A North Korean defector was arrested after he attempted to rob a house stark naked, a local media report said Tuesday. The man, 24, entered the house of a female resident at an apartment complex after dark. The man had a weapon with the intentions of carrying out a robbery, YTN said. (123RF)He was caught in the act by the police who came to the scene after receiving a distress call.He told the police that he had shed all of his clothes in the hopes of thwarting any police search based on his clo

Social Affairs July 12, 2016

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the house of a senior prosecutor who has come under public scrutiny for suspicious stock transactions.An ad hoc probe team investigating the case said it raided the house of Jin Kyung-joon, as well as the home and offices of Kim Jung-ju, founder of South Korea's leading online game maker Nexon Co., and the incumbent chairman of its holding firm NXC Corp.The case involving Jin came to light early this year as the senior prosecutor reported a whopping increase in his

Social Affairs July 12, 2016

Two South Korean men have been indicted on charges of contacting North Korean agents and producing reports to send information on domestic affairs to Pyongyang, prosecutors said Tuesday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the suspects, identified only by their surnames Lee and Kim, are accused of meeting with North Korean intelligence agents in Vietnam in March 2014 and August 2015 and returning home with instructions.They allegedly made reports on South Korea's key affairs and w

Social Affairs July 12, 2016

The South Korean government plans to pick a relocation site for an airport that can serve Daegu in one or two months, with some provincial governments expressing their interest in hosting the new transportation hub, a source said Tuesday.The project to relocate the airport whose runway has been used by both military and civilian aircraft has been put on a fast track since President Park Geun-hye called on her government on Monday to forge ahead with the move.The project has been long-cherished b

Industry July 12, 2016

German TV maker Loewe Technologies GmbH will roll out its first organic light-emitting diode TV later this year to tap into the premium market dominated by South Korea's LG Electronics Co.Loewe's OLED TV, called "bild 7," will be available in the European market starting September in 55 and 65 inches for 4,990 and 6,990 euros ($7,740)), respectively, industry sources said Tuesday.The sources said the German TV manufacturer made no mention of the High Dynamic Range technology but that it is likel

Technology July 12, 2016

South Korean shares managed to stay in positive terrain late Tuesday morning on cautious optimism about the U.S. economy and Japan's move toward a new stimulus package.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.1 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,990.64 as of 11:20 a.m.The market was apparently encouraged by strong U.S. job data and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call for a new round of fiscal stimulus spending. The KOSPI remained in a tight range as its gains were limited amid geo

July 12, 2016

South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group said Tuesday that its future technology will center on artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.Of 32 research projects spearheaded by the group between 2014 and 2016 which are aimed at accelerating technology innovation, six were related to AI, the company said. The move comes amid heightened public interest in AI following the high-profile matches between Google's AI program AlphaGo and South Korean Go champ Lee Se-dol earlier this year. S

Technology July 12, 2016

Nexon Corp., a game developer being investigated for alleged stock gifts, had visibly increased its entertainment expenses at about the same time that the reported gifts were first given, a corporate analyzer said Tuesday.The expenses increased from 92 million won ($80,000) in 2004 to 200 million won in 2005 and to 887 million won in the following year, according to the analysis by Chaebul.com, which tracks activities of South Korea's major companies. The figures were derived from the consolidat

Industry July 12, 2016

Financially troubled Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. proposes to sell stocks worth 2.49 trillion won ($2.16 billion) this month, which includes 1.9 trillion won worth of debt-for-equity swap, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, Hyundai Merchant, the country's No. 2 shipping line, is seeking to sell stocks at 8,890 won per share to creditors, bondholders, owners of chartered ships and even retail investors this month.Of the proposed amount, some 1.9 trillion won, or 76 percent, is

July 12, 2016

 South Korea said Tuesday it will hold talks with Switzerland in Seoul this week on promoting bilateral cooperation in three main fields - basic science, industrial technology and life science.The fourth meeting of a related joint committee, slated for Wednesday, coincides with a Seoul trip by Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann for a summit with President Park Geun-hye.The two nations signed an accord on science and technology partnerships in 2008 and launched the committee a year later.Pho

Technology July 12, 2016

The chief of Lotte Homeshopping, the TV channel of retail giant Lotte, was summoned by prosecutors Tuesday to face questioning over irregularities the company committed to renew its business license last year.Kang Hyeon-gu appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as a suspect on charges of violating the Broadcasting Act, becoming the first chief of Lotte affiliates to be openly summoned after prosecutors launched a full-fledged investigation into the country's fifth-largest

Industry July 12, 2016

Majority of yet-to-marry men and women are against virtually all traditionally accepted notions about marriage, from financial arrangements to having children and divorcing, according to a survey released on Tuesday.Seventy-nine percent of the men and 72.3 percent of the women disagreed with the conventional idea that men finance the housing and the women all the things that go in it. The survey found 60.4 percent of the men and 74.3 percent of the women believe it's better to get divorced if th

Social Affairs July 12, 2016

The state-run Korea Development Bank will finalize a self-rescue plan proposed by Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipyard, this week, which includes a capital increase and workforce layoffs, industry sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, the policy lender, the main creditor for the shipbuilder, will decide whether to approve the proposed self-restructuring plan, after reviewing it along with a consulting firm.Earlier, Samsung Heavy proposed a 1.45 trillion won self-r

Industry July 12, 2016