South Korea has fined a businessman 1 million won ($977) for making an unauthorized contact with North Koreans over a project to build a high-speed railway and a parallel road in North Korea, an official said Tuesday.The unification ministry imposed the administrative penalties in March on the businessman, identified only by his last name Kim, for meeting with North Koreans in China in December for the project, the ministry official said.South Koreans are required to win the government's approva

North Korea May 13, 2014

President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday she will soon issue a statement to the nation about how the government will upgrade the country's safety and emergency response system in the wake of the deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol.Park made the remark as she opened a Cabinet meeting aimed at discussing key issues to be included in the statement she plans to make to apologize for the government mishandling the ferry's sinking and to announce reform measures for the country's safety system."I hope inten

Social Affairs May 13, 2014

South Korea and Japan will hold director-general level talks in Tokyo later this week to discuss the Japanese wartime army's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.Lee Sang-deok, director general for Northeast Asian affairs from the foreign ministry, will meet with his Japanese counterpart, Junichi Ihara, on Thursday and Friday in their second negotiations to discuss the issue of comfort women, a source of diplomatic tension between the two

Foreign Affairs May 13, 2014

The personal assets of Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Kun-hee, hospitalized over the weekend after a heart attack, are estimated at 12.9 trillion won ($12.5 billion), a tracker of corporate data said Tuesday, which could amount to up to 5 trillion won in inheritance taxes should those assets be handed over to his family members.The 72-year-old tycoon, who effectively controls Samsung Group through a web of share cross-holdings of the group's affiliates, owns 11.7 trillion won worth of list

Technology May 13, 2014

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. saw its market share in tablet PCs reach a record-high level in the first quarter of the year, data showed Tuesday, narrowing its gap with U.S. Apple Inc.The world's No. 1 maker of smartphones took up 22.6 percent of the global tablet PC market by shipping 12.8 million units of such devices in the January-March period, the data by market researcher Strategy Analytics showed. It marked a 3.7 percentage points increase from the 18.9 percent posted i

Technology May 13, 2014

Thirty nine U.S. lawmakers have joined a wave of sympathy for South Korean people suffering the loss of hundreds of people in a ferry sinking last month, the nation's embassy here said Monday."If you share happiness, it multiplies by double, if you share sadness, it lessens by half. We go together," wrote Sen. Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. His words were inscribed in a book kept at Capitol Hill last week, according to the embassy.Rep. Ed Royce, who chair

Foreign Affairs May 13, 2014

North Korea on Monday defended recent racist attacks on U.S. President Barack Obama by its citizens and officials, calling them "a proper reaction" to slander by the American leader.The North's Foreign Ministry said Obama's comments critical of North Korea during his recent trip to Seoul were "an unpardonable insult" to its people and their resentment at the U.S. is running high."The resentment expressed by individuals of (North Korea) at Obama recently was a proper reaction to him who malignant

North Korea May 12, 2014

Nine ancient Korean seals that were returned last month after being illegally transferred to the United States during the 1950-53 Korean War will be on display at a Seoul museum starting this week, the government said Monday.The Cultural Heritage Administration said it will hold a special exhibition of the seals at the National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul from May 13 to Aug. 3.  The nine are three national seals and one royal seal of the Korean Empire and five signets of the royal co

Foreign Affairs May 12, 2014

South Korea will remove nearly one third of government regulations on trade and foreign investment, and ease other restrictions that hamper investment, the government said Monday.Of the 62 regulations that currently apply to trade or foreign investment, 19 or 30.6 percent will be completely eliminated before the incumbent Park Geun-hye administration's five-year term ends in February 2018, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The decision came at a public hearing chaired by Vi

May 12, 2014

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's No. 2 tech giant, said Monday it plans to expand its tablet PC lineup to cover various sizes and also give better connectivity with smartphones.The company said it will add 7-inch, 8-inch and 10.1-inch sizes to its flagship G Pad, without elaborating on key features or the release date. The showcase will be held in June,  it said.LG had introduced its first G Pad in October last year in an 8.3-inch model.LG said the new models will be equipped with "Knock Code,

Technology May 12, 2014

Samsung Group said Monday its daily management activities were on schedule despite the hospitalization of its de facto head, Lee Kun-hee, who received emergency treatment for a heart attack."We are not arranging any special meetings concerning management problems, as the chairman has not been directly involved in management affairs," said Lee June, Samsung's chief communications official. "We are continuing our usual daily tasks."Lee, the chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., was treated for myoc

Technology May 12, 2014

South Korea and China plan to hold high-level security talks in Beijing later this month, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter said Monday, as Seoul seeks to persuade Beijing to do more in dissuading North Korea from conducting its fourth nuclear test. South Korea's Presidential Security Adviser Kim Jang-soo is scheduled to visit Beijing and hold talks with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, China's top foreign policymaker, in the fourth week of this month, the source said on the c

North Korea May 12, 2014

South Korea ranked 33rd in per-capita gross domestic product in 2013, with its global standing rising eight notches over the past five years, data showed Monday.According to the data by the International Monetary Fund, South Korea's per-capita nominal GDP came to $24,329 last year, which was the 33rd highest in the world. This is up from 34th in 2012 and 41st in 2008. Luxembourg topped the list with $110,423 last year, followed by Norway with $100,318, Qatar with $100,260 and Switzerland with $8

May 12, 2014

North Korea has called on the United States not to side with South Korea over the findings of a probe into three drones found crashed near the inter-Korean border.The North's army mission at the border village of Panmunjom on Sunday accused the U.S. of echoing South Korea's conclusion that North Korea is behind the rudimentary drones that were found in the South in recent weeks."If Washington pays heed only to what its stooges trumpet, it is bound to be accused of being a senile grandfather tryi

Social Affairs May 12, 2014

South Korea's telecom and industry authorities said Monday they plan to invest 50 billion won ($48.7 million) by 2019 into the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, seeking to tap deeper into a new source of profit in the country's technology realm.Under the plan, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will allocate 37 billion won over five years from next year to develop core technologies related to the IoT.The IoT refers to a computing conc

Technology May 12, 2014