the search for the missing sailors of the sunken warship ― never returned to their families. Only two bodies w

Politics March 20, 2011

South Korea temporarily suspended the return of 27 of the 31 North Koreans who accidentally strayed here on a boat last month until winds calm to allow their safe voyage back home, the Unification Ministry here said Wednesday. North Korea on Tuesday asked the South to repatriate the 27 people via sea, softening its previous stance not to accept anyone unless Seoul also returned four of its nationa

North Korea March 16, 2011

North Korea is willing to discuss its uranium enrichment program within the framework of multinational denuclearization talks, its official media said Tuesday, as regional powers continue their tug-of-war over when and how to resume the stalled dialogue. North Korea can “come to the six-party talks without any preconditions and does not oppose discussing the uranium enrichment issue,” its represen

Foreign Affairs March 15, 2011

A decades-old document has revealed that Japan forced labor upon Koreans not only outside the country but at places on the Korean Peninsula during the 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.The document, which is believed to have been drawn up by the Japanese government in the 1950s, is expected to back arguments that compensation should also be made to victims who claim to have been forced into labor on

Foreign Affairs March 14, 2011