The Seoul government is striving to strengthen measures to ensure the safety of South Korean sailors aboard foreign ships as Somali piracy targeting its citizens continues, a government official said Sunday. Following a recent series of piracy cases involving its nationals, it has toughened security rules on South-Korean registered vessels using maritime routes where piracy is rampant. But it w...

DP leader’s handling of scandals and divisions seen as test of presidential potential Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is grappling with a spate of political setbacks including an bribery scandal involving Seoul’s liberal education superintendent. Observers said that these setbacks could serve as a test of his political fitness. His failure to weather such stor...

By Lee Woo-young Foreign public officials arrived in Seoul to learn about the city’s e-government system as part of a training program of the World e-Government Organization of Cities and Local Governments, city officials said Sunday. The city government invited a total of 13 public officers from nine WeGo member cities including Jakarta, Mexico City, Nairobi, Bucharest to share its e-governmen...

By Bae Hyun-jung The prosecution is set to question Seoul education chief Kwak No-hyun on Monday over allegations that he bought his rival out of the race in last year’s election, after investigators rounded off their preliminary probe on key aides over the weekend. Kwak admitted on Aug. 28 that he handed over 200 million won ($188,324) to his former rival Park Myoung-gee but claimed that it wa...

By Lee Woo-young District heads in Seoul urged Serbia to secure the settlement rights of Romani people who have been forcibly evicted from their informal settlements in its capital city Belgrade. The evictions have been subject to condemnation by the international community since 2009, officials of Amnesty International Korean branch said. The 12 district heads out of the total 25 districts in...

The Fair Trade Commission said Sunday that it has fined five multinational drugmakers and one local firm a total of 11 billion won ($10 million) for illegal rebate activities. The financial and non-financial benefits given in return for prescriptions and drug orders between August 2006 and March 2009 amounted to 53 billion won, the antitrust watchdog said. Sponsoring meals or drinking parties f...

Hyundai Motor Group’s first half net profit overtook that of Samsung Group for the first time, aided by rising automobile sales and difficulties faced by Japanese carmakers, data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association, the combined net profit of Hyundai Motor Group companies required to file consolidated financial statements came in at 9.17 tril...

Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest mobile handset maker, said on Sunday its domestic market share reached nearly 60 percent in August on the back of stronger demand for its smartphone models led by Galaxy S2. Samsung projected that a total of 2.13 million mobile handsets were sold last month, and its sales stood at 1.26 million units during the period, which translated into a 59 percent ...

Foreign investment banks revise down country’s economic growth projections Foreign investment banks have revised down their economic growth predictions for South Korea, reflecting worsening external factors such as continuing U.S. and European debt woes that could damage the country’s export-driven economy. Nine foreign investment banks including UBS projected that Asia’s fourth-largest economy...