Kim Yang-gon, a top North Korean official in charge of cross-border affairs, was killed in a car accident, the North’s state media reported Wednesday, drawing attention to the impact of his death on inter-Korean relations. He was 73.Kim Yang-gon (Yonhap)The North’s Korea Central News Agency said that Kim, a secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party and director of the party’s United Front Department, died at 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday following the accident, without elaborating.T

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won has revealed that he “has a child with another woman” and plans to divorce his wife Roh Soh-yeong, personally putting an end to the speculations surrounding his shaky marriage.In a three-page letter to the daily Segye Ilbo, which was confirmed by SK Group on Tuesday, Chey said his marriage with Roh “had been falling apart over the past 10 years” despite “several efforts to restore the relationship.”  SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won and his wife Roh Soh-yeong. Yonhap

Years of bitter feuding between Hyundai Elevator, the nation’s leading elevator manufacturer, and Schindler Group, its No. 2 shareholder, resurfaced on Monday after a top Swiss envoy had a rare meeting with Cheong Wa Dae officials requesting the government’s intervention.According to local reports, Swiss Ambassador to Korea Jorg Al. Reding recently met An Chong-bum, senior presidential secretary on economic affairs, to ask South Korea’s top office to step in. He claimed that the Swiss firm has s

In South Korea where many family-run conglomerates hold the whip hand over much of the economy, the self-made billionaire Park Hyeon-joo’s bold step to create the country’s biggest brokerage has come into the spotlight after his successful bid to acquire KDB Daewoo Securities. Mirae Asset Financial Group chairman Park Hyeon-joo. (Yonhap)When a consortium of Mirae Asset Securities and Mirae Asset Global Investments was chosen as the preferred bidder to take over the country’s second-largest broke

India`s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shakes hands with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday. Modi arrived in Pakistan on Friday, his first visit as prime minister to this Islamic nation that has been India`s long-standing archrival in the region. (AP-YonhapISLAMABAD (AP) _ India's Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Pakistan on Friday, his first such trip as prime minister to this Islamic nation that has been India's long-standing archrival in the region.

After marathon 11-hour negotiations representatives of labor and the management of Hyundai Motor reached a tentative deal on wages Wednesday, ending months of internal conflicts that wobbled the nation’s largest automaker already facing lower-than-expected sales this year. Hyundai Motor president Yoon Gap-han (right) and labor union leader Park Yoo-ki leave after reaching a tentative agreement on wage and other labor issues in Ulsan, Thursday. (Yonhap)The two sides agreed to raise 85,000 won in

Kakao, Korea’s fast-sprawling mobile empire built on the omnipresent phone messaging service KakaoTalk, is in the public spotlight for fat paychecks. The KOSDAQ-listed firm was the highest-paying workplace among the top 100 companies by market capitalization in Korea last year, leading by a big margin a pack of older and larger corporate players such as Samsung Electronics.According to data compiled by CEO Score, an online business information provider, Kakao employees took home an average of 17

Rep. Yoo Il-ho. YonhapYoo Il-ho, the nominee for Korea’s top economic post of deputy prime minister and finance minister, has vowed to carry on the legacy of his would-be predecessor, but the road ahead may require more, due to the multiple challenges the economy faces.“The global economic environment now is not very favorable, and navigating the local economy against this global backdrop will be a tough job,” Yoo, 60, told reporters shortly after his nomination Monday. The nominee stressed cons

Lee Jae-yong pushes biotech as company’s next growth engine

"Star Wars" fever has spread through movie theaters around the globe, even reaching the White House, as the franchise yet again began toppling box-office records with waves of lightsaber-wielding fans.The Millennium Falcon in "The Force Awakens" (Disney Korea)Following a record $57 million from Thursday night showings in North America, and packed matinees on Friday, the Walt Disney Co. projected that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will surpass $215 million on the weekend, besting the record dome

By strongly resisting Cheong Wa Dae’s efforts to press the National Assembly to pass contentious bills, Speaker Chung Ui-hwa has remained true to his “guardian of legislation” nickname. On Wednesday, the veteran doctor-turned-politician flatly turned down the presidential office’s request to put disputed bills to a parliamentary vote, saying, “The current economic situation cannot be seen as a national emergency.” He said if he did so, he would be overstepping the law.Chung, who has never shied

The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation board decided on Tuesday to close its investigation into whether Iran once had a secret nuclear weapons programme, opting to support Tehran's deal with world powers rather than dwell on its past actions.In a symbolic victory for Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors passed a resolution ending its long-running inquiry but allowing inspectors to continue to police the country's nuclear programme. International Atomic Energy Agency D

“New politics” is a catchphrase that has helped Ahn Cheol-soo become the political figure he is today.This vision for new politics was the reason voters welcomed Ahn with open arms in the 2012 presidential election campaigns, despite his total lack of political experience. It was also a title he clung to when merging with the opposition camp last year.But now that years have passed since his grand political debut, the information technology guru-turned-politician leaves crucial questions to obse

Much-anticipated performances in China by a North Korean female propaganda troupe were canceled abruptly Saturday, sparking many rumors including one related to a possible friction between Beijing and Pyongyang over the latter’s nuclear program. The performances by the Moranbong Band were supposed to begin at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing at 7:30 p.m., but they were called off just three hours before. They were scheduled to continue three days from Saturday.Following the

Time magazine on Wednesday named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its person of the year for 2015, hailing her leadership during debt and refugee crises that threatened to tear the European Union apart.In power for a decade at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy, the world’s most powerful woman beat runners-up, the leader of the Islamic State extremist group and Donald Trump as Time’s dominant personality of the year.German Chancellor Angela Merkel. EPA-YonhapThe U.S. magazine lauded Merkel as t