South and North Korea have agreed to restore a military hotline along the west coast, paving the way for the resumption of a shuttered joint industrial park, officials here said Thursday. During a sub-committee meeting to discuss details on the resumption of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North, the two Koreas decided to restore the military hotline starting Friday, according to officials of Seoul's unification ministry.The restoration of the communication line was one of Seoul's precondi

North Korea Sept. 5, 2013

The Philippine military says gunmen have abducted two teachers belonging to a Catholic charity group that helps poor children in a volatile province in the country's south.Col. Carlito Galvez says army special forces have been deployed to locate Frederick Banot and Cherden Masong, who were abducted late Wednesday from their house in a remote town in the island province of Basilan and taken away by speedboat.Regional army spokesman Capt. Jefferson Somera said Thursday that it was not immediately

World News Sept. 5, 2013

Koreans in their 40s and 50s spend up to a million won ($910) more than other age brackets on monthly expenses, a study showed. 　“Marketing strategies from now on should target middle-aged females that hold economic power,” said Kim Dong-yeol, a principal researcher at Hyundai Research Institute. The institute carried out a telephone survey of 1,014 Korean adults. 　Among different age groups who participated in the survey, men and women in their 40s spent approximately 2.93 million won a month,

Sept. 5, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 0.96 percent higher Thursday as investor sentiment was boosted on abated woes over the Syrian crisis, analysts said. The local currency closed higher against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 18.62 points to finish at 1,933.03. Trading volume was low at 281.9 million shares worth 4.41 trillion won (US$4.04 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 500 to 309.Analysts said Seoul shares closed higher as U.S.-led military action on

Sept. 5, 2013

갤럭시 노트3와 스마트 손목시계 갤럭시 기어가 드디어 베일을 벗었다.삼성전자는 IFA(Internationale Funkausstellung) 2013 개막을 이틀 앞둔 4일(현지시간) 독일 베를린에서 '삼성 모바일 언팩' 행사를 열고 신제품을  공개했다.삼성전자가 이번에 선보인 갤럭시노트3는 풀HD 수퍼아몰레드 5.7인치 화면에 대용량 3천200mAh(밀리암페어시) 배터리를 탑재했다. 그러면서도 두께는 8.3mm로 이전 모델보다 얇아지고 무게는 168ｇ으로 가벼워졌다.LTE 통신망이 깔린 국가에는 퀄컴 쿼드코어 칩을, 일부 유럽국가를 비롯해  아시아•중동•아프리카 등 3세대(3G) 통신망 위주의 국가에서는 삼성 옥타코어 칩을 장착해 판매할 예정이다.노트3에서는 S펜 기능이 대폭 확대됐다. 화면 위에서 S펜 버튼을 누르면 5가지 주요 기능이 팝업 형태로 뜨는 '에어 커맨드' 기능이 대표적이다. 액션 메모,  스크랩북, 캡쳐 후 쓰기, S 파인더, 펜 윈도 기능이 여기에 해당한다.액션

한국어판 Sept. 5, 2013

South Korea's tax agency has barred the chief of Hyosung Group, a local family-run conglomerate, and two of the group's executives from leaving the country on suspicion of evading a massive amount of taxes, sources said Wednesday. According to the sources, the National Tax Service (NTS), which conducted a special audit into the group in May, suspects that the group's chairman Cho Suck-rai, 79, had been evading a huge amount of taxes through holding borrowed-named properties.Under a financial law

Politics Sept. 5, 2013

A controversial documentary on the 2010 sinking of the South Korean warship was released nationwide on Thursday after a local court rejected the Navy's request for an injunction against what it called defamatory content."Project Cheonan Ship," which is directed by independent filmmaker Baek Seung-woo and produced by Chung Ji-young, challenges a multinational investigation team's conclusion that North Korea is responsible for torpedoing the Navy vessel Cheonan in the western sea on March 26, 2010

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2013

A statue of a girl symbolizing the victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II will be unveiled at Seocho High School in Seoul on Thursday. A group of high school students erected the statue in the school compound Wednesday in a bid to raise awareness about Japanese imperialism. “On entering the school, you can see we have installed a camera to monitor Dokdo in real time and picture. The statue of the girl is another effort to help form a correct view of history,” said

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2013

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach amid rising concerns that the United States may conduct a military strike on Syria, analysts said. The local currency closed higher against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.71 points, or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,933.03. Trading volume was low at 290.1 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won (US$3.68 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 384 to 381.Analysts s

Sept. 4, 2013

South and North Korea engaged in detailed negotiations Wednesday on ways to reform management rules of the suspended joint industrial park in the communist country, protect investments and strive for ways to internationalize the complex.   The two sub-committee meetings that began in North Korea at 10a.m. come after both sides agreed on Aug. 14 to reopen the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North, and inked a deal last Thursday to create a new joint management committee.The joint committee, co

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2013

Warrants have been sought for six incumbent and former executives of four local major builders on suspicions of colluding in the former Lee Myung-bak administration's highly controversial project to refurbish the country's four major rivers, prosecutors said Wednesday.The four -- Hyundai Construction & Engineering Co., GS Engineering & Construction Co., SK Engineering & Construction Co. and Samsung C&T Corp. -- allegedly colluded to win bids for the first phase of the mega-budget project, which

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2013