Against the illegal drugs trade in his country, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has let slip the dogs of war — and the havoc includes thousands of dead Filipinos, most of them poor. As he prepares to mark a year in office at the end of this month, those who are anguished about the killings ask: Can the community of nations play a role in holding Duterte to account?The answer is complicated.The case can be made that constitutional remedies have been all but exhausted. Impeachment is no longe

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday warned that the number of highly-indebted households at default risk could go even higher with interest rates in the financial market likely to rise in coming years.In a bi-annual financial stability report submitted to the National Assembly, the Bank of Korea said households’ debt-to-disposable income rose to 153.3 percent as of the end of March, up 8.6 percentage points from a year earlier.The BOK projected that a market interest rise by up to

The number of people unemployed for six months, who are classified as long-term unemployed, reached a 13-year high in May this year, according to Statistics Korea on Thursday.Some 120,000 were long-term unemployed, accounting for 11.96 percent of the jobless population. It marked the highest since 2004.Companies in South Korea usually hire in August or September, when the respective number slightly declines. Employment by such firms, however, has been lackluster due to weak business performances

The confirmations of key Cabinet members are expected to pick up momentum from next week as rival political parties have agreed on their hearing schedules, despite ongoing dissent against President Moon Jae-in’s supplementary budget bill.The Liberty Korea Party, People’s Party and Bareun Party on Thursday agreed to resume the pending verification process for eight minister-level public servant nominees, which had been stalled for some time amid disputes over the state chief’s earlier personnel d

The third flagship store of SPC Group, South Korea’s leading food manufacturer and distributor, will open next month with added characteristics of varied menus and entertainment services, the company said Thursday.The importer of Korea’s latest eatery hit, Shake Shack Burger, will open the store in Cheongdam-dong, just above the second location of the premium burger chain in the city.Moving to maximize the attractions for throngs of visitors coming to the posh southern Seoul area, Italian restau

The road that runs in front of the presidential office is to be opened to the public around the clock starting Monday, for the first time in 50 years, Cheong Wa Dae announced Thursday. The move to lift the night curfews reflected President Moon Jae-in’s vow to reach out more to the people and to break away from the government’s authoritarianism.“The presidential security office decided to unbar the roads around Cheong Wa Dae on a 24-hour basis, seeking to extend the convenience of the citizens,”

Former President Park Geun-hye enquired about SK Group’s donations to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, entities allegedly used by Park as a cover for illicit deals with big conglomerates, in a private meeting last year, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won revealed Thursday. Speaking as a witness at the trial of Park and her confidante Choi Soon-sil, Chey said that he brought up the issue of his brother SK Group Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won’s release from prison at the meeting on Feb. 16 last year. Che

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday called for a “blind” hiring process to be implemented in the public sector. “A blind recruiting process should be implemented from the second half (of 2017) in hiring civil servants and for public sector positions,” Moon said during a meeting with his chief secretaries. An individual’s place of origin, physical appearance and education background are elements that could be used in discrimination, Moon said, therefore such information should be excluded in the re

A supermoon, an exceptionally bright full moon at its closest distance to Earth, is to rise Friday, a state-run maritime research agency forecast Thursday.It will be the third of the four supermoon phenomena expected this year. Two occurred in April and May. The last supermoon is expected on Dec. 4.  An image of supermoon (123RF)The Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency warned of possible flood damage in coastal lowlands, as the sea level, which is influenced by the gravitation of the moon