The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Koreans seeking compensation for their forced work at Japanese factories during colonial rule.The top court ordered the retrials of two damages cases filed by the forced workers and their families. It was the first time, either in Korea or Japan, that they had won a favorable ruling since they started litigation in the mid-1990s. The two groups of workers were taken to Japan to work for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp. in 194

The European Union is unlikely to accept South Korea’s request for an exemption from its planned ban on insurance for ships carrying Iranian oil, Seoul officials said Tuesday.A failure to secure a waiver would mean Korea must halt imports from one of its major crude suppliers unless it finds an alternative source of insurance. “Our discussions (with the EU) have yet to be finished, but considering the current negotiation process, it will not be easy for us to secure an exemption,” Foreign Minist

Kim Byung-kook, chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, is one of Korea’s leading experts on foreign policy and international politics, known for his wide connections with academics and government officials at home and abroad. After teaching political science and international relations at Korea University from 1999, Kim has taken up multiple posts at think tanks and advisory panels. Kim co-founded the East Asia Institute in 2002 and served as president until becoming the first pres

POSCO on Friday denied a report that lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk, elder brother of President Lee Myung-bak, encouraged the steelmaker to make a failed investment in a savings bank two years ago. POSTECH, a science and technology university affiliated to the Pohang-based firm, invested 50 billion won ($43.6 million) in Busan Savings Bank in June 2010. Citing senior POSCO officials, the local daily Hankyoreh reported Friday that Lee requested the investment to POSCO chairman Chung Joon-yang and the sch

Prosecutors investigating alleged corruption by the elder brother of late President Roh Moo-hyun said Friday they found tens of billions of won in a bank account apparently owned by his wealth manager.Roh Geon-pyeong, 70, is being investigated for embezzlement and influence peddling allegations. He remains in custody since Tuesday for questioning at the prosecutors’ office in Changwon. The bank account is believed to be owned by Roh’s financial manager and the bulk of the money was used for thre

Prosecutors were stepping up investigations into suspended savings banks on Sunday, as more allegations involving the top brass of embezzlement, accounting fraud and illicit lending surfaced. On Friday, they secured an arrest warrant for an executive at Hanju Savings Bank who has vanished after allegedly siphoning off 1.6 billion won ($1.4 million) from 350 customer deposits on May 5. The sum accounts for more than 10 percent of total assets run by the Yeongi, South Chungcheong-based institution

North may want to show off missile technology before negotiations: expertsExperts and informed sources raised the possibility that North Korea may conduct another rocket launch to perfect its long-range missile capabilities and use them to negotiate with the U.S., possibly next year.Good Friends, a Seoul-based rights group, cited an official with the North’s Workers’ Party late Wednesday as saying that Pyongyang plans to fire an additional rocket with equipment in the northeastern town of Dongch