The chairman of Lotte Group was fined for not attending parliamentary audits over the company's alleged infringement on the business rights of small retailers. Shin Dong-bin was sentenced to pay 10 million won ($8,870) in fines for refusing to comply with the government's call to appear at the hearings and audits of the National Assembly between October and November of last year, citing different reasons such as overseas business trips.The audits were held as part of the government's drive to pr

Two elderly South Korean women forced by Japan into sex slavery during World War II said Friday they canceled a meeting with a Japanese mayor, fearing they only could be used for the mayor's political show to whitewash his inappropriate remarks toward former sex slaves.The two victims -- 87-year-old Kim Bok-dong and 84-year-old Kil Won-ok -- planned to meet Toru Hashimoto, Osaka's mayor and co-leader of the Japan Restoration Party, at his office Friday morning as part of their tour of Japan to t

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, is expected to reap a solid operating profit in the second quarter on robust sales of its Galaxy S4 line-up, analysts said Friday.According to NH Nonghyup Securities Co., the tech giant is anticipated to see its operating profit reach 11.7 trillion won ($10.4 billion) in the April-June period, up 74.6 percent from 6.7 trillion won tallied last year.The strong earnings outlook came as the global sales of its Galaxy S4 smartphones have

가수 손호용 (33)씨가 자신의 차량에서 자살을 시도하다 지나가던 시민의 신고로 의해 구출되었다.경찰은 손씨가 24일 오전 4시 36분께 서울시 서빙고동 온누리교회 인근 공용주차장 안에 세워둔 카니발 차량에서 손씨가 번개탄을 피우고 자살을 기도했다고 밝혔다. 손씨는 차 안에서 번개탄을 피우고 자살을 시도하다 불이 차량에 붙자 차량 밖으로 몸을 피한 것으로 알려졌다. 손씨는 현재 서울 용산구 순천향대병원에서 치료를 받고 있으며 생명에 지장은 없는 것으로 알려졌다.경찰은 전소한 차량을 용산경찰서로 옮겨 정밀 감식을 진행 중이다.경찰 관계자는 “자살을 하려고 피운 번개탄이 차량 내부에 옮겨붙으면서 화재가발생한 것으로 알고 있다”고 밝혔다.한편 손씨의 이번 자살시도는 얼마 전 사망한 전 여자친구 A씨의 자살방식과 동일해 충격을 주고 있다. A씨는 지난 21일, 손씨의 차량 안에서 숨진채로 발견되었다.경찰은 23일 A씨의 시신을 국립과학수사연구원에 부검 의뢰한 결과 사인이 가스중독사인 것으로

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Switzerland Thursday for talks set to focus on a landmark free trade deal with the Alpine country, which he has dubbed a touchstone for Beijing's growing ties with foreign nations.Li, who is on the first stop of his debut visit to Europe since taking over in a once-in-a-decade power transfer in Beijing, flew in to Zurich late Thursday.He was to give a speech in Zurich on Friday to an invited audience from Switzerland's financial sector, with which he has sai

The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders _ a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors.Of the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council who cast ballots, 61 percent supported the proposal drafted by the governing Executive Committee. The policy change takes effect Jan. 1.``While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all

South Korea on Friday began operating its first carbon capture facility at a thermal power plant that is designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 90 percent.The carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit at the Boryeong Thermal Power Plant Complex on the country's west coast is currently attached to a 10-megawatt station to test its effectiveness, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The CCS facility is expected to capture about 80,000 tons, or over 90 percent, of carbon di

The U.S. government has notified Congress of possible sales to South Korea of armament for the F-35 or F-15 SE, one of which may be selected as South Korea's new fighter jet, according to a Pentagon agency Thursday.South Korea plans to purchase 60 advanced jets to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s. The three competitors for the contract, worth about 8.3 trillion won ($7.4 billion), are Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet, Boeing's F-15 SE and the Eurofighter Tranche 3 from European Aerospa

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday due mainly to gains in technology firms and carmakers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 9.37 points, or 0.48 percent, to 1,978.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips drove up the market, with Samsung Electronics advancing 0.4 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix moving up 0.64 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display added 0.34 percent.Carmakers also gathered ground, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor rising 2.22

The government has submitted ratification bills for parliament to approve information sharing deals with two tax haven countries to intensify its crackdown on offshore tax evasion, government sources said Friday.The government recently submitted the bills for a National Assembly session scheduled for next month to ratify the deals it signed with the Bahamas and Vanuatu, according to the sources.Under the deals, the government will be able to request from them such information as business registr

서울대는 23일 이번 학기부터 만 8세 이하의 자녀가 있는 남녀 학부생과 대학원생이 최장 1년까지 육아휴학을 할 수 있게 했다고 밝혔다.서울대는 지금까지 여학생들에게만 출산휴가를 허용해온 규정과는 별도로 남녀 학생 모두에게 육아휴학을 허용하기로 했다.동시에, 육아휴학 기간이 일반 휴학 기간(학부 최대 3년, 석사과정 최대 2년, 박사과정 최대 3년)에는 포함되지 않도록 했다. 이는 아이를 기르는 학생들이 안정적으로 학업에 전념할 수 있도록 돕겠다는 취지다.서울대 학사과의 한 관계자는 "출산 이후에도 육아와 학업을 병행하기가 어렵다는 ‘학생 부모’들의 목소리를 반영했다”며 “학생들이 육아로 학업에 지장을 받지 않도록 교육적 배려 차원에서 휴학 규정을 개정한 것”이라고 설명했다. (코리아 헤럴드) <관련 영문 기사>SNU allows male students to take paternity leaveSeoul National University said on Thursday that m

Woori Finance Holdings Co. said Thursday it has named Lee Soon-woo, the incumbent head of its banking unit, as the new chief to spearhead South Korea's top banking group.Woori Finance said that it has nominated the 63-year-old Lee, president of Woori Bank, as the group's new chief to replace Chairman Lee Pal-seung who offered to step down on April 12.Lee's nomination needs to receive approval from the group's board members and shareholders. Lee will also continue to serve as the head of the bank