South Korean authorities said Wednesday that they would summon two subway officials as part of the investigation into the train crash in Seoul that left hundreds injured last week. An eastbound train rear-ended another at Sangwangsimni Station on Line 2 on Friday allegedly due to a traffic signal error, injuring more than 240 passengers, with seven in serious condition. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will question two Seoul Metro traffic signal managers over whether they accurately reporte

Four out of 10 South Koreans are unwilling to shoulder the economic burden of potential unification with North Korea, a poll showed Wednesday.The survey of 1,001 people nationwide found that 44.3 percent of the respondents said they have no desire to pay a dime while 31.9 percent said they are willing to pay less than 50,000 won ($48) per year for unification.It also showed that 11.7 percent said they are willing to pay between 50,000 won and 100,000 won per year for unification costs. Only 1.2

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Three weeks after South Korea's ferry tragedy, the government on Wednesday said it miscounted the number of survivors, a stunning error and the latest of many missteps that have eroded the nation's confidence in its leaders.Coast guard chief Kim Suk-kyoon said only 172 people survived the April 16 sinking of the ferry Sewol – not 174, as the government had been saying since April 18. Kim said one of the survivors was accidentally listed twice, and he blamed the other mi

A 50-year-old man has been arrested on charges of spreading a rumor online that a South Korea-U.S. military drill was responsible for last month's deadly ferry sinking off South Korea's southwest coast, police said Wednesday.The suspect, identified only by his family name Shin, disseminated the rumor that "the ferry Sewol sank because it deviated from its course due to the joint South Korea-U.S. exercise," according to the National Police Agency.Shin posted the claim on an online bulletin board

Police on Tuesday raided more Seoul Metro offices over a subway collision that injured more than 240 people last week.Investigators seized documents and data on traffic signals from the mechanics department at its headquarters in Gangnam and annexes in Euljiro and Dongdaemun stations, police said. They also confiscated documents from a private firm in charge of entering signal data in the system, alleging that the accident was caused by a signal failure. “The operator changed signal data on Apri

The number of households in which children are raised by their grandparents has jumped sixfold in 20 years, data showed Tuesday.According to data collected by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of families in which grandparents raise children instead of their parents rose from some 3,800 in 1995 to more than 23,300 households in 2013. The number is expected to surpass 40,000 by 2023.The rise in the number of divorces and dual-income families contributed to the expansion of the particu

Consumption in South Korea is showing signs of slumping as last month's deadly ferry disaster is hurting the overall consumer sentiment, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday.The nation has been in deep mourning since the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank in waters off South Korea's southwestern island of Jindo on April 16, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing.People canceled festivals and gatherings in memory of those who lost their lives and their families. The confirmed death t

Eleven more bodies were retrieved from the sunken ferry Sewol on Monday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 259 and the number of those missing to 43, 19 days after the ship sank off South Korea's southwest coast.The bodies were found shortly after divers resumed their search inside the submerged vessel. Strong winds and high tides put operations on hold during the night.Divers have completed an initial search of 61 of the 64 compartments where people are expected to be found, officials said.T

A dozen more bodies were retrieved from the sunken ferry Sewol on Sunday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 248 and the number of those missing to 54, 19 days after the ship sank off South Korea's southwest coast.The bodies were found on the third and fourth decks as divers focused on searching 64 compartments considered more likely to hold missing passengers among the total of 111 compartments. As of Sunday, 61 compartments have been searched, officials said.After searching the remaining com