GNP leader says will ensure smooth nomination of presidential candidateThe Grand National Party Chairman Rep. Hong Joon-pyo pledged to act as a “windbreak” for other frontrunners in the race for presidential candidacy next year.“I have no intention to enter candidacy, nor am I entitled to do so, according to our party constitution,” said the ruling party leader.“My role is to act as a connecting b

President Lee Myung-bak is expected to nominate a new justice minister and new prosecutor-general as early as Friday, an official said Thursday, as Lee faces opposition from within his own party against naming one of his secretaries for the minister’s post.The nominations will be announced after consultations with the ruling Grand National Party and background checks on candidates to see if they a

Two elementary schools in Seoul will likely be merged due to their declining enrollment, affected by Korea’s low birth rate.It will be the first time for Seoul-based elementary schools to be mergedThe merger between the two neighboring schools in southeastern Seoul, Daecheong and Younghee elementary school, has been discussed since 2009 as the number of Daecheong students has shrunk to half the av

High prices for basic necessities such as food and housing are taking their toll on Seoul’s office workers, with many people turning to cheaper alternatives to make ends meet.Im Su-jeong, 33, works in Seoul’s financial hub of Yeouido, where dining out is known to be expensive. In a culture where going Dutch is still awkward and sometimes embarrassing, Im finds herself easily paying 40,000 won ($38

Daum Communications, the nation’s second-largest Internet portal, has introduced a new service called “Daum store view” which enables people to view inside registered stores online.Store view shows a 360-degree panorama view of inside the store by clicking air tags on the street view. This means people can virtually experience the interior, seating, layout, menu and prices of the selected store.Th

Korea has completed the construction of its first offshore plant to extract lithium from seawater in a bid to supply spiraling demand for the scarce metal in the automobile and electronics industries.The “Seawater Lithium Research Center” located in Gangneung in the country’s east entered test-production and will develop technology to churn out 30 tons of high-purity lithium carbonate annually sta

Hyundai’s Sonata gets top marks in U.S. consumer surveyKorea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. ranked as the best-selling passenger carmakers in Canada in the first half of this year, industry sources said Thursday.The two leading automobile makers in South Korea sold a combined 64,671 passenger cars in the North American country in the January-June period for a market sh

GIHEUNG, Gyeonggi Province ― Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor manufacturing lines were not responsible for or directly linked to leukemia and related cancers diagnosed in former company employees, a report by an independent agency showed on Thursday. Representatives of Environ, a U.S.-based consultancy specializing in environmental and health issues, announced the results of the study commission

Sales at Korea’s major discount outlets and department stores rose from a year earlier in June on growing demand for groceries and goods for outdoor activities, a government report showed Thursday.Combined sales of the country’s three major discount outlets rose 2.7 percent in June from the same period last year with those of three leading department stores rising 8.2 percent on-year, according to

POSCO, Korea’s leading steelmaker, said Thursday that its Canadian unit will set up a joint venture with Canada’s Fortune Minerals Ltd. to acquire a stake in a Canadian coal mine development project.POSCO said that POSCO Canada Ltd. will invest a total of 181 million Canadian dollars ($189 million) for a 20 percent stake in the Mount Klappan coal project. POSCO will pay 30 million Canadian dollars

The non-governmental organization Beautiful Community Forum announced Thursday that it will host photo and sculpture exhibitions as part of the 2011 Philip Morris Korea Clean Beach Campaign.The exhibitions will be at Sokcho Beach in Gangwon Province and Hamdeok Beach in Jeju from July 30 through Aug. 1 to raise awareness for preservation of sea resources.For the photo exhibition, the forum is hold