SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is closely watching currency market conditions as volatility increases amid growing concerns over fiscal woes in Europe, a senior finance ministry official said Thursday. "In any direction, excessive fluctuations in the currency exchange rates are not desirabl

Sept. 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The military will place female officers in more combat duties that have so far been closed to them, a senior official said Thursday.Boo Jae-won, head of the personnel planning bureau at the defense ministry, said 12 combat branches will be open to female soldiers from 201

Defense Sept. 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday proposed holding talks with Japan to discuss the issue of Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, an issue that has long been one of the thorns in relations between the two nations.The Foreign Ministry called in Nobukatsu Ka

Politics Sept. 15, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Obesity rates among children and adolescents have steadily risen in the last three years, a report showed Wednesday, posing growing public health challenges.According to the education ministry report, 14.3 percent of elementary, middle and high school students nationwide

Technology Sept. 14, 2011

HONG KONG, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday it has cut its 2011 growth forecast for China, citing weak external demand from its key trading partners and the government's efforts to cool inflation.The regional lender trimmed its 2011 growth estimate for China to 9.

Sept. 14, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said Wednesday they have indicted a college professor under custody for allegedly receiving money from the Seoul education chief in return for withdrawing his bid for the post in last year's election.Park Myoung-gee, a professor at Seoul National University of

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2011

HONG KONG, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Wednesday its sales in China surged more than 40 percent in August as its new vehicles attracted young customers in the world's No. 1 automobile market.Kia Motors said it sold 37,748 units in August, up 40

Sept. 14, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, said Wednesday that it will appeal this week a recent German court ruling to ban sales of its tablet computer. Last week, Samsung failed to overturn a German court's sales injunction on the Galaxy Tab won by A

Technology Sept. 14, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- The Cabinet endorsed a bill on Wednesday to place all retailers suspected of selling junk food to children across the country under the monitoring of local governments.There have been mounting calls for increasing the authorities'surveillance of supermarkets or stationery

Politics Sept. 14, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Violent crimes by adolescents surged nearly 50 percent over the past two years, mainly driven by young rapists, a report showed Wednesday.A total of 3,428 adolescents were probed last year as suspects of murder, robbery, rape and arson cases, according to the report by th

Social Affairs Sept. 14, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for the city's education chief over allegations that he bribed his rival candidate in last year's election to get him to drop out of the race.Kwak No-hyun, who was elected superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office o

Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2011

DUSSELDORF, Germany, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- A German court on Friday turned down a request by Samsung Electronics Co. to nullifyApple Inc.'s injunction granted earlier to ban the sale and marketing of its Galaxy Tab tablet computer in the European country.The Dusseldorf court decision dealt a blow to t

Technology Sept. 9, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health authorities on Friday issued a nationwide warning against the spread ofencephalitis for the first time this year, advising people to keep personal hygiene and receive vaccinations.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it has

Social Affairs Sept. 9, 2011

SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- Kang Ho-dong, one of South Korea's top comedians, said Friday that he is tentatively retiring from the entertainment world following a public uproar over tax evasion.A local media reported on Monday that Kang, 41, was audited by the national tax agency and ordered to pay "

Television Sept. 9, 2011