Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said on her Facebook that she was originally booked for the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday.“My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed,” said Sandberg on her Facebook page. The social networking giant’s COO said she switched to a United Airlines flight in order to collect mileage for

The government said it will extend by six years its support for an ambitious project to transform the country’s southernmost island of Jeju into a global English education hub. During a committee meeting for Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Friday, the central government decided to continue its support for the project to create a global English education town on the resort island until 2021. It was supposed to be completed by 2015.In 2008, the government launched the eight-year project with

South Korea has temporarily suspended bidding for its next-generation fighter jet project, mainly due to none of the contenders meeting the preset budget limit, the state arms procurer said Friday.South Korea is pushing to buy 60 fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 jets starting from 2017. Vying for the project are Boeing’s F-15 Silent Eagle; Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth jet; and the Eurofighter Tranche 3 Typhoon from the European Aerospace Defense and Space Company. The Def

Seoul City councilors are pushing for the dismissal of Sejong Center CEO Bagh Inbae, a close associate of Mayor Park Won-soon, for mismanagement and feuds with staff. It is the first attempt by city representatives to remove a chief of the public performing arts center in its 35-year history. Bagh was appointed by the mayor in January last year. He has been under pressure to resign for causing discordance with the art team, increasing the budget deficit and disregarding the budget enforcement pr

Seoul City and Twitter Korea are working together to establish an online disaster information system using the city’s various accounts on the micro-blog service. Twitter Lifeline will provide real-time alerts, guidance and up-to-date news and information to citizens during an emergency, and people can also post notifications of their whereabouts and status through their smartphones, the city said. The two sides signed an agreement for the project on Wednesday.It will help authorities’ response a

Chinese citizens mourned the deaths of two teenage girls killed after a South Korean-owned passenger jet crashed at San Francisco airport Sunday as survivors recounted harrowing details of their tragic flight.Chinese nationals made up 141 of the 291 passengers aboard the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 which burst into flames after it landed short of the runway, injuring 182.The two dead were Chinese girls born in 1996 and 1997, state broadcaster CCTV said.As of Sunday afternoon the Chinese consulate

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 flag carrier, apologized Sunday over a crash landing of its passenger jet in the U.S., which killed at least two people and injured dozens of others.An Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul crashed and caught fire on the runway while landing at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. The Boeing 777 plane, which departed from Incheon International Airport west of Seoul, was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members, according to the airline.Seventy

Owners of South Korean conglomerates and their family members have pocketed a total of 469 billion won (US$411 million) in dividends over the past five years from affiliates owned by them, industry data showed on Sunday.Family-owned conglomerates, or chaebol, have been under fire in the country for their practice of granting profitable contracts to their affiliates owned by heads' children or relatives in a bid to avoid paying gift taxes on future transfers of wealth.Previously, laws did not reg

South Korea's Transport Ministry said on Sunday that two dead victims in the Asiana crash are Chinese nationals. The Asiana Airlines passenger jet carrying 307 people crashed upon landing at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens of others on board.The Boeing 777 plane, which departed from Shanghai, China and stopped over at Incheon International Airport, was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members.

South Korean government officials said Sunday they have formed a task force of diplomats and will also work with their U.S. counterparts in response to the crash of a South Korean passenger jet in San Francisco.The foreign ministry said its task force will be in contact with the South Korean consulate general in the U.S. city and other relevant local agencies to keep a tab on the developments after an Asiana Airlines Boeing jet crashed and caught fire as it landed at San Francisco International