The main opposition Democratic United Party on Tuesday announced two candidates to lead a special probe to determine if any laws were broken in the purchase of land for President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home. The party said former judge Lee Kwang-bum and civics rights lawyer Kim Hyoung-tae have been recommended to become the special prosecutor with the investigation set to start this month. President Lee has to choose one of the two candidates by Friday.“Both lawyers are fully qualified to be

The South Korean government will establish a foundation to support victims of Japan’s forced labor during that country’s colonial rule of the Korean peninsula and their bereaved families, officials of a committee handling the issue said Tuesday.The government has earmarked 1 billion won ($899,361) of budget to set up the foundation around early next year, with the budget proposal to be submitted to the National Assembly next month for approval, according to the forced laborer investigation commi

More than 100 young Korean political, business and social leaders from 22 countries launched a four-day meeting in Seoul on Tuesday to share their visions for overseas Korean communities and reinforce their cooperation. Organized by the state-run Overseas Korean Foundation and sponsored by the Foreign Ministry, the 15th Future Leaders’ Conference coincides with the Korean Day on Oct. 5. Since its founding in 1998, the annual event has provided a venue for networking between Korean entrepreneurs

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan issued an unusually sharp criticism Thursday of Japan's territorial claims and refusal to offer a sincere apology for its wartime atrocities.On a visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly's annual meeting, the minister made clear there will be "no compromise" on the matters unless Tokyo changes its attitude."Our position has always been firm and th

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan is expected to raise the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement Friday at the U.N. General Assembly for the first time.“The minister will refer to the importance of proper recognition of history and women’s human rights during wartime, though details are yet to be confirmed,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters Thursday.Three Asian powers are engaging in a diplomatic quarrel at the U.N. meeting in New York as Korean and Chinese diplomats ge

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Monday stressed the importance of promoting "correct history" at the United Nations.Kim said he discussed history issues in a bilateral meeting here with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi. The ministers are visiting New York to attend the 67th session of the U.N. General Assembly."We agreed with the need to publicize history, I mean correct history

Japan should resolve a long-standing grievance regarding Korean women forced to serve as sex slaves during World War II through a sincere apology and compensation, a senior Seoul official said Monday, refuting published remarks on the matter by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.The issue of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement of tens of thousands of Korean women for its front-line soldiers is

The Embassy of Ukraine in Korea held a reception to celebrate 21 years of independence and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Ukraine at Shilla Hotel, Thursday. Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea Vasyl Marmazov highlighted the fast pace of bilateral relations between his country and Korea, and the ever growing affinity between the peoples of Korea and Ukraine in his welcome remarks during the reception. Some 20,000 ethnic Koreans, dubbed “Koryo-saram,”

Central America encouraged Korea to launch negotiations for a free trade pact with its regional grouping, and pointed to the first half of next year as a target date at a reception on Wednesday celebrating the region’s collective Independence Day. Four of the five Central American nations that observe their independence day on the same date encouraged Korea to act on tying their nations closer with a trade pact as they celebrated 191 years of independence and 50 years of strong diplomatic ties w