A U.N. conference of civic organizations will be held to discuss the theme of "Education for Global Citizenship: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Together" in South Korea's ancient city of Gyeongju next week, with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to be on hand, the event's organizer said Friday. Some 2,000 NGO representatives, scholars and experts from more than 100 nations are expected to take part in the 66th U.N. Department of Public Information and Non-Governmental Organi

South Korean shares closed higher Friday as falling crude prices drove up refiners and chemicals, supported by strong foreign buying. The local currency slightly gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 12.11 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,967.17. Trading volume was moderate at 517.98 million shares worth about 4.81 trillion won ($4.07 billion). Gainers far outpaced decliners 516 to 290.Local analysts said slipping oil prices due to increased pr

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has instructed North Koreans using Chinese mobile phones to be punished for treason in order to fend off defections and internal information leaks to the outside world, a Seoul-based news outlet specializing in North Korea reported Friday. "Kim Jong-un recently issued an order to treat people using Chinese cell phones like betrayers who conspire with South Koreans," the Daily NK quoted its source in the communist country's North Hamkyong Province as saying. Agents

South Korea on Friday praised global leaders' condemnation of North Korea for its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, urging Pyongyang to listen to the growing call for denuclearization.Earlier, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries condemned North Korea's nuclear test in January and its subsequent launches using ballistic technology "in the strongest terms."The G7 leaders held a summit in Japan on Friday. The G7 consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Ja

An 81-year-old woman who splashed water on a 65-year-old man was found guilty of assault Friday by Seoul Eastern District Court. She was given a suspended sentence of 300,000 won ($254) fine.The woman, identified by her surname Lee, pleaded that her action was in self-defense against the trespassing man, identified as Kim, who refused to leave when asked.  (123RF)Kim had come to demand that Lee pay back her daughter’s debt. To drive him out, Lee splashed him with a bucketful of water and was sue

South Korean companies suffered a further setback last year following a sluggish 2014, with manufacturers grappling with sales reductions amid the global economic slowdown, a report showed Friday. Sales by 19,638 companies whose assets were valued over 12 billion won ($10.1 million) slipped 2.4 percent in 2015 compared with a year ago, the Bank of Korea said in a 2015 report on corporate management.Revenue from manufacturers, the nation's main growth driver, fell 4.2 percent on-year due to a slo

A Seoul appeals court on Friday ruled against a group of former Ssangyong Motor Co. employees who filed a lawsuit against the company in 2010 to invalidate the massive layoffs the previous year.The Seoul High Court's decision was in line with the Supreme Court's 2014 ruling that said the layoffs were legitimate due to an "urgent management need." Overturning the appeals court's initial decision against the company, the top court sent the case to the appellate court for retrial.In Friday's ruling

South Korean music company YG Entertainment on Friday said it has attracted 100 billion won ($85 million) in investment from the Chinese online giant Tencent and mobile ticketing service, Beijing Weiying Technology Co.YG said its CEO Yang Min-suk will sign an investment deal with Suman Wang, who is in charge of Tencent's video, film and drama businesses, and Ning Lin, founder and CEO of Weiying, at a Seoul hotel Tuesday.Under the deal, YG will issue shares worth $55 million for Weiying, whose se

SK Chemicals Co., the chemical and pharmaceutical arm of South Korea's conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it has won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell its hemophilia drug, taking a step closer toward commercializing the homegrown drug in the global market.The "NBP601," which was developed by SK Chemicals and licensed out to Australia's biotechnology firm CSL Ltd. in 2009, is a recombinant DNA biologic drug to treat the rare bleeding disorder.SK Chemicals forecast that F

A police officer’s wife who was stopped at airport security for carrying live ammunition in her handbag has said that she “found them (bullets) in the mountains 10 years ago,” according to the Busan police Thursday. The 45-year-old police officer surnamed Park was traveling with his wife to Cebu, Philippines, when he was stopped at Gimhae Airport security check as ammunition was found in his wife’s bag.  (Yonhap)The rusted bullet was for a 38-caliber revolver. It had no serial number. The police

Lawmaker Nam In-soon of The Minjoo Party of Korea said in the National Assembly debate held Thursday that she will propose a law imposing tough punishments for stalking in the incoming 20th Assembly.The proposed law will expand the scope of people who are legally eligible to report a case of stalking, which had previously been limited to only the victim, as well as heighten the level of punishment.  Nam In-soon (right) (Yonhap)This follows the recent unprovoked murder of a female in Gangnam. Nam

A Korean Air plane caught fire before takeoff in Tokyo on Friday, but there were no reports of injuries, the foreign ministry here said. According to Kyodo News and NHK, the fire occurred on the left wing of the Boeing 777-300 as it was set to leave Haneda Airport for Seoul. All 319 passengers and crew members were safely evacuated. Seoul's foreign ministry confirmed it received no reports of injuries.The Tokyo Fire Department said Korean Air reported the fire at 12:44 p.m. More than 100 firefig

North Korea is continuously trying to purchase luxury wristwatches and the newest medical equipment from Switzerland despite the latest United Nations sanctions on the communist country's unwavering pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs, a U.S.-based news media reported on Friday.  In early March, the U.N. Security Council adopted its toughest-ever sanctions, Resolution 2270, to punish the North's nuclear and missile tests in January and February, respectively. In response to the U.N.'s pu

A recent hacking attempt on South Korea's Air Force's website apparently used methods mostly employed by North Korean hackers, a military source said Friday, raising suspicion that Pyongyang might have been behind the cyberattack.Military authorities have been conducting an investigation into a suspected hacking attempt into the official website of the Air Force after a malicious code was found on May 11. It remains shutdown, and a temporary website has been in operation."We cannot determine who

An appeals court on Friday convicted the former head of local telecoms giant KT Corp. of creating slush funds and embezzling the money.Overturning a lower court's decision, the Seoul High Court sentenced Lee Suk-chae to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. Lee was indicted in 2014 on charges of causing financial losses worth some 10 billion won ($8.5 million) to KT, the country's top fixed-line operator and No. 2 mobile carrier, by making poor business decisions before stepping down in

Lotte Homeshopping Inc., the TV channel of retail giant Lotte, was ordered on Friday to suspend its six-hour prime time broadcasting for six months starting from late September. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning imposed the heavy administrative measure on the nation's No. 3 home shopping channel for submitting false documents to renew its business license.The ministry said Lotte Homeshopping intentionally cut the number of executives and employees implicated in bribery to renew it

A prosecutor-turned-lawyer was summoned Friday to face questions over suspicions he illegally peddled his influence for his clients and evaded taxes in the process.Hong Man-pyo appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul as a suspect in the snowballing corruption scandal that is rocking the country's legal sector. "I will fully cooperate with the investigation," he told reporters before entering the prosecutors' office. Still, the 56-year-old denied allegatio

South Korea's main bourse on Friday said it will introduce a "kill switch" and other safety measures in its program trading platform next month to prevent investors from suffering losses from trading errors.A kill switch, also known as an emergency stop or e-stop, is a safety mechanism designed to help identify mistakenly placed orders and avoid liabilities due to such technical errors."If the kill switch system is introduced, the Korea Exchange can cancel mistakenly placed and untraded orders a

Not only has children's sense of responsibility for their aging parents weakened over the years, but parents' views of their duties toward their sons and daughters have also become lighter, a report released Friday said.A key change, according to the report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, was that fewer parents believe they have to take care of their children until they get married. In a 2003 survey, 32.1 percent of the parents surveyed said their responsibility continues u

Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected troops in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, near the sensitive border with its traditional ally, North Korea, according to China's state media on Friday. Xi inspected senior military officials and soldiers stationed in Harbin, Heilongjiang's capital, and an outpost on Tuesday and Wednesday, and instructed them to build a "strong army," the official Xinhua News Agency reported from Harbin.While the report made no mention of North Korea, it was Xi's