Creditors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. are set to announce a set of new rescue schemes next week for the cash-strapped shipbuilder, with many expecting the shipbuilder to be put under a debt workout in the worst case scenario, industry sources said Saturday.According to the sources, the creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, will map out up to 3 trillion won ($2.6billion) worth of assistance measures for the shipbuilder to help the company overcome a deepening

South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho gave a detailed briefing on the country's foreign exchange policy when he met with IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Friday amid concern the United States could designate Seoul as a currency manipulator.Yoo met with IMF Managing Director Lagarde on the sidelines of the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held in Baden-Baden, Germany, in an effort to promote IMF's understanding that South Korea's policy does not constitute currency manipu

The conservative Liberty Korea Party was set to winnow down its presidential contenders Saturday in what will be the first round of its in-house competition to name its single nominee for the upcoming presidential election.Nine party members have joined the crowded field to become the standard-bearer of the former ruling party in the May 9 election.They include South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo, former six-term lawmaker Rhee In-je, former conservative journalist Kim Jin and Rep. Kim J

Chey Tae-won, chairman of major South Korean conglomerate SK Group, has been summoned again for questioning over corruption allegations that have led to the successful impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, company officials said Saturday. Chey Tae-won (Yonhap)Chey, 56, has been told to appear before the prosecutors' office at 2 p.m., according to the officials.Chey's summons comes shortly before the former president is set to be questioned by the prosecution.The SK chief, along with doz

South Korea is close to opening its first laboratory fully equipped for experiments with the deadliest of human viruses, such as Ebola.According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the country’s first biosafety level 4 (BL-4) lab is ready to open in Osong, a biotech complex in North Chungcheong Province. There are only a handful of such labs currently operating in the world, the center said. (123RF)At least 24 billion won ($21.2 million) has been injected for the new lab pro

Education officials said Wednesday they have asked police to protect children passing by the house of former President Park Geun-hye as protesters continue to gather there to rally against her dismissal.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education made the request in a letter to Gangnam Police Station, saying it fears for the safety of children attending Samreung Elementary School, which is adjacent to Park's home, according to the officials. The school also made a similar request to the police an

LONDON (AFP) -- Britain's unemployment rate has struck the lowest level for more than 41 years, official data showed on Wednesday as the country prepares to trigger its exit from the EU.However a drop in the jobless rate comes alongside news of slowing wages growth.Unemployment for the quarter ending January 31 fell to 4.7 percent from a rate of 4.8 percent in the final three months of 2016, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement."The unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent in t

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- A top adviser to US President Donald Trump held further talks on the Middle East conflict Wednesday, meeting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as he seeks to restart negotiations with the Palestinians.Jason Greenblatt, Trump's special representative for international negotiations, met with Rivlin after holding talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week.Rivlin's spokesman said the president, whose role is mainly

MOGADISHU (AFP) -- Britain's foreign minister Boris Johnson met the new Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in a surprise visit Wednesday to Mogadishu, the scene of frequent attacks by Al-Qaeda-aligned Shabaab Islamists, an airport official said."The UK foreign secretary has arrived and he's now meeting with the president," said the official, Mohammed Abdirahman. A source close to the Somali presidency confirmed the meeting was taking place in the Villa Somalia presidential palace in cent

The diplomatic tensions between South Korea and China over the deployment of a US missile defense system hasn't affected Winter Games cooperation between the two sides, a senior Olympic official here said Wednesday.Lee Hee-beom, president of the organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, said the South Korean host city and Beijing, which will stage the 2022 Winter Olympics, have remained cooperative despite the ongoing spat over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. Since Sou

Malaysia has confirmed the identity of the slain half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un using a DNA sample from one of his children, foreign media reported Wednesday.Investigators "confirmed the identity of the body as Kim Jong-nam based on the sample obtained from his child," Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying by AFP.Reuters reported that the sample was taken from Kim's son, citing the remark by the deputy prime minister. Kim is known to have two sons includi

Cheongnyangni 588, a once thriving red-light district in northeastern Seoul, is counting its remaining days. Following the district office’s redevelopment plan, announced in December, the removal of brothels resumed earlier this month. By 2020, four 65-story luxury residential-commercial complexes and a 42-story shopping mall are to be erected in the 41,586 square meters area, just five minutes’ walk from Cheongnyangni Station. The abandoned houses are left with shattered windows and large red l

South Koreans considered the level of trust in the country to be worse last year than 10 years ago, but expect things to improve in the next decade, a report showed Wednesday.According to a survey conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, citizens rated their level of social trust at 3.8 points out of 10 in 2016. The survey was conducted on 3,667 adults in June-July last year. People hold a mass rally in downtown Seoul on March 11, a day after the Constitutional Court uphel

The sunken Sewol ferry may be brought to the surface of the water in early April, almost three years after it capsized with nearly 300 passengers onboard. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Tuesday that final preparations are currently under way to lift the wreckage of the 6,825-ton passenger ferry, which lies 40 meters down on the sea bed. Work is under way to raise the sunken Sewol ferry near waters off Jindo in South Jeolla Province. (Yonhap)“The salvage operation is making progress to

State prosecutors are expected to launch an investigation of former President Park Geun-hye, as the court’s decision Friday to expel her from office effectively cleared a key legal hurdle that had so far hindered their efforts.As a sitting president, Park formerly had immunity to being prosecuted.A special investigation unit, formed within the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, is currently reviewing some 100,000 pages of investigation records handed over to it by independent counsel Pa

South Koreans reacted with joy and anger as the nation’s former President Park Geun-hye was officially expelled from office in a historic court ruling Friday. While a majority of the public heaved a sigh of relief and expressed joy at the Constitutional Court’s decision to finalize the impeachment of the disgraced leader, a smaller group of staunch Park supporters vehemently protested. Two died of injuries while protesting. Park supporters shed tears (The Korea Herald)Even before dawn, the tensi

Following the Constitutional Court’s decision to confirm her opposition-led parliamentary impeachment, Park Geun-hye was immediately stripped of her status as president of South Korea. Now, she must vacate the Blue House as soon as possible.The court ruling also means no pension or other benefits for Park, the nation’s first president successfully impeached. (Yonhap)Under South Korean law, a former president, after his or her term in office, receives about 95 percent of his or her annual salary

One day ahead of the historic impeachment ruling on Park Geun-hye’s presidency, rival groups staged protests in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Thursday, in support of and against her removal. Eight judges including acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi held another round of deliberations on whether Park had violated the Constitution and the law as tension between the two factions reached a climax, with Park supporters continuing their second-day of nonstop protests near the court. A sp

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is looking for participants for a two-month program to uncover hidden art in the city’s nooks and corners. Residents of Seoul, regardless of their nationality, are eligible to apply for the “Arts on Seoul’s Streets Found by Citizens” project, which will run from April through June. Participants of last year’s “Arts on Seoul’s streets Found by Citizens” project pose for a photo at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. (The Seoul Metropolitan Government)The selected 1

Deaths related to the use of toxic humidifier sterilizers date back to at least 1995, seven years before the first government-acknowledged damage case, an environmental group claimed Monday. According to the Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health, it discovered two deaths of users of the toxic products in 1995 after reviewing 5,432 damage claims made to the government from 2011 to Feb. 9.The victims are a 54-year-old person and a 50-day-old infant. Both used a product manufactured by