Lee Yong-soo hopes a meeting Monday with Pope Francis will provide some solace for the pain that still feels fresh more than seven decades after Japanese soldiers forced her into prostitution during World War II. Lee, 86, and a group of other elderly former “comfort women” will sit in the front row during the last Mass of the pope's five-day trip to South Korea. Francis cannot solve a long-running grievance that has become a major hurdle to better ties between neighbors and U.S. allies Japan and

Pope Francis called on the divided Koreas Monday to unite in the spirit of mutual forgiveness, saying they are "members of one family, one people.""All Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people," the pope said during a special Mass on peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. "Let us pray for the emergence of new opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences," the pope said during the Mass at Seoul's Myeongdong Cathedral that wrapped up

South Korea's foreign ministry has set up a task force to mainly deal with Seoul's shared history with Japan such as Tokyo's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, officials said Monday.The ministry said the three-member task force under the Northeast Asian affairs bureau is charged with dealing with Japan's moves to gloss over its wartime atrocities.The move comes as bilateral relations between Seoul and Tokyo have been strained to their lowest point in recent years due to Japan's stance o

Local firms spent more than 9 trillion won (US$8.8 billion) last year on business-related entertainment, government data showed Monday, indicating they continued to spend heavily to treat clients despite the slumping economy.According to the National Tax Service, the firms are estimated to have spent more than 9 trillion won last year on entertainment expenses, which refer to those covering meals, drinks and other treats aimed at facilitating business deals. The estimate is larger than the 8.77

South Korean golfer Park In-bee captured the Wegmans LPGA Championship in a playoff on Sunday in New York, coming from behind to take her fifth career major title.Park edged out Brittany Lincicome with a par on the first hole of their sudden death playoff at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, New York.This was Park's fifth career major, which ties her with Pak Se-ri for most LPGA majors won by a South Korean golfer.Park, former world No. 1 and currently ranked third, won three majors last year. Her

에볼라 공포가 아프리카 대륙뿐 아니라 전세계를 뒤덮고 있다. 서아프리카 라이베리아의 에볼라 바이러스 감염자 치료 시설에 괴한들이 침입해 환자 17명이 집단 탈출했다.  (Yonhap-AP)17일(현지시간) 현지 언론에 따르면 전날 오후 늦은 시간 라이베리아 수도 몬로비아에 위치한 한 에볼라 감염자 치료시설에 괴한들이 습격해 “에볼라는 존재하지 않는다”고 외치며 환자들의 타액과 혈흔이 묻은 집기를 약탈했다. 환자들과 간호사들은 괴한들의 공격을 피해 치료소에서 탈출했다. 격리치료를 받던 29명의 환자들이 치료소에서 벗어났으며 이 중 17명은 아직도 해방이 묘연한 것으로 전해졌다.  (Yonhap-AP)해당시설은 인구 5만 명이 밀집한 빈민가에 위치해 있다. 또 괴한들이 환자들의 타액과 혈흔으로 오염된 담요와 집기를 탈취해 에볼라 바이러스 추가 감염이 우려된다. 18일까지 에볼라 바이러스에 감염돼 숨진 희생자는 1145명으로 집계됐다. 에볼라 환자 집단 탈출 소식을 접한 누리꾼들은 “에볼

Seventeen Ebola patients in Liberia who fled from a guarantine centre after it was attacked by club-wielding youths were missing on Sunday, striking a fresh blow to efforts to contain the deadly virus.The attack on the Monrovia centre late Saturday highlighted the challenge faced by health authorities battling the epidemic that has killed 1,145 people since it erupted in west Africa early this year, spreading panic among local populations. (Yonhap-AFP)Doctors and nurses are not only fighting the

Yoochun, actor and member of K-pop boy band JYJ, cautiously revealed his feelings about his former group TVXQ in an interview with a local daily.　The singer-turned-actor had an interview with the Korean media outlet Edaily on Aug. 13 shortly before the release of his new film “Sea Fog” released the same day. 　In the interview, he was asked how he felt about his former band TVXQ and its members.  (OSEN)“I hope the five of us can do well in our position. I don’t know when, but it would be cool if

Rookie K-pop group Winner made its debut TV performance with songs “Empty” and “Color Ring” on the SBS music show “Inkigayo” on Sunday.　The members of the idol group, wearing trendy suits, received a big round of applause for their flawless performances and skillful manners onstage. 　Winner dropped its debut EP “2014 S/S” on Aug. 12 and made its official debut with an onstage performance at the AIA Real Life: Now Festival 2014 on Aug. 15. 　 (SBS)Winner’s debut track “Empty” has drawn positive re

South Korea may consider holding a long-delayed meeting between the South Korean and Japanese heads of state if Tokyo takes sincere steps toward resolving bilateral issues including the Japanese imperial army's wartime enslavement of Korean women, Seoul's foreign minister said Sunday."With next year marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (between South Korea and Japan), we would not exclude the possibility (of a Seoul-Tokyo summit meeting) if the Japanese side

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest handset maker, struck a deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Sunday to officially sponsor the Olympic Games until 2020, the South Korean company said. Under the deal, Samsung will sponsor South Korea's PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018 and the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 by supplying a wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops for athletes and other participants. IOC President Thomas Bach and Lee Jae-yo

Samsung SDI, South Korea's top battery maker, said Sunday it has signed an agreement with China's leading power company, Sungrow, to enter the Chinese energy storage market.The deal, signed in Hufei, where Sungrow Power Supply Co. is based, allows the two companies to establish a joint venture to develop and invest in the energy storage system (ESS).Sungrow is the world's second-largest manufacturer of solar power inverters.The companies said they have not yet selected the site for their manufac

Pope Francis smiled, waved, and hugged hundreds of the underprivileged during his visit to South Korea this week, amplifying his image as the people’s pope.　The top cleric of the Catholic Church met disabled children, North Korean escapees, and former sex slaves of the Japanese military during his event-packed five-day tour of Korea.　(Yonhap)But Pope Francis’s brief meeting with the father of a victim of the April ferry Sewol disaster on Saturday left a strong impression on South Koreans, accord

As Pope Francis concludes his five-day visit to Korea on Monday, his visit is expected to have a lasting impact on the country. 　The Korean Catholic Church anticipates the second papal visit in 25 years will bring newcomers to its fold as John Paul II’s visit did in 1989. 　Catholics account for 10.4 percent of the Korean population as the third-largest faith after Protestantism and Buddhism. Its membership grew rapidly from 2.9 million in 1995 to 5.4 million in 2013. 　 (Yonhap)“I personally hope

A provincial governor apologized Sunday on Twitter after his son was accused of beating a subordinate and sexually harassing another one in the military.The eldest son of Nam Kyung-pil, a five-term ruling party lawmaker who was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province in the June 4 local elections, is under investigation for allegedly hitting his subordinate in the stomach and face on a number of occasions since early April, military officials said.The son, a corporal, is also accused of sexually h

Pope Francis urged Asian bishops to be open to people of diverse cultures on Sunday during his first papal visit to Asia. 　Speaking to about 60 bishops from all over Asia, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church laid out proprieties for Asian evangelism, stressing the local church’s need for honest dialogue while retaining its Catholic identity. 　It follows the strong message of encouragement he gave the previous day during a Mass to beatify early Korean martyrs. 　 (Yonhap)“On this vast continen

A crowd of some 200 demonstrators defied a curfew that came into effect in Ferguson, Missouri early Sunday, days after police shot dead an unarmed black teen, triggering a wave of rioting.Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and a curfew starting at midnight Saturday (0500 GMT Sunday) until 5:00 am for the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by police on August 9. (Yonhap-AFP)Ferguson was mostly peaceful when the curfew began on Sunday

South Korea's negotiations with Bert van Marwijk, a former Dutch national head coach who had expressed interest in leading the South Korean national men's senior football team, have broken down due to a disagreement on salary and the length of his stay in the country, according to the local football association Sunday.Officials from the Korea Football Association (KFA) had been in talks with van Marwijk in Amsterdam since early August to fill the national football head coach position that has be

K-pop boy band JYJ’s Junsu released his selfies taken in Hong Kong on his Twitter Sunday. 　In one photo, Junsu is making a heart sign with his arms with Hong Kong’s night view in the background. In the other, he is getting his hair trimmed in a beauty salon. 　JYJ made its way to Hong Kong on Aug. 15 as part of its Asia concert tour “The Return of The King” following the release of its latest album “Just Us” on July 29. The trio will head to China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand to continue the t

The National Assembly will hold separate confirmation hearings this week for President Park Geun-hye’s choice of new culture minister, tax agency chief and police commissioner, the final batch of her government reshuffle carried out in the wake of Sewol disaster.　The nominees who are set to go through the parliamentary screening process are: Culture Minister nominee Kim Jong-deok, National Tax Service chief-designate Lim Hwan-soo and police commissioner-appointee Kang Sin-myeong. The three candi