The team of special prosecutors looking into President Lee Myung-bak’s controversial retirement home project questioned on Friday two real estate agents who handled the purchase of the land.The scandal centers around a deal last year by Lee‘s only son Si-hyung and the presidential security service to jointly purchase a plot of land in an affluent Seoul neighborhood for a retirement home for President Lee and auxiliary facilities for security personnel.The younger Lee, however, is under suspicion

South Korea and China are moving to introduce a one-strike out system for their fishing boats caught fishing illegally in the other country's territorial waters, the Seoul government said Thursday.Currently, boats caught while fishing illegally in the other country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) are banned from entering the other country's EEZ for three years.The so-called one-out, three-year sys

KUWAIT CITY ― Some 300 policymakers from Asian countries and major oil producers assembled in Kuwait on Tuesday to boost cooperation in tackling the prolonged economic crisis and other regional and global issues. The two-day Asia Cooperation Dialogue provides the stage for networking between officials from member countries and discussions on economy, culture, environment, food security, disaster response and other issues, organizers said. The annual forum invited its 32 member countries includin

The Polish Embassy in Korea, the Warsaw-based Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Nowy Theatre brought “(A)pollonia,” a powerful work inspired by a documentary about the Holocaust, to Seoul for three performances during the 12th Seoul Performing Arts Festival (SPAF) at Arko Arts Theater in the theater district of Daehangno.This year’s festival brought 27 works from 12 countries around the world in the areas of dance, theater and musical and multi-genre performances. SPAF is considered the foremost per

The “12th Italian Language Week” starts Monday and continues through Oct. 22 in Seoul, Busan and Daegu, said Lucio Izzo, director of the Italian Cultural Institute.Organized by the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Korea, “Italian Language Week” also takes place in more than 100 countries around the world.It was first launched 12 years ago by the Italian government to promote the nation’s culture and language. This year it focuses on regional cultures as the founding element

Senior officials and business leaders of major African countries will gather in South Korea next week to discuss cooperation and joint business opportunities, the foreign ministry said Saturday. South Korea and the African Union (AU) will jointly hold the Korea Africa Economic Cooperation Conference (KOAFEC) in Seoul from Oct. 15-18, bringing 150 ministers and heads of 18 African nations and inter

South Korea plans to conduct a worldwide survey of maps next year to assess how they describe the names of its easternmost islets of Dokdo and the East Sea, the waters separating it from Japan, an official said Friday. The planned survey comes as diplomatic tensions with Japan have escalated in the past months after President Lee Myung-bak made an unprecedented visit in August to Dokdo, which is also claimed by Tokyo. Lee cited Japan’s unrepentant attitude for its brutal colonial rule of the Kor

Deputy Secretary William J. Burns will travel to Seoul next week to hold a series of meetings with South Korean officials on regional and global issues, the State Department said Thursday.Burns is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Monday after a two-day trip to Tokyo."Deputy Secretary Burns will travel to Seoul October 15 to meet with senior South Korean officials and to participate in the U.S.-ROK