South Korea has confirmed another case of the Zika virus infection, raising the number of people infected with the virus here to 18, health authorities said Tuesday.A 40-year-old Korean woman was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus after visiting the Philippines, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.She is presumed to have been bitten by a mosquito during her five-day stay in the Southeast Asian nation earlier this month, they said.The woman

Moon Jae-in, a leading presidential candidate from the opposition bloc, on Tuesday published a book on his campaign pledges, taking further steps to generate support ahead of this year's election.The publisher said the book, titled "The Republic of Korea asks," is about the blueprint of Moon's vision for South Korea, providing ways to tackle various challenges facing the country.The 360-page essay also delivers Moon's stance on controversial policies promoted by impeached President Park Geun-hye

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of US automaker General Motors Co., introduced the all new Chevrolet Cruze here Tuesday, calling it the first of its kind in what it said will be a brand new segment of semi-mid size cars.The new Chevrolet Cruze has the longest body among all compact cars, while its design and performance will make it a premium sedan that will upgrade the entire segment of compact cars to the next level, the company said in a press release."The all new Cruze is built and desig

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said Tuesday that the government will double the supply of fresh vegetables and promote discounts of agricultural produce to ease household burdens ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.During a meeting with the ruling Saenuri Party, Yoo pledged to make efforts to stabilize consumer prices especially for the low-income bracket ahead of the nation's largest holiday season that falls on Jan. 27-30. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)"The price of eggs is expected to be som

Real estate inheritance in the form of a gift is being used as a means of saving on taxes among family members, especially for non-residential properties, a market analysis indicated Tuesday.A detailed look at real estate transactions registered with the land ministry and the Korea Appraisal Board showed 269,472 cases of properties handed over last year as gifts to family members. The number, a 7.2-percent rise from the previous year, is the largest since the state began to keep records in 2006

Incoming US President Donald Trump has reiterated his campaign accusations that many allies are free riding on American security commitments in an indication he could make good on his campaign pledges to pressure allies to pay more."A lot of these countries aren't paying what they're supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States," Trump said of NATO allies in an interview published in the British newspaper Times and Germany's Bild newspaper.There's five countries that

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he will soon decide whether to join a political party, as he is apparently seeking to run in South Korea's presidential election this year.He cited a problem in raising funds as one of the reasons why he is considering becoming a member of an existing party.Chances appear slim that he will create a political party himself, with the presidential polls just months away."In the end, I think I will have to be with a party, whatever it is," he told

North Korea appointed its new ambassador to Egypt on Monday, Pyongyang's state media said, replacing Pak Chun-il who is on a UN blacklist for his suspected involvement in an illegal weapons transactions.Ma Tong-hui was named as North Korea's top diplomat to Egypt in accordance with a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the Korean Central News Agency said in a short dispatch.Ma's predecessor Pak was among 11 North Korean officials who were blacklisted by the United Nations S

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday ordered Coast Guard officials to respond firmly to any Chinese fishing boats illegally operating in South Korean waters.Hwang made the remarks during his meeting with the Coast Guard staff on a patrol boat docked at a pier in Incheon, west of Seoul."As a result of our government's continued efforts to strengthen the clampdown on illegal fishing near the Northern Limit Line (de facto inter-Korean sea border), illegal fishing cases have s

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the minor People's Party and a potential presidential contender, said Monday he believes his approval rating will rebound despite the latest low showings.Ahn polled at 7 percent in the latest survey conducted by RealMeter, hovering below Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party, and ex-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who received 26.1 percent and 22.2 percent, respectively."I have been making reasonable decisions, but this may be clouded in this tim

Gyeonggi Gov. Nam Kyung-pil, a potential presidential candidate from the conservative Bareun Party, said Monday he supports the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on the condition that it targets only North Korea.Nam said he would have supported the deployment of the advanced US missile defense system even if it had needed to be installed in his constituency instead of the southern part of the country.The governor, however, said the THAAD battery should not be linked to the US missile d

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday called for continued efforts to induce North Korea's denuclearization through "across-the-board" pressure amid growing threats from the communist country.During a meeting of top security and diplomatic officials, Hwang also stressed the need for earnest efforts to strengthen policy coordination and cooperation with the incoming US government slated to take office Friday.Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Yo

 With South Korea getting ready to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries this year, the controversial US missile system remains in the spotlight as the nation’s two main presidential hopefuls wade in on the issue. The former Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, who is currently a frontrunner among conservative voters, advocated the government’s decision to deploy THAAD, calling it an “inevitable measure” to prevent North Korea’s security threat during a “quasi-

No one would say it out loud just yet, but the competition for the next presidency has already begun.However, the dilemma for all presidential hopefuls is that they can’t declare their candidacy until the impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye reaches a conclusion.Those who currently do not hold official government or political posts seems less hesitant in making public appearances.Among them are former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea Moo

More than half of the judicial apprentices in South Korea fail to secure jobs after having passed the bar exam and two years of rigorous legal training.According to the Legal Training and Research Institute, out of 234 apprentices who have successfully completed their training Monday, a meager 86 had found jobs. This put the employment rate of the graduating class at 45 percent, down 6.6 percentage points from a year earlier. The 46th graduating class of the Legal Training and Research Institute

Choi Soon-sil vehemently defended President Park Geun-hye and denied her alleged meddling in state affairs during Park’s impeachment trial Monday. “President Park is not a person who would derive personal benefits or give her family members or close friends personal favors,” she said, appearing at the Constitutional Court for the first time since the historic trial began two weeks ago. “Park has no one else around, so I just wanted to help her. It is regrettable that I was completely framed and

More than half of Korean parents believe their financial abilities affect the education environment of their children, a poll revealed Monday. According to a survey conducted by English education institute, Yoons English School, 78.7 percent of the 616 respondents said the social status of a household influences the education of the children living there. When asked to choose one factor that affects their children’s education the most, 56.5 percent, or 348 respondents, said it was the economic s

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made a courtesy call to President Park Geun-hye early Monday, four days after his return to Korea following his 10-year stint as head of the international organization. In a brief two-minute conversation, Ban expressed gratitude to the impeached president for cooperating with the UN during her presidency, Ban’s spokesperson Lee Do-woon said. “I should have visited you in person. I am sorry for what happened and wish for you to handle the crisis well,” Ban

South Korea will expand investments to secure a new growth strategy to cope with the fast-paced industrial transformation, dubbed the fourth industrial revolution, the science minister said Monday.The remarks were made during a meeting between officials of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, and executives of major tech firms that participated in the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Korean pavilion at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, 2017. (Yon

North Korea has issued a book containing photos of public activities carried out by its leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang's main propaganda website said Monday, a move apparently aimed at bolstering his personality cult.North Korea's Uriminzokkiri unveiled a 171-page book in PDF form which carries photos of Kim's on-site inspections and other public activities and his remarks recorded since he assumed power in late 2011.The photo book, issued by a North Korean publisher last year, mainly focused on