SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik headed to the United States Wednesday to meet U.S. officials and members of Congress over the allies' joint stance on North Korea and other issues.During his six-day visit to Washington and New York, Yu plans to exchange views on

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- The floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) Wednesday opposed using the Assembly speaker's authority to pass the long-pending free trade deal with the United States on the floor, saying a unilateral passage would cause distrust in party politics.Since the U.S.

DP demands Lee’s promise to renegotiate ISD clause with ObamaThe Grand National Party on Tuesday was moving to have a floor vote on whether to ratify a free trade agreement with the U.S., as a parliamentary subcommittee was unable to deliberate the bill due to physical obstruction from the opposition. According to reports, GNP leaders were discussing ways to have the FTA bill by-pass the foreign affairs and trade committee. The committee delayed handling of the bill to Wednesday, after oppositio

Investigators seek to stamp out corruption to protect small-sum depositorsProsecutors are investigating possible corruption at regional agricultural cooperatives, turning their focus away from local savings banks amid concerns that co-op irregularities could impact the livelihoods of citizens.Investigators recently discovered that a cooperative in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province raked in tidy sums after it illicitly raised its interest rates without consent from borrowers, sources at the Supreme Pro

S. Korean leader to speak on cooperation at St. Petersburg State UniversityPresident Lee Myung-bak arrived in St. Petersburg on Tuesday for summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during which the two are expected to discuss a natural gas pipeline project and North Korea.Lee has since September expressed a strong intent to bring about a preliminary deal signed between the Korea Gas Corp. and Russia’s Gazprom in 2008 to pipe Siberian natural gas from Vladivostok to South Korea via the

DP demands Lee’s word on ISD deletion The Grand National Party on Tuesday was moving to have a floor vote on whether to ratify a free trade agreement with the U.S., as a parliamentary subcommittee was unable to deliberate the bill due to strong opposition objections. According to reports, GNP leaders were discussing ways to have the FTA bill by-pass the foreign affairs and trade committee. The committee delayed handling of the FTA ratification bill to Wednesday, after opposition members physical

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's point man on North Korea policy said his government is planning to set up a fund as early as this year to start raising 55 trillion won ($49.4 billion) to help pay for its eventual reunification with the North. "Government agencies are near an agreement o

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- The government will provide free respite care service to aged and ailing veterans and patriots under a bill that the Cabinet approved Tuesday to improve the welfare of those people, officials said.Under the program, caregivers will visit homes of veterans and patriots who a

SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- Salaries of workers at South Korea's state-run companies and other public institutions will likely grow about 2.5 percent next year, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said that it will hold a meeting next week and produce guidelines on which such public agenci

President Lee Myung-bak will hold summit talks next week with Vietnamese President Trong Tan Sang, who will make a three-day state visit, Lee’s office said Monday.The two leaders will exchange views on bilateral cooperation in foreign policy, security, energy and resource development as well as economic and trade ties at the summit next Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release. During his visit, Sang is scheduled to visit Korea’s industrial facilities, meet with Korean business leaders to

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's first-ever female prime minister was acquitted on Monday of receiving illegal political funds, a decision expected to help her clear barriers to her political aspirations.Han Myeong-sook, who worked as prime minister between 2006 and 2007 under the late liber

President Lee Myung-bak is set to leave for St. Petersburg Tuesday to hold summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev before heading to Cannes to attend the G20 Summit.At the summit with Medvedev on Wednesday, Lee will discuss bilateral cooperation while talks are underway between the Korea Gas Corp. and Russia’s Gazprom, as well as between Gazprom and its North Korean counterpart on piping Siberian gas to South Korea via North Korea.Lee will fly over to Cannes, France, later Wednesday