The CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. on Friday appealed to union workers to think about the fallout from a strike, reiterating that they should wait for the courts to determine what constitutes standard wages, an issue that is plaguing major conglomerates in labor talks this year.In a statement released a day after union leaders declared a breakdown in negotiations, Yoon Gap-han stressed that management is committed to resolving this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) talks in a peace

Industry Aug. 1, 2014

The Army said Friday that it will conduct a further probe into fresh allegations that a private first class, who was beaten to death by his comrades, was also sexually molested.In April, a 23-year-old Army private first class surnamed Yoon died after being hit in the chest by five of his colleagues at their barracks. The assault caused a piece of food to obstruct his airway, leading him to die of asphyxiation. The military prosecution's probe also found that the victim, who moved last December t

Social Affairs Aug. 1, 2014

West Africa's Ebola-hit nations imposed stringent new rules to tackle the world's worst ever outbreak of the tropical virus ahead of a special regional summit Friday to launch an emergency response plan.The leaders of four west African countries -- Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast -- meet in the Guinean capital Conakry Friday, along with the head of the World Health Organisation, Margaret Chan, to launch a $100-million joint plan to tackle the epidemic.The meeting comes as US, Germa

World News Aug. 1, 2014

South Korea and New Zealand will hold a fresh round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul next week, the South Korean government said Friday, vowing to make "progress" in the talks that began more than five years ago."At the upcoming round of negotiations, the two sides will work to make actual progress by narrowing their differences in the area of market liberalization for products and by resolving other remaining issues, such as the country of origin, customs and

Foreign Affairs Aug. 1, 2014

President Park Geun-hye is set to return to work next week after a short vacation inside the presidential compound, an official said Friday.Park spent her time receiving briefings by her aides on domestic and foreign affairs while resting in her official residence during a five-day summer vacation that started on Monday, according to the official.She took a low-key vacation, apparently mindful of April's deadly ferry sinking that left more than 300 people dead or missing, mostly high school stud

Politics Aug. 1, 2014

North Korea has started issuing new bank notes in an apparent effort to flush out privately hoarded cash reserves, according to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).In a briefing to a parliamentary committee, the NIS said the new notes were issued from July 30, Yonhap news agency reported Friday.Old bank notes can be exchanged or used for an unspecified grace period after which they will cease to become legal tender, the NIS said."This is apparently aimed at compelling people to cou

North Korea Aug. 1, 2014

Hopes of an end to the bloodshed in Gaza rose early Friday after US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed a 72-hour ceasefire.Both sides swiftly confirmed that they agreed to the ceasefire, due to begin at 0500 GMT Friday, after 25 days of bloody confrontation. Speaking in New Delhi, Kerry said after the ceasefire went into force, Israeli and Palestinian representatives, including from Hamas, would begin talks in Cairo in a move confirmed by Egypt. But he said

World Business Aug. 1, 2014

The United States urged North Korea on Thursday to immediately release Kenneth Bae, a Korean American detained in the communist nation for nearly two years, after he was reported to have said he feels like he was abandoned by his government.Bae, who has been detained in the North since November 2012, made the remark in an interview with a pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan on Thursday. Bae also said he hopes the U.S. government will send a special envoy to get him released."We are, of cour

World News Aug. 1, 2014

South Korea's exports grew from a year ago last month with imports also rising at a similar pace, the government said Friday.Outbound shipments amounted to US$48.42 billion in July, up 5.7 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports rose 5.8 percent on-year to $45.9 billion.The country's trade surplus widened slightly to $2.52 billion from $2.45 billion in July 2013. July also marked the 30th consecutive month the country has posted a tr

Aug. 1, 2014

Argentina blamed the United States on Thursday for the legal battle that forced it to miss a debt payment and, despite ratings agencies' declarations to the contrary, denied being in default.Ratings agency Fitch declared Argentina in "restrictive default" Thursday after 11th-hour talks failed to resolve the country's dispute with two US hedge funds that refuse to accept a write-down on their Argentine bonds.Fitch's label echoed the "selective default" declared Wednesday by Standard & Poor's.Both

World News Aug. 1, 2014

South Korea will seek to hire a foreign head coach to fill the vacancy on the men's senior national football team, the sport's technical director said Thursday.Lee Yong-soo, who was named the new head of the technical committee at the Korea Football Association (KFA) last week, said at a press conference that he has narrowed down candidates for the top coaching job in South Korean football to three foreign nationals."We've shortlisted three coaches based on specific criteria, and all three are f

Soccer July 31, 2014

Police said Thursday they will investigate false Internet rumors about the death of a business tycoon who owned the Sewol ferry that sank in southern waters in April. The state forensic lab has confirmed that a body found on June 12 at a plum farm on the south coast is that of Yoo Byung-eun after conducting DNA and other tests, but it has failed to determine the cause of his death.Some netizens claim that the body belongs to another person, while others insist that Yoo's X-ray pictures were mani

Social Affairs July 31, 2014

Popular K-pop boy band JYJ on Thursday began a massive annual festival in Seoul for its local and Japanese fan clubs.The trio has held the "JYJ Membership Week" festival annually in the capital city for free since 2012 to better communicate with their fans, drawing more than 20,000 people each year from home and abroad.This year's event, the third of its kind, is scheduled to last until Sunday at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul, according to C-Jes Entertainment, which manages the ba

July 31, 2014

A former opposition leader often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate announced his retirement from politics Thursday after suffering a humiliating defeat in parliamentary by-elections a day earlier.Sohn Hak-kyu, a former four-term lawmaker and ex-leader of what is now the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), lost to Kim Yong-nam, a political novice of the ruling Saenuri Party, in Wednesday's by-elections seen as a midterm referendum on President Park Geun-hye's

Politics July 31, 2014

The two leaders of the main opposition party quit Thursday over a crushing defeat in parliamentary by-elections seen as a midterm referendum on President Park Geun-hye's conservative administration.The move by Kim Han-gil and Ahn Cheol-soo came a day after New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) gained only four out of the 15 seats at stake."I humbly accept the people's will. We lost the elections that we should have won. I am sorry for it," Kim said in a news conference at the parliament.Ahn

Politics July 31, 2014