The row over the alleged irregularities in the prosecution’s probe into the National Intelligence Service is threatening to escalate to another full blown war between the two main political parties over last year’s presidential election legitimacy.Following the testimony from Yoon Seok-yeol at the parliamentary audit on the prosecutors’ office, voices questioning the legitimacy of last year’s presidential election have risen from the main opposition Democratic Party. Yoon is the head of the pros

Korea's first astronaut Yi So-yeon refuted Wednesday a lawmaker's claims that taxpayers' money spent on her has been a waste since she is pursuing a seemingly unrelated degree in business, saying that still her ultimate goal is to help advance Korean space technology."It was a decision I made after realizing that I can't live the rest of my life talking about what I did in space for 11 days. I chose to pursue an MBA because I want to be someone who connects science with investors," Yi told Yonha

A South Korean affiliate of Australia's Macquarie Group has pulled its investment from a Seoul subway line after a controversial dispute over fares with the municipal government, city officials said Wednesday.Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund (MKIF), the second-largest shareholder of the Seoul Metro Line 9 Corp. with a 24.53 percent stake, sold its shares to three major local life insurance companies, they added. The three -- Kyobo Life, Hanwha Life and Shinhan bank -- bought the shares owned

Top-ranked amateur Lydia Ko has announced her decision to turn professional at the age of 16 and after foregoing more than $1 million in potential prize money.Ko, ranked No. 5 in the world, tweeted her decision on Wednesday, saying she made up her mind after taking advice from All Blacks rugby player Israel Dagg.She posted on Twitter: “made a monumental decision today with a little help from my (at)AllBlacks friend (at)Izzy_Dagg (hash)LOVEGolf.”New Zealand Golf chief executive Dean Murphy confir

South Korean football veteran Lee Young-pyo announced his retirement through his Canadian club on Wednesday.Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Major League Soccer (MLS) confirmed on its website that Lee, 36, will play his final football game on Sunday at its home against Colorado Rapids."I have been playing (football) for the last 28 years, so I think it's time to stop," Lee was quoted as saying on the website."It is an emotional time for me, but I'm so happy because when I came here two years ago, I

South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Wednesday morning as investors were mixed on the lower-than-expected figures in the U.S. jobs data for September, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 0.15 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,056.27 as of 11:20 a.m.Brokerages traded higher, with Samsung Securities rising 0.62 percent and KDB Daewoo Securities climbing 2.49 percent. Woori Investment & Securities added 1.72 percent.Carmakers traded mixed, with No. 1 Hy

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as the weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data for September supported the outlook that its central bank may delay tapering of its economic stimulus, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 5.62 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,061.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.41 percent and top steelmaker POSCO rising 0.94 percent. Leadin

The Norwegian government said Tuesday it has frozen its donations to a South Korea-based environmental organization after reports emerged that its chairman spent huge sums on flights and food.The Global Green Growth Institute, which advises developing nations on low carbon growth policies, came under fire in Denmark last week after it was revealed its Danish chairman, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, spent more than $180,000 on first class flights and food during 15 trips. Lokke Rasmussen heads Denmark's l

Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj will visit Pyongyang next week for talks with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, a news report said, as the two nations are endeavoring to deepen their strategic ties.Elbegdorj, who plans to arrive there on Monday, will become the first foreign head of state to meet the North's young leader since he formally took the helm of the reclusive communist nation last year, according to Japan's Kyodo News Service, which cited an unnamed Mongolian governm

The 12-year-old student who opened fire on a Nevada middle school campus, wounding two classmates and killing a teacher before he turned the gun on himself, got the weapon from his home, authorities said Tuesday.School District police said they are still working to determine how the boy obtained the 9mm semi-automatic Ruger handgun used in the Monday morning spree at Sparks Middle School. The boy's parents are cooperating with authorities and could face charges in the case, police said.Authoriti

South Korea's finance minister called for lawmakers on Wednesday to accelerate their efforts to pass pending bills initiated by the government to boost the overall economy. "Over the past eight months, the government has worked hard to boost the economy and strengthen its fundamentals but such efforts have not resulted in helping how people actually feel (in their lives)," Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told a meeting with other policymakers here. "This is blamed much on uncertain economic situat

Unionized workers at three branches of Seoul National University Hospital went on strike early Wednesday morning, demanding a pay raise and better working conditions.The action came after the labor and management of the hospital failed to reach a deal on the demands. It is the first time in six years that the hospital's labor union has taken the collective action."With the minimum level of manpower remaining at work for critical services, including the emergency and intensive-care rooms, 350 to

A special U.N. panel looking into North Korea's human rights abuses said Monday it will hold public hearings here next week to be attended by several experts. The two-day session from Wednesday is part of efforts by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) to gather information from witnesses addressing human rights violations alleged to have occurred in the secretive North.The three-member body, led by retired Australian Judge Michael Kirby, conducted similar events in Seoul and Tokyo in August, followe

Apple Inc. is refreshing its iPad lineup and slashing the price of its Mac computers ahead of the holiday shopping season, as it faces an eroding tablet market share and growing competition from rival gadget makers.Apple unveiled a new, thinner, lighter tablet called the “iPad Air” along with a slew of new Macs Tuesday at an event in San Francisco. The iPad Air weighs just 0.45 kilogram, compared with 1.4 pounds (0.64 kilogram) for the previous version. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller called

A ranking Seoul prosecutor requested an internal inspection into himself Tuesday after allegations arose that he had ordered his subordinates to tone done their ongoing investigation into a high-profile election meddling scandal involving the state intelligence agency.The move comes a day after a senior prosecutor, who formerly headed the investigation team into the scandal, testified during a parliamentary audit that Cho Young-kon, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, has

North Korea has about 130 readily deployable hovercraft in its coastal waters, and its leader Kim Jong-un has regularly observed amphibious assault trainings targeted at South Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) here said Tuesday.North Korea has 70 deployable air-cushion vehicles on its west coast and 60 of the amphibious vehicle in the east at its four hovercraft bases, the JCS said in a report to the parliament. The hovercraft can carry about 40 commandos at speeds of up to 96 kilometer per

South Korean stocks traded 0.32 percent lower late Tuesday morning due to losses in techs and financial shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.58 points to 2,046.43 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares lost ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 1.64 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix losing 3.37 percent. Local handset maker LG Electronics also shed 0.99 percent.Financial firms traded bearish, with Shinhan Financial decreasing 3.29 percent a

The main opposition party's leader demanded Tuesday that President Park Geun-hye apologize over allegations of outside pressure in a prosecution investigation into suspicions the state intelligence agency meddled in last year's presidential election.Democratic Party leader Kim Han-gil issued the demand a day after a senior prosecutor leading the investigation into the scandal testified during a parliamentary meeting that his team has been under constant pressure not to aggressively pursue the pr

An international forensic team has confirmed the identities of three South Korean nationals killed in last week's plane crash in Laos, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.The Lao airplane crashed into the Mekong River amid bad weather last week, killing all 49 passengers and crewmembers on board, including three South Korean businessmen. "According to the forensic team on the site, three bodies recovered from the river were found to be South Koreans," the foreign ministry said in a brief state

Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be visiting Korea next week to attend an economic forum, the organizing think tank said Tuesday. The French economist is scheduled to appear at an economic forum to be hosted by the Institute for Global Economics on Oct. 30 and will give a speech on global economic trends and governance overall, the institute said. His visit to Seoul is only to attend the conference, and he will return to Paris as soon as the