Nation’s largest Buddhist order demands prosecution investigate allegationThe nation’s largest Buddhist order on Tuesday lambasted the Lee Myung-bak administration over allegations that its top officials were placed under illegal surveillance by the defunct ethics division of the Prime Minister’s Office. According to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the team spied on Ven. Boseon, chief of its central council, and Ven. Jikwan, head of the order’s administrative body, between 2005 and 2009.“It

CUSCO, Peru (Yonhap News) ― The families of four of the 14 people killed in a recent helicopter crash in Peru arrived in the South American country Monday as local police stepped up efforts to identify the bodies, including those of eight South Koreans.The bereaved family members of South Koreans Kim Hyo-jun, 48, and Woo Sang-dae, 39, flew into the southeastern city of Cusco, where the bodies lie in a morgue.The two men were among a group of construction and engineering officials sent last week

The families of four of the 14 people killed in a recent helicopter crash in Peru arrived in the South American country Monday as local police stepped up efforts to identify the bodies, including those of eight South Koreans.The bereaved family members of South Koreans Kim Hyo-jun, 48, and Woo Sang-dae, 39, flew into the southeastern city of Cusco, where the bodies lie in a morgue.The two men were

The International Atomic Energy Agency gave on Monday a green light to the country’s oldest nuclear power reactor to continue operation after a week-long safety check. Civic groups protested the inspection result, calling for a permanent shut-down of the plant which suffered a blackout in early February.The U.N. nuclear watchdog announced that the Kori No.1 reactor in the northern part of Busan was satisfactory in a series of safety tests carried out by a team of international experts.“The Kori

Police are investigating a large-scale cyber attack on the JoongAng Ilbo that crippled its servers and website on Saturday.Some raised suspicions of North Korean involvement as the incident followed its threat to attack major media companies in the South. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the incident took place from around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday when one of the two main domains of the newspaper, www.joongang.co.kr, shut down. When accessed, a picture of a white cat grinning and

South Korea's public rail and airport authorities ranked top in terms of international competitiveness in 2011 for the service they offered to users, a government report showed Monday.The report by the finance ministry showed the country's KTX bullet trains outperformed overseas rivals in timely operations according to data published by International Railway Statistics. It said the KTX, run by Kor

Peruvian rescue officials said Sunday they have recovered the bodies of all 14 people killed in a helicopter crash last week, including those of eight South Koreans.The wreckage of the ill-fated helicopter was discovered Saturday on Mama Rosa mountain at about 4,950 meters above sea level near Coline in southern Peru.The chopper had gone missing Wednesday while returning from a trip to a potential

The prosecution said Sunday that it has decided not to press charges against President Lee Myung-bak’s son and others accused of irregularities in the process of purchasing Lee’s retirement residence. Concluding their five-month investigation, officials at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said they found no sign of illegality in the purchase of a 2,600-square-meter plot in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul. None of the seven accused, including Si-hyeong, Lee’s 34-year-old son, and Lim Ta

Eight South Koreans who went missing after their helicopter crashed into a mountain in Peru last week are presumed to have been killed, officials said Saturday. The Peruvian military and police conducted an aerial search and discovered the wreckage of the helicopter at about 4,950 meters above sea level near Coline in southern Peru, according to an official at the South Korean Embassy in Lima.All

MEXICO CITY -- The Peruvian military and police are ready to send in rescue teams to find a helicopter carrying eight South Koreans that went missing earlier in the week, a diplomatic source said Friday.The South Korean Embassy source in Lima said a 21-person air rescue team is on standby so they can be sent in by helicopter to the Hualla Hualla region where the ill-fated S-58 chopper may have cra