The National Tax Service said on Thursday it has requested the country’s major Internet portals such as Naver and Daum to provide personal information about some 1,300 influential bloggers.The tax agency’s move comes as a growing number of local bloggers with a large pool of readers get enmeshed in money-for-article scandals. Recently, a high-profile blogger who belongs to the country’s largest po

A ruling party lawmaker on Wednesday disclosed fresh allegations of embezzlement involving Busan Savings Bank, insisting that the corruption-ridden lender bought real estate along the southwest coast for inflated prices that were up to 10 times more expensive than the market value.Rep. Ko Sung-doug of the Grand National Party (GNP) said the Busan-based institution, which was suspended in February

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) -- China announced Wednesday that it has decided to take part in next year's World Expo in Korea's southern city of Yeosu in a bid to show the world its efforts to protect the marine environment.The 93-day event will kick off in the Korean port city of Yeosu in May and is expected to attract more than 8 million visitors from more than 100 countries around the world.The orga

North Korea is holding more than 138,000 people in its detention facilities across the country, a private organization on North Korean human rights said Wednesday.The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights said about 130,500 people are being detained in five harsh political prison camps while the others are languishing in at least 182 ordinary detention centers.It also reported serious viol

Korea will acquire a new generation of stealth fighter jets from overseas to better counter North Korean provocations, the local defense procurement agency said Wednesday.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said it has narrowed down the candidates to four fighters: the F-15SE Silent Eagle by Boeing, F-35 Lightning II by Lockheed Martin, Eurofighter Typhoon by the European Aeronau

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is set to hold a referendum in the fourth week of August to ask residents whether they approve the free lunch program for all or selected groups of students, officials said Wednesday, in the latest debate over welfare populism.The free lunch program, passed by the opposition-controlled city council last December, has been a key welfare issue, along with calls for

President Lee Myung-bak will hold a summit with Indian President Pratibha Patil early next week to discuss ways to further ties between the two countries, Korea's presidential office said on Wednesday.The talks scheduled for Monday in Seoul will focus on ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in all fields, including diplomacy, security, economy, trade and culture, Cheong Wa Dae said.Shortly after

A man who allegedly beat up a man in his 60s for offering a seat to his wife was booked without detention, according to Busan Dong-nae Police Station.The accused, whose name has only been released as Lee, was travelling in a bus with his spouse last Thursday when an older man let the wife take his seat.Lee hurled abuse at the old man for showing hospitality to “someone else’s wife.” He then tried

A male teenager was arrested Wednesday for sexually violating the corpse of a woman who had fallen from an apartment following an apparent suicide.  The 16-year-old high-school student told police that he wanted to see “what would happen.” The incident happened in an apartment complex in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province on Monday.According to police, he found the 68-year-old woman dead in a ga

LONDON (AP) -- Police say Sean Hoare, the whistleblower reporter who alleged widespread hacking at the News of the World, has been found dead.Police said Hoare's death at his home in England was not considered to be suspicious, according to Britain's Press Association news agency.Hoare was quoted by The New York Times as saying that phone-hacking was widely used and even encouraged at the News of

BEIJING (AP) -- More than four people, including a policeman, were killed Monday when ``thugs'' took hostages and set a police station on fire in far western China, state media reported. No motive was cited, but the Xinjiang region has been the scene of past ethnic conflict.Armed Chinese paramilitary police officers are seen on guard in Urumqi.(AFP)The deaths happened after ``several thugs'' invad

PARIS (AFP) - Ratings agencies are again under attack, with EU leaders objecting that Standard&Poor's, Moody's and Fitch Ratings are an "oligopoly" which issues self-fulfilling prophecies of doom, greatly aggravating the eurozone debt crisis.The EU's Internal Markets Commissioner suggested a partial gag to prevent them from grading debt issued by EU economies being rescued with official funds.Ther

An Australian man is walking across his country wearing a Storm Trooper outfit from movie “Star Wars” to raise money to help seriously ill children.Jacob French, 20, aims to make $50,000 to donate to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, an organization for youngsters with life-threatening diseases. (Facebook)“Starting in July 2011 I aim to walk from Perth (Western Australia) to Sydney (New South W

Health authorities found higher than normal levels of legionella bacteria in 40 bathhouses, saunas and hospitals in Seoul.The bug can lead to Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially fatal form of pneumonia, whose symptoms include chills, high fever, cough, fatigue, muscle aches and headaches.  (MCT)Young children, the elderly and anyone with a weak immune system are the most susceptible.The city gove

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan erupted in joy early Monday after their women‘s football team won the World Cup in Germany, hailing the penalty shootout victory as a “dream come true”.Supporters watched the cliffhanger 3-1 shootout win over twice champions the United States live on television at home, in sports bars and in public places across the country.Japan players celebrate with the trophy after winning

LONDON (AFP) -- The British government and police faced fresh pressure over their ties to Rupert Murdoch on Saturday as the media mogul published apologies in national newspapers over the phone hacking scandal.A day after Murdoch lost two of his most senior executives, the crisis returned to haunt the British establishment with new allegations about the close ties between the media baron's empire

Less than 10 percent of salaried Koreans intend to spend their summer vacation abroad this year, a survey said Sunday.The survey of 600 people by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry comes amid soaring inflationary pressure and global economic uncertainties from possible insolvency of the governments of the United States and several European countries.About 9.6 percent of the respondents sai

A KTX train was brought to an abrupt halt inside a tunnel near Busan on Sunday, rekindling concerns over the accident-prone Korean high-speed rail system.About 400 passengers were stranded for one hour due to the stoppage believed to have been caused by a defective motor system. Train services from Busan were delayed.The incident occurred around 11:00 a.m. when the Seoul-bound train was passing th

CALIFORNIA, Pennsylvania (AP) _ Much has happened in the 53 years since Vonnie sent Clark the letter, wondering why he hadn't called before going back to college.They married later that year. He graduated. They had four children.They divorced. And he changed his name.And, at last, the letter is wending its way to Clark _ that is, Muhammad Siddeeq _ who awaits its arrival with mixed emotions.``I'm

A U.S. soldier was arrested Sunday for allegedly breaking into the home of an elderly Korean woman and assaulting her, local police said.The 27-year-old staff sergeant, identified only by his initial W, is accused of trespassing in the home of a 67-year-old woman, identified only as A, in the city of Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The U.S. soldier was allegedly under the