South Korea's top messenger application operator Kakao Corp. said Wednesday it has started to allow small enterprises to open a business-only account via Kakao Talk, providing them a means to communicate with consumers more easily.Named "Yellow ID," the service gives users a second Kakao Talk ID for business purposes. Previously, the country's most used mobile messenger only allowed one account for each phone number.While Kakao already operates "Plus Friend," it said the new service is different

Technology Aug. 20, 2014

North Korea will host an international film festival in its capital next month, which the communist nation says is designed to promote exchanges and cooperation between world filmmakers.The 14th Pyongyang International Film Festival is scheduled to open on Sept. 17 for a weeklong run under the theme of "Independence, Peace and Friendship," according to the organizing committee.It consists of the Feature Film Competition, the Documentary and Short Film Competition, Special and Informative Screeni

North Korea Aug. 20, 2014

Lotte Mart, an affiliate of retail giant Lotte, said Wednesday it is opening a supermarket in Indonesia, a move that comes as local retailers step up their overseas expansion amid flagging consumption on their home turf.The company is set to open a 1,300-square-meter supermarket Thursday on the ground floor of a hotel in Kemang, a residential area heavily populated by middle- and upper-class expatriates, Lotte Mart said in a press release.The supermarket, which is smaller than the discount chain

Industry Aug. 20, 2014

The National Assembly endorsed an art professor as the nation's culture minister Wednesday in the last step to forming President Park Geun-hye's new Cabinet.Kim Jong-deok, a professor of visual design at Seoul's Hongik University, was tapped by Park early this month after the previous nominee for the job, Chung Sung-keun, stepped down over allegations of drunken driving and other ethical lapses.The parliamentary education and culture committee adopted a report endorsing Kim after holding a confi

Politics Aug. 20, 2014

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf imposed a nighttime curfew from Wednesday and quarantined two affected neighbourhoods in a bid to stem the Ebola epidemic rampaging through West Africa."Commencing Wednesday, August 20 there will be a curfew from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am (2100 to 0600 GMT)," Sirleaf said in a radio address late Tuesday."All entertainment centres are to be closed. All video centres are to be closed at 6:00 pm," she ordered.The new quarantine areas include Monrovia's West Point s

World News Aug. 20, 2014

Protesters hit the streets of the US town roiled by days of unrest over the killing of an unarmed black teen, hours after police shot dead a knife-wielding man just a few miles away.Demonstrators waved signs and chanted slogans as they strolled up and down West Florissant Boulevard in Ferguson, Missouri. The town, a suburb of St. Louis, has been shaken by racial unrest since a white police officer shot dead Michael Brown, 18, on August 9. Police have hurled tear gas canisters and fired rubber bu

World News Aug. 20, 2014

A temporary ceasefire in Gaza has 'collapsed' after a Tuesday midnight deadline passed with no agreement to extend a truce and Israel and Hamas resumed hostilities, a senior Palestinian official said."The ceasefire has collapsed and Israel is responsible," said Azzam al-Ahmed, the head of a joint-Palestinian delegation in Cairo participating in indirect negotiations with Israel."We are leaving tomorrow, but we have not pulled out of negotiations," he told AFP, adding the Palestinians were waitin

World News Aug. 20, 2014

The son of Hong Kong film star Jackie Chan, who has been detained on drug-related charges, was shown on Chinese television with boxes of cannabis as state-run media revealed details of the case Tuesday.Beijing police last week detained Jaycee Chan, who like his father works as an actor, "on suspicion of accommodating suspected drug users", China's official Xinhua news agency reported.Police seized more than 100 grams of cannabis from Chan's house, in a swoop which also saw a Taiwanese actor know

World News Aug. 19, 2014

Unionized metal workers said Tuesday they will stage a one-day walkout later this week if automakers, including the top Hyundai Motor Co., do not accept their calls to count bonuses as part of base wages.In December, the Supreme Court ruled that bonuses paid on a regular basis should count towards ordinary wages, which determine the size of other payments, such as overtime and severance pay.Most companies including Hyundai and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp., however, have been reluctant

Industry Aug. 19, 2014

The heads of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) agreed in a joint statement on Tuesday to speed up the merger of the two local lenders, which has faced stiff opposition from KEB's union. Hana Bank President Kim Jong-jun and KEB President Kim Han-jo signed a joint statement announcing the official beginning of the integration process to "end confusion and strengthen competitiveness," according to an emailed press release.The move is the latest in efforts by the two banks' management to drum

Aug. 19, 2014

Police said Tuesday that they have failed to determine how the fugitive shipping tycoon blamed for April's ferry disaster died, deepening the mystery surrounding the final days of the country's most wanted man. The body of Yoo Byung-eun, a 73-year-old billionaire whose family owns Sewol operator Chonghaejin Marine Co., was found on a remote hill just outside of the southern city of Suncheon, about 415 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 12 amid a nationwide massive manhunt.Authorities had sought

Social Affairs Aug. 19, 2014

The military prosecution on Tuesday filed for a warrant to arrest the son of a provincial governor on charges of physically and sexually abusing his subordinates in the military, the Army headquarters said.The 23-year-old Army corporal, who is the eldest son of Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil, has been under investigation for allegedly beating his subordinate in the stomach and face on a number of occasions since April at their barracks, according to Army officers.He is also accused of

Social Affairs Aug. 19, 2014

Banking transactions made via mobile devices rose 6.6 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier as more people relied on their smartphones, central bank data showed Tuesday.The number of daily mobile banking transactions averaged 29.4 million in the second quarter, compared with 27.6 million in the January-March period, according to the Bank of Korea.The data, however, showed that people tend to use conventional banking channels for major transactions.Despite accounting for 45.5 pe

Aug. 19, 2014