South Korea will seek to hire a foreign head coach to fill the vacancy on the men's senior national football team, the sport's technical director said Thursday.Lee Yong-soo, who was named the new head of the technical committee at the Korea Football Association (KFA) last week, said at a press conference that he has narrowed down candidates for the top coaching job in South Korean football to three foreign nationals."We've shortlisted three coaches based on specific criteria, and all three are f

Police said Thursday they will investigate false Internet rumors about the death of a business tycoon who owned the Sewol ferry that sank in southern waters in April. The state forensic lab has confirmed that a body found on June 12 at a plum farm on the south coast is that of Yoo Byung-eun after conducting DNA and other tests, but it has failed to determine the cause of his death.Some netizens claim that the body belongs to another person, while others insist that Yoo's X-ray pictures were mani

Popular K-pop boy band JYJ on Thursday began a massive annual festival in Seoul for its local and Japanese fan clubs.The trio has held the "JYJ Membership Week" festival annually in the capital city for free since 2012 to better communicate with their fans, drawing more than 20,000 people each year from home and abroad.This year's event, the third of its kind, is scheduled to last until Sunday at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul, according to C-Jes Entertainment, which manages the ba

A former opposition leader often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate announced his retirement from politics Thursday after suffering a humiliating defeat in parliamentary by-elections a day earlier.Sohn Hak-kyu, a former four-term lawmaker and ex-leader of what is now the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), lost to Kim Yong-nam, a political novice of the ruling Saenuri Party, in Wednesday's by-elections seen as a midterm referendum on President Park Geun-hye's

The two leaders of the main opposition party quit Thursday over a crushing defeat in parliamentary by-elections seen as a midterm referendum on President Park Geun-hye's conservative administration.The move by Kim Han-gil and Ahn Cheol-soo came a day after New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) gained only four out of the 15 seats at stake."I humbly accept the people's will. We lost the elections that we should have won. I am sorry for it," Kim said in a news conference at the parliament.Ahn

Jaejoong, a member of the K-pop boy band JYJ and an actor, talked about how he acts in a relationship during an interview with local media outlets on Wednesday.　Comparing himself to his character Youngdal, the fledgling actor said that he is honest when it comes to love. 　 (OSEN)“Just like my character in the drama ‘Triangle’ who gets into fight or conflicts outside but becomes a shy guy in front of his love Jung-hee, I am honest. I cannot hide my feelings or have a poker face when I love someon

Fears that the west African Ebola outbreak could spread to other continents grew on Wednesday with European and Asian countries on alert and a leading medical charity warning the epidemic was out of control.Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said the crisis gripping Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone would only get worse and warned there was no overarching strategy to handle the world's worst outbreak of the disease.The US Peace Corps announced it was pulling hundreds of volunteers from the three count

Last-ditch talks between Argentina and the US hedge funds it has branded "vultures" failed to reach agreement Wednesday, effectively pushing the country into default.Ratings agency Standard and Poor's had already placed Argentina in "selective default" when Economy Minister Axel Kicillof emerged from the New York talks to confirm that no deal had been reached.This left it inevitable that Latin America's third largest economy would be unable to meet its repayment obligations by midnight, placing

North Korea will likely resume its signature dance and gymnastics performance in 2015 after skipping it this year due to renovation work at the annual event's venue in Pyongyang, according to a related tour operator."Our Korean partners have confirmed that there will be no Arirang Mass Games in 2014," Koryo Tours, headquartered in Beijing, said on its website viewed on Thursday. The operator specializes in tour programs in the reclusive communist nation.The May Day Stadium is under "substantial

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, said Thursday its second-quarter net profit fell 19.5 percent from a year earlier as its mainstay handset business suffered from rising competition in the global market.Net income came to 6.25 trillion won (US$6.1 billion) in the April-June period, compared with 7.77 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales fell 8.89 percent on-year to 52.35 trillion won in the second quarter. Its operating profit ca

The chief of Hyundai Group, the parent firm of inter-Korean tour operator Hyundai Asan Corp., has requested government permission to visit North Korea next week to mark the anniversary of the death of her husband, who used to run the cross-border travel business, company officials said Wednesday.Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun and about 20 executives and employees of Hyundai Asan hope to inspect the company's properties at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on North Korea's east coast, on the occasion of

South Korea on Wednesday imposed a travel ban on Libya again as spiraling violence in the African country has raised security concerns.Seoul's foreign ministry said it decided to raise its travel alert for Libya by one notch to the highest level, citing grave concerns for security in the country. The move will be effective for six months.Since mid-July, South Korea, which has a four-tier travel advisory system, has strongly recommended that local companies withdraw their staff or reduce the numb

Voters took to polling stations on Wednesday in the largest-ever parliamentary by-elections, critical for political parties to gain the upper hand for the rest of the 19th National Assembly. 　As of 6 p.m., 28.8 percent of the voters, including those who took part in the July 25-26 early voting, had cast their ballots. The two-day early voting period saw a record-breaking 7.98 percent of voters cast their ballots. The figures for strategically important Dongjak-B of Seoul and South Jeolla Provinc

Prosecutors continued their investigation Wednesday into the driver of the sunken ferry Sewol's owner over suspicions of helping his employer evade a massive manhunt.Yang Hoe-jeong, 55, the chauffeur of Yoo Byung-eun, turned himself in to the prosecution a day earlier. The surrender came a week after Yoo, a billionaire who owned the Sewol ferry, was confirmed dead.The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said Yang underwent questioning for the second day mainly over whether he provided a hiding

The International Monetary Fund(IMF) urged South Korea to refrain from stepping into the foreign exchange market in its report released Tuesday, saying the appreciation of the country's currency is caused by its large trade surplus and excessive foreign reserves. In an external sector report based on the policies of 2013 and the first half of 2014, the IMF said, "In some countries (China, Korea), FX (foreign exchange) purchases for non-spot market interventions were deployed in the context of re

The government will inject about 26 trillion won (US$25.3 billion) in the forms of fiscal measures and policy financing during the remainder of this year to help the slowing economic recovery, the finance minister said Wednesday."In order to carry out diverse policy measures in a speedy manner, we plan to inject about 26 trillion won by strengthening fiscal measures and policy financing," Choi Kyung-hwan told a meeting with other policymakers. This is a follow-up on the government's economy mana

SM Entertainment’s new girl group Red Velvet will make their first appearance on TV on Aug. 1.The four-member group will launch their official debut with an onstage performance of their song “Happiness” on the KBS-2TV music show “Music Bank.” Red Velvet is the agency’s first launch since idol group f(x) five years ago. The new group consists of Seulgi, Irene and Wendy, all from SM’s predebut team “SM Rookies,” and a new member Joy, who has also trained under the agency.  Red Velvet will drop its

South Korea's industrial output grew at the fastest pace in four years and nine months in June, raising expectations that the economic recovery might be gaining some momentum, a government report showed Wednesday. According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries expanded 2.9 percent last month from May following a revised 2.8 percent fall tallied a month earlier. This marked the fastest on-month output growth since September 200

Overseas travel spending soared to a record high in June as South Koreans continued to flock to foreign destinations despite a prolonged slump in domestic demand, central bank data showed Wednesday.Overseas travel spending totaled US$1.7 billion in June, growing 23.3 percent from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The figure does not cover traveling for study purposes.The latest data, which is part of the current account, comes only two months after overseas travel spending set

North Korea plans to send a six-member media team to the South Korean city of Incheon next month for the coverage of the Asian Games, a news report said Wednesday.Last week, Pyongyang sent a letter to the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) requesting cooperation on its plan, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA), a Washington-based network."North Korea requested a letter of invitation (for its reporters) and a schedule (for games)," the RFA quoted an ABU official as saying. The ABU is headquarte