Mixed acid has leaked from the LG Siltron plant in Gumi, raising concerns that the agents may have polluted the nearby area, local government authorities said Saturday.   The leak of hydrofluoric, nitric and acetic acids that took place late Friday marks the second time this month that the wafer company reported such an incident. The first incident took place on March 2.   Investigators at the industrial city located 261 kilometers southeast of Seoul said that event occurred when a pipe used t

  North Korea on Saturday blasted the ongoing joint Foal Eagle military drills as a flagrant provocation and made clear it viewed them as a direct threat to its security.   The Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said the annual South Korea-U.S. field training exercise that kicked off this month and run through the end of April, involve hundreds of thousands of troops and nuclear weapons.   "The U.S. and warmongers (in the South) are engaged in a war dri

  French minister Fleur Pellerin begins a highly symbolic trip this weekend to South Korea, the land of her birth, where she is a celebrity due to her roots and a rags-to-riches story.   Pellerin, the junior minister for small and medium enterprises, innovation, and the digital economy, is due to meet with South Korea's President ParkGeun-Hye, its prime minister and top officials from leading chaebols, or business conglomerates, such as Samsung and Hyundai.   Born in 1973 in Seoul and abandoned,

South Korea's new finance minister said Saturday that it needs to be cautious of adopting the so-called Tobin tax, indicating that such a measure could trigger a capital outflow.   The South Korean government said earlier that the country may move to tighten its regulation on capital flows in and out of the country amid worries that growing volatility in the currency market could hurt the country's overall economic stability.   As part of the new measures, the government said it is considering i

  North Korea accused Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of inciting confrontation and taking a leading role in anti-Pyongyang activities, the state media said Saturday.   The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea said Abe's recent statement that the North is fated for collapse is a sign that the country is blindly following the United States.   The Japanese politician made the remark last week on a TV program after harshly attacking the North for detonating its third nuc

  South Korea's stock market is expected to rebound next week as concerns over the eurozone crisis ease and a series of stimulus measures set to be revealed boost investor sentiment here, analysts said Saturday.   The country's key stock index, the KOSPI, dropped 1.9 percent this week to close at 1,948.71 on Friday, weighed down by an escalating fiscal problem in Cyprus and a cyber attack on several media outlets and banks.   Standard & Poor's, a global credit appraiser, slashed Cyprus's soverei

  Toyota Motor plans to raise domestic production during the April-September period by about 10 percent from its earlier estimate thanks to the recent weak yen, it was reported Saturday.   Toyota has already revised up planned output for April and May by 10 percent to between 13,000 and 13,500 vehicles a day and it now intends to keep production at that level through to September, the Nikkei business daily said.   The weakening Japanese currency is seen pushing up exports of the Corolla and Priu

  Anxious to keep Syria's civil war from spiraling into even worse problems, President Barack Obama said Friday he worries about the country becoming a haven for extremists when -- not if -- President Bashar Assad is ousted from power.  Obama, standing side by side with Jordan's King Abdullah II, said the international community must work together to ensure there is a credible opposition ready to step into the breach.  ``Something has been broken in Syria, and it's not going to be put back toget

  A North Korean movie that has made its debut in the United States last month will be shown at two more film festivals in the United States, a media report said Saturday.   The romantic comedy made jointly by North Korean, British and Belgian film producers has been invited to the Hawaii and Wisconsin film events slated for April, Radio Free Asia said.   The movie is set and filmed in Pyongyang, and portrays the life of Kim Yong-mi, a 28-year-old coal miner, who overcomes hardships to fulfill h

   North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a special forces unit and was briefed on its mission and training status, state media reported Saturday.   The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul said Kim, who holds the rank of Marshal in the Korean People's Army, toured the headquarters element of Unit 1973.   The visit occurred Friday, with the North's official news wire service stressing there was "profound meaning" in Kim checking of the unit, although it did not elaborate on de

  Lawmakers in Cyprus approved three key bills Friday that aim to raise enough money to qualify the country for a broader bailout package and help it avoid financial ruin in mere days.   A total of nine bills were approved, including a key one on restructuring the country's ailing banks, which lost billions on bad Greek debt; one on restricting financial transactions in times of crisis; and one that sets up a `solidarity fund' into which investments and contributions will flow.   More bills to m

대법원은 21일 국외이송약취 사건에 대한 전원합의체 공개변론을 대법원 역사상 최초로 온라인을 통해 중계방송 한다. 이번 전원합의체에는 대법원장과 대법관 13명으로 구성되며 대법관 3분의 2이상이 출석하게 된다. 대법관들의 의견이 일치하지 않고 소수의 의견이 나오거나 그 사건이 종전에 대법원에서 판시한 규칙의 해석적용에 관한 의견을 변경할 필요가 있을 때 전원합의체(대법관회의)로 사건이 넘겨지게 되는데, 전원합의체의 판결은 앞으로 유사한 사건에 중요한 영향을 끼치는 판례로 남게 된다.대법원은 “사회적 가치 판단이 필요한 중요 사안에 대해 국론이나 국민들의 의견이 분열돼 있을 때, 분열을 완화시키고 통합하는 방향을 제시해야 하는 대법원의 정책법원으로서의 기능과 역할을 확대하고 재조명하는 기회를 제공하기 위한 것”이라고 밝혔다. 사상 최초의 재판 중계가 예정된 사건은 국외이송약취 혐의로 기소된 베트남 여성 A씨(26) 사건이다.A씨는 한국인과 결혼한 뒤 남편 동의 없이 생후 13개월이 된

서울시는 12일 택시를 이용하거나 물건을 사면서 바가지 피해를 본 외국인들에게 보상금을 지급하기 위한 기금을 마련할 것이라고 밝혔다. 서울시에 따르면 현재 보상 금액, 기준, 방법에 대한 세부 규칙을 마련 하는 중이라고 한다.기금의 규모는 약 2억에서 3억 수준이 될 것이며 다른 관광 관련 기관들과 함께 준비할 예정이다. 박원순 시장은 최근 시 담당 공무원들에게 바가지 요금을 근절 할 수 있는 방안을 마련하라는 지시를 내렸던 것으로 알려졌다. 한편, 이번 달 말부터 외국인 상대 택시요금 바가지 행위를 120 다산콜센터를 통해 신고하는 시민에게 포상금 50만원이 지급된다.　(코리아헤럴드 김영원 기자)　<관련 영문 기사>Seoul to compensate overcharged foreign travelersSeoul City plans to form a public fund to compensate foreign travelers overcharged by stores and taxi

Citing what it called U.S.-led international moves to punish it for its recent nuclear test, North Korea threatened Tuesday to nullify the 1953 armistice accord that ended the Korean War.The North also denounced joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises scheduled to start on next Monday, declaring that if the maneuvers will go ahead, it wil cut off direct phone link with South Korea at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.North Korea is known for its harsh rhetoric but Tuesday's announce

서울 중앙 지방 검찰청은 26일 탈루 혐의를 받고 있는 서미갤러리와 화랑계의 “큰손”으로 알려진 서미갤러리 대표 홍송원(60)씨에 대한 수사를 착수 했다고 밝혔다. 홍씨는 주로 재계의 거물들을 대상으로 미술품 거래를 해왔으며, 과거 대기업의 비자금 사건과 저축은행 비리 사건 등에 연루된 적이 있어 앞으로 검찰 수사가 불러 올 여파에 관심이 주목되고 있다. 서미갤러리는 거래 업체들에 고가의 미술품을 판매하면서 세금계산서를 발행하지 않거나 수입금액을 회계장부에서 빠뜨리는 수법 등으로 2007년부터 2010년 까지 법인세 등을 탈루한 혐의를 받고 있다.또 해외에서 고급가구를 수입ㆍ판매하면서 수입가를 누락하는 수법 등으로 부가가치세 수억원을 포탈한 혐의도 받고 있다.검찰 관계자는 “국세청이 제출한 고발장에는 대기업 측 인사가 포함돼 있지 않다”며 “우선 국세청 관계자를 불러 어떤 방법으로 탈세했는지, 금액은 어떻게 산정했는지 등을 조사할 것”이라며 밝혔다.앞서 서울 지방 국세청은 지난 9월

미국 정치권에서 '무인기 규제'를 둘러싸고 논란이 벌어진 가운데 버락 오바마 대통령이 미국땅에서 미국인을 대상으로 무인기가 사용된 적 은 없다고 강조했다.오바마 대통령은 14일(현지시간) 자신의 '구글 플러스' 페이지에 쏟아지는 무인 기 관련 질문에 대해 이같이 답했다.그는 "미국 내에서 테러리스트를 잡는 것과 아프가니스탄이나 파키스탄 산맥에 서 관련 작전을 수행하는 건 매우 다르다"면서 국내외에서 각각 적용되는 원칙이 다 르다고 언급했다. 그의 이런 발언은 최근 미국에서 알 카에다와 연계된 것으로 의심되면 무인기를 이용해 미국인이라도 표적 살해할 수 있다는 내용이 담긴 문건이 유출되면서 논란이 가열되자 나온 것이다.한편, 오바마 대통령은 1페니(센트) 동전 발행을 지속하는 이유와 관련해선 "돼지저금통에 1페니씩 모아 큰돈으로 바꾸던 것을 기억하고 있다"는 말로 답변을 대신 했다.그는 구글 플러스 페이지에 척 헤이글 국방장관 인준 지연에 대한 불만을 표시하고 총기 규제와 관련해서도

South Korea's global baseball ranking fell one notch to fourth place in 2012 compared to the year before, according to the rating list released Saturday by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).The IBAF said the country earned 56.50 ranking points for the whole of this year for a total of 518.20 points. The points are tallied by checking performance of national baseball teams in international games, with more points being given to teams that win the world championships for youths and the

North Korea's planned long-range rocket launch is aimed at sending the message that the reclusive communist country is a nuclear power, Seoul's Ministry of Unification said Saturday.The ministry said Pyongyang had revised its Constitution earlier in the year to blatantly point out that it is a country armed with nuclear weapons.It added that while the North claims that the three stage space delivery vehicle is designed to send a satellite into low orbit around the Earth, if the launch is success

South Korea's ruling party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye will appear on the cover of U.S. news magazine Time, the party said Friday. The 60-year-old conservative candidate of the Saenuri Party is a leading contender in the Dec. 19 election, who could become the country's first woman president. The cover photo of Time's Dec. 17 Asia edition, published on the magazine's Web site, shows Park seated with her head turned to the right to face the camera.The cover headline reads "The Strongman's

South Korea will gradually increase the age of eligibility for public pensions to 65 from the current 60, the country's national pension fund said, in what could be a move to ease the government's financial burden from the retiring population. The age for a retirement pension will be 61 years in 2013 and increase one year every five years to reach 65 years in 2033, the National Pension Service (NPS) said on its Web site.People born between 1953 and 1956 will become eligible to claim their benefi