Prosecutors detained Lee Jong-chan, senior executive vice president of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., on Tuesday as part of a probe into a corruption scandal involving the company, parts suppliers and certifiers.Busan District Prosecutors’ Office is looking into allegations that JS Cable, a signal cable supplier, colluded with Saehan Total Engineering Provider Co., a certifier suspected of forging test certificates for parts used in nuclear reactors. Officials from KEPCO and its subsi

Tens of thousands of unionized workers of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. have voted in favor of striking, officials said Wednesday, setting the stage for a costly walkout after just one year since their last strike that cut into the carmakers’ vehicle output.Still, the unions are not allowed to down tools immediately as they were to meet with managements later in the day as part of the mandatory mediation by a state-run labor body.By law, a union cannot go on strike during mediation by t

A Chinese man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly kidnapping a South Korean boy and demanding ransom, a news report said Wednesday. The 31-year-old Chinese man, Huang Xinghai, was sentenced for the kidnapping of the 10-year-old boy last December, with two other accomplices receiving eight and seven years in prison each by a local court in Beijing, the Beijing-based Jinghua News reported. The Korean boy was released shortly after his parents reported the kidnapping to local pol

Prosecutors said Wednesday that they have apprehended a nephew of former President Chun Doo-hwan for questioning as part of their efforts to find concealed assets of the former military dictator convicted of taking bribes while in office in the 1980s.Lee Jae-hong, 57, a son of Chun's elder sister, is accused of managing Chun's properties worth 6 billion won ($5.36 million) hidden under borrowed names while running a mid-sized landscaping company, prosecutors said.Chun was ordered by the nation's

An executive of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., one of the country's leading builders, has been detained for further questioning on charges of creating huge slush funds while participating in a project to refurbish the country's four major rivers, prosecutors said Wednesday. The director-level executive, only identified by his surname Ok, was locked up Tuesday night shortly after a Seoul court approved the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant, they said.Ok is suspected of siphoning

A Korean man suspected to have contracted a new coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome died in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, a day after he was hospitalized for a severe fever, health officials in Seoul said Tuesday.MERS is part of a coronavirus family that, like SARS, can cause cold-like symptoms.The 53-year-old man, who worked at an aluminum factory construction site, died of vasodilatory shock, renal failure, breathing problems and acute pneumonia, according to doctors in the Midd

A scorching heat wave has killed 10 people in South Korea this summer, the health and welfare ministry said Tuesday, as the weather agency issued a heat advisory and heat warning for most parts of the country.The heave wave has gripped South Korea for weeks as temperatures topped 33 C in Seoul and other major cities.Temperatures have reached a record 39.2 C in Gimhae, near South Korea's second-largest city of Busan, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.A heat advisory is issued w

State prosecutors on Tuesday raided the properties of former President Chun Doo-hwan's relatives as part of intensive efforts to collect the massive amount of money he had illegally amassed while in office in the 1980s.Chun was ordered by the country's top court in 1997 to return to the state coffers the 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) he was found to have illegally accumulated during his military rule from 1980 to 1988. So far, the former dictator has paid only a quarter of the total, with s

Experts debated a controversial law designed to protect children from sexual abuse for its vague definitions and harsh punishment on those who own or circulate child pornography materials. Democratic Party Rep. Choi Min-hee, who proposed a revision to the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse regarding child pornography, held an open discussion with law professionals and culture critics on Monday.In the current bill, those who possess adult materials containing charac

A scorching heat wave has killed eight people in South Korea in recent months, the health and welfare ministry said Tuesday, as the weather agency issued a heat advisory and heat warning for most parts of the country.The heave wave has gripped South Korea for weeks as temperatures topped 33 C in Seoul and other major cities. Temperatures have reached a record 39.2 C in Gimhae, near South Korea's second-largest city of Busan, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.A heat advisory is

South Korea detected traces of Xenon, a chemical element usually found near recent nuclear activities, in the country's atmosphere in June, but it does not seem to have originated from North Korea, government sources said Tuesday.According to the sources, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety detected traces of the colorless, odorless noble gas on three occasions in June. Xenon is detected in trace amounts after nuclear bomb tests or other nuclear activities.After the findings, the government tr