South Korea's policies and efforts to enable publicly-available government data to be easily accessible still has a long way to go with the country coming in 12th among the surveyed 77 nations, data showed on Wednesday.The so-called Open Government Data Barometer ranked Britain as the most advanced country for open data readiness, implementation and impact with a score of 100. The United States came in second with a score of 93.38, followed by Sweden with 85.75 and New Zealand with 74.34, accord

Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2013

South Korea has beefed up its forces on a group of northwestern islands along the tensely guarded maritime border with North Korea to counter provocations from its archrival, military officials said Wednesday.Following the North's shelling of a front-line island in 2010, Seoul has increased forces and firepower near the area to enhance strike capabilities, but some of the weapons systems were not deployed last year as planned.With the third anniversary of the Yeonpyeong attack three days away, m

Defense Nov. 20, 2013

The irrepressible Cristiano Ronaldo scored a dazzling hat trick to send Portugal into the 2014 World Cup finals at the expense of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden on Tuesday, while France advanced by conjuring a remarkable turnaround against Ukraine.There was disappointment in the playoffs for Iceland, however, after the Nordic country failed in its bid to become the least populous nation to reach football's biggest stage after losing to Croatia on a thrilling final night in European qualification.Ro

Soccer Nov. 20, 2013

First-term U.S. congressman Trey Radel of Florida has been arrested for possession of cocaine, court documents showed Tuesday. A form filed with Washington DC Superior Court says Radel, a 37-year-old Republican, will be arraigned Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance.Radel issued a statement saying he was "profoundly sorry to let down my family... and the people of Southwest Florida." He did not mention cocaine."I struggle with the disease of alcoholism, and th

World News Nov. 20, 2013

Japan's trade deficit nearly doubled on-year to a bigger-than-expected $10.9 billion in October as the country's energy bill soared, government data showed Wednesday.The shortfall of 1.09 trillion yen ($10.9 billion) was larger than the 810 billion yen in red ink economists had expected on average, and an expansion of 96.1 percent from the year-before deficit of 556.2 billion yen.It was also the largest deficit for the month of October in comparable data that go back to 1979, according to the fi

World Business Nov. 20, 2013

Thomas Bach, recently elected as the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will make his first visit to South Korea on Wednesday, officials here said.The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics said Bach will arrive in Seoul later in the day for a two-day visit. On Thursday, he will be briefed by PyeongChang officials on the east coast alpine town's preparations for the 2018 Winter Games and also give a special lecture to staff members of the organizing team, o

More Sports Nov. 20, 2013

A Silicon Valley began its second day of deliberations Wednesday in a trial to determine damages owed by Samsung Electronics for infringing on Apple's patents. The jury asked the judge for calculators Tuesday to help it determine how much Samsung owes for copying key features of the iPhone and iPad.The federal judge presiding over the patent trial granted the jury's request before the smartphone rivals' lawyers delivered their closing arguments. The one-week trial is being held to determine dama

Technology Nov. 20, 2013

South Korea's short-term foreign debt declined to its lowest level in seven years in the third quarter on a fall in banks' overseas borrowing, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's short-term external debt totaled US$111.5 billion as of end-September, down $8.1 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the lowest level since the third quarter of 2006 when short-term foreign debts hit $107.4 billion.The third-quarter data also marked the fifth strai

Nov. 20, 2013

South Korea should not cross off F-15 fighter jets from its shopping list aimed at boosting combat capability, a former top U.S. military commander in Korea said Tuesday."In a real sense, a mix of F-35s and F-15s is the right decision," retired Gen. John Tilelli told reporters.His comments came amid media reports that South Korea will likely announce plans to buy 40 F-35s in the coming weeks.Tilelli, who headed U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) from 1996 to 1999, emphasized that carrying weight is as imp

Defense Nov. 20, 2013

South Korea has been re-elected as a member state of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to a four-year term for the third time, Seoul's cultural heritage authority said Wednesday.Seoul regained the membership during the 19th session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage that opened at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris Tuesday for a three-day run, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.It marks the

Culture Nov. 20, 2013

Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S4 was dethroned by Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5S, which became the best-selling smartphone in the world in September, data showed on Wednesday.According to the data compiled by Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Technology Market Research, Apple's iPhone 5S became the bestselling phone last month in just 10 days of its release, ending the Galaxy S4's several month reign.Samsung took the No. 1 position in the premium smartphone market of phones above the US$400 price point in

Technology Nov. 20, 2013

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.66 points, or 0.38 percent to 2,023.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with tech giant Samsung Electronics falling 1.01 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor decreasing 0.77 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO shed 0.92 percent.U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors took a breather after the m

Nov. 20, 2013

Supporters and haters of Roh Moo-hyun were locked in a furious online battle on Tuesday over a new movie inspired by the late former president.The movie “Byeonhoin (Lawyer)” is a about a Busan-based human rights lawyer Song Wu-seok, played by actor Song Kang-ho. The character was inspired by Roh, who was also a Busan-based human rights lawyer before he entered politics.“I was scared that I wouldn’t be able depict a part of his (Roh’s) life, so I turned down the part at first,” Song said during a

Film Nov. 19, 2013