Twenty-nine South Korean women forced into sex servitude for Japan's World War II soldiers will receive compensation money from the Japanese government starting next week, a non-profit foundation here said Friday.They are the first batch of a group of the 46 victims who were confirmed alive as of Dec. 28 when South Korea and Japan forged a landmark deal to end deep-rooted diplomatic feuds over the issue.Under the deal, the Japanese government injected 1 billion yen ($9.61 million) into the South

Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016

A group of South Korean scholars gathered Friday to address Japan's growing claims to Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.In a symposium held at the Seoul Museum of History, experts from across the country held presentations and a debate on ways to counter Japan's claims. Historical records show that Dokdo has long been a part of Korea, but Japan has claimed it as its own since its 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.Professor Song Hwi-young of the Dokdo Institute at Yeungnam Univers

Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday expressed her "deep" condolences to Thailand over the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, saying his leadership for the Southeast Asian country's harmony will always be remembered. The king, the world's longest-reigning monarch, died peacefully at a hospital in the Thai capital of Bangkok on Thursday, according to a statement from the country's royal household bureau. He was 88. Since he took the throne in 1946 at age 18, he had been revered as a rare

International Oct. 14, 2016

South Korea's military chief stressed the need to strengthen the country's missile defense capabilities to counter North Korea's missile threats before a US anti-missile system is to be deployed on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul's military said Friday.Gen. Lee Sun-jin, chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the remarks during Seoul and Washington's Military Committee Meeting held in Washington on Thursday with his counterpart, Gen. Joseph Dunford, it said."The generals agreed to cont

Defense Oct. 14, 2016

Job positions related to customer service can affect workers' psychology and even lead to sleep disorders, a survey showed Friday.According to the survey of 13,066 paid workers aged between 20 and 65, those working at customer service job positions complain of sleep problems. The workers who frequently have to deal with angry customers are six times more likely to suffer sleeping disorders than normal people, according to the survey.The survey was conducted by a team led by Yoon Jin-ha of Yonsei

Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016

A local professor was sentenced to 16 months in prison Friday on charges of manipulating a report in favor of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser over the high-profile toxic humidifier disinfectant case.The Seoul Central District Court found the professor at Hoseo University in Asan, some 100 kilometers south of Seoul, guilty of writing the report in return for money between October 2011 and September 2012.The court ordered the professor, identified only by his surname Yoo, to forfeit 24 million won ($21,200)

Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2016

The National Assembly's regular audit virtually ended Friday, with political watchers pointing out that the lawmakers failed to come up with constructive results due to a series of boycotts and partisan quarrels.The regular audit, which kicked off on Sept. 26, started amid the absence of the ruling Saenuri Party, which had refused to take part in proceedings on the controversy over the neutrality of the parliamentary speaker.Saenuri said Speaker Chung Sye-kyun unfairly took sides in the passage

Politics Oct. 14, 2016

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Friday it has secured a $850 million order to build a power plant in the Philippines.Under the deal with Redondo Peninsular Energy Corp., Doosan Heavy will build the coal-powered plant in a region, 130 kilometers northwest of Manila, by December 2020.The deal follows a 1 trillion-won ($884 million) contract to build a power plant in Saudi Arabia.Stocks of Doosan Heavy were trading at 26,850 won on the Seoul

Industry Oct. 14, 2016

Belarus has frozen a local bank account found to have violated the sanctions imposed under a resolution that the UN Security Council adopted in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test earlier this year, a foreign media report said Friday.This marked the first move of its kind confirmed after the Resolution 2270 was adopted in March, according to the Voice of America.The report quoted a foreign ministry spokesman of Belarus as saying that one of its banks suspended an account and has barred it fro

North Korea Oct. 14, 2016