Opposition parties and civic groups are set to take to the streets in central Seoul on Saturday, calling for the Constitutional Court’s swift decision on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, while a counter-campaign among conservative, pro-Park protesters continues to grow. The 15th weekend rally comes amid souring public sentiment toward the president, who refused to undergo questioning by the independent counsel looking into the scandal this week and appeared to delay the court proceedi

Politics Feb. 10, 2017

South Korea's stock exchange made a pitch Friday for its tech-heavy market in a meeting with foreign investors.The Korea Exchange discussed ways to promote the secondary KOSDAQ with the representatives from around 10 foreign firms including JP Morgan and BNP Paribas. Kim Jae-joon (4th from right in the front row), chief executive officer of the Korea Exchange (KRX)'s KOSDAQ market, poses in Seoul on Feb. 10, 2017, for a photo in a meeting with representatives from foreign firms in this picture p

Feb. 10, 2017

South Korea levied more than 300 billion won ($260.39 million) in taxes on two foreign tobacco companies accused of pocketing profits by hoarding, officials said Friday.One firm filed an appeal on the decision, while the other is planning to do so.  (Yonhap)The National Tax Service and the Ministry of Interior ordered Philip Morris Korea to pay 218 billion won in taxes and British American Tobacco Korea 89 million won, and plan to seek an additional penalty fee in the upwards of 100 billion won,

Industry Feb. 10, 2017

South Korea's science ministry opened a new complex in western Seoul on Friday to nurture the virtual reality and augmented reality industry as the country aims to become a global powerhouse in the sectors.The so-called "KoVAC" is located at Digital Media City, a high-tech complex in western Seoul, to accommodate various VR and AR companies, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said. A VR exhibition in Seoul in 2016. (Yonhap file photo)The complex is part of the government's broader

Technology Feb. 10, 2017

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who recently decided he would not run in this year’s presidential election, is considering taking an academic position at Harvard University, Ban’s associate confirmed Friday. Ban received the professorship offer last year from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he studied and obtained his master’s degree in public administration in 1984, according to his spokesperson Lee Do-woon.Should he decide to take the offer, he would be named a distinguished service

Politics Feb. 10, 2017

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier made a port call in Guam on Friday in what could be a preparation to take part in an annual joint military drill between South Korea and the United States slated for March, a military source said.A possible mobilization of the nuclear-powered carrier for the upcoming Key Resolve exercise is aimed at deterring North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, it added.In early January, the Nimitz-class carrier departed from Naval Base San Diego, which is the

Defense Feb. 10, 2017

A former head of the state-run Korea Resources Corp. was acquitted Friday of causing losses to the state coffers by taking over a local construction firm's stake in a mining project in Madagascar at a high price.Kim Shin-jong, 66, who headed the company from 2008 to 2012, was indicted in September 2015 on charges of breach of trust. This file photo taken on Dec. 18, 2015, shows Kim Shin-jong, a former head of the Korea Resources Corp. (KORES), arriving at the Seoul Central District Court in Seou

Industry Feb. 10, 2017

The education minister warned Friday that the government could take legal action against civic groups that try to stop schools from adopting state-authored history textbooks.Lee Joon-sik made the remark in a public address at the government complex in Seoul following the Jan. 31 unveiling of the final version of the controversial textbooks for middle and high school students."The so-called Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, and certain civic groups should immediately stop actions that

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2017

The head of LG Electronics' smartphone division purchased some 117 million won ($101,900) worth of company stocks this week, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday, a move market watchers say is meant to show his confidence in the new smartphone to be unveiled later in the month. Cho Juno, president of the tech firm's mobile communications company, bought 2,000 company stocks at 58,700 won per share, amounting to 117.4 million won, on Thursday, according to the filing. He now owns 4,637

Business Feb. 10, 2017

South Korea's 2016 decision to shut down an inter-Korean industrial complex is presumed to have dealt a heavy blow to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, a government official said Friday.The statement comes on the first anniversary of Seoul's closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea's border city of the same name in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests early last year.Seoul's unification ministry said that the shutdown of the complex had led major countries,

North Korea Feb. 10, 2017

South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung has closed in on frontrunner Moon Jae-in in the race for the presidency, narrowing the gap between the opposition hopefuls to 10 percentage points, a survey showed Friday.The poll, conducted by local pollster Gallup Korea from Tuesday and Thursday, showed Ahn with 19 percent support, up 9 percentage points from a week earlier, while Moon, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, scored 29 percent, down 3 percentage points.An's rise as a promisin

Politics Feb. 10, 2017

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs designated North Korea as one of 12 regions on its forgotten crises to remember list, calling for global humanitarian assistance, the office's website showed Friday."Today more than 128 million people in 33 countries need humanitarian aid to survive, a figure not seen since the second world war," the OCHA said, announcing the list in a posting earlier this week.In addition to North Korea, Afghanistan, the Central African Repu

North Korea Feb. 10, 2017

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday directed his government to consider mobilizing troops to help contain the foot-and-mouth disease that has been rapidly spreading across the country since the first outbreak earlier this week.During a daily meeting of senior officials and experts on the disease and avian influenza, Hwang also instructed quarantine officials to weigh whether to check all pigs and cows in the country to fend off additional infections."We may have to consid

Politics Feb. 10, 2017

Top diplomats of South Korea and the United States are expected to meet next week on the sidelines of an international gathering in Germany to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's nuclear threats, a diplomatic source said Friday.Preparations are under way to arrange a meeting between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "either on Thursday or Friday" (local time) in Bonn in time for talks of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) countries, ac

Foreign Affairs Feb. 10, 2017

Meat prices in South Korea have risen nearly 10 percent since this year's first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and may skyrocket should the epidemic spread further, industry sources said Friday.The government confirmed the fourth outbreak at a cow farm Thursday after the first infection was reported last Sunday. It also raised the nation's FMD alert to the highest level and closed all livestock trading markets in a desperate bid to stem its spread.It is the first time in seven years that the

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2017