Localized heavy downpours battered regions north of Seoul Sunday, flooding homes and roads, and knocking down a section of the wire fence on the border with North Korea. Two people were killed after being swept away in swollen streams, officials said.Up to 272 millimeters of rain fell in northern parts of Gyeonggi Province between Saturday and Sunday alone, with Yeoncheon County near the border with North Korea receiving nearly 100 mm of rain in about an hour from between 6 a.m., officials said.

Police said Thursday that they will launch a full-fledged investigation into allegations that a detained local construction contractor hired women to provide sexual favors to a number of high-profile figures in return for business benefits.On Wednesday night, the 52-year-old construction contractor, surnamed Yoon, was put under detention immediately after a Seoul court approved the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant for the businessman who has been at the center of a massive sex scandal

South Korea's government ministries and agencies have requested a 6.6 percent hike in their budgets for next year as they want to spend more on welfare, education, and research and development (R&D), the finance ministry said Tuesday.A total of 52 ministries and agencies asked for the central government to set aside a combined 364.7 trillion won for next year, compared with this year's 342 trillion won, according to the ministry.The hike is mostly attributed to an 11.3 percent budget increase re

The former head of South Korea's main spy agency accused of meddling in last year's presidential election denied all charges against him through his attorney in a Seoul court on Monday.Won Sei-hoon served as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief under former President Lee Myung-bak until early this year.He was indicted on charges of ordering an online smear campaign against opposition candidates in an aim to sway public opinion in favor of the ruling party prior to the Dec. 19 election.T

Lawmakers may view about 2.56 million presidential record items of the 2007 inter-Korean summit following their request to access them, a ruling party official said Friday.Earlier this week, the National Assembly approved and delivered a request to look into the original transcript of the inter-Korean summit talks in a growing political controversy over former President Roh Moo-hyun’s remarks on the western sea border with the North. Of the records, 340,000 items are classified as top secret, an

Egypt's military moved swiftly Thursday against senior figures of the Muslim Brotherhood, targeting the backbone of support for ousted president Mohammed Morsi. In the most dramatic step, authorities arrested the group's revered leader from a seaside villa and flew him by helicopter to detention in the capital.With a top judge newly sworn in as interim president to replace Morsi, the crackdown poses an immediate test to the new army-backed leadership's promises to guide Egypt to democracy: The q

The European Central Bank has left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low 0.5 percent even though Europe's still in a recession.The bank held off Thursday adding further stimulus for the 17 European Union countries that use the euro as it waits for a hoped-for recovery toward the end of the year. ECB President Mario Draghi has said the bank is ready to act if needed. He stresses the ECB remains far from signaling any withdrawal of existing measures _ unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve, whi

The European Parliament on Thursday demanded "immediate clarification" from Washington on claims of U.S. spying on EU offices and warned the espionage scandal could damage diplomatic ties.In a resolution overwhelmingly adopted in the Strasbourg-based legislature, MEPs said the parliament "strongly condemns the spying on EU representations" and warned of its "potential impact on trans-Atlantic relations".It called for "immediate clarification from the U.S. authorities on the matter".Lawmakers how

일본 화장품 브랜드 가네보가 한국 등 아시아 10개국에서 피부 이상 우려가 있는 미백 화장품 45만개를 자진 회수한다. 4일 식품의약품안전처와 외신 등에 따르면 가네보는 이날 피부 백탁(흰 얼룩)을 유발한다는 우려가 제기된 미백 화장품 45만개를 한국, 홍콩, 태국, 싱가포르, 대만 등 아시아 10개국과 자국에서 회수키로 결정했다. 이번 회수 결정은 가네보의 미백 제품을 사용한 소비자들의 피부에 흰색 얼룩이 생기는 증상이 잇따라 나타난 데 따른 것이다. 회사는 자체 개발한 성분 4HPB가 흰 얼룩을 일으키는 원인으로 보인다고 추정했다. 국내 보건당국은 문제가 된 제품의 국내 수입물량과 상세한 회수 원인, 제품의 위해 가능성을 파악하고 있다. 김영옥 화장품정책과장은 “일본 보건당국이 아닌 업체의 자발적 회수 결정”이라며 “우선 국내 수입업체와 본사에 회수 결정 경위 등을 알아볼 것”이라고 말했다.　　<관련 영문 기사>　Japan‘s Kanebo recalls cosmetics over