Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said Tuesday he will create a committee meant to ensure accidents that threaten people's lives do not recur, the latest in a series of efforts to make South Korea a safer country.The committee, which is to include government officials and civilian experts, will be tasked with carrying out agenda to remodel the country from square one.The case for radical reform has gained urgency since the sinking of a ferry in April that left more than 300 people dead or missing.Ch

Politics July 8, 2014

North Korean soldiers have crossed the inter-Korean armistice line into South Korea five times this year as part of their beefed-up ambush infiltration training, military sources here said Tuesday."In accordance with the order by its leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea has been proactively carrying out their drills for surprise attacks and border intrusion inside the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, areas, this year," a military source said. He declined to be identified."Over the course of the training,

North Korea July 8, 2014

The Israeli air force launched dozens of raids on the Gaza Strip overnight after massive rocket fire from the enclave pounded southern Israel, leaving 17 people injured, sources said Tuesday.An Israeli army spokesman confirmed an air operation code-named Protective Edge had been launched, but did not give details.Several houses were targeted in the raids on the southern Gaza Strip, notably in Khan Yunes, witnesses said.Israel has "crossed a red line by attacking houses", warned the Ezzedine al-Q

World News July 8, 2014

The head of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) raised the need to begin early merger talks with its parent group, Hana Financial, lending support to the group chief executive's remarks that hinted at an integration of the banking affiliates before the agreed-upon 2017 deadline, KEB said Tuesday.In a July 7 written message to bank employees, KEB chief executive Kim Han-jo said, "We are in a situation where early integration talks are inevitable as profitability weakens and the management environment worse

July 8, 2014

A flurry of governmental negligence and corruption was found to have contributed to the tragic ferry accident in April that left more than 300 people dead or missing, the national audit agency said Tuesday, announcing its decision to take legal action against 11 corrupt officials.Releasing its interim probe result on the deadly ferry sinking, the Board of Audit and Inspection said that lax government regulation, disaster control failure and corruption by some government officials have contribute

Politics July 8, 2014

The level of house prices in comparison with income in South Korea is trending lower, with the exception of the posh Gangnam area, where property prices still run high, data showed Tuesday.The so-called price-to-income ratio (PIR) came in at 23.4 in Asia's fourth-largest economy last year, nearly halving from an average of 42.3 between 1986 and 2013, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and Kookmin Bank. The ratio roughly provides a clue to whether housing prices are expensive or cheap giv

July 8, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the family mausoleum enshrining the mummified bodies of the two former leaders on Tuesday, marking the 20th anniversary of the national founder's death, the country's state news wire said.Accompanied by top echelon military officials, Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun at the stroke of midnight and paid tribute to the embalmed bodies to mark the 20th anniversary of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's death, according to an English-language report by

North Korea July 8, 2014

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest technology firm by revenue, estimated its second-quarter operating profit at a sharply lower than expected 7.2 trillion won (US$7.11 billion) on Tuesday amid a slowdown in its smartphone business.The preliminary estimate represents a 24.4 percent fall from the operating profit of 9.53 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The figure also marks a 15 percent crash from the operating profit of 8.49 trillion won posted duri

Technology July 8, 2014

The United States tried to cool Monday a new spy row with Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned reports an alleged German double agent helped the CIA could again damage trust between the allies.Revelations that a 31-year-old German intelligence operative was suspected of espionage revived suspicion between Berlin and Washington which had barely ebbed following reports last year the US National Security Agency (NSA) tapped Merkel's cellphone.Merkel, who was furious over the previous US-Ge

World News July 8, 2014