A sentencing for the convicted chairman of one of the country’s largest conglomerates, SK Group, in an appeals trial has been postponed to Sept. 13, court officials said Wednesday.Chey Tae-won, 53, is currently undergoing appeals after being sentenced to four years behind bars by a lower court in January for embezzling nearly 50 billion won ($45 million) in company funds to make personal investments in stock futures and options.The Seoul High Court had originally planned to deliver the verdict o

It was a night like no other. The cold West Sea waters below deck continued their slow, steady rhythm while the 104 sailors on the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan were unaware their gray armored ship would sink, killing 46 of them.What should have sunk with the ship on that more-than-breezy night of March 26, 2010, did not, however: a divisive national debate as to who, or what had caused the debacle. Official statements from the South Korean government, a multinational investigation team an

Australia’s Macquarie Group and other large shareholders will withdraw from the subway business in Seoul after a year-long dispute over fares, city officials said Wednesday. Three Korean insurance companies, including a major life insurer, will take over the controversial Seoul Metro Line 9 Corp. owned by a consortium of Macquarie Korea Asset Management Co. and Hyundai Rotem. The potential investors are expected to inject around 700 billion won ($630 million) while not being directly involved in

Rival political parties on Wednesday agreed on a list of witnesses they will summon for a parliamentary probe into the state spy agency's alleged meddling in last year's presidential election.The agreement comes after weeks of wrangling between rival parties over who should stand as witnesses and how to ensure their appearance at the hearings.The probe, which began early last month, aims to uncover the truth behind allegations that the National Intelligence Service(NIS) conducted an online smear

The chief of Woongjin Group, a troubled mid-size conglomerate, has been charged with fraudulently issuing commercial paper worth around 119.8 billion won ($107 million) to avoid bankruptcy, prosecutors said Wednesday.Yoon Seok-keum, the group‘s founder and chairman, allegedly orchestrated the commercial paper issuance worth 100 billion won under the name of the group’s parent company from July to August of last year even with prior knowledge that the group had lost its ability to pay back its de

A sentencing for the convicted chairman of one of the country's largest conglomerates, SK Group, in an appeals trial has been postponed to Sept. 13, court officials said Wednesday.Chey Tae-won, 53, is currently undergoing appeals after being sentenced to four years behind bars by a lower court in January for embezzling nearly 50 billion won (US$45 million) in company funds to make personal investments in stock futures and options.The Seoul High Court had originally planned to deliver the verdict

A group of Navy officers and families of fallen soldiers will seek a court injunction against a controversial documentary that casts doubts on a multinational team's conclusion that North Korea was responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan warship, a senior official said Wednesday."Project Cheonan Ship," which is directed by independent filmmaker Baek Seung-woo and produced by Chung Ji-young, challenges the South Korean government's claim that the North is responsible for torpedoing a navy vess

Former President Chun Doo-hwan, who owes 220 billion won ($196.8 million) to state coffers, had inherited massive personal assets before taking office in the 1980s, a close aide claimed Tuesday.Chun was ordered by the nation‘s top court in 1997 to return the funds to the state coffers, which he was found to have illegally accumulated through bribery from big businesses during his military rule from 1980 to 1988.“Political funds played no role in increasing Chun’s assets, as he had inherited a lo

The government announced a comprehensive package of measures Tuesday to cultivate creative manpower considered essential in realizing President Park Geun-hye’s “creative economy” vision.Under the measures announced jointly by the ministries of science, education and labor, the government will offer more career education at primary and secondary schools so students can discover their given talent to help decide which type of jobs they want to have in the future.The government will also build a sy

Children consume most of their caffeine intake from soda while adults consume the stimulant mostly from instant coffee mix, a study showed Tuesday.According to a report released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, soda topped the contribution level of caffeine in children aged 8 to 13 at 64 percent, followed by mixed drinks and ice cream, with 20 percent and 5 percent, respectively. The contribution level of caffeine in adults was 71 percent from coffee mixes, followed by coffee extracts se

Medical experts on Tuesday criticized health authorities for what they described as a laidback response to a deadly antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday confirmed that a total of 63 patients were infected with OXA-232-type carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae, or CPE, which is known to resist even strong antibiotics. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, however, said on Monday that the bacteria was not as “lethal” as similar

Former President Chun Doo-hwan, who owes 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) to state coffers, had inherited massive personal assets before taking office in the 1980s, a close aide claimed Tuesday.Chun was ordered by the nation's top court in 1997 to return the funds to the state coffers, which he was found to have illegally accumulated through bribery from big businesses during his military rule from 1980 to 1988."Political funds played no role in increasing Chun's assets, as he had inherited a

A recent survey found that almost 70 percent of South Korean women feel unsafe from sexual violence, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration said Friday. In a survey conducted on 1,000 adults, 1,000 middle and high school students and 100 experts in the field, 66.9 percent of adult women and 67.9 percent of female students expressed their fears about becoming a victim of sexual assault.The poll also found that citizens and experts differ on why women are at risk.Around 62.6 percent of

The Seoul Central District Court on Monday issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the country's leading newspaper on charges of embezzlement and neglect of duty. Chang Jae-ku, chairman of the Hankook Ilbo, is suspected of having inflicted losses of 20 billion won (US$17.94 million) and 10 billion won to the daily and its economic affiliate Seoul Economic Daily, respectively, and having taken 13 billion won from the economic paper's coffer. It is the first time for a media owner to have been a