North Korea has denied its alleged involvement in a March cyber attack in South Korea, claiming related "rumors" are aimed at deepening tensions on the peninsula.Reports that North Korea is behind the March 20 hacking incident that crippled networks of some South Korean banks and broadcasters are a "deliberate provocation," a spokesperson for the General Staff of the (North) Korean People's Army (KPA) was quoted as saying by Pyongyang's propaganda media on Friday.The unnamed official argued the

South Korea's Navy carried out maritime drills in the tensely guarded western sea on Monday ahead of the third anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan warship by North Korea, amid high tensions with the communist country that has issued repeated threats of war.The 1,200-ton Navy corvette with 104 personnel aboard sank in waters of Baengnyeong Island in Yellow Sea on March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailors. A multinational investigation team concluded that a North Korean torpedo was responsible for

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a suit against rival LG Electronics Inc. demanding 50 billion won (US$45 million) in compensation for denting its brand value, sources said Monday.In the lawsuit filed with the Seoul Southern District Court on Friday, the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs demanded its home-turf competitor to pay the cited amount in damages, according to the legal sources.The move marks the latest development in the ongoing advertising row betwe

Robert Downey Jr., the hero of the "Iron Man" film series, is scheduled to visit South Korea in April to promote the latest edition of the Marvel Comics piece.The Hollywood actor will arrive here on April 3 for an "Iron Man 3" press conference the following day, according to Sony Pictures Korea, the local distributor of the superhero film.Downey Jr.'s visit, the first leg of his global promotion tour, comes in line with the world premier of the movie in South Korea scheduled for April 25, a week

South Korean comedy "Miracle in Cell No. 7" became the third most-viewed Korean film of all time on Friday, attracting 12.32 million moviegoers since it debuted here, the film's local distributor said."Miracle in Cell No. 7" reached the number 52 days after opening, outperforming the previous No. 3 "Gwanghae: the Man Who Became the King" (2012), which was seen by 12.31 million people, NEW said. But the official box-office tally from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has yet to be released.Directed

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States will hold phone talks this weekend to discuss a range of issues, including North Korea, Seoul officials said Friday.Other topics of the scheduled phone talks between South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday will include a planned visit to Washington by South Korean President Park Geun-hye in May, said the foreign ministry officials.The phone conversation will be the first between the top d

최근 공정거래위원회에서 착수한 수입차에 대한 전방위 조사가 큰 파문을 일으키고 있다.업계에서는 억울하다는 하소연도 있지만, 이번 조사는 한국에서 판매하는 수입차에 대한 여러가지 측면을 조명하고 있다. 첫째는 수입차에 대한 일반 국민의 생각이다. 수입차 판매가 시장의 20%를 차지고 있으며, 시장점유율도 10%나 되지만, 여전히 한국 소비자들은 수입 차에 대한 로망만을 간직채, 구입은 꿈도 못 꾸고 있는 형편이다. 이런 상황에서 수입 차는 매년 매출이 오른다고 자랑이다. 그러면서 부품비, 도정비는 국내차보다 여전히 높다. 여기에 한국인의 정서법이 작용하면서, 탈 수도 없는 수입차에 이제는 소비자를 우롱한 괘씸죄가 추가된 셈이다. 둘째는 수입차의 책임의식이다. 일부 브랜드를 제외하고, 대부분의 수입차는 말그대로 잘 나가고 있다. 반면, 사회공헌은 매출에 훨씬 못 미친다. 미미하게나마 활동하지만, 소비자의 인식은 여전히 싸늘하다. 기업의 사회적 책임이 이미 당연시되는 시점에서 수입차가 한

A former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher on the South Korean national team said Friday some of the criticism against Ryu Hyun-jin, a new pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is unfair.Taking a break from the national team's training camp for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) here in Taiwan, Seo Jae-weong addressed flak Ryu has taken over his smoking habits.Ryu huffed and puffed his way at the back of the crowd during the first conditioning run at the Dodgers' training camp in Arizona earlier

Kim Jong-sung, the Superintendent of Education  for South Chungcheong Province was summoned by the police on Friday on allegations that he was involved in a case where government officials took bribes from teachers seeking to become state education advisors. The police had recently arrested several officials in charge of supervising the curriculum for schools in the province for taking bribes worth over 200 million won from teachers who had taken tests last year for selecting new supervisory off

Grand Korea Leisure Co. (GKL), the South Korean operator of a casino business for foreign tourists, will beef up its marketing activities to attract China's wealthy customers, company officials said Friday.GKL, which operates three casinos in Seoul and Busan under the brand name Seven Luck, has increased the number of marketing personnel for Chinese VIP gamblers, or high rollers, from 29 to 60.In the fourth quarter of last year, GKL saw the drop amount, which is the total amount of money and mar

Incoming President Park Geun-hye appealed to the opposition party Friday, asking them to accept her government reorganization proposal and help launch her administration on time.With Park's inauguration only 10 days away, the National Assembly has yet to approve the reorganization plan that centers on transferring the foreign ministry's trade negotiating functions to the commerce ministry. Talks between the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) have been deadlock

BlackBerry, a Canadian smartphone maker, may pull out of the South Korean market in the first half of this year due to sluggish sales, industry sources said Friday.Speculation arose of BlackBerry's possible exit from South Korea following its recent announcement that it plans not to unveil new products in Japan. Industry analysts took it as a move by BlackBerry to leave from South Korea and other countries in the region.Canadian-based Research in Motion (RIM) changed its name to BlackBerry in Ja

South Korean stocks closed marginally higher Friday as investors took a breather following a two-day rally and weak output data in the eurozone, analysts said.The local currency strengthened against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 1.57 points, or 0.08 percent, to finish at 1,981.18. Trading volume was heavy at 590.5 million shares worth 3.86 trillion won (US$3.56 billion) with gainers outpacing decliners 422 to 374."Lackluster corporate performan