A former top tax official accused of taking bribes from food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group while in office in 2006 admitted to the charges at a court hearing Tuesday.Jeon Goon-pyo, 59, allegedly accepted US$300,000 in U.S. bills from CJ Group officials in exchange for favors during a tax audit into the conglomerate in July 2006, shortly after he was named the commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS), prosecutors said.Jeon is further accused of taking a high-end watch worth 35 mil

South Korea's tax agency said Tuesday that it has ordered 11 individuals to pay about 71 billion won ($64.6 million) for evading due taxes through offshore paper companies.The move comes roughly three months after an independent Internet press organization disclosed a list of Korean nationals suspected of running paper companies in tax haven regions, including the British Virgin Islands.The National Tax Service reviewed the list and confirmed the identities of 267 Korean nationals, of which 39 w

Former President Chun Doo-hwan's second son was called in for questioning by prosecutors Tuesday over suspicions that he evaded taxes in a land transaction to turn a profit. It marks the first time that a child of Chun faced questioning since the prosecution office launched a probe team tasked with reclaiming the fortune of the former military dictator who was convicted of taking bribes while in office in the 1980s.Chun was ordered by the nation's top court in 1997 to return to state coffers aro

More than 1 in 5 Koreans in their early 20s may never get to meet their Mr. or Mrs. Right should the current trends continue, a study showed Tuesday.About 24 percent of men and 19 percent of women aged 20 in 2010 were expected to remain single until 45, according to the study released by the state-funded Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.People who remain single at the age of 45 and over are usually regarded as the non-married demographic.The chances are extremely low for people get

South Korea suffered the hottest summer on record this year, with the southern part of the country bearing the brunt of the scorching heat, the state weather agency said Monday.The Korea Meteorological Administration said the nation‘s average summer temperature came in at 25.4 degrees Celsius, 1.8 C higher than usual and the highest since the agency began gathering related data in 1973.The morning lows averaged 21.7 C this summer, the highest in 40 years, due to frequent tropical nights during w

The labor union of Seoul City’s public call center called off a general strike scheduled for Monday after reaching a wage agreement with their employers. Their companies agreed to raise the basic wage by 3 percent, provide 50,000 won ($45) in holiday bonus and exempt full-time union executives from work.The 120 Dasan Call Center is currently run by a consortium of three private agencies on behalf of the city government. More than 450 contract workers provide the 24-hour call service. About 150 w

Prosecutors on Monday raided the offices of DongA One Corp., a leading local flour milling company that belongs to former President Chun Doo-hwan's relative, on suspicion of laundering the secret funds of the military-backed ruler convicted of bribery while in office in the 1980s.Chun was ordered by the nation's top court in 1997 to return to state coffers some 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) he illegally accumulated through bribery from big businesses during his rule from 1980-88. Chun, who

South and North Korea on Monday started talks on how to ensure the smooth running of their joint industrial complex to prevent another interruption from political or other non-economic factors.The two Koreas agreed on Aug. 14 to reopen the suspended Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North Korean border city of the same name and inked a deal last Thursday to create a new joint committee that will oversee operations at the inter-Korean factory zone, which had been previously run by a North Korean

Nearly 3 out of 10 short-term foreign visitors to South Korea are believed to be staying here illegally, government data showed Sunday.According to data by the justice ministry, a total of 79,617 foreigners who came to South Korea on short-term tourist visas were staying here illegally as of July 31. The figure represents 28 percent of 285,378 foreigners who landed in South Korea on short-term tourist visas, the data showed. By country, 43.7 percent, or 34,852, of the illegal foreigners came fro

The average tuition fee at private kindergartens is 14 times higher than that of public preschools, according to a government survey. The Ministry of Education on Sunday released a comprehensive survey of 8,559 preschools across the country regarding costs, financial status, rules and law violations.The result showed that parents of children over age 5 attending private kindergartens pay 191,737 won ($173) per month on average, compared with 13,285 won for public ones.For 3-year-olds, private pr

An elderly South Korean male tourist was missing after falling off a cruise ship off the country's east coast Saturday, the coast guard said.The 75-year-old, identified only by his family name Jeong, fell overboard three kilometers northwest of Jumunjin, a port on the east coast, at around 2:50 p.m., it said.Coast Guard officials said they sent ships and a helicopter to the area to search for the missing man.The search was suspended due to darkness and will resume on Sunday, they said.Lee Dong-j