South Korea has begun to pay pensions to its low-income elderly citizens with dual citizenship, an official said Tuesday, a move that stirred up controversy on whether Seoul should use taxpayers‘ money to support those who have spent most of their lives in foreign countries.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it doles out up to 97,000 won ($85) per month to elderly people who are qualified for the elderly pensions under a 2011 law that allows those aged 65 and over who previously held South

The chairman of food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group was further questioned Tuesday while in prosecution custody over alleged tax evasion and embezzlement, officials said.Lee Jay-Hyun was jailed at the Seoul Detention Center on the southern outskirts of Seoul Monday shortly after a district court approved the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant for the country's 10th richest man.The 53-year-old allegedly dodged some 70 billion won ($61.4 million) in taxes through stashing secret

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Tuesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach on the rising concerns over the Chinese economy and listed firms' second-quarter earnings, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.71 points, or 0.04 percent to close at 1,855.02. Trading volume was high at 479.6 million shares worth 3.84 trillion won ($3.39 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 431 to 379."Seoul shares tr

South Korea's government and the central bank are discussing whether to include the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s debt in data on public debt to be newly released next year, officials said Tuesday.The government plans to provide additional figures on public debt including public firms' debt holdings in a bid to offer a more accurate picture of financial conditions in the public sector.The BOK said that the government and the central bank are in talks over whether the central bank's issuance of monetary

South Korean stocks traded 0.11 percent lower late Monday morning on losses in techs and autos, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.08 points to 1,853.65 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips traded bearish, with top chipmaker SK hynix losing 7.29 percent and leading flat panel maker LG Display falling 1.63 percent. Samsung Electronics, however, edged up 0.68 percent.Carmakers also lost ground, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor falling 3.59 percent and its smalle

Portuguese Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar quit Monday, acknowledging he lost credibility after missing deficit targets and was causing friction inside the center-right coalition government as public support for his austerity policies evaporated.President Anibal Cavaco Silva's office announced Gaspar's resignation on its website and said he will be replaced by Secretary of State for the Treasury Maria Luis Albuquerque.Gaspar was a key member of the government as it struggles to repair its finances

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors' sentiment got a boost from improved economic data from the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 3.16 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,858.89 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics adding 0.68 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics moving up 0.27 percent. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis moved up 1.48 percent.U.S. stocks

The spelling and grammar need work, but the message has its own eloquence. A 10-year-old's note to Nelson Mandela, the prisoner who fought South African apartheid, or white racist rule, and became a global emblem of unity and humility, addresses him as “the greates president are land has ever had it is realy bad that you are in the hospital. But realy cool that you stopt apartit. you maid are land A beter place”It is one of hundreds of messages that have been placed at two makeshift shrines by S

Hot winds blew a U.S. wildfire out of control, killing 19 elite firefighters in the country's deadliest wildfire involving firefighters for at least 30 years.The specially trained “hotshot” firefighters were forced to deploy their fire shelters _ tent-like structures meant to shield them from flames and heat _ when they were caught near an Arizona town, state forestry spokesman Art Morrison told The Associated Press.Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said the firefighters were part of the city's fir

South Korean stocks shed 0.41 percent Monday as investors took a breather after the sharp gain tallied last week, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 7.59 points to close at 1,855.73. Trading volume was low at 217 million shares worth 2.93 trillion won ($2.57 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 465 to 355.Analysts said the decline came as investors turned cautious after the KOSPI jumped 4.64 percent over

The Obama administration faced a breakdown in confidence Sunday from key foreign allies who threatened investigations and sanctions against the U.S. over secret surveillance programs that reportedly installed covert listening devices in European Union offices. U.S. intelligence officials said they will directly discuss with EU officials the new allegations, reported in Sunday's editions of the German news weekly Der Spiegel. But the former head of the CIA and National Security Agency urged the W