South Korean stocks closed 0.46 percent higher Tuesday as investors' sentiment was boosted by improved economic data from the eurozone and China, analysts said.The local currency closed higher against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 8.93 points to finish at 1,933.74. Trading volume was low at 294.2 million shares worth 3.98 trillion won ($3.62 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 542 to 265.Analysts said the gain of Seoul shares came as the Purch

A former top tax official accused of taking bribes from food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group while in office in 2006 admitted to the charges at a court hearing Tuesday.Jeon Goon-pyo, 59, allegedly accepted US$300,000 in U.S. bills from CJ Group officials in exchange for favors during a tax audit into the conglomerate in July 2006, shortly after he was named the commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS), prosecutors said.Jeon is further accused of taking a high-end watch worth 35 mil

K-pop superstar G-Dragon swept all the major music charts with the release of his second studio album “Coup d’Etat.” On Monday, part of the track list of the singer’s new album was released on the official YG Entertainment blog. Five tracks including “Black,” “R.O.D.,” “Niliria,” and “Who You” were released from the 14-track album. Seven tracks are set to be released on Thursday, while the rest of the album is planned for release on Sept. 13. “Black” and “Who You” instantly topped the music char

Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy Nokia Oyj’s handset business and license its patents for 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion), casting together the lot of two companies trying to stay relevant against fleet-footed technology rivals. The deal changes the nature of both companies. Nokia is exiting from the mobile-phone business it once dominated, leaving it mainly as a network equipment maker. Microsoft, which became the world’s largest software maker on the back of its Windows operating system, is mov

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to release its latest flagship smartphone, the LG G2, in the U.S. and Germany this month, in a bid to further shore up its presence in the global high-end smartphone market.The 5.2-inch smartphone by the world's third-largest smartphone maker debuted in South Korea last month to take on rivals Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. in the domestic market. The LG G2, the first device rolled out by LG Electronics after it dropp

Former President Chun Doo-hwan's second son was called in for questioning by prosecutors Tuesday over suspicions that he evaded taxes in a land transaction to turn a profit. It marks the first time that a child of Chun faced questioning since the prosecution office launched a probe team tasked with reclaiming the fortune of the former military dictator who was convicted of taking bribes while in office in the 1980s.Chun was ordered by the nation's top court in 1997 to return to state coffers aro

More than 1 in 5 Koreans in their early 20s may never get to meet their Mr. or Mrs. Right should the current trends continue, a study showed Tuesday.About 24 percent of men and 19 percent of women aged 20 in 2010 were expected to remain single until 45, according to the study released by the state-funded Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.People who remain single at the age of 45 and over are usually regarded as the non-married demographic.The chances are extremely low for people get

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was boosted by improved economic data from China and the eurozone, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 5.93 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,930.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded bullish, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.52 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix rising 0.71 percent. Samsung SDI, a local plasma display panel maker, added 1.18 percent.Mobile c

Foreign currency-denominated loans extended by South Korean banks to residents grew by US$1.28 billion in the first half from six months earlier on increased dollar demand to cover import bills, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.Outstanding foreign currency loans amounted to $31.21 billion as of the end of June, compared with $29.93 billion at the end of last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).In the second quarter, such lending grew by $950 million, faster than the $33

A senior Chinese military official renewed his country's "clear-cut" goal of ending North Korea's nuclear program through dialogue during a meeting with South Korean defense officials last week, China's defense ministry said Tuesday. Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, made the remark on Friday when he met a delegation of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, which is affiliated with South Korea's defense ministry, in Beijing."China's stand on

Looking dazed and sunburned, U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad walked ashore Monday, becoming the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the help of a shark cage. The 64-year-old Nyad swam up to the beach just before 2 p.m. EDT, about 53 hours after starting her journey from Havana on Saturday. As she approached, spectators waded into waist-high water and surrounded her, taking pictures and cheering her on.“I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you're n

Arsenal broke its transfer record to sign Mesut Ozil on Monday from Real Madrid after leaving its spending until the last day of the summer transfer window.The 24-year-old Germany playmaker joined for 50 million euros ($66 million) as American owner Stan Kroenke produced an emphatic response to the demands of fans.“Mesut is a top quality footballer who will be a fantastic addition to our talented squad,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.Arsenal has benefited from the ripple effect of Madrid sp

France released an intelligence report on Monday alleging chemical weapons use by Syria's regime that dovetailed with similar U.S. claims, as President Bashar Assad warned that any military strike against his country would spark an uncontrollable regional war and spread “chaos and extremism.” The verbal crossfire, including a rejection of the Western allegations by longtime Syrian ally Russia, was part of frenzied efforts on both sides to court international public opinion after President Barack

The Obama administration geared up for the biggest foreign policy vote since the Iraq war by arguing Sunday that new evidence shows the Syrian government used sarin gas in a deadly August attack. With its credibility on the line, the United States must respond, the country's top diplomat said.Members of Congress, deadlocked on just about everything these days and still on summer break, expressed sharply divergent opinions about whether to give President Barack Obama the go-ahead he requested to

South Korean striker Ji Dong-won, currently playing for Sunderland in the English Premier League, said Monday that he knew nothing about rumors that he had a medical test in Hamburg in order to join Hamburger SV of German Bundesliga.“I know nothing of the news. I found out about (the rumors) after I came to Korea,” the 22-year-old forward told reporters at South Korean national team’s training camp in Paju, north of Seoul. “I didn’t even go to Germany. I came straight from Newcastle.”Earlier in

축구선수 지동원(선덜랜드)이 함부르크(독일) 이적설에 대해 “처음 듣는 소식”이라며 부인했다.지동원은 2일 대표팀 합류를 위해 파주NFC에 입소했다. 이에 앞서 SNS상에서 지동원의 함부르크 이적설이 크게 주목받았다. 지동원이 함부르크의 메디컬테스트를 위해 독일로 이동했다는 소문도 있었다.파주NFC에 모습을 나타낸 지동원은 함부르크 이적설에 대해 “아니다. 나도 모르는 소식이다. 한국에 도착해 기사를 통해 알게 됐다. 토요일에 경기를 뛰고 한국으로 바로왔다. 독일에 가지 않았다. 나는 뉴캐슬에서 왔다”고 말했다.선덜랜드에 임대 이적한 기성용에 대해선 “서로 잘해보자는 말을 했다. 부상 없이 한시즌을 보내자는 말도 했다”고 전했다.그는 대표팀이 골기근에 시달리는 것에 대해 “2선에서 어떻게 하느냐에 따라 찬스가 날 것”이라고 말했다. 또 “이번 대표팀 경기가 터닝포인트가 될 것 같다. 시즌 초반 좋은 모습을 보이지 못했다. 자신감을 되찾고 돌아가겠다”고 덧붙였다.<관련 영문 기사>Ji

통합진보당 이정희 대표가 내란음모 혐의를 받고 있는 이석기 의원에 대한 체포동의안에 거세게 반대하면서 2일 단식농성에 들어갔다.이 대표는 이날 국회 본청 앞에서 열린 체포동의안 처리 중단 촉구 기자회견에서 “민주주의자라면 마땅히 이석기 의원의 생각에 찬성하느냐 반대하느냐를 떠나 마녀사냥을 중단해야 한다”고 주장하면서 단식농성에 들어갔다. 이 대표는 또한 “지금 체포동의안을 처리하는 것은 한국전쟁의 피바람 속에 자행됐던 즉결처분과 같다”면서 체포동의안 거부를 촉구했다.통합진보당 이석기 의원은 현재 내란음모 혐의 등으로 사전구속영장이 청구된 상태이다. 이 대표는 또한 민주당 등 야당에 대해서도 “국정원의 정치개입을 뿌리 뽑으려는 야당이라면 체포동의안 처리가 아니라 국정원의 불법적 정당사찰과 프락치 공작 진상을 규명하고 사법처리하는 데 나서야 한다”고 호소했다.이 대표는 또한 “국정원법을 위반한 정당사찰과 매수공작으로 만들어내고 왜곡 날조한 녹취록을 근거로 체포동의안을 통과시키고도 과연

GAESEONG/SEOUL -- South Korea unveiled plans Monday to resume support for the World Health Organization’s programs to help malnourished North Korean children in a fresh sign of warming cross-border relations. It pledged to finance half the $12.6 million program, which was launched in 2006 to help reform and repair hospitals, train personnel and boost supplies of key drugs there. Seoul’s contribution, which may be raised in the future, will come from an inter-Korean cooperation fund. It provided

Prosecutors on Monday raided the offices of DongA One Corp., a leading local flour milling company that belongs to former President Chun Doo-hwan's relative, on suspicion of laundering the secret funds of the military-backed ruler convicted of bribery while in office in the 1980s.Chun was ordered by the nation's top court in 1997 to return to state coffers some 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) he illegally accumulated through bribery from big businesses during his rule from 1980-88. Chun, who

Telecom operator KT announced Monday the company plans to provide Long Term Evolution-Advanced services starting this month. KT said in a news conference that it was now able to offer LTE-A services, as it secured a crucial bandwidth in the 1.8 GHz range through the state-led broadband frequency auction Friday. The newly secured bandwidth will be aggregated with an adjacent KT-held bandwidth to allow LTE-Advanced services without much additional cost. The company said this was more convenient th