The body of former opposition party lawmaker Kim Jong-yull was found Tuesday, a day after he is believed to have jumped off a bridge into the Han River in Seoul.Local police found Kim’s body by a dock near Seorae Island in Banpo-dong, southern Seoul. The location was about 10 meters away from the boat where Kim’s shoes were found on Monday.“We found Kim’s ID card in the clothes, and his family also identified the deceased as Kim,” an unnamed police official said.Kim, a former two-term lawmaker w

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's No. 2 shipping firm, said Tuesday that it swung to the black in the second quarter of the year from a year earlier, logging a profit for the first time in 10 quarters.Net profit reached 31.7 billion won (US$28.3 million) in the April-June period, compared with a loss of 158 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales rose 8.7 percent on-year to reach 1.83 trillion won in the second quarter. The company's operating loss narr

The former No. 1 and No. 2 officials of the national tax agency were indicted Tuesday on charges of accepting bribes worth about 300 million won (US$268,000) from food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group while in office, prosecutors said.Jeon Goon-pyo, 59, is accused of taking 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), they said.Je

Record heat waves have been baking East Asian countries including Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan due to a Pacific high pressure system. In South Korea, the scorching weather has killed at least six people and left hundreds sickened over the past week, Seoul officials said.Heat wave alerts have been issued in most parts of the country, with peak temperatures hovering around 35 degrees Celsius. Tropical nights have also continued as night temperatures stayed above 25 degrees. On Sunday, two elderl

Concerns are growing over the safety of Seoul Subway Line No. 3 after multiple cracks that could cause derailment were detected in train parts.According to Seoul Metro, operator of Line 3, and the labor union at the company, up to 70 cracks were found in most of the train cars’ bogie frames, which hold the wheels in place. The discovery was made during a safety checkup last month by a state-run agency. Cracks were found in 42 of the 59 train cars studied. However, the subway operator discarded o

South Korea's arms procurement agency on Monday approved a long-delayed plan to buy four aerial refueling tankers from 2017-19 to extend the operational range of the country's fighter jets. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it will open bidding for the project in February of next year and select a contractor in October in the same year. The project is estimated to cost over 1 trillion won (US$900 million), and the budget plan needs parliamentary approval to be implemente

Police said Monday they are searching for a former opposition lawmaker after hearing a report that he jumped off a bridge into the Han River in Seoul.According to the police, they began the search after receiving a call from an acquaintance of Kim that he got a mobile message from Kim at about 5:30 a.m. saying he wants to die.An empty vehicle and a pair of shoes belonging to Kim Jong-yull were found by police at a parking lot by the river and a nearby marina, officers said. A suicide note was la

The prosecution on Monday questioned former President Chun Doo-hwan’s brother-in-law in a widening probe into the former military strongman’s hidden assets. Investigators believe that Lee Chang-seok, brother of Chun’s wife Lee Soon-ja, played a crucial role in concealing massive slush funds of the former president’s family for nearly 30 years. Not only is he suspected of managing Chun’s slush funds, Lee also allegedly helped Chun’s children amass fortunes through illegal transfers of wealth.Lee

South Korea may be forced to take extreme measures to avoid a nationwide blackout Monday with six nuclear reactors still out of work for maintenance, the government said.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy earlier said the country's power reserve was expected to drop to as low as 1.8 million kilowatts during the peak hours of 2-5 p.m., far below what is considered a safe level of 4 million kilowatts.Conditions worsened after a 500,000-kw generator at a thermal power plant in Dangjin halte