Three incumbent lawmakers were indicted on Monday for allegedly taking bribes on multiple occasions, prosecutors said.The legislators -- Reps. Song Kwang-ho of the ruling Saenuri Party and Shin Geh-ryeun and Shin Hak-yong of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) -- were booked without physical detention in separate bribery cases.Song is suspected of taking 65 million won (US$62,560) in bribes from local railway parts supplier AVT in exchange for business favors.The 72-ye

Social Affairs Sept. 15, 2014

KB Financial Group Inc. plunged more than 5 percent on the South Korean stock market on Monday as the chief of the country's No. 2 banking group by market value comes under pressure from the company board to resign.KB Financial stocks were trading at 38,850 won on the main bourse as of 11:22 a.m., sharply down 5.59 percent from Friday's close, after KB Financial's board of directors recommended chairman Lim Young-rok to resign.Last week, the country's financial regulator suspended Lim for three

Sept. 15, 2014

The torch for the upcoming Asian Games will arrive in the host city of Incheon this week, the event's organizers said Monday.The organizing committee for the 17th Asian Games said the torch will reach the west coast port city on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony of the multisport competition.In an unprecedented development, two separate torches were lit first before they came together in a ceremony in Incheon last month. The first torch was lit in New Delhi, India, the host of the

More Sports Sept. 15, 2014

Stock funds that invest in overseas securities have suffered massive outflows over the past five years as investors drawn by an earlier stock boom in emerging markets exited to reduce losses after being spooked by the financial crisis in late 2007, data showed Monday.Foreign stock funds posted a total outflow of 29.19 trillion won (US$28.09 billion) from July 2009 to August 2014. On a monthly basis, such funds have suffered a capital outflow for 62 straight months, according to the data compiled

Sept. 15, 2014

China said Friday it has discussed the possibility of resuming a long-stalled three-way meeting of top diplomats from South Korea and Japan, as the three nations move to seek ways to mend ties worsened by territorial disputes and history-related issues. China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, however, gave a cautious response to the likelihood of resuming a trilateral summit among leaders of the three nations, urging Japan to make "positive efforts" before any such three-way summit ca

Foreign Affairs Sept. 12, 2014

South Korea's top financial regulator on Friday suspended the chairman of KB Financial Group Inc., the country's fourth-largest banking group by assets, for management failures, upgrading the punishment proposed by the watchdog.The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it decided on a "suspension" penalty for KB Financial Chairman Lim Young-rok for mishandling internal affairs over the group's selection of a new computer system.The penalty, the second-highest among five tiers that the FSC can

Sept. 12, 2014

South Korea's state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) has agreed to sell its money-losing Canadian oil refining subsidiary to a New-York based commodities merchant bank later this year, its Canadian unit said Friday. Harvest Operations, KNOC's energy affiliate in Canada, said it will hand over its 100 percent stake in the North Atlantic Refining Limited (NARL) to SilverRange Financial Partners LLC for an undisclosed price. The agreement includes the Come by Chance refinery in Newfoundland, a 11

Sept. 12, 2014

A Seoul appeals court, partly overturning a lower court's ruling, on Friday handed down a reduced jail sentence of three years to the chairman of food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, who is charged with embezzlement and tax evasion. The Seoul High Court, however, did not immediately lock up Lee Jay-hyun, citing his poor health. Lee was earlier temporarily released from jail for hospital treatment.In a lower court ruling earlier this year, the 54-year-old tycoon had been sentenced to fou

Social Affairs Sept. 12, 2014

South Korea opened a foreign investment center at its major joint venture with North Korea on Friday, stepping up efforts to globalize the facilities just north of the heavily fortified inter-Korean border.It is designed to provide potential foreign investors with administrative support and other services, the unification ministry said. Officials fluent in English and Chinese are working there."The center will provide one-stop service to foreign companies hoping to do business in the Kaesong Ind

North Korea Sept. 12, 2014

Samsung Engineering Co. said Friday that it has secured a US$80 million order to design plants for a major Mexican oil refiner, thanks to its proven track record in large construction projects.The South Korean industrial plant builder said it plans to complete the order placed by Mexico's state-run oil refiner, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), by September 2015. The Mexican refiner is pushing to build a refinery with a daily production capacity of 38,000 tons of ultra low sulphur diesel in the Salam

Industry Sept. 12, 2014

The government said Friday that it will soon launch a feasibility study on the expansion of Jeju International Airport amid a fast growing number of visitors to the southern resort island of Jeju.The move follows a recent study, published earlier in the day, that suggested the number of air passengers to and from Jeju will more than double from some 20 million in 2013 to over 44 million in 2030, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The airport, including its runway, wi

Sept. 12, 2014

South Korean TV actor Lee Min-ho, who is popular at home and in Chinese-speaking countries, received a warm welcome by thousands of fans when he arrived at a Taiwanese airport earlier this week, his management said Friday."The Taoyuan International Airport was crowded with thousands of fans coming to see Lee and a great number of journalists coming to take pictures of him at 10 p.m. Wednesday," his agency, Starhouse Entertainment, said in a release.His arrival was televised live nationwide on th

Sept. 12, 2014

South Korea and Germany will hold a vice ministerial meeting next week intended to share the European nation's experience on reunification, an official said Friday.The annual session, the fourth of its kind, will take place in Berlin from Wednesday through Friday, according to Lim Byeong-cheol, spokesman for Seoul's unification ministry.The two countries launched a joint government-civilian consultative committee in 2010 with the aim of sharing Germany's experience and knowledge acquired in the

Foreign Affairs Sept. 12, 2014

The government said Friday it will impose fines of up to 50 million won (US$48,262) on those who hoard cigarettes in a bid to stabilize the market following its decision this week to hike tobacco prices.The penalty will go into effect as of noon Friday, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The government announced on Thursday that it plans to raise the price of cigarettes by 2,000 won per pack, an 80 percent increase, a move it said is aimed at lowering the country's smoking rate t

Social Affairs Sept. 12, 2014