Over 100 journalism professors nationwide issued a public statement blasting the government Thursday for allegedly attempting to control the press.Their statement came as journalists at KBS, the country’s largest broadcaster, has boycotted their news production in protest to KBS president Gil Hwan-young supposedly interfering in favor of the government.“The press regulation that took place during the military dictatorship of the past is once again happening right now,” the 137 professors said. “

SHANGHAI,  (AFP) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a veiled warning to the United States on Wednesday, saying countries should not build up military alliances in Asia, even as Beijing feuds with several neighbours.Speaking at an Asian regional security forum in Shanghai, Xi said a rising China would seek "peaceful" means to resolve territorial disputes.Beijing has sought to counter Washington's foreign policy "pivot" to Asia, but it has also irritated Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines -- t

Two labor unions of the nation‘s largest broadcaster KBS on Wednesday began a vote to decide whether to carry out a full-scale strike, calling for their company president to step down. KBS journalists have been boycotting their news production since Monday, demanding the broadcaster’s president Gil Hwan-young resign for allegedly interfering in news reporting in favor of the government.The unions, boasting some 2,500 and 1,200 members respectively, said they will hold the vote until Tuesday next

Koreans will be allowed to use their i-PIN online identification numbers for offline authentication as well, instead of their resident numbers, the government said Wednesday.The new service, temporarily dubbed “my-PIN,” is aimed at minimizing use of the resident registration numbers and ultimately reducing data theft, according to the Ministry of Security and Public Administration.Starting Aug. 7, all companies and nearly all public institutions will be prohibited from collecting resident number

SHANGHAI (AP) -- China signed a long-awaited, 30-year deal Wednesday to buy Russian natural gas worth $400 billion in a financial and diplomatic boost to diplomatically isolated President Vladimir Putin. Negotiations on the price for the gas had continued into the final hours of a two-day visit by Putin to China, during which the two sides had said they hoped to sign a deal. The agreement calls for Russia's government-controlled Gazprom to supply state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. with 3

The death toll from last month's deadly ferry sinking rose to 288 on Wednesday as divers recovered one more body from the submerged hull during an early morning search, officials said. A female body was retrieved from the sunken ferry Sewol, lowering the number of those still missing from the maritime accident to 16, according to officials of the government accident settlement team in charge of the search efforts. The 6,825-ton ferry carrying an estimated 476 people, mostly high school students,

Prosecutors entered a church retreat Wednesday to find and detain the de facto owner of a sunken ferry Sewol who has refused to appear for questioning over corruption allegations. A group of some 70 prosecutors and investigators, armed with court-issued warrants, entered the premise belonging to the Evangelical Baptist Church, where Yoo Byung-eun was suspected of hiding, around noon in Anseong, just south of Seoul. Yoo remains an influential founding member of the religious sect.Yoo -- an entrep