South Korea's current economic slowdown is not a "temporary" phenomenon affected by cyclical factors but by more complicated and structural problems, the finance minister said Tuesday, worrying that the economy might take the road of Japan's lost decades "if not responding in a timely manner."Meeting with foreign journalists to explain Seoul's economic policy measures that his economic team has taken since mid-July, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan reaffirmed that the government will implement e

Sept. 16, 2014

U.S. officials said Monday the United States has taken the first step in its planned expanded fight against Islamic State militants, going to the aid of Iraqi security forces near Baghdad who were being attacked by enemy fighters.The U.S. Central Command said it conducted a strike Monday in support of the Iraqi forces southwest of Baghdad. There was also an airstrike Sunday near Sinjar in northern Iraq. The strike southwest of Baghdad represents the newly broadened mission authorized by Presiden

World News Sept. 16, 2014

President Park Geun-hye ruled out concessions on Tuesday as she urged the parliament to quickly pass a contentious bill meant to uncover the truth behind April's ferry disaster.She has been under pressure to allow a proposed ad hoc committee for an independent probe into the ferry sinking to have the right to investigate and indict those responsible for the tragedy, a key demand by the families of the ferry victims."The call is not something that she can determine as the president as it would un

Politics Sept. 16, 2014

North Korea has turned down South Korea's offer of talks on their joint venture in Kaesong, again taking issue with propaganda leaflets sent from the South, an official here said Tuesday.In a fax message, the North demanded a halt to the scattering of anti-communist leaflets across the border by South Korean civic groups as a precondition for discussions on improving business conditions at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, according to the unification ministry official.Earlier this month, Seoul pr

North Korea Sept. 16, 2014

The state audit agency has interrogated the chief of the Navy over a faulty Navy salvage ship that failed to participate in the national rescue operation for the ferry Sewol that sank off the southwest coast in April, a source said Tuesday.The interrogation of Navy Chief Adm. Hwang Ki-chul is part of the Board of Audit and Inspection's probe into the military's project to construct the first South Korean-built salvage ship Tongyeong, according to the source.The military completed the constructio

Social Affairs Sept. 16, 2014

Prosecutors searched the computer center of South Korea's No. 2 lender Kookmin Bank on Tuesday as part of a probe into suspicions surrounding the bank's introduction of a new computer system, prosecution sources said.During the raid on the computer center in western Seoul, prosecution investigators secured company e-mails exchanged among employees in charge of the mainframe system change, according to the sources."We secured e-mails on a limited basis to know what opinions had been exchanged ins

Sept. 16, 2014

South Korean boy group Infinite topped Billboard's chart for emerging artists on Twitter for its hit single "Last Romeo," the American music site has said.Released in late May, "Last Romeo" rose to the top of the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart on Thursday, becoming the first Korean song to do so.The chart ranks the "most shared songs on Twitter in the U.S. by up and coming artists," according to Billboard.com."The conversations kicked off on Sept. 3 when Infinite revealed a 'dance prac

Sept. 15, 2014

President Park Geun-hye vowed Monday to revitalize the ecosystem of the creative economy in South Korea through innovation centers.Park's creative economy -- a key policy objective of Park -- calls for boosting the economy by turning creative ideas into real businesses through science and technology, and information technology.The pledge came two weeks after the government announced a plan to link the country's conglomerate to innovation centers as part of efforts to build a creative economy.The

Politics Sept. 15, 2014

A former chief of the state spy agency on Monday appealed against a suspended jail sentence for intervening in the 2012 presidential election through an online smear campaign in favor of President Park Geun-hye, then ruling party candidate.In a high-profile ruling, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Won Sei-hoon, former director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years, for election meddling.The 63-year-old was found guil

Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2014

South Korea will reject a Chinese medical group's plan to build the nation's first for-profit foreign hospital on the southern resort island of Jeju as doubts grew over the firm's financial status and management, officials at the health ministry said Monday. China Stemcell Health Group (CSC) has been seeking Seoul's approval since early 2013 to build Shaner Hospital on Jeju with a 50 billion won ($48.4 million) investment pledge, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare will turn down the proposal

Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2014

North Korea demanded Monday that South Korea lift a set of economic sanctions and stop other "hostile" acts against Pyongyang as a precondition for high-level talks that Seoul has proposed.In August, Seoul made an offer for a second round of high-level talks on the reunion of separated families and other pending inter-Korean issues.In a commentary titled "Dialogue and confrontation can't be compatible each other," the North's Rodong Sinmun state newspaper stressed that "the South's May 24th Meas

North Korea Sept. 15, 2014

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will hold a two-day conference on open-source to allow developers to share ideas on the new industrial trend.The Samsung Open Source Conference (SOSCON), which kicks off Tuesday, aims to cover various themes, such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and big data, and other sectors in relation to open-source. U.S.-based Intel Corp. and the Linux Foundation are also sponsors of the event.Open-source refers to programs whose sou

Industry Sept. 15, 2014

South Korean teenage golfer Kim Hyo-joo won the Evian Championship in France on Sunday, edging out veteran player Karrie Webb of Australia by one shot for her first career LPGA major championship.Kim, 19, capped off her final round of 3-under 68 with a dramatic birdie putt on the 72nd hole, for a four-round total of 11-under 273 at Evian Resort Golf Club in southeastern France. She won the 350,000-euro (US$487,500) prize and an exemption to play on the LPGA Tour for the next five years.Sunday's

Golf Sept. 15, 2014