A non-profit group filed suit Monday over a record $13 billion settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and JPMorgan Chase concerning high-risk mortgage securities it sold ahead of the housing bust.Better Markets, an NGO that advocates for U.S. financial market reform, filed suit in a federal court in Washington, asking for judicial review of what it called an "unprecedented" agreement, demanding an injunction to prevent its enforcement until then."This contract was the product of negotiat

A leading Islamist militant group has kidnapped a team of Red Cross workers in northern Mali who had been reported missing, an official from the jihadist group said on Tuesday.The members of the International Committee of the Red Cross team "are alive and in good health" in the hands of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, a MUJAO official said told AFP when contacted by telephone from the capital Bamako.MUJAO is one of the groups allied to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which occ

Maverick lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo on Tuesday announced a blueprint for his new political party to be launched next month, offering a set of visions for the economy, welfare and politics.Interest in Ahn has grown further since the independent lawmaker announced that he would establish a new party in March and field candidates for the nationwide local elections in June.Recent surveys have shown that the new party could pose a challenge to the main opposition Democratic Party amid dwindling public su

President Park Geun-hye ordered welfare officials Tuesday to make sure that state subsidies and other welfare benefits won't fall into the wrong hands, saying plugging such leaks in the welfare budget is a priority if the government is to better service the people.Park issued the order during a joint policy briefing by the ministry of health and welfare, the labor ministry and the gender equality ministry, pointing out that about 550 billion won ($513 million) is wasted a year due to the budget

President Park Geun-hye ordered welfare officials Tuesday to make sure that state subsidies and other welfare benefits won't fall into the wrong hands, saying plugging such leaks in the welfare budget is a priority if the government is to better service the people.Park issued the order during a joint policy briefing by the ministry of health and welfare, the labor ministry and the gender equality ministry, pointing out that about 550 billion won ($513 million) is wasted a year due to the budget

The South Korean Cabinet approved two exchanges of notes on Tuesday that are linked to a new defense cost-sharing pact with the United States.Last month, the allies struck a deal to renew the Special Measures Agreement aimed at jointly footing the cost of stationing the 28,500 United States Forces Korea troops on the Korean soil.Under the deal, South Korea agreed to pay 920 billion won ($867 million) this year for the upkeep of the U.S. troops, a 5.8 percent increase from a year earlier. The pac

South Korea called on Japan Tuesday to stop making "regressive" remarks on its past wrongdoings and refrain from causing regional instability by pushing for its collective self-defense amid lingering suspicions. Japan's move to expand its military role has won support from the United States, but caused alarm in South Korea and some other Asian nations where it is viewed as re-militarization."A country has the right to decide on its self-defense," defense ministry Kim Min-seok said in a briefing.

The government plans to announce a set of guidelines on the Park Geun-hye administration's national security policies next month to better publicize her handling of national security issues, an official said Tuesday.Park's national security strategies were established last year when she took office, and the upcoming guidelines are aimed at informing the public and the international community of her policy line, the official said."The written guidelines reflect the current developments in the nat

South Korea will step up efforts this year to raise the world's awareness of Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II, designating a national day to honor the victims, the gender equality ministry said Tuesday."We'll make greater efforts to let the world know the Japanese sex slavery issue, which caused a great sensation at home and abroad during a recent international cartoon festival," the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said in its 2014 policy report to President

No South Korean ship was attacked by pirates last year while piracy on the whole dropped significantly from a year earlier, the government said Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, there have been no reports of an attack on South Korean ships since May 2011."The ministry believes the reason our ships have not suffered any damage from piracy is partly due to the country's active efforts to prevent such damage that includes 24-hour satellite surveillance of vessels operating

SK Engineering and Construction Co. said Tuesday it reached a tentative deal to build anatural gas liquefaction plant in the United States, marking the first time for a South Korean company to enter the business sector.The memorandum of understanding reached with Australia's Magnolia LNG calls for building a 3.4-million-ton capacity liquefaction plant on the banks of Lake Charles in Louisiana. Liquefaction plants handle pretreatment, natural gas liquid recovery, a liquefaction process and storag

North Korea is expected to follow through on a new round of scheduled reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, despite Pyongyang's threat to cancel the event if Seoul and Washington go ahead with their joint military drills, two Chinese experts said Tuesday.North Korea warned last week that it would reconsider holding the reunion event with South Korea, set for Feb. 20-25 at the North's Mount Kumgang resort, citing the annual military drills between Seoul and Washington that wil

Police on Tuesday raided the offices of a KT Corp. affiliate as part of their investigation into allegations of large-scale loan fraud by employees.KT ENS Co., affiliated with KT Corp., the country's No. 2 mobile operator, is being probed over suspicion of illegally taking out some 280 billion won ($260 million) in loans from 16 local banks with forged documents.A team of officers of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency seized computer hard drives and related documents during the raid of six off

A Seoul district government said Tuesday it will push to create special zones for K-pop and classical music in a bid to further promote the "Korean wave," or the global popularity of Korean pop culture.Under the envisioned project by the Seocho-gu District Office, the so-called K-pop district will be established surrounding the Riverside Hotel in Jamwon-dong, where a concert hall reserved for K-pop performances will be built.The special zone is expected to be the venue for diverse festivals and

개그맨 윤형빈이 격투기 데뷔전에서 타카야 츠쿠다를 상대로 TKO승을 거두면서, 로드걸로 등장한 박시현에도 관심이 쏟아지고 있다.윤형빈은 지난 9일 서울 송파구 방이동 올림픽공원 올림픽홀에서 열린 ‘로드 FC 014’ 스페셜 메인 이벤트 라이트급(70kg 이하) 경기에서 일본의 타카야 츠쿠다를 상대로 TKO승을 거머쥐었다.이날 레이싱모델 출신인 박시현은 로드FC에서 라운드걸인 ‘로드걸’로 등장했다. 박시현은 볼륨감 넘치는 몸매와 탄탄한 복근 등 섹시한 외모로 누리꾼들의 시선을 잡으며 윤형빈의 경기가 끝난 후 포털사이트 실시간 검색어를 휩쓸었다.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)<관련 영문 기사>FC Road girl Park Si-hyun boasts glamorous body Park Si-hyun, a race queen and Road FC ring girl, rallies in the match starring Korean celebrity-turned-fighter Y

개그맨 양상국이 동료 개그맨 윤형빈을 자랑스러워했다.양상국은 11일 오전 서울 종로구 광화문의 한 카페에서 열린 케이블채널 tvN 새 예능프로그램 ‘삼촌 로망스’ 제작발표회에서 윤형빈의 TKO승을 언급, “남자로서 멋있고, 희극인 선배로서 자랑스러웠다”고 말했다.이날 양상국은 “남자에겐 싸움 본능과 로망이 있다”며 “이승윤의 ‘개코피’ 사건이 있었는데 개그맨으로서 자존심이 상했다. 윤형빈이 학창시절 ‘짱’이란 소문이 있었는데 착해서 믿지 못했다”고 말했다.양상국의 이같은 발언은 개그맨 윤형빈이 격투기 데뷔전에서 TKO승을 거둔 가운데, 그의 학창시절 관련 발언이 재조명 되면서 매스컴의 주목을 받았다. 윤형빈은 지난 9일 서울 송파구 올림픽공원 올림픽홀에서 열린 ‘로드 FC 2014’ 메인 이벤트 라이트급 타카야 츠쿠다와의 경기에서 강력한 카운터 타격으로 1라운드 4분 만에 TKO 승리를 거머쥐었다. 이에 지난해 3월 종합격투기 선수 서두원이 케이블채널 XTM ‘남자의 기술’에서 폭로

South Korea's two major travel retailers saw their sales grow around 10 percent last year on the back of remarkable spending by Chinese tourists, their records showed Tuesday.Lotte Duty Free, the country's largest duty-free shop by sales, said its annual sales came to 3.55 trillion won ($3.3 billion) last year, up more than 10 percent from 3.2 trillion won the previous year.Lotte's sales from Chinese shoppers soared 70 percent in 2013 on-year. It also reported strong performance in online sales,

The main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday called for a bipartisan meeting with top leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party to discuss its demand for a special independent probe into the state's alleged meddling in the 2012 presidential race.DP floor leader Jun Byung-hun made the proposal during a party meeting, saying the respective leaders and floor leaders of the two parties should have made progress on their agreement last December to continue talks on the timing and extent of the special i

The government will push to expand the coverage of unemployment insurance from as early as 2016 in an effort to better protect jobless non-regular workers, the labor ministry said Tuesday.In a 2014 policy report to President Park Geun-hye, Minister of Employment and Labor Phang Ha-nam said the measure will  benefit particular types of irregular workers such as insurance agents, tutors and golf caddies as well as artists.Workers of six non-regular jobs -- insurance agents, tutors, golf caddies, p

The South Korean ambassador to China will make a two-day visit to a Chinese memorial hall this week to pay tribute to a revered Korean independence hero, an embassy official said Tuesday.The planned visit by Amb. Kwon Young-se to the memorial hall in the northern Chinese city of Harbin comes nearly one month after China opened the facility. The hall honors Ahn Jung-geun, a symbol of the Korean independence movement who assassinated a prominent Japanese colonial leader a century ago.Ahn shot to d