The National Security Agency reported its own violations of surveillance rules to a U.S. intelligence court and promised additional safety measures to prevent similar missteps over and over again, according to more than 1,000 pages of newly declassified files about the federal government's controversial program of collecting every American's phone records during the past seven years.According to court records from 2009, after repeated assurances the NSA would obey the court's rules, it acknowled

World News Nov. 19, 2013

A third of young South Koreans are negative on possible unification with North Korea, a poll showed Tuesday.The survey of 814 adults and 105 security and foreign affairs experts released by Hyundai Research Institute found that 31.6 percent of the respondents in their 20s said they don't need unification with North Korea.It also showed that 22.6 percent of the respondents in their 30s said they are not in favor of unification.Still, it showed that 78 percent of the 814 ordinary adults and 98.1 p

Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 1.04 percent higher Tuesday, as indications that global economies are on the path for recovery boosted investor confidence, analysts said.The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 20.83 points to finish at 2,031.64. Trading volume was moderate at 397.3 million shares worth 4.24 trillion won ($4.01 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 426 to 391. Analysts said global economies showing si

Nov. 19, 2013

South Korea's LIG Group said Tuesday it plans to sell all shares in its nonlife insurance arm in a bid to secure cash to compensate investors for losses incurred from its 2011 financial fraud scandal.The conglomerate said it will sell its 20.96 percent stake, or 12.5 million shares, in LIG Insurance Co., while the acquirer has yet to be decided. Market watchers said the deal is estimated at 400 billion won ($378 million).LIG Group said that the sale of LIG Insurance shares was inevitable, due to

Industry Nov. 19, 2013

The average household debt in South Korea grew 6.8 percent over the past year, a report showed Tuesday, spawning concerns about households' debt-servicing capacity amid weak income growth.Korean households held an average of 58.18 million won ($55,116) in debt as of end-March, up from 54.50 million won the previous year, according to the report jointly made by Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea.Household debt here refers to financial debt and key money for

Nov. 19, 2013

The financial regulator will check Samsung Life Insurance Co. over its rebate policy, after the local police caught a wealthy man dodging taxes by allegedly hiding the money with the help of insurance brokers, regulatory officials said Tuesday. The No. 1 insurance firm in South Korea will be inspected over whether it has made sure its insurance planners have not offered policyholders any rebates or incentives that exceed the legal limit, officials at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said.

Industry Nov. 19, 2013

South Korean stocks traded nearly 1 percent higher late Tuesday morning thanks to bullish large-cap heavy industries and construction shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 19.54 points to 2,030.35 as of 11:20 a.m.Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipyard, surged more than 4 percent, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction hiking 4.3 percent. But shares of telecom companies lost ground. LG Uplus, the smallest mobile carrier here, dipped 3 percent.

Nov. 19, 2013

Child abuse continued to increase in Korea, up to 6,403 cases last year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. There were 6,058 cases in 2011 and 5,657 in 2010, officials said.In 2012 parents accounted for 83.9 percent of the abusers, followed by teachers or neighbors standing at 8.2 percent and grandparents at 3.7 percent. “Such crimes, including parental cruelty, come from people’s generous attitude towards physical and mental punishment,” Park Chang-pyo, an official from the Nation

Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2013

South Korea's economy is expected to tide over its aging demographic and post an annual growth of 5 percent down the road on its rising working population, a report showed Tuesday."The Asian Tigers were named for their strong growth from the 1960s to the 1990s. But they have slowed down, (as) their last 5-year real gross domestic product (GDP) growth average of nearly 3 percent is a third of the near 9 percent growth average over 1960-1980," said Amlan Roy, a researcher at Credit Suisse.The term

Nov. 19, 2013

South Korean stocks turned higher after a bearish start Tuesday, as investors opted to increase bets on blue-chip auto and chemical shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 7.58 points, or 0.38 percent to 2,018.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading, after starting some 0.05 percent lower at the opening bell. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.2 percent, with its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis rising 1 percent. LG Chem jumped 2.3 percen

Nov. 19, 2013

North Korea appears to be sincere about normalizing an inter-Korean industrial zone in the communist country that has gone back online after a suspension of more than five months, a Seoul source said Tuesday.The Gaeseong Industrial Complex reopened in mid-September, after operations came to a halt in early April due to Pyongyang's unilateral withdrawal of all its workers from the 123 South Korean companies there amid heightened inter-Korean tension.The unification ministry source told reporters

North Korea Nov. 19, 2013