President Lee Myung-bak’s only son will face questioning by a team of independent investigators Thursday as part of an escalating probe into his father’s now-scrapped retirement home plan.Lee Shi-hyung, 34, will be greeted by an army of TV cameramen, photographers and journalists anxious to catch the moment the president’s son faces the music. Confronted by the special investigative team, which his father reluctantly agreed to, he now must fight to clear his and his father’s name in a corruption

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon pledged Wednesday to continue to focus on improving the welfare of low-income citizens and better protecting the environment as he marks his first year in office Saturday.He took office by winning a by-election as an independent backed by grassroots civic groups and the main opposition Democratic United Party.“I took office at a time of a grand paradigm shift. We should build a creative economy that focuses on the quality of life and welfare, breaking away from the era

Lee Sang-eun, President Lee Myung-bak’s eldest brother, on Thursday returned home from an overseas trip as scheduled amid a widening probe by independent investigators into a property scandal ensnaring the first family. The 79-year-old chairman of automotive seat maker DAS, who is also involved in the scandal, had left for China on a business trip on Oct. 16, a day before the special investigative team sought a travel ban for him. He was scheduled to return Thursday. The special investigative te

South Korea ranked among the lowest group in the world in gender equality, a report showed Wednesday, indicating that it needs to step up efforts to bolster women‘s economic participation and their access to education.According to the report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), South Korea came in at 108th out of 135 countries it surveyed in terms of gender equality this year. The ranking was one notch lower than the previous year and it was also similar to countries such as the United Arab Emirat

Votes by merchant seamen working overseas are expected to cost the most, to tally at around 154,000 won (US$140) per person, compared with other ballots to be cast in December‘s presidential election, the government said Wednesday.That figure is about 26 times the average ballot cost, which is estimated to reach 5,830 won, according to officials at the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and the National Election Commission, the country’s election watchdog.About 40.5 million citizens

Korean police’s hours-long search for a man who had been reported missing by his girlfriend ended after it was revealed that he had lied to her about being chased by a man to go drinking with his friends.The 22-year-old, identified by his surname Shin, went drinking with five other friends in Seoul after finishing his part-time job on the night of Oct. 14. The drinking continued until 2 a.m. the next day but he did not answer his girlfriend’s repeated calls. Instead, he sent her a text message s

Marissa Mayer wants to revive the flagging fortunes of Yahoo Inc. by returning to its roots. The recently appointed CEO, a former Google executive who joined Yahoo in July, has been signaling a new technology-focused strategy for the company through her hires and acquisitions. Moving away from her predecessors’ focus on media content, Mayer has pledged to revamp the company’s email and search engine services, and tailor more services to mobile devices. Yahoo’s plan for revival pits it squarely a

Environmental policymakers from around the world on Tuesday confirmed their resolve to move forward with action on climate change at an upcoming U.N. conference in Doha, Qatar, at the end of the year.They wrapped up their two-day meeting in Seoul in preparation for the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, more widely called COP18.It brought some 200 participants, including ministers from 50 countries and UNFCCC Executive Secr