Parties to ratify Korea-EU FTA WednesdayParties will hold a provisional session on Wednesday to pass the disputed Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement bill, on which they failed to reach an agreement during the April plenary session.In a last-minute debate on Monday, parties agreed to ban the location of large supermarkets within the 1 kilometer radius of small traditional markets, instead of the previou

The recent increases in Korean stock prices have boosted the number of child millionaires who are members of chaebol families.The number of under-12 children with assets of more than 100 million won ($95,000) totaled 87 as of April 29, according to chaebol.com, an Internet site specializing in information on family-owned conglomerates.The number increased from last year’s 79.Of them, 23 kids were

N. Korea rated worst in press freedomNorth Korea was rated the worst country in terms of press freedom, according to a report by Freedom House, a U.S.-based non-governmental human rights body, on Monday.Among the 196 countries studied last year, North Korea’s ranking was the lowest. South Korea’s was 70th, a slight fall from last year’s 67th, according to the report.The organization also lowered i

South Korea's central bank says the country's foreign reserves have topped $300 billion for the first time as the nation's key buffer against potential financial turmoil surged to its fourth straight record high.The Bank of Korea said in a statement Tuesday that the nation's official foreign reserves totaled $307.20 billion at the end of April. That was $8.58 billion higher than the previous recor

Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Monday sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama to show his support for the U.S. fight against terrorism, after U.S. forces killed a long sought-after terrorist, the presidential office here said.In the letter, Lee said the killing of al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden was "an important accomplishment" in Obama's attempt to eradicate terrorism, according to C

The Korean parliament will discuss the ratification of Seoul's free trade deal with the European Union (EU) at a plenary session this week, a lawmaker said Monday, after rival parties agreed on related issues.Rep. Lee Koon-hyon of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) said the National Assembly will discuss ratifying the free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU this Wednesday. Last week, a parliamen

The Seoul government on Monday said it will pay 300,000 won per month for pre-school education of 5-year-olds from 2016, extending the state-funded compulsory education period by a year to 10 years.Currently, public elementary (six years) and middle school (three years) education in Korea is free, whereas the government provides 177,000 won per month for pre-school education or childcare of 5-year