South Korea and the United States resumed talks Tuesday on revising a bilateral pact that defines the boundaries of the Asian country’s use of nuclear energy, with Seoul aiming to gain concessions in the area, officials said.The discussions in Seoul were led by Park Ro-byug, South Korea’s envoy for the talks and a former ambassador to Ukraine, and Robert Einhorn, the U.S. State Department’s special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control.The two sides were holding their fourth round of tal

A son of former Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Ra Eung-chan has been indicted without detention on charges of fraud.According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Ra’s son, identified only by his surname, was indicted for swindling billions of won from investors in a redevelopment project in Seoul.The 44-year-old is accused of having taken 3 billion won ($2.7 million), that two investors identified by the surname Hwang, who are father and son, invested in two development projects

Judge says link between lung cancer and cigarette smoking ‘weak’A local court on Tuesday ruled against a bereaved family who sought damages from the government and state-run tobacco company KT&G over the death of a police officer who died of cancer.There has never been a successful damages suit against a tobacco firm in Korea. Judge Han Kyu-hyun of the Seoul Central District Court said that the link between tobacco and lung cancer prevalence is weak. He also dismissed the plaintiff’s claim that

The police investigation into the election-day cyber attack against the national election watchdog has implicated another aide of a Grand National Party lawmaker, dealing a further blow to the conservative ruling party. Police sources said Tuesday that investigators plan to summon for questioning an aide of Rep. Park Hee-tae, the National Assembly speaker and GNP member, as part of their inquiry into the hacking attack against the National Elections Committee’s website during the vote for Seoul

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and professor Ahn Cheol-soo held a closed-door meeting late last month, according to officials Tuesday.“I met with Ahn on Nov. 27 in Yeouido,” the mayor said Tuesday over a luncheon with the city council members.“I told him that it may not be wise to create a new political party.”Their one-on-one meeting came shortly before Ahn announced last Thursday that he had no plans to establish a political party.The meeting was requested by Park, who wished to express his gratitu

South Korea’s national pension fund service has proposed a plan to the government to secure U.S. dollars from abraod to be used for overseas investments, its chief said Tuesday, raising hopes for the stabilization of the local currency market.“The National Pension Service has proposed a plan to the government to raise U.S. dollars for overseas investment from abroad instead of from the local foreign exchange market,” NPS chairman Jun Kwang-woo told the Yonhap News Agency during a telephone inter

South Korea will closely monitor economic conditions at home and abroad amid heightened uncertainties over the eurozone debt crisis and a possible global slowdown, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.“Uncertainties remain high as the eurozone fiscal crisis deepens and there is a chance that the global economy could slip into a slowdown,” the ministry said in its monthly report on the latest economic conditions. “It is necessary (for us) to closely monitor changes in economic conditions at home and

Cable television operators have started to re-air high-definition terrestrial TV programs late Monday following the government’s mediation efforts.“We have decided to accept the recommendations made by the national broadcasting watchdog and started the retransmission... and agreed to engage in earnest dialogue to resolve outstanding differences in the coming week,” cable operators said in a joint statement.This view was echoed by the three local terrestrial channels -- KBS2, MBC and SBS -- which

A growing number of major foreign investment banks have forecast South Korea’s central bank will lower its key interest rate next year as inflationary pressure loses steam, a report showed Tuesday.The Bank of Korea froze the seven-day repo rate at 3.25 percent for the fifth straight month in November, citing downside growth risks such as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and continued global financial market jitters.While some foreign investment banks were still betting the BOK will stand pat on th

Procter & Gamble is seeking to beef up ties with Korean firms to develop new technologies and reinforce its footing in the growing market here, government officials said Tuesday.The world’s largest manufacturer of consumer products held an investment seminar in Seoul to discuss collaboration with local small businesses and think tanks to jointly develop cosmetics and beauty products. P&G is the latest participant in the Korean government’s program to help small but promising local firms find inv

Korean consumers picked Samsung’s Galaxy Tab as the most satisfying tablet PC on sale here, a recent consumer satisfaction survey found Tuesday. The National Council of the Green Consumers’ Networks in Korea said that the 10.1-inch tablet PC of Samsung Electronics scored the highest at 3.78, followed by iPad 2 of Apple Inc. with 3.77 and K-Pad of KT Corp. with 3.65. The consumer rights advocacy group, sponsored by the Fair Trade Commission, questioned 522 people on their use of five tablet PCs: