President Lee Myung-bak named former ambassador to Russia Lee Kyu-hyung and ex-vice minister of foreign affairs Shin Kak-soo as ambassadors to China and Japan, respectively, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.The president also nominated Kim Sook, who served as chief negotiator at the six-nation nuclear talks and then as deputy chief of the National Intelligence Service, as South Korean ambassador to the

Tight match expected between former ruling party chief and ex-governorThis is the first of a three-part series on the April 27 by-election campaigns in three major electoral districts, Bundang-B, Gimhae-B and Gangwon Province. ― Ed.Bundang is one of the most successfully developed satellite cities around Seoul with an electorate of commuters to the capital, their families and elderly people who mo

President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday discussed early ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade pact with a team of five U.S. Republican senators led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.Sen. McConnell (Kentucky) had attended Lee’s meetings with the U.S. senate leadership during his U.S. visits in 2008 and 2009, according to Lee’s spokesperson Kim Hee-jung. Lee also spoke with Senators Mike Joha

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday debated South Korea’s free trade agreement with the European Union, which was unexpectedly voted down by a subcommittee Friday, stymieing Seoul’s move to expand trade with the world’s biggest economic bloc.Ruling and opposition parties received reports from vice ministers of agriculture, knowledge and economy on the government’s plans to minimize the damage to local industries and livestock farms.As the Seoul government appears reluctant to exempt livestock farms

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday met with U.S. Senator Jim Webb, who chairs a senate subcommittee on the East Asian region, to discuss North Korean issues as well as the bilateral free trade agreement that is pending approval from their respective parliaments.Lee appreciated Webb’s efforts as chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs for early ratification of the Korea-U.S. FT

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday called on both public and private sectors to provide more jobs for physically challenged people“I believe it is necessary for the private sector, in addition to the government and public institutions, to increase employment of disabled people as well,” Lee was quoted as saying in a weekly meeting with his top aides by his spokesperson Kim Hee-jung.The president al

Traces of radioactive materials have been discovered across South Korea due to the inflow of contaminants from Japan's stricken nuclear power station, a state nuclear safety body said Saturday.The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety confirmed diminishing traces of iodine-131, cesium-137 and cesium-134 have been detected by the country's 12 detection centers.It, however, stressed that concentration l

A local lawmaker on Saturday forwarded a bill to transform the Dokdo islets into an inhabited area to silence Japan's sovereignty claims against the South Korean territory.Rep. Park Sun-young of the conservative Liberty Forward Party said the bill supports enhancing overall living conditions on the rocky islets in the East Sea. It outlines expanding the pier facility to accommodate larger vessels

The North Korea's inaugural golf tournament has drawn 21 amateur golfers from 10 countries with a rare chance to visit the isolated country and play golf within its borders, a U.S. broadcaster said Saturday.The Democratic People's Republic of Korea Amateur Golf Open is scheduled to tee off on April 29 at a 18-hole golf course in Pyongyang, sponsored by British travel agency Lupine Travel, in Pyong

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to arrive Saturday in South Korea to meet with senior officials here and discuss ways to bring a disciplined North Korea back to dialogue and put an end to its growing nuclear ambitions.The trip, her first since last July to this Asian ally with strengthening ties to the United States, comes after she attended a round of talks of foreign ministers from N

North Korea leader Kim Jong-il and his heir apparent son watched a art performance celebrating the birthday of his late father and founder of the communist country, a state-run media organ reported Saturday."Kim Jong-il enjoyed a performance given by the art squad of the National Security Agency on the occasion of the Day of the Sun," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency monitored in S

Board directors of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Friday chose not to discuss sacking president Suh Nam-pyo despite the controversy over his policies triggered by the recent suicides of four students.The 16-person board received a report from KAIST on the latest suicide cases and the school’s plans to go back to providing scholarships to all of its students and to reduce

The North Korean military may eliminate the country’s leader Kim Jong-il and his heir Jong-un in case of a mass uprising, a researcher at a South Korean state-funded think tank said Friday.“If a commotion breaks out in North Korea, Kim Jong-il and Jong-un are likely to be the main target of public anger,” Park Hyeong-jung, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, sai

President Lee Myung-bak will send his political archrival Rep. Park Geun-hye as his special envoy to the Netherlands, Portugal and Greece later this month, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.Park, a factional leader of the ruling Grand National Party who had competed against Lee for the party’s presidential ticket in the 2007 elections, is so far the GNP’s strongest contender for the presidential race ne

Democrats in the Seoul City Council proposed that parents of elementary school children vote on whether schools should provide free meals to all students, reigniting a two-year-old political controversy.The suggestion came as civic groups opposing the across-the-board complimentary meals staged a signing campaign for a referendum on the issue.Forty-two Democrats in the city council submitted a pro

Shift in means of transport may signal changes under next North Korean leaderBeijing asked North Korea’s next leader Kim Jong-un to fly to China instead of using the train, which his father has resorted to for various reasons including safety, diplomatic sources in Seoul said, signaling changes in the traditional allies’ future relationship.Kim Jong-un is expected to visit China as early as late A

Seoul took a step closer to exporting T-50 trainer jets to Indonesia as the Southeast Asian nation selected South Korea’s state-run aircraft maker as the de facto preferred bidder of its trainer jet project, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.“The Indonesian defense ministry informed Korea Aerospace Industries that it will be treated as the preferred bidder of the trainer jet project,” presidential spokes

The prosecution Tuesday raided Kumho Petrochemical headquarters and offices of its business partners to look for proof of alleged embezzlement to create slush funds. Investigators from the Seoul Southern Prosecutors’ Office seized hard disks containing accounting information. “We have found circumstantial evidence that Kumho Petrochemical misappropriated company money to amass slush funds, but it

Listed firms of certain size obligated to hire legal professionalsListed companies of a certain size will be required by law from next year to hire lawyers or law professors to monitor potential legal problems in addition to the counsels they already have to deal with legal disputes post factum.The Cabinet approved a revised commercial bill that includes the article on legal compliance in a weekly

Han Seung-soo criticizes those who link Ban to Korea’s presidential election in 2012U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should be “freed from domestic politics,” former Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said, referring to recent opinion polls that included Ban as one of the country’s presidential hopefuls.“It is our duty to free Secretary General Ban from domestic politics so he can serve the world,” Ha