Watchdog probes Korean firm’s alleged 3G patent abuseThe nation’s antitrust watchdog is looking into whether Samsung Electronics’ patented wireless networking technologies could violate a fair licensing agreement within the industry, following a complaint filed by Apple Inc. in June. The investigation by the Fair Trade Commission is expected to cover the two companies’ market shares in the smartph

A Seoul court ordered the communications watchdog Thursday to release cost structures of the country's three mobile carriers in a decision that could possibly help raise pressure on the firms to cut down service charges. The Seoul Administrative Court delivered the ruling in favor of civil rights group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, which petitioned the court to overturn the Kore

South Korea's potential economic growth rate is estimated to have fallen to the 3-percent range on its economic slowdown stemming from the eurozone debt crisis and population aging, economists said Thursday.The country's potential growth rate, or the maximum possible rate at which an economy can grow without triggering inflation, had remained in the range of 4.5-5 percent between 1998 and 2007, ac

A Philadelphia man was being held Wednesday on charges of keeping a deaf mute prisoner to collect his Social Security checks. William Richardson, 63, usually known as Willie, was rescued Sunday after police got a tip he was being kept in a basement, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Capt. Laurence Nodiff said he was found in a room furnished only with “a bed, a chair, a commode.”“He didn‘t appea

North Korea apparently made for an easy, simple discussion between the top diplomats from two of the most powerful nations -- the United States and China, as they struggle to deal with the crisis in Syria and Beijing's territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors.After talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they had "product

The South Korean economy grew at a slower pace than previously estimated in the second quarter on weaker facility and construction investment, the central bank said Thursday, cementing market expectations for a rate cut this month. South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew a revised 0.3 percent in the April-June period from three months earlier,

Parliament in gridlock for 7 years amid partisan strife, ideological riftAfter seven years sidelined by partisan squabbling and ideological split, a campaign to enact legislation aimed at improving human rights in North Korea is gaining fresh momentum.Politicians, activists and defectors are ramping up efforts at a breakthrough in the wake of the alleged torture of Kim Young-hwan, a prominent anti

  The image is not related to the story. (123rf)A 15-month-old boy who spent days with his mother's body in a Melbourne suburb was "very clingy" when police found him Wednesday, an officer said. Investigators believe the mother died late Monday in the home in Yarraville where she lived with her son, The Age reported. A passerby noticed her body through a window Wednesday. Police launched a homicid

South Korea this year moved up five notches in terms of its global competitiveness from a year earlier, helped by improvements in the country's welfare and education systems, as well as its market efficiency, a report showed Wednesday.According to the annual report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the country's competitiveness index moved up to 19th place of the 144 countries studied this year.

One person was killed and another seriously wounded when a gunman opened fire during the victory speech of Quebec's newly elected separatist premier, who was unharmed, police said Tuesday.The shooting took place with Pauline Marois's Parti Quebecois projected to win Tuesday's elections in the mostly French-speaking province, ousting Premier Jean Charest from the legislature and his Liberals from p

 A compound in green tea -- epigallocatechin gallate -- may help combat cancer by shrinking tumors, researchers in Scotland suggest.Study leader Dr. Christine Dufes of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and colleagues at the University of Glasgow said the team used an approach that allowed the treatment of epigallocatechin gallate delivered specifically to the tumors int

This image is not directly related to the article (123rf)A man boating with his girlfriend and her daughter appears to have killed the woman and himself, leaving the girl alone, police in Britain said Monday.An autopsy determined the woman was killed by strangulation before her body was thrown into the water in the Norfolk Broads, The Daily Telegraph reported. Her body and the body of her suspecte

This image is not directly related to the article. (123rf)A 19-year-old man was arrested after allegedly driving over a tent at an Australian campground and injuring a family of four sleeping inside, officials said.The man, whose name was not reported, left a party near the campground in Kiama Saturday night and lost control of his vehicle before driving through a fence and running over the family

Ruling in Netherlands seen crucial as it will likely affect other European court verdicts　Aside from Samsung Electronics’ multibillion dollar patent suit against Apple Inc. in the U.S., the two are expected to stage another battle at a court in the Netherlands this Friday.According to Samsung, the two parties plan to face off again in Europe, starting at a court in The Hague on Friday, local time,

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling for Southeast Asian states to present a united front to the Chinese in dealing with territorial disputes in the South China Sea.Clinton will be in Indonesia's capital Monday to offer strong U.S. support for a regionally endorsed plan to ease rising tensions by implementing a code of conduct for all claimants to disputed islands. Jakarta is

South Korean stocks opened higher on Monday but swung to negative territory due to losses in major blue chips, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.28 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,895.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Samsung Electronics slumped 2.11 percent following Apple Inc.'s move to add more products to its patent infringement list. Top steelmaker

President Lee Myung-bak pledged Monday to make electronic anklets more effective, expand the personal information disclosure of sex offenders and consider all possible measures against rapists, including chemical castration, as public outrage runs high over the recent kidnapping and rape of a seven-year-old girl.Lee made the pledge during a biweekly radio address, calling last week's brutal rape,

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the slowest click in over 12 years last month amid government efforts to keep inflationary pressure down, a report showed Monday.The country's consumer price index rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier in August, compared with a 1.5 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea.The so-called core inflation, which excludes

Rep. Moon Jae-in, a lawyer-turned-politician, won his sixth straight victory in a regional primary of the Democratic United Party (DUP) on Sunday, coming closer to securing the party's ticket for the Dec. 19 presidential polls.Moon, formerly chief of staff to the late President Roh Moo-hyun, garnered 5,928 votes, or 50.1 percent, of the 11,834 cast in Incheon, a port city west of Seoul, the party'

Authorities in Florida said a man accused of attacking a pizza delivery driver said he punched the other man because he forgot the garlic knots.The Indian River County Sheriff's Office said the driver called 911 Aug. 19 and reported he had been punched in the face by Vero Beach customer Robert Wheeler, 48, because he hadn't brought garlic knots with Wheeler's order, TCPalm.com reported Thursday.Th