In a desperate bid to overcome the liquidity crisis, Tong Yang Group said Tuesday it intends to sell off the entire stake in its thermal power arm, after the embattled conglomerate failed to get help from creditor banks and its ex-affiliate. The family-run company said it is willing to sell a 100-percent stake in Tongyang Power Inc., which is valued at about 1 trillion won (US$931.1 million), according to sources familiar with the matter. Tongyang Power is considered Tong Yang's core and lucrati

South Korea decided not to select Boeing's F-15SE as the country's next fighter jet Tuesday amid concern the sole-remaining candidate for the 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) project is not suitable as it lacks stealth features. The decision, which came in a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) presided over by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, prompted the government to restart the procurement program from the beginning, further delaying the replacement of the aging fl

Five New Zealand motorcyclists crossed the heavily armed inter-Korean border from North Korea to South Korea on Thursday with the goal of promoting peace on the divided peninsula, officials here said.North Korean media reported earlier on the arrival of the bikers and said they have visited many parts of the country as part of their trek across the Korean Peninsula.On Wednesday, the Seoul government allowed the bikers to cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) as they want to use the visit to wish fo

Unionized workers of South Korea's second-largest carmaker Kia Motors Corp. went on a partial strike Thursday to press their demand for a wage hike and other fringe benefits, a company official said.The walkout by about 30,000 workers, the second since last Wednesday, comes a day after their leaders failed to work out differences with their management in the latest negotiations. The workers also plan to down tools for four hours on Friday.The union calls for, among other things, a special bonus

A scorching heat wave has killed 10 people in South Korea this summer, the health and welfare ministry said Tuesday, as the weather agency issued a heat advisory and heat warning for most parts of the country.The heave wave has gripped South Korea for weeks as temperatures topped 33 C in Seoul and other major cities.Temperatures have reached a record 39.2 C in Gimhae, near South Korea's second-largest city of Busan, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.A heat advisory is issued w

State prosecutors on Tuesday raided the properties of former President Chun Doo-hwan's relatives as part of intensive efforts to collect the massive amount of money he had illegally amassed while in office in the 1980s.Chun was ordered by the country's top court in 1997 to return to the state coffers the 220 billion won (US$196.8 million) he was found to have illegally accumulated during his military rule from 1980 to 1988. So far, the former dictator has paid only a quarter of the total, with s

The parliamentary spokesman of South Korea's main opposition party resigned under pressure Friday, taking responsibility for making what was perceived by critics as a disparaging remark against the family of President Park Geun-hye.Citing a book he read, Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, the parliamentary spokesman for the Democratic Party (DP), on Thursday called Park's father, former President Park Chung-hee, a "gwitae," or a "baby born to a ghost," meaning that he should not have been born.The book, authore

올 여름에 맛봐야 할 전통 빙수와 퓨전 빙수에 대한 모든 것홍대에 위치한 카페 오븐의 밀크 팥빙수는 전통 빙수의 중요한 세가지 요소를 절묘하게 섞어 중독성 있는 맛을 낸다. 팥, 얼음 그리고 우유는 빙수의 맛을 좌우하는 중요한 세가지 요소들인데 이 세 가지의 완벽한 조합은 상상을 초월하는 맛을 만든다. 팥, 얼음 그리고 우유는 카페 오븐의 전통 빙수를 이번 여름에 가장 주목할 빙수로 등극시키고 있다. 불필요한 최신 토핑은 과감히 뺀 전통 빙수는 옛날 향수를 불러일으키를 뿐만 아니라 그 자체로 맛이 좋다. 바로 곱고 부드럽게 갈린 얼음, 팥에서 오는 맛과 질감이 바로 카페 오븐의 팥빙수를 특별하게 만드는 점이다. 팥은 지나치게 으깨지지도 않은 형태를 그대로 유지한 아주 부드러운 고소한 맛을 간직하며 살짝 단맛을 낸다.  “여기에 얼마나 정성을 담느냐가 맛을 좌우하죠.” 카페 오븐의 셰프 한성은씨는 말한다. 한성은씨는 4시간동안 팥을 삶는다고 말한다. “저희 어머니가 빙수에 쓸 팥을 재

South Korea's top court on Friday partly reversed a lower court ruling that said two U.S. producers of a toxic chemical should compensate most of the South Korean Vietnam War veterans who sued the firms for their exposure to the defoliant.Sending the case back for review, the Supreme Court said the Seoul High Court should reconsider its 2006 verdict of a combined63 billion won (US$61 million) in damages awarded to 6,795 South Koreans.In a ruling, the court did not recognize epidemiological corre

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean police say a local man is responsible for prank 911 calls that prompted school lockdowns in New Jersey last year.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Monday in a statement that a 19-year-old surnamed Lee made calls from South Korea to a New Jersey communications center and threatened to use an AK-47 to kill students at Hackettstown High School.The calls led schools in the northwestern New Jersey town and at Centenary College to keep students inside for

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that Washington, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo are "absolutely united" in their efforts to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. Kerry made the remarks after holding bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a regional security forum here. He also held three-way talks with the top diplomats of South Korea and Japan before meeting with Wang. "All four of us are absolutel

과체중과 여유증이 고민이었던 20대 남성과 호르몬 기능 장애로 몸에 털이 과도하게 많은 30대 여성은 모두 새로운 인생을 꿈꾸고 있었다. 그들은 각기 새로운 인생을 찾아 수술대에 누웠고, 새로운 모습으로 세상에 나왔을 때는 모두가 믿을 수 없다는 충격과 함께 그들에게 응원을 보내줬다. 이 장면은 성형 메이크오버쇼 “렛미인”에 나온 장면으로, 렛미인은 2011년에 첫 시즌으로 시작하여 올해 6월 초 세 번째 시즌을 시작했다. 프로그램 제작진에 따르면 프로그램에 대한 인기로 인해 매해 많은 지원자들이 몰렸고 첫 번째 시즌에는 300명, 두 번째 시즌에는 2,000명 그리고 세 번째 시즌에는 4,300명이 몰렸다고 한다. 최근 시즌을 거듭할수록 지원자가 늘어남에 따라 턱을 깎거나 코나 이마에 필러를 주입하는하고자 하는 사람들도 늘어나고 있다. 이들은 전국민이 보는 TV 앞에 서서 그 경험을 다른 사람들에게 기꺼이 보여주고 있다. 그러나 전문가들은 오히려 TV가 사람들을 변화하도록 하고 있

  뉴스타파의 조세회피 명단에 오른 180명은 누구비영리 독립언론 뉴스타파는 15일 조세회피 의혹과 관련, 총 180여명의 개인 및 기업 명단을 인터넷 홈페이지에 공개했다.이 가운데 약 30명은 전두환 전 대통령의 아들 전재국 씨, 이수영 OCI 회장, 최은영 한진해운 홀딩스 회장, 김석기 전 중앙종금 사장 등 이미 뉴스타파가 구체적인 신원을 확인하고 의혹을 들여다본 인물이다.나머지 150여명은 이름이나 주소 등 일부 정보만이 파악된 상황이다.뉴스타파는 이날 내놓은 명단에 이미 신원은 일부 파악한 인물 10여명에 대한 정보도 가감 없이 공개했다.일부는 직접 접촉해 해명을 들은 사례도 있는 것으로 알려졌다.가장 먼저 눈길을 끄는 인물은 지역 소재 중견 기업인이자 한때 한 경제협회의장을 맡은 인사의 아들 두 명이다. 이 형제는 버진아일랜드에 각자 유령회사를 세웠다.인터넷 기술 기업인 코스닥업체의 K 전 대표도 있다. 역시 버진아일랜드를 이용했다. 이 회사는 최근 자본 잠식으로 상장폐지

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's rule is unlikely to collapse as he has firm control over the country's military and the ruling party, a former top Chinese diplomat was quoted as saying Saturday.Former Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan made the remark during a breakfast meeting with members of the Korea-China Exchange Association, participants said.Tang, an expert on Korean Peninsula issues, said that late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader, had laid all the ground

예보 "공적자금 효율적 회수 위해 설립" 해명인터넷 언론 뉴스타파는 예금보험공사와 산하 정리금융공사 출신 임직원 6명이 영국령 버진아일랜드 등 조세피난처에 페이퍼 컴퍼니(서류만으로 존재하는 유령회사)를 설립한 것으로 확인됐다고 15일 밝혔다.뉴스타파가 공개한 명단은 유근우(예보 퇴직), 진대권(정리금융공사 퇴직),  김기돈(전 정리금융공사 사장), 조정호(예보, 정리금융공사 퇴직), 채후영(예보, 정리금융공사 퇴직), 허용(예보, 정리금융공사 퇴직)씨 등이다.이들은 외환위기가 한창이던 1999년 9월과 12월에 두 개의 페이퍼컴퍼니를 설립한 것으로 나타났다.뉴스타파는 이날 서울 통인동 참여연대 사무실에서 기자회견을 갖고 이런  내용을 담은 국제탐사보도언론인협회(ICIJ)와의 공동작업을 통해 확인한 '조세피난처 프로젝트' 7차 명단을 발표했다.뉴스타파가 이날 공개한 자료에 따르면 6명의 예보 및 정리금융공사 전  임직원은 1999년 9월 24일과 같은 해 12월 2일 두 차례에 걸쳐

The Korea Deposit Insurance Corp and its subsidiary KRNC are mired in controversy over setting up paper companies in tax havens by former executives and employees of the two state-run financial companies.The Korea Center for Investigative Journalism, known locally as Newstapa, on Saturday released another batch of six Koreans found to have operated two ghost companies in the British Virgin Islands.The six included Kim Gi-don, former CEO of KRNC and former senior manager of KDIC, and five others

North Korea on Saturday marked the anniversary of a 2000 summit agreement with South Korea, with state media urging Seoul to fundamentally change what it calls a "policy of confrontation" against the communist nation.The summit agreement, known as the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration, came at the end of their first-ever summit in 2000. In the accord, the two sides pledged to seek greater exchanges and cooperation across one of the world's most heavily fortified borders.The summit touched of

A US pledge to step up military aid to Syrian rebels because of alleged use of chemical arms by the regime drew criticism from Damascus ally Russia and from UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday.Syria itself dismissed the accusation as "lies."The UN secretary general said arming either side in the 27-month war, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, "would not be helpful."Ban said he has been "consistently clear that providing arms to either side would not address this current situation. There is n

SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea should send a high-enough-level official for this week's inter-Korean talks with South Korea, a senior presidential official said Monday, stressing that matching the grades of chief delegates is the starting point for building trust.The two Koreas agreed in marathon talks that extended into early Monday to hold high-level government-to-government talks in Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday, the first of their kind in six years. The topics will include the poss

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- A dozen officials at two prestigious international schools in South Korea have been caught falsifying documents to grant admission to unqualified students, the municipal education office said Monday. After a month-long special audit of Seoul's Younghoon International Middle School and Daewon International Middle School, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education ordered the schools to punish faculty members involved in admission corruption, while referring 11 officials