The feud between the Saenuri Party and Democratic Party is deepening over the intelligence agency’s alleged meddling in the election after the two parties ended a brief union to consent to the arrest of a leftist lawmaker charged with plotting a rebellion. Amid escalating wrangling between the two sides, the National Assembly has remained idle, though the 100-day regular session began on Sept. 2.As the DP continues the campaign to pressure President Park Geun-hye into meeting with its chairman R

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has a baby daughter named Ju-Ae, according to former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who labelled the supreme ruler of the isolated, authoritarian state a "good dad."Rodman, who calls Kim a friend and just returned from his second visit to Pyongyang, told the Guardian newspaper that he had spent a "relaxing time by the sea" with the leader's family," during his latest five-day trip."I held their baby Ju-Ae and spoke with (Kim's wife) as well. He's a good dad and has a bea

Financial companies in South Korea will step up their identification process for online users in a broad move to prevent cyber fraud, which is becoming a rampant problem here, the financial regulator said Monday. All financial companies, including banks, insurers, brokerage firms and savings banks, must have their online users identify themselves through either a text message or an automated response system, starting from Sept. 26, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). An online

The chief prosecutor on Monday demanded a local daily publish a correction on reports of him allegedly having a child through an extramarital affair. The Chosun Ilbo, one of the nation’s major newspaper outlets, reported last week that Prosecutor General Chae Dong-wook has a son born in 2002 from a woman whom he met in 1999. The boy left for the United States last month and had attended a private elementary school in Seoul before then, the report claimed. Chae has a daughter with his wife.Callin

 이상민(41) 농구 삼성 썬더스 코치가 이혼 소송을 진행 중이라는 보도로 이목이 집중되고 있다.9일 뉴시스는 법조계의 말을 빌려 이상민이 결혼 14년 만에 이혼 소송을 진행중이라고 보도했다.보도에 따르면 이상민 코치는 지난해 말, 수원지법 성남지원에 부인을 상대로 이혼 및 재산 분할 청구 소송을 냈다. 부인 A씨 역시 지난 7월 이상민 코치를 상대로 이혼 청구 소송을 제기한 상태다.이상민 부부는 지난 1999년 결혼, 슬하에 1남 1녀를 두고 있다.지난 2010년 서울 삼성 썬더스에서 현역 은퇴한 이상민 코치는 이후 2년간의 미국 생활을 거쳐 지난해 삼성에 코치로 부임했다. <관련 영문 기사>Basketball legend Lee undergoes divorce: reportLee Sang-min, a retired basketball star and assistant coach for Samsung Thunders in South Korea’s professional basket

South Korean stocks traded 0.78 percent higher late Monday morning as foreign investors continued to scoop up local shares, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 15.25 points to 1,970.56 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares traded higher, with top chipmaker SK hynix rising 4.24 percent and handset maker LG Electronics adding 0.67 percent. Top player Samsung Electronics edged up 0.15 percent.Shipbuilders also gathered ground, with Hyundai Heavy Industries adding 3.25

A senior U.S. envoy on the North Korean nuclear program was to arrive in South Korea later Monday for talks on the situation of the Korean Peninsula and to align the allies' policy on Pyongyang, officials here said.During a two-day visit to Seoul, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies was scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yong and other senior officials here to assess the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss ways to coordinate the al

A sexual offense was reported every 25 minutes in South Korea in the first seven months of 2013, data showed Monday, ringing alarm bells over the safety of those vulnerable to sex crimes. According to the data by the National Police Agency and submitted to Rep. Kim Hyun of the main opposition Democratic Party, a total of 12,234 cases of rape and other types of sexual harassment were reported from January to July this year, which means an incident occurred every 25 minutes. The so-called crime wa

Cigarette consumption is expected to reach a record low in the first half of this year due to increased regulations against smoking and heightened health awareness, according to industry data.The consistently falling consumption of cigarettes is likely to further dent the bottom lines of tobacco giants such as KT&G, Philip Morris and BAT, market analysts said.Korea’s aggregate sales amounted to 89.3 billion cigarettes in Korea last year, down almost 1 percent from 90 billion a year ago.KT&G, Kor

Fresh off a resounding win over Haiti, South Korea will take on a depleted Croatia in their football friendly this week.The match will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, at 8 p.m. Tuesday. It will be the second meeting this year between the 56th-ranked South Korea and No. 8 Croatia.South Korea defeated Haiti 4-1 last Friday to snap its four-game winless streak under head coach Hong Myung-bo, who took over the national team in June. The four-goal outburst wa

Sales of pension lotteries in South Korea shrank by nearly half on-year during the first six months of this year as public interest in monthly payout seems to be petering out, government data showed Monday.According to the data provided by the finance ministry, sales of "Pension Lottery 520" came to 68.1 billion won (US$62.5 million) during the January-June period, down 48.1 percent from 131.3 billion won tallied a year earlier. The pension lottery product pays out prize money to winners in mont

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on gains in construction firms and mobile carriers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 12.01 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,967.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Builders traded bullish, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction rising 0.49 percent and Daelim Industrial moving up 1.9 percent. Daewoo Engineering & Construction added 1.54 percent.Mobile carriers also gathered ground, with No. 1 SK Telecom adding

A top South Korean presidential aide handling national security affairs will have to adjust his plan to visit Washington in September, especially as the Barack Obama administration is preoccupied with the Syrian crisis, an informed source said Sunday.Kim Jang-soo, head of the national security office at Cheong Wa Dae, initially planned to travel to the U.S. this month, which would have been his first trip here since taking the post in February."Kim has been pushing for a trip to Washington for m

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny swept up far more votes than expected Sunday while finishing second in Moscow's mayoral election, a pivotal contest that has energized Russia's small opposition in ways that could pose a risk to the Kremlin in the days and years ahead. Partial results released early Monday showed Navalny with about 27 percent of the vote, while the Kremlin-backed incumbent, Sergei Sobyanin, held a clear lead with about 52 percent. Exit polls, however, predicted Navalny would get

Fussing with her skirt and flubbing her shots, Serena Williams was troubled in the U.S. Open final by the swirling air and the strong play of Victoria Azarenka.After one miss, Williams declared, ``I can't play in this wind.'' After blowing a big second-set lead, Williams chucked her racket toward the sideline, and it bounced back onto the court.In the end, Williams pulled herself together, as she usually does when it matters the most. Facing her first test of the past two weeks, the No. 1-seeded

With the IOC fixing what it admits was a big mistake, wrestling returned to the Olympic fold Sunday after seven months in limbo and promised to do what it takes to keep its place for the long run.Presenting new leadership and a revamped sport, wrestling easily defeated bids from baseball-softball and squash to secure a spot in the program for the 2020 and 2024 Games.The result capped a frantic six-month campaign by wrestling body FILA to save its Olympic status after the IOC executive board surp

대니얼 러셀 미국 국무부 동아태 차관보는 6일 북핵 6자회담 재개와 관련, "우리가 초점을 맞춰야 하는 것은 북한이 오직 유엔 안보리 결의와 국제의무를 준수해야 안보(security)를 확보할 수 있다는 것을 북한 스스로 깨닫게 하는 것"이라고 밝혔다. 러셀 차관보는 이날 서울 도렴동 외교부 청사에서 김규현 외교부 1차관과 이경수 외교부 차관보를 면담한 뒤 기자들과 만난 자리에서 6자회담 재개 전망을 묻는 질문에 "그 질문에 답하는 올바른 방법은 회담 재개 전망보다 회담 목적이 무엇이냐는 것"이라면서 이같이 말했다.그는 "2005년 (9·19) 공동성명을 보면 6자회담 및 모든 외교적 노력의 목적이 완전하고 검증가능한 한반도 비핵화라는 것이 분명하다"면서 "한국의 동료와 서울에서 논의한 것은 핵무기와 핵프로그램의 추구로 북한이 안보와 이익을 약화시키고 있다는 것"이라고 말했다.러셀 차관보는 중국이 제안한 1.5트랙(반관반민) 차원의 6자회담 당사국 회의에 참여할지를 묻는 질문에는 "

Investigators grill Chun’s son over alleged tax evasion, land deal코리아 헤럴드 9월 4일일자 기사 기사 내용 요약:전두환 전 대통령 비자금 의혹을 수사하는 과정에서 검찰이 차남 전재용 씨가 외삼촌 이창석 씨와의 부동산 거래 및 해외 부동산 매입 과정에서 부정이 있었는지 여부를 조사했다. 전재용 씨는 오산시 내에 있는 이 씨 명의의 땅을 매입하는 과정에서 수백억원의 이득을 남겼는데, 검찰은 이것이 불법 재산 증여가 아닌지 의심하고 있다.Prosecutors investigating former President Chun Doo-hwan’s concealed assets on Tuesday grilled his son over allegations that he dodged a large sum of taxes in a shady real estate deal and purchased luxury residences abroad wi

A pro-North Korean paper published in Japan said Friday that the scandal surrounding a South Korean leftist lawmaker has been created by Seoul's spy agency to deflect attention from its meddling in last year's presidential race.In an article titled "The revival of the treason conspiracy law," the Chosun Sinbo blasted the legal actions taken by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) as a concerted move to persecute progressives. The official paper of the General Association of Korean Residents i

새누리당은 6일 내란음모 혐의로 구속수감된 통합진보당(이하 진보당) 이석기 의원에 대한 제명안을 국회 윤리특위에 제출했다.이 의원 제명안에는 새누리당 소속 의원 153명 전원이 참여했다.새누리당은 제명안에서 "내란음모, 국가보안법 위반 등 사안이 중대한 이 의원이 법원 확정판결 전까지 국회의원직을 유지하게 됨에 따라 국가기밀 누설, 국가기능 혼란 등을 초래할 우려가 매우 높다는 점에서 국회법에 따른 징계의 종류 중 가장 중한 단계인 '제명'에 처할 것을 엄중히 요구하는 바"라고 밝혔다.새누리당은 또 "이 의원은 조직원들에게 전쟁상황에 대비한 물질적, 기술적 준비를 신속히 갖출 것과 총공격 명령이 떨어지면 한순간에 폭동을 일으킬 것을 선동하는 한편, 휘하 조직원들과 함께 북한의 전쟁상황 조성 시 이에 호응해 국가기간시설 파괴, 요인 암살 등 전국적 범위의 혼란을 야기함으로써 국가기관을 전복하기 위 한 폭동을 모의했다"고 지적했다. 김태흠 원내대변인은 국회 브리핑에서 "사법적 판단과 별