Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo came under fire Monday after reversing his claim that the government possesses documents to corroborate North Korea’s suspected rerouting of income from a joint industrial park for military uses. The diversion allegation served as the primary grounds for Seoul’s decision to pull out from the Gaeseong factory complex last Wednesday. Since the district’s establishment in 2004, South Korean cash totaling 616 billion won ($511.4 million) has been transferred mainly

President Park Geun-hye will deliver a special speech to the nation at the National Assembly on Tuesday, calling for unity amid heightening inter-Korean strife following military provocations by the North.Having come under fire from progressive critics for her hard-line policies, Park is expected to blame the parliament, urging the parties to expedite the passage of key bills.“President Park has requested to be given the floor at the National Assembly to deliver a speech to the nation, calling t

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- During the three decades he spent on the bench, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia embodied the values conservative America holds most dear, from defending the traditional family, to religion and patriotism.The longest-serving justice on the current court, and its first ever Italian-American, Scalia was eulogized after his passing Saturday, aged 79, as a towering figure of intellectual rigor -- with powerful personal convictions to match.President Barack Obama led the tribu

Escalating tensions between the two Koreas is adding more pressure on North Korea-related business operator Hyundai Group, which is already struggling to save its shipping unit from a deepening liquidity crisis. In response to a recent nuclear test and rocket launch by the North, South Korea on Thursday announced its withdrawal from the Gaeseong industrial park, the last remaining symbol of economic cooperation between the two nations. Workers walk pass a glass door at Hyundai Asan headquarters

One hundred-twenty four South Korean companies that have been producing garments, shoes and watches in North Korea’s border city have become casualties of the unfinished Cold War on the Korean Peninsula, as renewed tensions between the two sides led to a sudden shutdown of a factory complex. North Korea on Thursday said that it was freezing all South Korean assets in Gaeseong Industrial Park and that its military was taking over control of the factory complex which it has been running jointly wi

North Korea’s long-range rocket launch on Sunday reaffirmed Pyongyang’s evolving missile technology, though it has yet to complete much tougher tasks such as acquiring miniaturization and atmospheric reentry technologies.　Seoul’s Defense Ministry said that the three-stage rocket that the North fired on Sunday appears to have a range of some 12,000 kilometers -- far enough to strike the U.S. mainland. 　It also noted that Pyongyang had put a satellite into orbit for the second consecutive time --

The US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, one of the biggest trade deals in history, was signed in New Zealand on Thursday as protestors demonstrated over fears for jobs and sovereignty.   The ambitious deal, promising the elimination of nearly all tariffs among the 12 member nations, aims to break down trade and investment barriers between countries accounting for about 40 percent of the global economy. Andrew Robb, Minister for Trade and Investment (L) is welcomed with a local Maori elder as the M

DES MOINES, Iowa - The US presidential race looked suddenly wide open Tuesday after frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton suffered chastening evenings in Iowa, the first step on the long road to the White House.It was a particularly humbling experience for Trump, who cut a forlorn figure after Republican arch-rival Ted Cruz streaked to victory in the Iowa caucuses, staking his claim as the new standard bearer for the conservative camp going on to New Hampshire. And if Clinton was in any

The Culture Ministry has accepted the resignation of Bang Suk-ho, president & CEO of Arirang TV, Korea’s state-run English satellite and cable broadcaster. Bang submitted his resignation to the ministry on Monday after local media reported allegations of misuse of the company funds during his overseas trips last year. The ministry will continue its probe into the allegations, which began late Monday night, his resignation notwithstanding. “Bang is currently under investigation. The ministry will

With the incumbent National Assembly embroiled in unending bipartisan and factional feuds, while still failing to draw out an electorate map with just three months left to the elections, it seems less-than-political people, and even controversial figures, believe they can do a better job.Reflecting the public’s fatigue over such political vices, a considerable number of “unlikely” people have decided to join in the parliamentary race this year, vowing to realize the changes that conventional pol

Ruling Saenuri Party chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung once again talked his way into trouble last week, with his latest comment that South Korea’s low fertility should be tackled by bringing in more Chinese immigrants of Korean descent.It was not the first time an off-the-cuff remark by Kim to put him at the center of political controversy, as he faces the daunting task of overcoming an escalating factional standoff over the party’s nomination rules for the April elections.“Korea, which has an ethnic

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a U.S. man to 20 years in jail for murdering a South Korean college student nearly two decades ago in the Itaewon murder case. The Seoul Central District Court found Arthur John Patterson, 37, guilty of stabbing Cho Joong-pil, 22, to death in 1997 at a Burger King outlet in Itaewon, a multicultural district frequented by expats. Arthur Patterson (Yonhap)The court recognized Edward Lee, 37, as an accomplice for the murder, but did not convict him according to Kor

Samsung Electronics on Thursday warned of weaker earnings this year amid slowing demand for consumer electronics, especially its mainstay smartphones.In a regulatory filing, the Korean tech giant said its fourth-quarter net profit fell 40 percent to 3.2 trillion won ($2.7 billion) from a year ago despite a 16 percent gain in operating profit to 6.14 trillion won. A Samsung Electronics sign stands at the company’s Seoul headquarters. YonhapFor the whole year, the company posted 200.6 trillion won

On Nov. 11, 2010, with just 10 minutes for the stock market to close in Seoul, three traders in Hong Kong dumped 2.4 trillion won ($2 billion) worth of Korean shares, triggering a 2.7 percent drop on the country’s main KOSPI index. The massive and coordinated sell-off by Deutsche Bank employees wiped out 28 trillion won in value from Korea’s equity market, but those involved in the transaction made a combined profit of 44.9 billion won through derivative positions they had arranged in advance. M