A ruling party official threatened to disclose “bribes and women problems” surrounding professor Ahn Cheol-soo if he runs in the presidential election, Ahn’s aide said Thursday. The bombshell announcement is likely to deal a serious blow to Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate Park Geun-hye and her campaign centered on reform and transparency. Geum Tae-seop, a lawyer working with Ahn Cheol-soo,

So-called "junk DNA," genetic material in our cells long considered without purpose, plays a vital role in regulating our genes, international researchers say.A study of the 98 percent of the human genome that is not, strictly speaking, genes suggests more than three-quarters of entire allotment of DNA is active at some point in our lives, The Washington Post reported Wednesday."This concept of 'j

(123rf)A study using mice found heavy alcohol use rewires the brain making it harder for alcoholics to recover from a traumatic experience, U.S. researchers say. Study author Thomas Kash of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine said those who drank heavily were at increased risk for traumatic events such as car accidents and domestic violence, but that only partially explained the co

NASA's Voyager I space probe, launched 35 years ago, is about to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space, scientists say.The spacecraft has detected two changes in the surrounding expanse of empty space around it, exactly as scientist expected it to, before it enters interstellar space, The Register Web site reported Wednesday.This artists rendering provided by NASA shows This image sh

A powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and neighboring countries Wednesday, sending panicked people into the streets and briefly triggering a tsunami alert, but causing little damage. Authorities reported one confirmed death.``When we felt the earthquake, we held onto each other because we kept falling,'' said Rosa Pichardo, 45, who was walking on the beach in the town of Samara with

South Korea's top nuclear envoy met with his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday and discussed North Korea's nuclear weapons program, after a U.N. nuclear watchdog cited major progress in the construction of a light water atomic reactor in the North. Lim Sung-nam, Seoul's chief negotiator to six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions, had talks with Wu Dawei during his two-day trip

(123rf)A 15-year-old student received a prison term on Wednesday for habitually bullying a classmate until he jumped to his death.A 15-year-old victim, surnamed Kim, leapt to his death from an apartment building in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in early June after enduring months of beatings and extortion.Shortly before his suicide, the bullied student wrote that he might take his

(Yonhap News)South Korea said Wednesday that it will decide whether to build an airport for 500 billion won ($440 million) on an island in the East Sea this month.The results of the latest preliminary feasibility study on building an airplane landing field on Ulleung Island are due to be released later this month, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.South Korea has pu

Samsung forces employees at its Chinese factories to work up to five times the legal overtime limit, bans them from sitting down and denies basic labor rights, according to a US-based watchdog.According to China Labor Watch's probe of eight factories, the South Korean electronics giant is guilty of widespread "legal and inhumane violations."These include forcing workers at the Tianjin Samsung Mobi

The authorities failed to arrest the suspects in more than 9,000 cases of sexual assault between 2007 and 2011, data showed Wednesday.According to National Police Agency data, 81,860 sex crimes including rape were investigated during the five-year period.A protestor demanding tougher measures against sex offenders holds a sign that says “Protect our children” in Seoul. (Yonhap News)However, law en

Apple Inc. (AAPL) sent out invitations to a Sept. 12 product event in San Francisco, where the company is expected to unveil a redesigned iPhone. “It’s almost here,” Cupertino, California-based Apple said in the invitation, whose image includes a ‘5’ in shadow, possibly in reference to the new product’s name. At the event, set for 10 a.m. at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple will introduce a

Democrats launched President Barack Obama on his uncertain bid for re-election as they opened their national convention Tuesday. They looked to help Obama recapture the hearts of Americans once drawn to his message of hope and change, but now weary after years of economic weakness and political squabbles. First Lady Michelle Obama gestures as she appears at the podium for a camera test on the stag

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed condolence over the death of Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday."Kim Jong-un sent a message of condolences to the bereaved family of Moon Sun Myung," the state news media said in a brief English-language dispatch.Kim said in the message that "Though he passed away, his effort

(123rf)A 38-year-old man addicted to pornography was given a hefty prison term for raping his daughter, the latest in a string of unnerving sex crimes in Korean society.The Busan District Court on Tuesday sentenced the father, whose identity was withheld, to seven years in prison for raping his 13-year-old daughter in August 2010 and again in February 2011.The court also ordered that his personal

Singer Psy signed a contract with a major U.S. record label, according to his local agency YG Entertainment. The 34-year-old, who recently created a sensation with his latest hit “Gangnam Style,” will be working with Island Def Jam Recordings, the agency said. Upon the contract, the U.S. label is given the exclusive international publishing rights and management over Psy, YG Entertainment said. Th

Samsung Electronics Co. denied Monday an allegation by a civic group that children under the age of 16 have been employed by its Chinese supplier HEG Electronics Co. after a nearly monthlong inspection. In early August, New York-based labor rights group China Labor Watch released a 31-page report on the Chinese partner of the South Korean tech giant, saying the Chinese firm employed children aged

Moody's on Monday lowered the European Union's long-term issuer rating outlook from stable to negative, saying the move reflected the negative outlooks of the bloc's key budget contributors."It is reasonable to assume that the EU's creditworthiness should move in line with the creditworthiness of its strongest key member states," it said, citing negative outlooks for Britain, France, Germany and t

Iran on Monday gave Mongolia's president a tour of its main uranium enrichment plant, the first time that it has opened the site to a foreign leader.The visit by President Tsakhia Elbegdorj follows a summit of emerging nations in Tehran that Iranian officials said would showcase the failure of Western sanctions to isolate Iran diplomatically.State TV showed Elbegdorj inspecting centrifuges used to

Rafael Nadal has a partially torn patella tendon in his left knee and will be sidelined for at least the next two months, including Spain's upcoming Davis Cup semifinal against the United States.“I have to recover and I'll be back once the pain is gone,” Nadal said in a website posting linked to his Twitter feed.The 11-time Grand Slam champion has been out of action since losing in the second roun

A strong typhoon which hit North Korea last week killed 48 people and left more than 50 injured or missing, the country's state news agency said on Monday.Typhoon Bolaven pounded the Korean peninsula last Tuesday, leaving a trail of death and damage in the two Koreas. In addition to the casualties, 21,180 people were left homeless by the storm, which destroyed or inundated 6,700 houses, toppled mo