Prosecutors summoned a former chief editorial writer of South Korea's top daily Chosun Ilbo over allegations he received bribes in return for writing favorable stories for an ailing shipbuilder and lobbying for their chief executives. Song Hee-young wrote favorable editorials and columns on Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. after he was treated to a luxury business trip to Europe in September 2011 by then company chief Nam Sang-tae.The nine-day trip with a chartered flight took him to

A group of lawmakers are set to submit their resignation from the ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday to establish a new conservative party. Around 35 dissident legislators vowed last week to leave the party amid a factional feud with loyalists to President Park Geun-hye. They will hold their second meeting Monday to discuss their plan to create the new party, tentatively named the New Conservative Party for Reform around Jan. 20. Immediately after their departure, they will establish a parliamentar

A growing number of unmarried persons are starting their own businesses apparently due to a lack of jobs, a report suggested Monday, noting the jobless rate of young people has remained record high.According to the report from Statistics Korea, 12.2 percent of all single men were self-employed as of end-2015.The figure marked an increase of 4.8 percentage points from 7.4 percent at the end of 2006.Accordingly, the average ratio of earned income in overall income for single male households droppe

South Korean lawmakers plan to visit a detention center Monday to question key suspects in a scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, who have refused to attend a hearing at the National Assembly. The special committee seeks to hold a hearing with Park's confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is in custody at a detention facility on the outskirts of Seoul, at 10:00 a.m. and Ahn Jong-beom, former senior presidential secretary for policy coordination, and Jeong Ho-seong, former secretary for private pres

Special prosecutors raided the homes of a former top presidential aide and the cultural minister on Monday as part of an ongoing investigation into a corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her confidante.The team raided around 10 places including the home of Kim Ki-choon, 77, who served as presidential chief of staff from 2013 to 2015, as well as Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cho Yoon-sun. The team also confiscated data from the ministry in Sejong, 121 kilometers so

A Seoul court on Friday slapped Rep. Choo Mi-ae, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, with a fine of 800,000 won ($665) for illegal electioneering, but allowed her to retain her parliamentary seat.The Seoul Eastern District Court found Choo guilty of spreading false information during her parliamentary election campaign earlier this year. But it said her legal offense was not serious enough to strip her of her status as a lawmaker.When sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more,

The independent counsel team investigating the alleged corruption scandal centered on President Park Geun-hye said Friday that it has created a special team that will delve into the suspicious accumulation of wealth by her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil.The 60-year-old confidante Choi, who is has been in custody since late October, allegedly exerted influence on state affairs for personal benefit, using her ties to the president. The counsel said the team has hired a lawyer and well as a former

The South Korean government is set to finish collecting public opinions on the draft versions of the controversial state-authored history textbooks Friday.Critics demand the cancellation of their publication, which they claim are designed to educate students with the conservative government's views of history.The Ministry of Education plans to announce its decision early next week whether to go ahead with its plan to use them starting next year. Since it unveiled the pilot editions late last mon

The number of newly established companies in South Korea fell slightly last year amid a protracted economic slump, government data showed Friday.Some 813,000 new businesses were created in 2015, down 30,000 from 843,000 tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.They took up 14.6 percent of the 5.55 million "operational companies" doing business in South Korea last year, down from 15.2 percent in 2014.The number of firms that closed in 2014 rose by 112,000 to 777,

Kookmin Bank, one of South Korea's biggest retail banks, said Friday it plans to cut about 13 percent of its workforce in a voluntary retirement program next month as part of its efforts to improve productivity.The bank has offered to pay the equivalent of up to three years' salary to those who are eligible for the retirement program.So far, about 2,800 employees -- who have worked for the company for more than 10 years -- applied for the program.The retirement program is set to take effect Jan.

Unionized pilots at South Korea's largest flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. continued their 10-day strike on Friday aimed at demanding better pay and improved working conditions.Some 190 pilots out of the total 2,300 at Korean Air took part in the second day of the strike scheduled to end Dec. 31.Under a 2010 revision to the aviation law, up to 20 percent, or some 460, of the unionized pilots could have taken part in the strike. However, the union said it decided to minimize the number out of co