South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Thursday she plans to use her upcoming visit to China to enlist the help of North Korea's most important ally in making Pyongyang realize that its bad behavior will never be rewarded.Breaking North Korea's behavioral pattern of seeking economic and other concessions through provocations was one of the major points of agreement that Park reached during her first meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington earlier this month.Park is expected to

Politics May 23, 2013

The state-run disease control agency on Thursday confirmed another fatality caused by a killer tick virus amid fears that the disease may quickly spread nationwide.The Korea Center for Disease Control & Prevention said a man who died on the southern island of Jeju Friday has been confirmed as a victim of the killer virus transmitted by one species of tick, the Haemaphysalis longicornis.The deceased, surnamed Kang, is the second tick-caused victim reported in South Korea in the past year. Last Au

Social Affairs May 23, 2013

K-pop sensation Psy was added to the annals of history Wednesday when his name was officially included in the Encyclopedia Britannica, its Web site showed.   The online version of the English-language encyclopedia introduces Psy as the "South Korean singer and rapper" who "achieved international fame" last year with the humorous music video to his pop song "Gangnam Style."Though the 36-year-old singer, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, was originally known in his home country as a "controversial

Television May 1, 2013

The government and the ruling party agreed Monday to provide emergency funds to South Korean businesses suffering from the suspension of a joint industrial complex in North Korea, officials said.The nine-year-old industrial park in the North's border city of Gaeseong ground to a halt early last month when the communist country withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in protest of U.S.-involved military drills in the South.Seoul responded by pulling its own workers and managers from the 123

Politics May 1, 2013

The fiscal independence ratio of South Korean local governments dropped to its lowest level this year since 1991 as tax revenues fell and subsidies from the central government increased, data showed on Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, the fiscal independence ratio for 244 local autonomous governments stood at 51.1 percent for 2013, compared with the 52.3 percent posted last year.The 2013 figure also marks the lowest since 1991 when Sou

Politics April 9, 2013

A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake has hit southern Iran, the US Geological Survey said.The epicenter of the quake, which struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), was located about 90 kilometers southeast of Bandar Bushehr, the USGS said.(AFP)

World News April 9, 2013

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is warning that even a slight miscalculation involving the tensions on the Korean peninsula could spiral into an "uncontrollable situation'' as he urged North Korea to tone down its "provocative'' rhetoric.Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, also called on Pyongyang to restart work at the Kaesong industrial park near its border, the only remaining product of economic cooperation between the North and South Korea. North Korea on Tuesday pulled out more

World News April 9, 2013

Lawmakers on Tuesday stepped up their attacks on President Park Geun-hye's nominee for Constitutional Court chief as they tried to determine whether he is ethically fit for the job.Park Han-cheol, who was tapped by the president last month to head the top court, faced a barrage of questions from lawmakers over whether the large legal fees he received at a law firm in 2010 were justified.Park, a former public prosecutor, is known to have earned a total of 245 million won (US$215,000) during the f

Politics April 9, 2013

The National Assembly failed to pass a government reorganization bill on Thursday.The bill will be submitted to a general session at the National Assembly at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, according to reports.The parliament was expected to go on a vote to pass the bill as the ruling and main opposition parties reached an agreement over pending broadcasting-related issues at a parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday evening.If the bill gains the parliamentary approval, it is expected to give a boost

Politics March 21, 2013

A top U.S. commander said Thursday the recently concluded joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises were a good first step for Seoul to rehearse a scenario in which it is set to play a leading role in defending itself.Amid heightened North Korean war rhetoric, South Korea and the U.S. ended a 10-day military exercise, code-named Key Resolve.About 10,000 South Korean and 3,000 U.S. troops took part in the largely computer simulated war games.The annual exercises were the first of their kind in wh

Defense March 21, 2013

사회지도층 성접대 의혹의 핵심인물로 지목된 건설업자 Y씨를 소환해 조사할 것이라고 경찰이 밝혔다. 현재 성접대 의혹에 대한 내사를 진행중인 경찰청 특수수사과는 지난 19일 건설업자 Y씨를 성폭행 등의 혐의로 고소한 K씨를 소환조사 했으며 피해자라고 주장하는 1-2명도 함께 불러 조사했다.경찰 관계자는 “고소인과 피해자들을 불러 불법적 내용에 대한 진술을 확보했다”고 말했다. 경찰은 이르면 21일 Y씨로부터 성접대를 받았다는 의혹을 받고 있는 유력인사들도 불러 조사할 방침이다. 19일 참고인 자격으로 소환된 3명의 진술은 Y씨의 성접대가 있었는지 불법적으로 동영상을 찍었는지, Y씨의 강원도 원주 별장에서 이들이 이권청탁을 했고 또한 유력인사들이 Y씨의 요구를 받아줬는지에 관련된 진술인 것으로 알려졌다.경찰은 관련 진술을 확보함에 따라 성 접대 동영상의 존재 여부와 행방에 촉각을 세우고 있다.Y씨의 지인, Y씨를 고소한 여성사업가 K씨에 따르면 Y씨는 유력층에 대한 성 접대 과정을 동영

한국어판 March 20, 2013