Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted his likely campaign credo of "grand integration" by visiting both the liberal and conservative bastions of South Korea on Wednesday as he is angling for the country's top elected office.Since his return to South Korea last Thursday after his 10 years of service at the world body, Ban has been touring the country to meet with voters across the political spectrum in what is seen as a move to gauge public sentiment and build grassroots support.  O

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Wednesday reaffirmed the government's commitment to support research efforts to develop new technologies and create future growth engines.During his visit to the state-funded Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, Hwang also stressed the need to increase technological assistance to small- and medium-sized enterprises.His remarks came amid the government's stepped-up push to sharpen the

Strong South Korea-Japan ties that go beyond their "difficult history" will also be good for the United States, as it needs help from its key Asian allies in resolving challenges lying ahead in the region, a US expert on Northeast Asian affairs said Wednesday.Victor Cha made the remarks in response to a question over what impact it could have on South Korea's alliance with the US if Korea seeks renegotiation of a landmark deal on Japan's wartime sexual slavery.The Georgetown University professor

A lower court court on Wednesday meted out a 10-year prison sentence to a former head of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. who is at the center of a massive accounting fraud case.The Seoul Central District Court found Ko Jae-ho guilty of cooking the company's books to grossly inflate assets and getting loans using faked financial statements. Ko led the company between 2012 and 2015. This photo, taken on July 9, 2016, shows Ko Jae-ho, a former head of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engin

A Korean victim of Japan's wartime sex slavery died at her home in Xiaogan, in China's Hubei Province, Wednesday, the South Korean government said. She was 94.Park Cha-soon's death brought the number of survivors down to 39 among a total of 239 known South Korean victims. Park died of various diseases at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, local time, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said. She had been treated for spinal stenosis, colitis and cerebral infarction for the past two years, but h

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, said Wednesday that it has clinched a $230 million deal to build a floating storage and regasification  ship.Under the deal with Norway-based Hoegh LNG Holdings Ltd., the shipyard will build the vessel by May 2019, the company said in a regulatory filing.Samsung has an option to build three more FSRU units, it said.Earlier this month, the shipbuilder won a $1.27 billion deal to build an offshore facility, marking the first mega deal of the yea

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. -- South Korea's two largest automakers -- logged the largest annual sales ever in Europe last year with their combined market share surpassing 6 percent, industry data showed Wednesday.According to data by a European automobile association, the corporate duo sold a combined 940,712 cars in Europe last year. Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, tours the manufacturing lines of the automaker's plant in Zilina, Slovakia, on A

The arrest of Lee Jae-yong, the heir apparent of Samsung Group, would give special prosecutors extra ammunition as they target the central figure of the extensive influence-peddling scandal -- President Park Geun-hye.The key issue an arrest could help address is proving whether the renowned businessman offered 43 billion won ($36.8 million) in bribes the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, in exchange for the president’s assistance in his corporate succession.Lee arrived at the Seoul Central D

President Park Geun-hye’s ex-presidential aide admitted at a court hearing Wednesday to leaking government secrets to Park’s civilian friend Choi Soon-sil under direct orders from the president.  Choi’s alleged meddling in state affairs, including editing presidential speeches behind the scenes, was one of the major reasons behind Park’s impeachment on Dec. 9. Choi is Park’s confidante of some 40 years. She has had no government post or policy background. “I admit that I delivered documents to C

North Korea has banned foreign diplomats stationed in the country from taking pictures of military facilities and construction sites, a US Internet news outlet specializing in the North reported Wednesday, citing a North Korean handbook it recently obtained. "The manual, called 'Protocol Handbook for the Diplomatic Corps based in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,' includes regulations to be observed before and during a journey," the Washington-based NK News said. The Democratic People's

A key South Korean financial regulator has made a pitch for the South Korean economy on a visit to Hong Kong, his office said Wednesday.Jeong Eun-bo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, visited the global credit rating agency Fitch and introduced Seoul's efforts for market stability and economic policy direction earlier this week. Jeong Eun-bo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, speaks at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong on Jan. 16, 2017, in this photo prov

South Korea will increase the bandwidth allocated for the fifth-generation network by 2018 to accommodate sharply increasing data traffic, the science ministry said Wednesday.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said it will newly secure the bandwidth up to 1,300 megahertz and allocate the parts to the country's three mobile carriers.The plan was finalized during a government meeting presided over by Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, the ministry said. "The ministry will form a team within

Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party, on Wednesday vowed to create 1.31 million jobs when he becomes South Korea's president, claiming the goal is viable if employers keep working hours."The government will first create more jobs in the public sector," Moon said, claiming the area currently takes up 7.6 percent of local jobs, hovering below the average of 21.3 percent tallied for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.Moon said he will increase the numbe

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday summoned key loyalists to President Park Geun-hye, amid its interim head's vow to purge them to regain the public's support after her impeachment.The party's ethics committee summoned Rep. Suh Chung-won, Rep. Choi kyoung-hwan and Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun to defend themselves, adding it will make a decision on their punishment Friday.The committee is widely expected to suspend their party membership for three years, rather than seeking their ouster that

The call went out: “Abandon ship! Abandon ship!”As sirens wailed and speakers gave orders for all passengers to go up on deck after the stranded ship began to roll from side to side, a group of 6-year-old children calmly unbuckled their seat belts and took hold of their bright orange life vests. One of them had teary eyes, but soon stood up to escape. Fortunately it was all just a drill.“Follow the adults. Do not put on your vest yet, just drag it until we are on deck, all right?” an instructor

A close aide to President Park Geun-hye admitted Wednesday that he leaked classified information to a woman at the center of a South Korean presidential scandal, but claimed he only intended to help the president.Jeong Ho-seong, a former presidential secretary, made the argument at the Seoul Central District Court where he stands trial on charges of divulging confidential information to Choi Soon-sil, Park's close friend and confidante."I generally acknowledge the charge against me and my statem

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se asked Iraq to step up efforts to better protect South Korean companies and nationals residing in the Middle East country, his ministry said Wednesday.During a meeting with Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari held on Tuesday in Seoul, Yun also promised to keep providing humanitarian aid to Bagdad and seeking cooperation in such areas as education and health, the ministry said in a press release.In response, Iraq's top diplomat agreed to pay close attention to

South Korea's central bank said Wednesday that the face value of damaged banknotes and coins that were destroyed fell 8.2 percent in 2016 from a year earlier. This photo, provided by the Bank of Korea on Jan. 18, 2017, shows 50,000 won bills -- the highest denomination -- and 10,000 bills damaged by fire. (Yonhap).The face value of the damaged banknotes and coins exchanged at local banks, including the Bank of Korea, came to 3.11 trillion won ($2.6 billion), compared with 3.39 trillion won in 20

North Korea plans to open football schools across the nation this year to boost the sport's popularity and development, Pyongyang's main newspaper reported Wednesday.The Rodong Sinmun said North Korean sports authorities are pushing their plans to open football schools in all nine provinces this year, and they are set to support programs for finding nation's top football prodigies. Citing an official from the North's football governing body, the newspaper reported that the country is impressed b

Starting in April, South Korea will check information on inbound air passengers to sort out potential terrorists, officials said Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to beef up security ahead of major sporting events amid growing military threats from North Korea.The government also decided to establish a system that would enable state anti-terrorism institutions to quickly share related information and disseminate it to citizens in emergencies, the officials said. These plans were endorsed at a session of