Two former cyber command chiefs have been charged with being involved in the posting of politically biased messages online by their subordinates before the 2012 presidential election, the defense ministry said Tuesday.Yeon Jae-wook and Ok Do-kyung were among 21 former and current officials of the ministry's cyber command who are facing criminal charges "in violation of the military criminal act that stipulates their obligation to stay neutral."Wrapping up its months-long probe into the allegatio

Social Affairs Aug. 19, 2014

Pope Francis said on Monday he was unable to maintain neutrality before the victims of a South Korean ferry tragedy because their suffering was "human.""Someone came up to me to suggest that I take off the yellow ribbon (I received from the bereaved families) to maintain neutrality," he told reporters aboard his flight back to the Vatican, when asked about the risk of his concern for the victims being used to further political agendas in South Korea. "But I told the person that I couldn't in fro

Social Affairs Aug. 19, 2014

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a government-proposed bill that would maintain the total cost of regulation at a constant level by removing existing rules when adding new ones, the government said.The revision to the Framework Act on Administrative Regulations passed a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye and will be presented to the National Assembly later this week, said the Prime Minister's Office.If approved by the parliament, this would be the first sweeping revision of

Politics Aug. 19, 2014

South Korea's top 10 business groups held real estate worth nearly 31 trillion won (US$30.4 billion) in the three Gangnam districts of southern Seoul, data showed Tuesday, with Samsung Group listed as the richest property holder there.Samsung held property worth 12.68 trillion won in the area to take up more than a third of the assets held by the top players, the data compiled by market tracker Chaebul.com showed. It held 44 plots of land and 20 buildings, including its headquarters located near

Aug. 19, 2014

A new 24-hour ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip Tuesday after Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agreed  to extend a five-day truce, minutes before a midnight deadline, to allow for further talks on a long-term deal.News of the last-minute extension came from Cairo late Monday where Egyptian mediators have been pushing both sides to put a decisive end to weeks of bloodshed in Gaza, which has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and 67 on the Israeli side. The announcement was confirme

Social Affairs Aug. 19, 2014

Pope Francis on Monday publicly broached the prospect of his own death for the first time, giving himself "two or three years" but not ruling out retirement before then.Talking to reporters on a flight back to the Vatican from South Korea, the 77-year-old pontiff, who seemed in good spirits, was asked about his global popularity, which was evident again during his five-day visit."I see it as the generosity of the people of God. I try to think of my sins, my mistakes, not to become proud. Because

World News Aug. 19, 2014

Liberia was desperately searching for 17 Ebola patients Monday who fled an attack on a quarantine centre in the capital Monrovia, as the outbreak appeared to overwhelm authorities in west Africa's worst-hit nation.Searches of the teeming West Point slum have so far failed to turn up any of the missing victims as neighbouring Guinea said a wave of sick Liberians had begun crossing the border, which it had officially closed 10 days ago. Club-wielding youths raided a medical facility set up in a hi

World News Aug. 19, 2014

South Korea's public organizations were ordered to pay about 230 billion won (US$226 million) in additional taxes last year as a result of tax audits, government data showed Tuesday.According to the data provided by the National Tax Service (NTS), public firms and other state-run institutes which received tax audits last year were ordered to pay 230.4 billion won in additional taxes.The amount is much larger than the 59.6 billion won from a year earlier. It also marked the largest amount since 2

Aug. 19, 2014

Thea Bisenberger-van der Wal says she still remembers sitting on the steps of a church in Indonesia back in 1944 while waiting for her mother to come out.Her mother always cried but only told her, then aged 4, that she had fallen.The mother never spoke to her of what really happened in the church for the rest of her life until she died 10 years ago, Bisenberger said, though she constantly suffered from nightmares because of the indelible experiences: sexual slavery by Japanese troops.Bisenberger

World News Aug. 19, 2014

The chief of the prosecution office on South Korea's southern island of Jeju resigned on Monday over allegations that he committed a lewd act on the street, the justice ministry said.Kim Soo-chang, the 52-year-old chief of Jeju District Prosecutors' Office, has faced a police probe since last week after he allegedly masturbated in public near his residence on the resort island.After being detained at the scene at around midnight on Wednesday upon a report by a teenage witness, Kim refused to ide

Social Affairs Aug. 18, 2014

A South Korean bishop on Monday expressed hope that Pope Francis' just-ended landmark trip to the country would serve as a chance to make it "a society of compassion and respect.""Even though Pope Francis stayed in Korea only a few days, he inspired us fully with the consolation, compassion and hope that many of us earnestly needed," Bishop Peter Kang U-il, head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, said in a statement."I hope that our society can go forward to a society of compassion an

Social Affairs Aug. 18, 2014

The city government of Seoul plans to decide by the end of this month whether to permit the use of completed lower floors of a skyscraper retail giant Lotte Group is building in the southern part of the capital, an official said Monday.Citing safety and traffic concerns, the metropolitan city rejected the retail group's previous request in July for permission to open the lower floors of the 123-story high-rise being built in the district of Jamsil. It will be the tallest building in South Korea

Industry Aug. 18, 2014

Prosecutors said Monday that they were quizzing a Japanese reporter over his recent article that raised questions on President Park Geun-hye's whereabouts on the day of April's deadly ferry sinking.Tatsuya Kato, head of the Seoul bureau of Japan's conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper, appeared before prosecutors earlier in the day along with his lawyer and interpreter. Prosecutors said they plan to review whether Kato's article constitutes defamation before deciding whether to bring criminal ch

Social Affairs Aug. 18, 2014

Pope Francis has written a condolence letter to the families of those still missing in April's ferry sinking, saying he prayed for the victims of the tragedy throughout his stay in South Korea."I deeply regret that I was not able to personally visit and comfort everyone who is suffering," the pontiff began in the letter written in Korean with his signature at the bottom. "However, I never forgot to pray for the deceased, the missing and all their families during my stay in South Korea." The lett

Social Affairs Aug. 18, 2014

Nearly 100 workers from Samsung factories are claimed to have died from work-related diseases such as leukemia, an activists' group said Monday, as negotiations with South Korea's largest conglomerate Samsung Group over accountability are at a standstill.The Protector of Health and Human Rights of Semiconductor Workers (SHARP), an advocacy group representing the victims who fell ill or died while working at Samsung's plants, said it knows of 98 deaths from work-related diseases as of August, wit

Social Affairs Aug. 18, 2014