Chong Jong-sup, the home affairs minister who took office Thursday, confronts the daunting challenge of revamping the public sector.The former constitutional scholar, entrusted with the task of regaining the public’s trust via governmental reforms, vowed to put his efforts into ensuring that accidents like April’s deadly sinking of the Sewol will not happen again. The ferry sank off the country’s southwestern island of Jindo on April 16 and left over 300 dead or missing, most of them high school

Former Saenuri Party chairman and pro-Park Geun-hye heavyweight Rep. Hwang Woo-yea is generating mixed reactions as President Park continues to struggle with her personnel selections. Past precedents indicate that Hwang will not face much trouble in passing the parliamentary confirmation hearing. So far, no lawmaker tapped for a Cabinet position has been blocked by the hearings. However, his track record is raising ire among the opposition parties. The five-term lawmaker’s tenure as the ruling p

Rep. Kim Moo-sung, who was elected as the chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party at a national convention on Tuesday, is in for a raft of challenges, to say the least. Both sides of the political spectrum have high expectations for his tenure, in the long term, and his role in the July 30 by-elections, in the short term. Kim’s actions are expected to vary greatly from those of his predecessor Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, who was criticized for trying to please President Park Geun-hye while being too indeci

LOS ANGELES (Yonhap) ― Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers earned his 10th victory of the season after tossing six shutout innings against the San Diego Padres at home on Sunday.In his final start before the All-Star break, Ryu left the game after six innings with the Dodgers leading 1-0. Ryu allowed only two hits and struck out a season-high 10 batters before handing things over to Brandon League to start the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium.Ryu entered the day with a 9-5 record and a 3.65

Whenever the fictional city of Gotham finds itself threatened by thugs, gangsters and psychopathic killers who are too much for its police force to cope with, the helpless city lights a distress signal calling for reinforcement.A man in a dark suit of armor with high-tech military gadgets races to save the city he has unconditionally sworn to protect from further falling into disgrace stemming from rising social injustice and disparity.Batman has been portrayed as a symbol of hope since his ince

Former police officer Kwon Eun-hee has returned to the spotlight with her nomination as a New Politics Alliance for Democracy candidate fueling heated debate within and outside the progressive bloc.Kwon was nominated for Gwangju’s Gwangsan-B constituency on Wednesday, about a month after she left the police force. Kwon shot to fame last year when she claimed that former Seoul police chief Kim Yong-pan suppressed the investigation into National Intelligence Service’s alleged attempt to influence

Miroslav Klose found perhaps the only way to make matters worse for Brazil. On a night when Germany routed the host nation 7-1 in the World Cup semifinals, Klose also became the tournament's all-time record scorer _ surpassing Brazil great Ronaldo. Klose scored Germany's second goal in the 23rd minute, giving him 16 career World Cup goals. It broke the mark of 15 goals he shared with the retired Ronaldo, who worked the game as a TV commentator. Klose scored after a corner by Toni Kroos. His firs

The fate of mobile phone maker Pantech hangs in the balance as its creditor-led debt restructuring program shows no signs of improvement and the country’s three telecom giants resist joining in the recovery efforts.SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus were given extra time to consider a proposal by Pantech’s creditors led by the state-run Korea Development Bank. But judging by their comments to the press, they continue to appear uninterested in turning the 180 billion won ($178 million) that Pantech owes

JERUSALEM (AFP) ― Israel has arrested a group of Jewish extremists suspected of kidnapping and murdering a Palestinian teenager in a revenge killing, triggering violent clashes spreading from east Jerusalem throughout Israel.Tensions were already peaking early Monday in the south after two Israeli strikes on Gaza left five militants dead, following continuous mortar and rocket fire at southern Israel. The brutal murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder on July 2 triggered five days of violent cl

Brazil’s Neymar screams in pain after being fouled by Colombia’s Camilo Zuniga during a 2014 World Cup quarterfinal match on Friday. (Yonhap)BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) ― Brazil star Neymar says his World Cup may be over because of a fractured vertebra but his World Cup dream of celebrating the title with his teammates at the Maracana Stadium next Sunday is still alive.In a video released by the Brazilian football confederation on Saturday, Neymar thanked fans and everyone else for the support i

Education Minister nominee Kim Myung-soo faced yet another allegation of misconduct Thursday, after a series of scandals have already beset the former professor.Kim allegedly received several warnings from the Korea National University of Education for poor class preparation during his tenure there, said Rep. Park Hong-keun of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy. He quoted audit results from the university and the Education Ministry.Education Minister nominee Kim Myung-soo. (Yonhap)“He lacks

PARIS (AFP) ― France‘s former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling, French prosecutors said Wednesday, a dramatic move in a criminal probe that could wreck his hopes of a political comeback. The decision came after Sarkozy was questioned for 15 hours, marking the first time a French ex-head of state had been taken into custody in a criminal investigation.The right-wing leader had been detained at a police station in a Paris suburb over a suspected att

Allegations are piling up against Seoul City Councilor Kim Hyung-sik as the police delve deeper into the circumstances surrounding the alleged contract killing of a wealthy businessman. The victim, a 67-year-old man identified by the surname Song, was murdered by a 44-year-old associate of Kim in March. The suspect, identified by the surname Paeng, killed Song at the victim’s building in western Seoul in the early hours of March 3. Paeng then fled to China but was extradited to Korea on May 24.

BAGHDAD (AFP) ― The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant jihadist group, which spearheaded a sweeping militant assault that overran swathes of Iraq, is now claiming leadership of the world’s Muslims.Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIL has carried out frequent bombings and shootings in Iraq, and is also arguably the most capable force fighting President Bashar al-Assad inside Syria.But it truly gained international attention this month, when its fighters and those from other

EU leaders pick Juncker to become bloc’s new chief executive despite opposition from U.K.