The political dynamics in the beleaguered main opposition party took a new twist Sunday as Ahn Cheol-soo, former cochairman of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, proposed alternative ways to fight corruption to reform the party.At a separate news conference, former NPAD member Rep. Chun Jung-bae announced the launch of a new opposition party by January next year.The two, who are considered potential rivals to NPAD chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in’s political clout, were seen to turn up the heat a

Three out of four buildings in Seoul that are required to be earthquake-proof do not have proper aseismic designs to prepare against such natural disasters, a report showed Thursday.A large number of public facilities, such as schools and public offices, also were not equipped with earthquake plans, making them vulnerable in the case of a disaster, according to the report submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to Rep. Park Nam-choon of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy.As of June t

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, voted Wednesday in favor of a strike over pay, lending support to their leaders in wage negotiations down the road.In a vote asking some 34,000 unionists whether to go on strike,72.8 percent, or 22,700 out of 31,163 who cast ballots, voted yes, according to the labor union. It was held Wednesday afternoon at each office and plant located throughout the country. The vote came after the labor and management could not pr

Eight cabin crew members who were on board the Asiana Airline Flight 214 Boeing 777-200ER that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport in 2013 were revealed to have filed damage suits against Korea’s second largest carrier and the plane manufacturer Boeing.The eight were among 12 flight attendants aboard at the time and filed the suits in a U.S. district court rather than in Seoul.  According to reports, one of workers had her backbone broken in the accident and filed a suit in Janua

The body of another passenger missing from a capsized fishing boat was recovered Wednesday on an island off South Korea's southern coast near the site of the accident, raising the death toll to 13, Coast Guard officials said.The body, which was found washed up on the coast of Chuja Island at around 7:20 a.m. by a local resident, was identified as that of a 44-year-old man surnamed Lee, according to the Korea Coast Guard. The island is located about halfway between the mainland and the southern r

President Park Geun-hye has decided to donate 20 million won ($17,000) to a fund aimed at helping young people find jobs, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Wednesday, in a gesture to quell lingering opposition to the government-led labor market reform with a move that will expand to all sectors of society.Park will also give 20 percent of her monthly salary each month to the fund, Hwang said. Given that Park’s annual remuneration stood at 192 million won last year, her monthly contribution could

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the spouse who caused damage to a marriage, such as by cheating, cannot file for divorce on principle.The court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the spouse responsible for an action damaging to the relationship cannot be the one to file for divorce, following suit precedent cases.The case was brought to court by an unidentified plaintiff, who married the defendant in 1976. He had an affair with another woman and had a child with her in 1998. The man left

Half of South Koreans used their mobile phones while sitting on a toilet, research conducted to promote colon health showed Tuesday.Seven out of 10 Koreans said they defecate at least once daily and spent an average of 6.1 minutes on the toilet, the report by the Korean Society of Coloproctology and research company Macromillembrain said. They surveyed 2,000 Koreans living in Seoul and metropolitan cities aged 16 to 69.Three out of 10 said they have experienced constipation, while 8 out of 10 sa

Some 20 different emergency phone numbers will be integrated into three from July next year, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security said Tuesday.The ministry said it has finalized plans to integrate the numbers so that one can dial 112 to report a crime, 119 to report emergencies and 110 to make nonemergency reports. It added that all numbers will have English-language service.When the system is reorganized, distress calls made to the numbers will be shared among relevant organizations in re

Main opposition party leader Rep. Moon Jae-in on Friday decided to go ahead with a vote of confidence from this weekend despite key members’ vehement opposition. The move, aimed to silence objections to the party’s reform initiatives, appeared to set off more infighting as most members of the Supreme Council condemned it as an ultimatum against nonmainstreamers.New Politics Alliance for Democracy spokesman Kim Seong-su said during a press briefing that the vote of confidence will be held for thr

The two Koreas will hold working-level talks on Monday at Panmunjeom to figure out when and how to hold the reunions of separated families as a follow-up to the high-level inter-Korean agreement last month.Red Cross officials will be discussing the exact date and scope of the reunions, with the Seoul side also planning to suggest making the event regular.The Unification Ministry said its priority will be to hold the event as soon as possible.Sources said it is most likely for the upcoming reunio

The population of females surpassed that of males in South Korea for the first time since the state registration system began tallying demographics in the late 1960s, statistics showed Sunday.The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said that as of June this year, there were a total of 25,715,796 registered females, 492 more than the 25,715,304 males.By the end of July, the number of women surged further to 25,725,414, widening the gap by 2,645. The difference continues to grow

South Korea’s Red Cross on Friday proposed to hold working-level talks with its North Korean counterpart on Sept. 7 to arrange a fresh round of reunions for families displaced by the Korean War following a recent cross-border agreement, the Unification Ministry said. The Red Cross suggested through a border telephone channel for the two sides to meet at the House of Peace in the southern part of the truce village of Panmunjeom. “In the message, we offered to meet at Panmunjeom in line with the h

President Park Geun-hye’s approval rating has skyrocketed to reach nearly 50 percent, hoisted by the dramatic inter-Korean agreement earlier in the week that tamed cross-border tensions, a poll showed Friday.Gallup Korea said a survey of 1,004 adults conducted Aug. 25-27 showed that 49 percent of them supported Park, compared to 44 percent that didn’t, marking this year’s highest approval rating. Her job ratings this year had hovered around 30 percent. Those in their 40s and 50s showed the highe

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul said Friday that he would consider ousting Huh Young-il, a former party vice spokesman who recently resigned over his Facebook post praising the North Korean leader.“I’m not sure how much Huh actually respected (North Korean leader Kim Jong-un), but just the fact that a person in the party’s important role made such comment is a grave problem,” Lee said in a radio interview. Huh’s expulsion may be considered

 The number of sex trade businesses caught by police in the past two years has nearly tripled, a report showed Friday, as authorities have led a crackdown against prostitution despite ongoing debate over whether to legalize the controversial industry. The overall number of businesses offering sex, gambling or similar services apprehended by police dropped to 48,121 last year from 51,652 in 2013 and 55,785 in 2012, the report submitted by the National Police Agency to New Politics Alliance for De

BRETIGNY-SUR-ORGE, France (AFP) - Investigators worked Saturday to determine the cause of a train crash near Paris that claimed six lives as the French transport minister warned that more victims could yet be found.Praising the quick reflexes of the driver, who sent up the alert that halted all train traffic in the area, Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier virtually ruled out human error in the disaster, saying the probe would focus instead on the "rolling stock, infrastructure and the precise

여야는 13일 민주당 홍익표 의원의 이른바 '귀태(鬼胎) 발언' 논란으로 완전 중단됐던 국회 운영을 정상화하기로 합의했다.새누리당 최경환, 민주당 전병헌 원내대표는 이날 여의도 모처에서 양당 원내수석부대표가 배석한 가운데 이른바 '2+2' 회동을 갖고 이같이 의견을 모았다고 새누리당 윤상현, 민주당 정성호 원내수석부대표가 각각 기자간담회를 통해 밝혔다.이로써 홍 의원의 '귀태 발언'에 대해 새누리당이 강력 반발하면서 빚어졌던 국회 일정 중단은 이틀 만에 일단락됐다. 양당은 공공의료 국정조사 특위 활동 마지막날인 이날 오후 5시 전체회의를 열어 국정조사보고서를 채택하고, 특위의 동행명령을 거부한 홍준표 경남지사에 대한 고발 여부를 결정하기로 했다. 또 2007년 남북정상회담 대화록 열람을 위해 15일 국회 운영위원장실에서 양당 열람위원 10명이 상견례를 가진 뒤 곧바로 국가기록원을 방문, 대화록 예비열람을 실시하기로 합의했다.새누리당 윤 원내수석부대표는 "홍 의원의 사과는 내용이나 대

 Political parties agreed Saturday to reopen parliamentary proceedings that have been suspended over a row triggered by an insult leveled at President Park Geun-hye by an opposition lawmaker.All parliamentary activity came to a halt on Friday after Democratic Party spokesman Hong Ik-pyo referred to President Park as a "gwitae" or a "baby born to a ghost" the day prior. This word can be interpreted as a child of someone who should never have been born.The remark is a direct insult to the chief ex

South Korea's spy agency transferred large amounts of intelligence on North Korea to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, an on-line whistle blower site claimed Saturday.WikiLeaks said based on reports sent by the U.S. embassy in Seoul to the State Department dated July 9, 2007 that the South's National Intelligence Service handed over data collected through interviews with around 9,000 North Korean defectors. The flow of information started in 1997 and ran through 2007 with NIS agents transfer