SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak instructed aides Monday to conduct an "all-out review" of a project to build his post-retirement residence in southern Seoul, an official said, after the purchase of a tract of land under the name of his son sparked criticism. Lee said it is "very regrettable" that the residence issue has "caused concern to many people" against his will and orde...

Nearly nine out of 10 South Koreans distrust domestic politics and politicians, a poll showed Sunday, illustrating a growing sense of crisis among rival political parties. According to a poll of 1,018 adults and 730 youths by the Office of the Minister of Special Affairs, 87.1 percent of adults and 85.6 percent of adolescents said they “do not have confidence in politics and politicians.” The p...

Park fails to deftly respond to negative campaigning: experts The two candidates representing the ruling party and the liberal opposition bloc are locked in a dead heat as recent opinion polls showed the race for Seoul mayor to be too tight to call. Some polls found that judge-turned-politician Na Kyung-won of the Grand National Party had already bridged the gap in voter support with lawyer and...

CHICAGO -- President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday trumpeted the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, which the U.S. Congress ratified over four years after it was signed, during their visit to a General Motors plant in Detroit. "Our trade is basically balanced between the United States and Korea," Obama told workers at the GM Orion assembly plant. "They buy as much stuff ...

CHICAGO (AP) _ After a White House state dinner and a visit to a Michigan auto plant, South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak's arrived in Chicago on Friday to further economic ties with a state anxious to tap emerging markets in his homeland. Lee's first stop was a dinner hosted by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and attended by many of Illinois' political and business heavyweights, including Gov. Pat...

CHICAGO/DETROIT, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited an auto plant in Detroit, along with U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday, promising American auto workers that a free trade agreement between the two countries will help protect their jobs and create more work for Americans. "Some of you may think that the FTA will cost you your jobs. But that is not the case,"...

Korean president stops by Hyundai Mobis factory to encourage workers DETROIT ― President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday visited the General Motors plant in Detroit together in a show of “economic alliance,” two days after the U.S. Congress ratified the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. The FTA was signed in 2007, but was met with complaints from U.S. automakers and legis...

Candidates remain neck-and-neck on day two of official campaign The Grand National Party’s candidate for Seoul mayor was leading the polls after three television debates and two days of campaigning, though by a small margin which experts say could easily be reversed on a strong turnout. On the second day of official campaigning Friday, Na Kyung-won of the GNP and Park Won-soon, an opposition-ba...

SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- The government declared an all-out war on fake gasoline on Friday, significantly increasing fines for people selling unauthorized products and giving investigative jurisdiction to government officials. The crackdown starts with changing the commonly used name for such fuel, mostly chemical mixtures, from alternative fuel to fake, according to the Ministry of Knowledge ...

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Sung Kim, a career diplomat, as the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea, officials said. Kim will be the first Korean-born American ambassador to the Asian nation.

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) -- In an announcement timed for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's state visit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that her country will take part in a large-scale maritime festival to be held in the Asian nation's southwestern coastal city next year. "I'm proud to announce another new venue for cooperation: The United States will host a pavilion a...