President Bashar Assad has traveled to Moscow in his first known trip abroad since war broke out in Syria in 2011, meeting his strongest ally Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two leaders stressed that military operations in Syria_ in which Moscow is the latest and most powerful addition_ must lead to a political process. The surprise visit Tuesday reflects renewed confidence from the embattled Syrian president after Russia and Iran, another staunch ally, dramatically escalated their support re

Prosecutors raided the home and office of the dead nephew of the nation’s largest pyramid schemer on Wednesday as they try to find evidence that the conman may be alive.Cho Hee-pal has been at large since 2008 and is suspected of swindling about 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) from an estimated 50,000 people, according to prosecutors in Daegu, South Gyeongsang Province, where Cho started the scheme.Cho, who would be 58 if alive, allegedly asked people to invest in a medical device business from 20

South Korea’s state-run gas corporation said Wednesday that it will import 2.8 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually from the United States starting in 2017.The amount to be imported is equal to 10 percent of what the country needs per annum, Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) said. It added that bringing in LNG from North America can reduce the country’s dependence on imports from existing suppliers.Asia’s fourth largest economy is one of the largest consumers of natural gas in the world, w

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that history lessons should not “lead to division within people over ideological standoff,” in a rebuttal to the opposition’s criticism of the government’s decision to revive state history textbooks for secondary education. Members of a conservative civic group protest against NPAD chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in (right) and other party members who were holding a rally opposing the government’s revival of state-published history textbooks in Yeouido, T

The nationwide dispute over the Education Ministry’s recent decision to reinstate state history textbooks for secondary education hinges on the government and the ruling party’s claim that current textbooks are biased in favor of the leftists. But scholars and the opposition lawmakers have pointed out that most of the points used as evidence of “left-leaning bias” are false, heralding further head-butting over the issue.  Members of a conservative civic group protest against NPAD chairman Rep. M

The nation’s export sector could face further woes in terms of price competitiveness as Japan may consider another round of quantitative easing later this year, some analysts predict.　Korea, with an export-driven economy, was pinning hopes on its currency’s weakness against the Japanese yen and U.S. dollar during the third quarter after the country suffered a heavy slump in exports in the first half.The Japanese currency, which rapidly gained versus the won and hovered 1,000 won per 100 yen in e

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reshuffled his Cabinet to focus on reviving the world's No. 3 economy.A newly appointed minister will steer programs aimed at achieving a strong economy and increased birth rate so the population stabilizes and the country can stay afloat.  Nine ministers were replaced in the reshuffle Wednesday, while key posts, including the foreign, defense and finance ministers, were unchanged.Abe pushed through unpopular security legislation last month and is refocusin

Sweden's Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich of the US and Aziz Sancar, a Turkish-American, won the 2015 Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday for work on how cells repair damaged DNA.The three opened a dazzling frontier in medicine by unveiling how the body repairs DNA mutations that can cause sickness and contribute to ageing, the Nobel jury said."Their systematic work has made a decisive contribution to the understanding of how the living cell functions, as well as providing knowledge about the molecula

A Seoul court will call in Korean-American Edward Lee, who was cleared of murdering a South Korean college student 18 years ago, to take the witness stand in the fresh trial of new murder suspect Arthur John Patterson. 　Lee, 36, who recently returned to Korea, will accept the prosecution’s request to testify as a witness in the trial set to begin Thursday, his father said in an interview with a local news outlet. The father said Lee is willing to take the stand to get “the wrong path” set straig

Education-related institutes in South Korea have been hacked over 120,000 times in the past five years, a lawmaker said Monday.From 2011 to August of this year, a total of 121,185 cyberattacks occurred on education institutes, said Rep. Rhee Chong-hoon of the ruling Saenuri Party. Citing data from Korea Education and Research Information Service, he said that government institutes including the Education Ministry, Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation and Korean Educational Development I

Roughly 75 percent of victims and survivors in last year’s Sewol ferry tragedy have filed for government compensation, the government said Thursday. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, families of 208 out of 304 killed or missing have agreed to accept the government’s offer of financial compensation, which is expected to reach up to 470 million won ($399,000) per victim.The families of nine who remain unaccounted for have also requested the compensation, after the ministry vowed t

South Korean prosecutors have requested a preliminary arrest warrant for a former spokesman of the Education Ministry on suspicion of receiving kickbacks from a local college, officials said Thursday.Kim, 48, is believed to have received money and favors worth 60 million won ($51,000) from chairman Lee Jung-hak of Sohae College in Gusan, North Jeolla Province, according to the Jeonju District Prosecutor’s Office. Lee has been investigated for allegedly embezzling some 14.6 billion won in school

Russia launched its first air strikes in Syria on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin won parliamentary permission to use force abroad, the United States said. A U.S. official said the strike was near the city of Homs in what is Moscow’s first engagement in a distant theatre of war since the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.Russia’s deepening engagement in Syria comes as Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama push rival plans on ways to defeat the Islamic State group in Syria and on the futu

A group of 119 minority shareholders filed a class action suit against Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. on Wednesday, demanding 4.1 billion won (US$3.47 million) in compensation for losses from an investment made based on the company’s doctored financial statement.The plaintiff filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court, claiming the shipbuilder exaggerated profits in the 2014 financial statement by lowering production costs and hiding losses. They also held Deloitte Anjin

A youth employment fund proposed by President Park Geun-hye drew 1.92 billion won (US$1.62 million) from about 50,000 people in the first five days after its creation on Sept. 21, the presidential office said Wednesday. Park proposed to establish a private fund that helps create jobs for young people to supplement state programs as youth unemployment has become a serious social problem in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Park donated 20 million won and promised to give 3.2 million won, or 20 perce

Professors at Yonsei University on Tuesday joined a nationwide move against the government’s attempt to reinstate state-published history textbooks for secondary education. The move came a week after over 15,000 educators across the country had protested what they claimed was a policy that “downplays democracy and creative education.”Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea has been pushing to give the government the exclusive rights to publish school history textbooks. Currently, eight local publishers

A Seoul branch of a Japanese bank is embroiled in a sex scandal involving several Korean female workers and a Japanese executive, according to local reports and sources.Local prosecutors have been investigating a claim by a female employee of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation that she was sexually harassed by an executive from the company’s Tokyo headquarters. The incident occurred in April and the report was filed with the Seoul Regional Ministry of Employment and Labor in May.The prosecution

The ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday decided to push ahead with five labor law amendments -- including measures to ease restriction on layoffs and extending the maximum employment period for temporary workers -- as its party platform, showing its resolve to see through the key elements of the labor reform drive within this year. The tripartite committee of labor, management and the government on Sunday struck a deal on reforming the labor market. The deal was endorsed by the Federation of Korea

Over half of all students taking the “second foreign language” option in this year’s college entrance exam have opted for Arabic, which appears to be fueled by the widespread belief that the curved grading system makes it easier to get high grades in the subject, a local private education firm said Tuesday.According to Haneul Education, 51.6 percent of students who chose the second foreign language for the exam -- known here as Suneung -- will take Arabic test while another 18.5 percent of the a

South Korea has blazed its way into economic prosperity over the past seven decades, and the Korea Development Institute School has been sharing the country’s experience in social and economic development by providing an online database and education projects for civil servants from other countries, the school’s dean said Monday.Headlining the school’s mission is “K-Developedia,” an online database launched by the Sejong-based institute in 2012 which carries resources related to Korea’s developm