The National Intelligence Service is reportedly investigating a venture businessman who allegedly helped North Korean hackers in China access South Korean internet servers. Intelligence agents on Tuesday searched the residence and three offices in Seoul of the suspect, head of an information technology company, identified only by the surname Kim, according to reports.Kim borrowed a server from another South Korean IT company and allegedly leaked some of the server’s IDs and passwords, as well as

South Korean non-governmental organizations (NGOs) started shipping out humanitarian aid to North Korea on Wednesday to help alleviate the plight of children and sick people in the impoverished country.The move comes after Seoul's unification ministry approved the shipment of goods earlier in the week as a sign that South Korea is open to offering urgent humanitarian assistance to the North in spite of sanctions on the North for its nuclear device detonation in February.The Korea Association of

South Korean intelligence officials are investigating a local IT company owner suspected of helping a North Korean hacker distribute malignant codes to South Korea, officials said Wednesday.The National Intelligence Service reportedly raided the home and offices of the South Korean businessman, identified only by his surname Kim, on Tuesday after obtaining a search warrant from a local court.Kim is suspected of sharing his office computer network with the North Korean hacker through which malici

A former chief of the national tax agency will be summoned this week over suspicions that he took bribes from CJ Group in return for providing favors during a tax audit into the local food and entertainment conglomerate in 2006, prosecutors said Wednesday.Jeon Goon-pyo, who headed the National Tax Service (NTS) from July 2006 to November 2007, has been notified to show up for questioning at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul on Thursday morning, they said.Jeon is un

Nagano Prefecture, Japan (Yonhap) -- Four South Korean climbers who went missing in inclement weather during a group mountaineering trip in Japan were found dead Tuesday in the mountain range, officials said.Local police earlier found the bodies of the four near mountain trails connecting Mount Hinokio and Mount Hoken in the Nagano prefecture, officials at the South Korean consulate general in Niigata said.The area is part of a mountain range commonly known as the Central Alps.The four, who are

An appellate court Tuesday ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to compensate the families of five former Korean employees who were subjected to forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule. In a retrial, the Busan High Court ruled that the engineering and aviation behemoth should provide each family with 80 million won ($72,000) in overdue salary and other damages. The ruling marked the second victory for former conscripted Korean laborers since they started litigation in the mid-1990s in Kore

Seoul City and private partners began to operate the largest solar power plant in the metropolis Tuesday as part of efforts to boost the electricity supply and increase the use of clean, renewable energy sources.The 5-megawatt plant marks the first phase of a joint project by the municipal government, chemicals and utility firm OCI, and environmental civic group Energy & Peace to build a combined 100-MW solar power stations in the city by 2014. The Amsa plant, located on a 76,800-square-meter si

State prosecutors on Tuesday raided the residence of a former chief of the national tax agency and its Seoul regional office as part of their investigation into an alleged bribery exchange between CJ Group and former top tax officials.After indicting CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun of embezzlement and offshore tax evasion charges, prosecutors have been expanding their probe into suspicions that the local food and entertainment conglomerate provided bribes to former chief Jeon Gun-pyo and former d

Three of five missing South Korean climbers were found dead in the Central Alps in central Japan Tuesday, officials said.A 78-year-old man named Park Moon-soo was confirmed as one of the three dead, officials at the South Korean consulate general in Niigata said, adding that they are still waiting for the exact identities of the other two."Park's identity has been confirmed," a consulate general official said, adding that a passport in the name of Lee Soo-keun was found inside a backpack next to

Prosecutors said Monday they banned former National Tax Service Commissioner Jeon Goon-pyo from leaving the country pending an investigation into allegations that he received bribes from CJ Group. Jeon, who served as the NTS chief from July 2006 to Nov. 2007, is alleged to have received illegal money and a luxury watch from CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun in return for shielding the group from tax inspections. The prosecutors investigating the case are said to have obtained testimony from Lee and

Some district offices in Seoul plan to designate streets near colleges as nonsmoking zones. Smoking will be prohibited on a 250-meter pedestrian street in front of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, eastern Seoul, from next year, a Dongdaemun-gu Office official said Monday. This is the first time that a smoking ban has been imposed on university streets. In 2003, the 250-meter walkway in front of Sungshin Women’s University, northeastern Seoul, was named a smoke-free zone, but it was not lega

Seoul City is looking to stop providing child care support from October due to a growing budget deficit, reports said Monday.The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been citing concerns about the growing financial burden of providing “free child care,” which is one of the key welfare plans of President Park Geun-hye’s administration. Child care services have been expanded to all children age 5 and under starting this year. Previously, the government provided state subsidies to families in the bott