South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. took up three out of the top 10 best-selling import cars in Germany, industry data showed Saturday, reflecting its robust sales in the European market.According to the data compiled by the German Association of the Automotive Industry, Hyundai sold 2,116 units of Tucson, a sport utility vehicle in the country last month, which ranked third after the Nissan Qashqai and the Fiat 500.The Hyundai Tucson, which first reached the European market in the sec

South Korean shares are expected to remain in a tight range next week as investors take to the sidelines ahead of corporate earnings seasons at home and abroad, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,972.05 points on Friday, down 0.08 percent from a week ago. KOSPI (Bloomberg)The country's stock market started higher this week as investor sentiment was boosted by gains in Wall Street, but caved in to institutional sell-offs, which was in part o

North Korea claimed Saturday that it has successfully conducted a ground test of a new engine for an inter-continental ballistic missile, the latest in a series of Pyongyang's claims of progress in its nuclear and missile programs.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued an order to conduct the "jet test of a new type high-power engine of inter-continental ballistic rocket and personally came to the Sohae Space Center to guide the test," the Korean Central News Agency said."The great success made

President Park Geun-hye pledged Monday to put pressure on North Korea until Pyongyang drops its nuclear weapons program and ends its tyranny.The communist country has long been accused of pursuing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles while starving its people and violating their human rights."I will sternly and strongly deal with North Korea... until North Korea embarks on the path toward denuclearization and ends the tyranny of oppressing the human rights of North Korean people and pushing th

South Korea's tax office has launched a tax probe on the country's largest church, sources said Monday.According to Yoido Full Gospel Church insiders, the National Tax Service (NTS) has started going through its tax records."The NTS Seoul Regional Office started the tax probe into our church... It has asked us to set up an investigation office at the CCMM building (located in Yeouido, southwestern Seoul)," Reverend Dr. Lee Young-hoon was quoted as saying by several church officials who later rel

South Korea's immigration office said Friday it is searching for a Chinese sailor who illegally entered the country from a port located in western Seoul, marking the third time for immigration security to be breached this year at the area. A 33-year-old Chinese crewman allegedly crossed over a 2.7-meter security fence at the western port city of Incheon at 12:56 a.m. using a 3-meter ladder. Investigators said while the fences have alarms that sound when physical contact is made through infrared

South Korea's military plans to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border into North Korea for the first time in more than a decade, an official said Friday, the latest in a series of punitive measures against North Korea over its recent provocations."The anti-North flyers could be scattered from around March when the wind starts to blow northward," the official said, without elaborating on the scale of the leaflet campaign.The resumption of the psychological warfare -- the first since 2004

The Defense Ministry opened Tuesday an investigation into allegations that the remains of North Korean soldiers were mistakenly included when South Korea repatriated the remains of Chinese soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.Following an agreement with China in 2013, South Korea sent home what were believed to be the remains of 437 Chinese soldiers in 2014 who fought alongside North Korea against the South during the war. Remains of another 68 soldiers were repatriated in March last ye

Prosecutors on Tuesday sought a one-year jail term for a former South Korean prime minister on charges of receiving bribes from a deceased businessman. Former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo was accused of receiving 30 million won (US$25,000) at his election office in April 2013 from Sung Wan-jong, the late chairman of construction firm Keangnam Enterprises Inc.Prosecutors said the sentence demand came as Lee's actions "severely damaged" the laws related to the transparency of political fundings.The

CHEERS TO BEERS -- Foreigners celebrate ‘‘World Beer Day‘’ on Friday at Oriental Brewery‘s beer center, located in Dongsung-dong, northern Seoul. The nation’s largest beer manufacturer invited nationals of 10 different countries to share the beer culture of their country and to experience OB‘s various beer products. Oriental Brewery

President Park Geun-hye called on Monday for efforts to ensure that a test-free semester program for middle school students will succeed, describing it as a key task to fundamentally change South Korea's education system.South Korea introduced the pilot program in 2013 to provide middle school students with chances to experience a wide range of learning activities for their future career.The so-called free semester program is currently administered at 2,551 middle schools this year, about 80 per

The ruling party leader publicly apologized Monday over a controversial parliamentary bill that was vetoed by and drew the ire of President Park Geun-hye."I apologize to the people for this situation," Saenuri Party chairman Kim Moo-sung told reporters after a meeting among top party members.The apology came after Park lambasted Saenuri for endorsing a bill that would give greater administrative power to the National Assembly.Park vetoed the bill last week, sending it back to the parliament for

When Dylann Roof was arraigned in Charleston, South Carolina, on murder charges, members of his victims’ families stated that they forgave him. Their words clearly gratified many white Americans, like Republican Party presidential candidate Rick Santorum, because they offered an escape from more controversial subjects. Asked what the country should do to prevent similar incidents in the future, Santorum refused to mention gun control, antiracism education or efforts to reduce systemic racial ine

It was a good week for President Barack Obama.His Trans-Pacific Partnership trade effort hurdled past a congressional road block put up by his own party. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to pull the rug out from under his signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act, then served up a momentous and historic victory for the progressive ethos in its ruling on marriage equality.A few hours after publicly applauding the marriage decision, Obama took to a pulpit and delivered one of the most poignant

WASHINGTON -- We learned in school about modern history‘s cruelest man-made refugee crises -- the Russian pogroms of the 1880s, World War I and World War II, which displaced 40 million people in Europe alone.The history curriculum should be revised before fall classes. In sheer numbers, there were more refugees in the world in 2014 than ever before recorded.Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that more than 40 million refugees and displaced persons roamed the wo

Public contrition has long been an art in Japan, and this past month has offered a great opportunity to study the form. June has seen a sudden rash of apologies from top CEOs (including the bosses of Toshiba, Sharp, Takata and Toyota) and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The chastened executives have each stood stiffly before a sea of cameras, begging forgiveness before plunging into a deep bow. (Tears were optional.)The apologies have coincided with Abe‘s much-touted June 1 introduction of a corporat

Diplomats and alcoholics don’t always have as much in common as is sometimes assumed. But there is useful guidance for policymakers in the Reinhold Niebuhr prayer that Alcoholics Anonymous has made its own: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”America’s response to China’s rise -- and in particular to its assertiveness in the South China Sea -- is a case in point. The United States should a

The widow of late President Kim Dae-jung, Lee Hee-ho, may soon make a trip to North Korea pending talks today at the North Korean border town of Gaeseong.The trip was initially planned for last year, when the North Koreans invited Lee to make a return trip to Pyongyang;  she had accompanied her husband during the historic visit to Pyongyang in 2000. In late October, Lee met President Park Geun-hye and expressed her desire to visit the North with relief supplies and knitted caps and mufflers for

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the nation since the first case was confirmed on May 20 now seems to be contained, with no new cases reported for two consecutive days as of Monday. MERS has infected 182, claiming 32 lives, and 2,682 remained in quarantine as of Monday. In hindsight, the government’s initial response to MERS was a failure. Sticking to the guideline that the virus does not spread across distances of more than 2 meters, the authorities fai

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of National Liberation Day, Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank will present solid gold birthday rings to babies whose first birthday is on Aug. 15.Parents with babies born on Aug. 15 last year may enjoy the benefit by joining the “Daehan Minguk Manse” deposit and savings plan in the name of their baby, officials said.The financial product, named after the three models of the Hana Financial Group, has been launched to pay respect to the nation’s liberation from col