Korea’s police chief on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to Han Sang-kyun, the leader of the nation’s second-largest umbrella union currently seeking refuge at a Buddhist temple, to appear before officials by 4 p.m. Wednesday, warning of a forced entry and arrest if he refuses.Korean National Police Agency chief Kang Sin-myeong said that the police would “no longer tolerate Han’s evasion,” saying that the leader of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions “had led numerous illegal and violent protests

Ahead of the general elections slated for next April, the government and the ruling party are intent on strengthening their campaign front, with Cheong Wa Dae eyeing one particular figure to spearhead the job.It is considered a matter of time before Choi Kyung-hwan, the deputy prime minister, finance minister, a political heavyweight with experience in both state and parliamentary affairs and, more importantly, with unrivaled confidence bestowed by President Park Geun-hye, returns to his parliam

The accumulated wealth of the five richest South Koreans exceeds the gross domestic product of North Korea, recent data showed. According to a Bloomberg Billionaires report, five South Korean business tycoons were among the world’s 400 richest people as of Friday, with their combined wealth coming in at $36.4 billion (40.1 trillion won). That is 18.3 percent higher than North Korea’s 2014 nominal GDP of 33.9 trillion won ($28.8 billion). The five tycoons were Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee (

South Korea was elected to chair a U.N. human rights panel for a year, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Monday, boosting the expectation that it would play a more influential role in enhancing North Korea’s woeful human rights conditions.  Amb. Choi Kyong-lim  MOFAThe election came as the member nations of the Human Rights Council supported South Korea by consensus, Seoul officials said. Ambassador Choi Kyong-lim, who heads the country’s permanent mission in Geneva, Switzerland, will serve as the c

With South Korean youths struggling to get jobs amid the worsening employment rate, the nation’s higher education trend has been shifting toward practical courses like finance and engineering and away from liberal arts, which many job seekers have dismissed as irrelevant to their future careers. But Smith College president Kathleen McCartney believes otherwise. The head the leading liberal arts college in the U.S. stressed that what students learn through flexible curriculum provided by the libe

POCHEON, Gyeonggi Province ― At sunset on Oct. 28, a group of South Koreans gathered outside the gates of Rodriguez Live Fire Complex at Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, some 24 kilometers from the heavily guarded demilitarized zone. The numbers swelled into the hundreds, with the mostly middle-aged crowd from adjacent villages starting bonfires, singing songs and watching live dance performances. However, despite the seemingly festive atmosphere, hostility could be felt as villagers were there to ho

President Park Geun-hye on Monday called in the ruling Saenuri Party leadership to Cheong Wa Dae and urged them to speed up the legislation of pending bills on economy, labor reform and counterterrorism, calling them crucial to revitalizing the economy and protecting the people.“How will (you) face the people if you fail (to pass the pending bills) when you head into the general elections next year?” Park told Saenuri chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung and floor leader Rep. Won Yoo-cheol.“It is a make-o

Samsung Group will undertake a major business restructuring next year aiming to restore sluggish profits at Samsung Electronics and other key affiliates. Even though the flagship Samsung Electronics has posted improved earnings in recent quarters, the figures are still lower than those during its heyday in 2013. Analysts expect its operating profits to fall again below the 6 trillion won ($5.14 billion) mark in the fourth quarter. As part of the planned restructuring set to be announced Thursday

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Monday launched the process to retitle itself before the next general election, ridding itself of one of the most intricate names it has ever had.The party hinted that the new name would be something that can be abbreviated into its former and popular name “Democratic Party.”“Today, we officially started the revision process of our party name, NPAD,” Rep. Jung Byung-hun, a member of the party’s Supreme Council, said Monday.“The new name

Samsung Group said Monday that Samsung Electronics vice chairman and the group’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong could purchase up to 300 billion won ($260 million) new shares of Samsung Engineering, the troubled plant-making unit. In a board meeting on the day, Samsung Engineering decided to issue new shares worth 1.2 trillion won, or a total of 156 million shares, to improve its financial health. The plant builder suffered an operating loss of 1.52 trillion won during the third quarter of the year

The literary wonders of late Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-75) are unveiled to the public free of charge at the Seoul Museum of History until Feb. 21. A collaboration with the Odense City Museum in Denmark, the exhibition titled “I Belong to the World” showcases the classic writer’s artifacts, including his bed, manuscripts and hand-cut paper crafts, as well as artworks by Danish Queen Margrethe II and late American artist Andy Warhol (1928-87), who were inspired by Andersen.Visito