Another South Korean woman who was coerced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II has died, the government said Wednesday.The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Park Sook-yi died the previous day at the age of 94. Park had been hospitalized for poor health in Namhae, 495 kilometers southeast of Seoul.Her death leaves only 39 surviving victims of one of Japan's most serious wartime crimes when it colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. Initially, 238 women wer

A group of Saenuri Party lawmakers who support the ouster of President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday urged the opposition bloc to revise details on the impeachment motion that will be put to a vote later this week.Late last week, the three opposition parties handed in an impeachment motion to the parliament, which claimed that Park violated the Constitution and other laws regarding the influence-peddling scandal of her confidante Choi Soon-sil.The opposition bloc also included the Sewol ferry disas

South Korea's National Assembly is set to hold a second round of hearings to investigate a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday. Park's former key aides including an ex-chief of staff will testify during the session likely to focus on suspicions that her confidante Choi Soon-sil and her associates meddled in government affairs. But Choi and some key suspects in the scandal will not attend. On Tuesday, the parliamentary committee grilled the heads of eight conglomerat

South Korean major leaguer Kang Jung-ho was questioned by police Tuesday over allegations of fleeing the scene after causing an accident while driving under the influence (DUI) last week.Kang, an infielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, appeared at Gangnam Police Station in southern Seoul to undergo questioning for a second time over suspicions he left the scene after crashing into a guardrail on his way to his hotel on Friday. "I am very sorry to all my fans," he told reporters before entering the

A 25-year-old Chinese man caught earlier this year trying to smuggle drugs into South Korea and swallowing them has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison, a local court said Tuesday.In handing down the verdict, the Incheon District Court found him guilty of trafficking drugs, but he was found innocent of drug use.The man from the northeastern Chinese city of Qingdao, who had 20 grams of methamphetamine in his pocket and 0.12 gram of the drug in his bag, was arrested in the arrival lobby of Inc

South Korea's state financial watchdog on Tuesday selected a total of 176 local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for immediate corporate restructuring.The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) conducted a credit risk assessment of 2,035 SMEs here in a regular move taken under a related corporate law.As a result, the 176 companies were put on the blacklist, a 28.5 percent increase from the average of 137 over the past three years.The FSS said it has applied stricter criteria to the evaluat

South Korean shipbuilders will work to infuse information and communication technology into their field in order to raise their competitiveness, the country's information ministry said Tuesday.Under the plan, local shipyards will adopt information technology to develop software and infrastructure needed for their work, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.The shipbuilding sector and ICT firms will also work together to promote ICT-based shipbuilding technology, it said."

South Korea's Shinhan Bank said its Indonesian unit, Bank Shinhan Indonesia (BSI), has completed a merger with another Indonesian bank in the latest move to seek a new growth engine in the world's fourth most populous country.BSI won an approval from the Indonesian financial authorities for its plan to merge Centratama Nasional Bank (CNB) on Nov. 25, six months after the bank submitted the request for the merger. Suh Tae-won (2nd from R), head of Shinhan Bank Indonesia, poses for a photo in a ce

A group of 5,000 South Koreans on Tuesday filed a suit demanding President Park Geun-hye compensate them for the mental suffering she caused over the ongoing influence-peddling scandal.The plaintiffs together filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court, seeking 500,000 won ($427) each in compensation. Attorney Kwak Sang-eon, who represents the plaintiffs, said the president should be held legally responsible for "committing criminal activities using the status of the president."  Kwak,

The chief presidential doctor denied Tuesday that President Park Geun-hye received a series of injections noted for their skin care and anti-aging effects for cosmetic purposes.Lee Sun-woo said that he prescribed the treatments, including placenta injections, based on his "medical judgment" to manage and improve the president's health conditions.Cheong Wa Dae has been under fire for using taxpayers' money to purchase large amounts of medicine for skin care and nutrition, even though the medical

President Park Geun-hye will hold talks with the leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday afternoon, in an apparent move to block an impeachment vote slated for later this week.Park will meet Reps. Lee Jung-hyun and Chung Jin-suk, the chairman and floor leader of the ruling party, respectively, at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae at 2:30 p.m., Saenuri officials said. (Yonhap)The meeting was arranged as opposition parties and some members of the ruling party are poised to put an impeac

South Korea's consumer prices are expected to remain at a low 1 percent-range next year due mainly to a slowdown in the world economy and a modest rise in oil prices, coupled with contracted domestic demand, a state-run think tank said Tuesday."Korea's inflation is projected to mark a 1.1-1.4 percent rise in 2017, implying that the probability of achieving the inflation target (of 2 percent) is low," the Korea Development Institute said in a report."Oil prices are expected to rise gradually. How

Some local banks are considering offering voluntary retirement programs to their workers in a bid to cut costs amid a prolonged economic slowdown, industry officials said Tuesday.NongHyup Financial Group said its flagship unit, NH Nonghyup Bank, is to let 411 employees go under a voluntary retirement program by the end of the year. NongHyup Financial also said 14 other employees in other affiliates are set to leave their companies in the coming weeks. NongHyup Financial said the outgoing workers

The South Korean government will outlay 68 percent of its scheduled spending for 2017 in the first half in a bid to boost economic vitality at the beginning of the new year, the finance ministry said Tuesday.Out of the 400 trillion-won ($342.5 billion) budget approved by parliament over the weekend, some 340 trillion won is set for the government's expenditures that cover mandatory state-initiated programs and spending for ministries and agencies next year.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance sa

An increasing number of wild boars have been captured, but the population density for the animals has incrementally risen, a state-run institute on biological resources said Tuesday, amid concerns of people being attacked by them.A survey conducted by the National Institute of Biological Resources showed that more than 73,000 wild boars were captured or hunted in the 2011-14 period, with an average 18,000 wild boars per year captured.In the mentioned period, however, the animals' nationwide habi

With an announcement some 10 days away, a thick cloud of uncertainty hangs over South Korea's selection of new duty-free shop operators due to a litany of variables, industry sources said Tuesday.The Korea Customs Service (KCS) is slated to announce four new operators for duty-free shops in Seoul and two others in provincial cities on Dec. 17, with the nation's five major retailers in the running. One of the four licenses in the capital has been allotted to a small or medium enterprise, leaving

Two major drug firms are competing to become the first South Korean maker of a new homegrown medication with annual sales of more than 50 billion won, a landmark for the local industry, sources said Tuesday.Industry experts define as a blockbuster drug an extremely popular medicine that generates annual sales of at least 10 billion won ($8.6 million) for the company that produces it. No locally produced drug has posted annual sales of 50 billion won or more so far.According to the sources, one o

Sales of imported cars in South Korea slumped 15.8 percent last month from a year earlier, after an on-year rise the previous month, due to a supply shortage, industry data showed Tuesday.In November, 19,361 new imported cars were registered, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distribution Association. The November reading also marks a 6.1 percent on-month fall, the data showed.In the first 11 months of the year, foreign vehicle sales amounted to 205,162 units, down 6.

강원 산간 주민을 공포로 몰아넣은 멧돼지 개체 수가 계속된 포획에도 줄지 않는 것으로 나타났다.이달 3일 등 최근 2년간 강원 삼척 야산에서는 멧돼지 습격으로 2명이 숨졌다.국립생물자원관 '2015년 야생동물 실태조사'를 보면 2011년부터 2014년까지 4년간 전국에서 7만3천 마리가 넘는 멧돼지가 유해 야생동물 포획 또는 수렵으로 잡혔다. (사진=연합뉴스)한 해 평균 1만8천여마리가 넘는다.그러나 같은 기간 전국 평균 멧돼지 서식밀도는 4.0마리(100㏊당)에서 4.2마리로 증가했다.2015년 서식밀도는 5.0마리를 기록했다.이는 2001년 이후 현재까지 15년간 가장 높은 서식밀도이다.강원도의 2015년 멧돼지 서식밀도는 5.4마리이다.전북 8.7마리, 경남 6.6마리에 이어 전국에서 세 번째로 높다.강원도 내에서 잡히는 멧돼지도 매년 증가 추세다.도가 도의회에 제출한 행정사무감사자료를 보면 야생동물포획실적은 2011년 약 8천700마리, 2013년 약 1만700마리, 2015

더불어민주당 박영선 의원은 5일 "청와대에서 태반주사와 백옥주사의 처방이 대부분 대통령 공식일정이 없는 휴일이나 그 전날에 처방됐다"고 지적했다.박 의원은 이날 국회에서 열린 '최순실 게이트' 진상규명을 위한 국정조사에서 "우연인지 모르겠지만 처방이 이뤄진 날을 조사해보니 이같이 드러났다"고 말했다. (사진=연합뉴스)박 의원은 또 "대통령이 지난해 4월16일 순방을 갔는데, 그 직전인 4월10일 금요일에 태반주사가 5병, 감초주사 2병, 백옥주사 2병이 나갔다"며 "이렇게 많은 양을 누가 다 맞느냐고 묻자 청와대는 대통령 순방에 대비하는 것이라고 하더라"라고 전했다.박 의원은 "청와대 직원들이 이런 것을 맞느냐. 이게 상식에 맞나"라고 반문했다.박 의원은 또 "누군가 청와대에서 2년 넘게 발모 치료제를 받아갔다"며 "수령자의 이름을 밝혀야 한다"고 촉구했다.그는 이날 대통령 경호실은 업무보고 자료에서 청와대의 구입약품 목록에 '프로스카'가 있다고 밝히면서 "이는 전립선비대증 치료제이