Thousands of ships took shelter in ports, ferry services were suspended and access to valleys and other risky areas was restricted on the southern island of Jeju as precautions Sunday as a powerful typhoon was approaching South Korea.Packing strong winds of 48 meters per second, Typhoon Sanba was moving northward at a speed of 26 kilometers per hour from about 80 kilometers off the southern Japane

A Japanese right-wing activist said Saturday he would not honor summons by Seoul prosecutors for him to appear for questioning over his alleged provocative act over South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.Nobuyuki Suzuki, known as a conservative activist, was sued by a group of former South Korean sex slaves for Japan's wartime soldiers for defamation in connection with a controversial wooden po

(Yonhap) -- Heavy rainstorms are forecast across the country this weekend as another major typhoon makes its way toward the Korean Peninsula, weather officials said Saturday.   Typhoon Sanba, positioned about 470 kilometers south-southeast of Okinawa, Japan, was traveling north-northwestward at a speed of about 18 kilometers per hour as of 9 a.m. Saturday, according to the Korea Meteorological Adm

Another powerful typhoon is quickly moving northward and expected to affect all parts of the country early next week, weather officials said Friday.Typhoon Sanba, positioned 830 kilometers south-south-east of Japan's Okinawa, was moving northward at a speed of about 19 kilometers per hour, packing maximum winds of 56 meters per second as of 3 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administrat

The parents of dozens of students attending foreign schools in Seoul were summoned for questioning over suspicions that the students gained admission based on fraudulent documents, prosecutors said Friday.The parents, including the 39-year-old wife of a lawyer working for one of the country's largest law firms, were questioned about submitting fabricated documents to falsely identify their childre

The ruling Saenuri Party presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye took steps aimed to end the controversy surrounding a scholarship foundation set up by her father late President Park Chung-hee that has received flak from her detractors.In an interview with a local daily, Park said criticism being lodged by her political opponents have effectively tarnished the image and purpose of the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation.The 60-year-old lawmaker, who won her party’s presidential candidacy on Aug. 20, then

Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating a large number of parents including “chaebol,” or conglomerate, families who used forged documents to enroll their children in schools for foreigners in Seoul.As many as 60 people who bought forged documents from a broker to meet the requirements for enrolling their children in a foreign school are being questioned. Under local regulations, children who have a parent with foreign citizenship are able to study at foreign schools. As foreign sc

Choi See-joong, the country's former communications chief and one of the closest confidants of President Lee Myung-bak, was sentenced Friday to a two-and-a-half year term in prison and 600 million won (US$536,834) in fines for accepting bribes from a local construction company in return for influence peddling.The 75-year-old Choi was arrested and indicted in May on charges of taking 800 million wo

South Korea will expand chemical castration to include those convicted of sex crimes against minors under 19 and retroactively apply the law on disclosing personal information of sex offenders, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Thursday.The measure follows growing calls for tougher punishment against sex offenders and stronger preventive measures, including the medical treatment program in the wake of a recent string of such violent crimes victimizing women and children.Under current law, t