Parliamentary gridlock is likely to be prolonged after President Park Geun-hye and opposition leader Kim Han-gil failed Monday to narrow differences over sensitive issues involving the National Intelligence Service and the embattled prosecution chief.Park issued a strong warning on Tuesday toward the opposition party over its continued street protests and boycott of the parliament. “The opposition party will face the people’s resistance if it sticks to fighting outside the National Assembly and

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok on Tuesday mentioned the possibility that the government may later change their current position not to increase the tax burden on the wealthy.Though Hyun clarified that tax hikes were not being pushed by policymakers at the present stage and should be a last resort, his remarks appear to be somewhat different from their strong denial over a feasible hike for the rich.Hyun reiterated ― as a policy to provide the underprivileged with state f

 박근혜 대통령은 17일 "야당에서 장외투 쟁을 고집하면서 민생을 외면한다면 국민적 저항에 부딪힐 것"이라며 "그리고 그 책 임 또한 야당이 져야할 것"이라고 말했다.박 대통령은 이날 청와대에서 국무회의를 주재하면서 "저도 야당 대표로 활동했고 어려운 당을 일으켜 세운 적도 있지만 당의 목적을 위해 국민을 희생시키는 일은 하지 않았다"며 이같이 경고했다.또 전날 3자회담 결렬을 의식한 듯 "정치가 국민을 위해 최선을 다하고 상생의 정치로 미래로 나아가기를 바랐는데 안타까운 마음"이라며 "야당이 정기국회가 시작 됐는데도 장외투쟁을 계속하면서 민생법안 심의를 거부한다면 그것은 결코 국민을 위한 정치가 아닐 것"이라고 지적했다.박 대통령은 "국가정보원 문제로 또다시 장기간 장외투쟁을 하는 것이 과연 야당이 주장하는 것처럼 국민을 위하는, 또는 국민이 원하는 민의인지 동의할 수 없다 "며 "국회에서 선진화법을 제정하고 그것을 극단적으로 활용해 민생의 발목을 잡아서는 결코 안될 것"이라고 강

미국 하버드대 의대 출신 의사를 사칭, 여성으로부터 거액을 뜯어낸 중졸 무직 남성이 경찰에 붙잡혔다.서울지방경찰청 국제범죄수사대는 학력ㆍ직업을 속이고 만난 여성으로부터 5000만원을 뜯어낸 혐의(사기)로 A(31) 씨를 검거했다고 17일 밝혔다.경찰에 따르면 A 씨는 2011년 5월부터 2년여간 하버드대 의대를 졸업한 국내 대학병원 성형외과 전문의로 행세하며 피해여성 B 씨에게 접근해 생활비 등 5000만원을 가로채고 캠코더 등 금품을 훔친 혐의를 받고 있다.A 씨는 2007년부터 미니홈피, 미국 유학생 친목모임 사이트 등에 거짓으로 자신을 소개하는 영문의 글을 작성해 올리며 의사 등과 친분을 쌓았고, 미니홈피 지인의 소개로 피해자 B 씨를 소개 받았다.그는 국내 재벌가 3세들과의 친분이 있는 것처럼 행세하고 “미국 시민권자이니 결혼 후 미국으로 가자”며 B 씨를 속여 친척 결혼식 축의금 등 명목으로 돈을 뜯어냈다.하지만 경찰에 따르면 A 씨는 중학교를 졸업한 ‘백수’였을 뿐 미국은

A former vice minister for trade and energy was named the new head of the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) on Tuesday.Cho Seok, the former vice minister of trade, industry and energy, was named the new president of the country's sole nuclear power plant operator, the company said in a press release.Cho, 56, will replace Kim Kyun-seop, who stepped down in June over a corruption scandal, in which substandard parts had been supplied under fake quality certificates in and around 20

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday ahead of a golden week amid lingering jitters over the U.S. Federal Reserve's next policy meeting, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 11.24 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,002.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics sank 1.2 percent, with No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor sliding nearly 1 percent. Analysts predicted the Seoul bourse won't see an upward move as investors will likely ret

President Park Geun-hye has appointed a former ruling party lawmaker as her new secretary for political affairs, an official said Tuesday.Joo Kwang-deok, 53, a former prosecutor and a member of the previous National Assembly, began his new job on Monday, the official said on condition of anonymity.Joo succeeded Kim Seon-dong, who left the post in a reshuffle of the top office late last month.His immediate boss is senior political affairs secretary Park Joon-woo, a former career diplomat who serv

The Federal Reserve is being engulfed by the one thing it tries to prevent: uncertainty.Will the Fed take its first step Wednesday toward reducing the extraordinary stimulus it's given the U.S. economy?Will its eventual pullback jolt the financial markets?Who will fill several expected vacancies on the Fed's policy board next year?And, with Lawrence Summers' withdrawal from consideration, who will lead the Fed once Ben Bernanke's term expires in January, ending one of the most tumultuous chapter

South Korea will provide 5.3 trillion won (US$4.9 billion) in additional financial support aimed at stimulating corporate investment on facilities, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday.Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said that the support will be provided through state-run policy financing agencies."We will strengthen our supporting efforts for corporate investment in a way that the recent improving trend in our economic conditions could spill over even into the private sector," Hyu

BMW Group Korea, the local importer and distributor of German automaker BMW AG, is voluntarily recalling over 1,300 vehicles sold in South Korea due to defective fuel filter heaters and airbags, the government said Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the fuel filter heater in 790 units of the 120d, 520d,X3 20d, X5 30d and X6 30d vehicles, produced between May and November of 2009, may experience an electrical overload, which in turn can cause it to become per

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Washington this week for talks mainly on North Korea and Syria, Kerry's department announced Monday.Their meeting, slated for Thursday, is part of regular consultations between the two global powers on a range of bilateral, regional and other issues, it said."While this meeting has been planned for some time, we do expect the secretary and foreign minister to discuss current issues such as the DPRK and Syria," the

South Korea's producer prices declined for the 11th straight month in August due to on-year retreats in oil costs and the local currency's gain against the U.S. dollar, the central bank said Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, slid 1.3 percent in August from a year earlier, compared with a 1 percent on-year decline in July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).On an annual basis, the producer prices have fallen every month since October 2012 when such pri