South Korea's consumer prices increased at a slower pace in April than a month earlier, keeping its on-year growth in the 1-percent range for the sixth straight month, a government report showed Wednesday.The country's consumer prices index rose 1.2 percent on-year in April, slowing from a 1.3 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it dropped 0.1 percent.The on-year figure represents the sixth straight month since November t

Policymakers at South Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate in a 4-3 vote in April when the government had put pressure on the Bank of Korea (BOK) to lower borrowing costs, the bank's minutes showed Tuesday.   At a rate-setting meeting held on April 11, the Bank of Korea's seven-member monetary policy committee decided to leave the benchmark 7-day repo rate unchanged at 2.75 percent for the sixth straight month. The central bank cut the key rate in July and October last year.   In Apr

'국가정보원의 대선•정치 개입 의혹'을 수사 중인 서울중앙지검 특별수사팀(팀장 윤석열)은 30일 오전 국가정보원에 대해 전격 압수수색을 실시 중이다.검찰은 이날 오전 8시50분께 검사와 수사관 25명을 국정원으로 보내 3차장 산하 의 심리정보국 등을 중심으로 국정원 내부의 지시•보고 문건과 내부 인트라넷, 컴퓨터 서버 등과 관련한 전산자료 등을 확보했다.검찰은 원세훈 전 국정원장이 지난해 대선을 전후해 국정원 직원들이 '오늘의 유머' 등 인터넷 사이트에서 댓글을 단 사건에 연루돼 있는지, 내부 게시판에 올린 '지시•강조 말씀'과 관련해 국정원 직원들의 조직적인 개입이 있었는지 등을 확인하기 위해 압수수색에 나선 것으로 전해졌다.앞서 검찰은 전날 원세훈 전 국정원장을 소환해 조사했으며 이종명 전 국정원 3 차장을 27일 참고인으로 불러 조사했다. 또 민모 전 심리정보국장은 25일 조사했다.<관련 영문 기사>Prosecution raids spy agency office over sca

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the headquarters of the nation's main intelligence agency in connection with suspicions that the organization attempted to influence public opinion ahead of last year's presidential election. A team of some 25 prosecutors and investigators seized digital files, internal documents from an anti-North Korea psychological warfare team at the National Intelligence Service (NIS), they said.Allegations have been raised that the NIS extensively and systemically intervened i

South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. is expected to sell more than 50 million smartphones this year on the back of strong demand for its flagship Optimus G line-up and mid and low-end smartphones, brokerage houses said Tuesday.LG Electronics, the world's No. 3 smartphone maker, sold some 26.3 million smartphones last year.Korea Investment & Securities said in a report that LG Electronics is expected to sell 53.29 million smartphones this year. Hyundai Securities and KB Inv

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, as upbeat U.S. housing data and the new Italian government eased jitters over the global economy, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 13.86 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,954.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most shares gathered ground, with LG Uplus, the country's smallest mobile carrier, and electronic parts maker LG Innotek rising more than 2 percent. U.S. markets finished up Monday on a fore

South Korea's industrial output shrank for the third straight month in March amid worries that its economy is losing steam in the face of toughened market conditions at home and abroad, a government report showed Tuesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries dropped 2.6 percent last month from a month earlier, the sharpest contraction in 12 months.This also marked the third on-month contraction following a 1.2 percent

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest flat-panel TV maker, maintained its status as the top flat-panel TV seller in the U.S. for 60 consecutive months, data showed on Tuesday.Samsung Electronics retained the top spot in March with a 29.4 percent market share in terms of revenue, according to the data compiled by global market research firm NPD Group. The figure was 3 percentage points higher than in February, the data showed.Samsung has kept its top position since April 2008 in terms of m

The former chief of the nation's main intelligence agency was allowed to return home Tuesday after around 14 hours of questioning by prosecutors over allegations that he attempted to influence public opinion ahead of last year's presidential election. "I sincerely responded to the prosecution's investigation," Won Sei-hoon told reporters as he emerged from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office in southern Seoul past midnight.Won, who headed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) under

Technology companies led the Standard & Poor's 500 index to an all-time closing high Monday.The stock market has recovered all the ground it lost over the previous two weeks, when worries over slower economic growth, falling commodity prices and disappointing quarterly earnings battered financial markets.The S&P 500 index rose 11.37 points to close at 1,593.61. The 0.7 percent increase nudged the index above its previous closing high of 1,593.36, reached on April 11.“The market has had a terrifi

Even before Jason Collins, plenty of other athletes around the world have come out as gay, either while still active or in retirement.From Martina Navratilova to Greg Louganis to Sheryl Swoopes, men and women from a variety of sports have openly acknowledged their sexuality, though many others are believed to still be reluctant to come forward.Collins, a 34-year-old NBA veteran, became the first active player in the four major American professional sports to come out as gay, writing a first-pers