For Jean-Vincent Place, a French minister in charge of state reform, Korea used to be a ghastly reminder of betrayal and abandonment rather than the land of his birth. But now, the Asian country is one that he wants to associate with to spur his ministry's digitalization scheme.During a recent interview with Korean reporters in Paris, Place said that he has now "reconciled with" his fatherland, which he struggled to push aside under the threshold of his consciousness after being adopted by a Fre

The ruling Saenuri Party is expected to win a "comfortable" majority in the upcoming general elections, although it may lose some seats in its traditional strongholds to independents, polls showed Sunday.The surveys conducted by four local pollsters last week, at the request of Yonhap News Agency, showed Saenuri expected to win between 157 to 175 seats in the 300-member unicameral National Assembly. Voters go to the polls on Wednesday to pick the lawmakers who will serve a four year term.The lat

A former Korean sex slave in China who has suffered serious injuries due to an accident will be transported to her home country on Sunday so she can be treated at a local hospital.Ha Sang-sook, 88, is the last-surviving victim in China of Japan's World War II sexual slavery of Asian women who keeps her South Korean nationality.She broke her rib and pelvis after falling down a staircase on Feb. 15 while quarreling with a neighbor. She recently regained consciousness after receiving treatment in a

국제유가가 산유국 회의를 약 일주일 앞두고 갑작스레 가파른 상승세를 보였다.산유량 동결 합의에 대한 기대감에 미국의 셰일오일 생산량 감소가 더해지면서 하루 만에 유가가 7% 가까이 뛴 것이다.원유가격이 강세를 보이자 국내 휘발유 가격도 슬금슬금 오르기 시작했다.10일 블룸버그 집계에 따르면 지난주 서부 텍사스산 원유(WTI) 5월 인도분 가격은 배럴당 39.72달러로 거래를 마쳤다.북해 브렌트유 가격도 전고점을 넘겨 지난해 12월 4일 이후 가장 높은 41.94달러를 기록했다.지난주 마지막 거래일인 8일 하루의 오름폭은 WTI가 6.6%, 브렌트유가 6.4%나 됐다.이날 WTI 상승폭은 지난 2월 12일(12.32%) 폭등 이후 가장 큰 폭이다.스탠더드 앤드 푸어스 500의 석유·가스 탐사 및 생산 지수도 지난해 12월 이후 최고 수준으로 뛰어올랐다.지난달 반짝 40달러를 넘겼다가 다시 가라앉았던 원유 가격이 훌쩍 뛰어오른 것은 석유수출국기구(OPEC) 회원국과 비회원국이 모두 참여