State prosecutors have launched a probe into allegations that the National Credit Union Federation of Korea provided tens of millions of won to lawmakers as it lobbied for legislation to ease its lending rules.The prosecution has already searched the office of the credit union for evidence, Yonhap News reported Friday, citing sources in the prosecution and the credit union.The probe on the credit

The captain of a South Korean fishing boat admitted that his vessel trespassed into Japanese waters near South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Friday.An overnight joint investigation by the two countries’ maritime police found that the 29-ton “33 Ssangyong” did not engage in illegal fishing within the Japanese exclusive economic zone.“The South Korean Coast Guard

Croatia will actively push to open an embassy in South Korea, its prime minister was quoted as saying Thursday.“We have decided to open our embassy in South Korea,” Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor told visiting South Korean National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae. “We will push for the opening as soon as our economy recovers,” she was quoted as saying by the Speaker’s spokesman.Park was on a

The Obama administration wants Congress to ratify the free-trade deal with South Korea before a similar pact between Korea and the European Union goes into effect in July, the chief U.S. trade official said Thursday.“Our goal is to hand this agreement to Congress before the EU trade agreement goes into effect on July 1,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk told a forum in Washington. “Everything we

Kim Young-ran, the new chief of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, said Thursday the rights watchdog would focus on rooting out irregularities among high-ranking officials this year.“Most corruption starts from asking for special favors,” Kim said in a meeting with auditors of public organizations including government ministries and local administrations at the panel’s office in Seou

Chief state auditor nominee Chung Tong-ki withdrew Wednesday, two days after the ruling party turned its back on him amid rising public antipathy toward the privileges he was granted for his former job as a prosecutor.“I decided to step down today from the post as chairman nominee of the Board of Audit and Inspection,” Chung said in a press conference.Chung read out a lengthy statement about his s

Chung Tong-ki withdrew his nomination as the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection on Wednesday, becoming the eighth top official designate to step down during the Lee Myung-bak presidency.The repeated withdrawals indicate the remaining gap between the presidential office and the public in their expectations for senior office holders.The Lee administration made requests for parliamentary a

President Lee Myung-bak’s chief state auditor nominee Chung Tong-ki said Tuesday he was preparing for the parliamentary confirmation hearing despite growing pressure from political parties to withdraw from his position. “I will do what I have to do,” Chung said in response to a reporter’s question on whether he was getting ready for next week’s confirmation hearing as he entered his office in Seou

A presidential council said Tuesday it will support Korean businesses’ mergers and acquisitions of foreign companies as part of efforts to raise national competitiveness, benchmarking a Chinese policy. “We will seek to strengthen Korean companies’ global investment capabilities to encourage M&As of competent overseas firms, especially in the energy and resources sector,” Kang Man-soo, chief of the

A bribery scandal involving construction site catering contracts is spreading from police chiefs and executives of large construction firms to senior government officials, politicians and presidential aides.Prosecutors on Monday questioned former National Police Agency Commissioner Kang Hee-rak over suspicions that he received kickbacks from a canteen operator and broker surnamed Yoo. The Seoul Ea

 Civil service marred by ethical problemsChief state auditor nominee Chung Tong-ki faces tough questions at his parliamentary confirmation hearings about his political impartiality and his earnings at a law firm after resignation as a prosecutor.President Lee Myung-bak last week nominated his former aide Chung as the new chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection.Opposition legislators argue th

South Korea will return on Friday three North Korean fishermen who had drifted on a boat across the countries’ tense western sea border about a month ago, an official said.The fishermen were rescued by the South Korean Navy on Dec. 3 near the island of Yeonpyeong in the West Sea, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said in a briefing.The island was the site of an attack by North Korean ar

Kim Kak, former editorial writer for The Korea Herald, died of bile duct cancer Friday morning at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital. He was 76.Kim had been a journalist for four decades since he joined the Korea Times as a reporter in 1957. He became an editorial writer for The Korea Herald in 1972. Kim KakKim also briefly served as former President Park Chung-hee’s secretary for public relations in 1973.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan met with Japan’s national strategy minister Friday to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the two neighboring nations, including the possibility of a free trade agreement.Koichiro Genba, Japan’s state minister in charge of national policy, arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a two-day visit that includes meetings with Foreign Minister Kim, Trade Minister Kim Jon

Officials told to secure enough vaccines to prevent future outbreakPresident Lee Myung-bak on Thursday instructed his government to come up with fundamental solutions to prevent another outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease next year in addition to ongoing quarantine efforts. “With an increasing number of travelers moving in and out of the country, we need to do more than just quarantine work,” Lee s

Former President Kim Young-sam on Wednesday offered to donate all of his wealth to the public. Kim’s residence in Seoul and land in his hometown of Geoje Island will be bequeathed to a nongovernmental organization named after him while the house where he was born will be returned to the municipal government of Geoje, according to his aides. The total value of Kim’s assets is estimated at about 5 b

A series of irregularities among public office holders is drawing attention to whether the Lee Myung-bak administration would launch an all-out campaign to tighten the discipline of civil servants as it enters its fourth year.President Lee emphasized in his New Year’s address Monday that the government “has so much to achieve this year,” reiterating his call on public officials to focus on work to

Defense chiefs to hold talks in Seoul next weekDefense chiefs of South Korea and Japan will meet in Seoul next week for talks on a proposed agreement on protection of military secrets and bilateral cooperation on military supplies, Seoul officials said.During their talks next Monday, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa are also expected to exchange views on

Vows to speed up defense reform for stronger deterrencePresident Lee Myung-bak on Monday said the door for dialogue with North Korea still remains open, hinting hopes that the frozen inter-Korean relations might abate as members of the six-nation talks prepare for resumption of the nuclear negotiations.Lee also vowed to speed up defense reform to strengthen deterrence against North Korea’s threats