Major Chinese video site Youku will air a travel show introducing hot tourism spots in South Korea, featuring top celebrities from the two nations, the state-run Korea Tourism Organization said Wednesday. Liai, a top Chinese model and MC, visited major sightseeing sites here from July 25-28 for the third annual series of the program to be aired on Thursday. The program, which introduces Korean fashion, beauty and lifestyle for young urban women, drew 20 million and 40 million views for the 2014

South Korea and Japan have agreed on the thorny issue on how to use the fund Tokyo will provide Seoul to compensate victims of sexual enslavement during the colonial occupation era, a Japanese media report said Friday.The two countries' foreign ministers will hold telephone talks later in the day to confirm the agreement and officially announce it, Kyodo News said.To put an end to the decades-old diplomatic row over the wartime atrocity committed during the colonial period (1910-45), the neighbo

South Koreans who want to apply for a group tourist visa will have to submit their passports instead of a copy to travel agencies starting from next week under new regulations, industry officials said Friday.  The consular office of the Chinese Embassy earlier in the day notified Korean travel agencies of the toughened rules for tourist groups composed of at least five people. Industry officials said that the new requirement would complicate the visa application process, with about 90 percent of

Samsung BioLogics Co., a medicine-producing subsidiary of South Korea's Samsung Group, on Friday applied for preliminary approval for its planned initial public offering, the local bourse announced.The Korea Exchange is required to inform Samsung BioLogics of the results of a related panel's review within the coming 45 business days, officials said.If it's approved, the company will begin the formal process for the IPO reportedly valued at around 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion).Samsung BioLogics i

CJ Group, South Korea's leading food and entertainment conglomerate, said Friday it will step up its global expansion following the release of its ailing chairman on special pardon.Lee Jay-hyun was indicted in 2013 on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion and was given two and a half years in jail last year, along with a fine of 25.2 billion won ($22.8 million). His confinement has been suspended a number of times because the 56-year-old suffers from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which involves

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday the "critical security alliance" with South Korea is key to peace and stability in Northeast Asia, as he issued a congratulatory message ahead of South Korea's Liberation Day."Our bilateral partnership continues to thrive based on our shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Our enduring relationship brings opportunities and prosperity to our two countries, and our critical security alliance brings peace and stabilit

South Korea will confer a state medal on Japan's U.N. ambassador, Koro Bessho, for his contribution to relations between the two countries.South Korean Ambassador Oh Joon will award the Gwanghwa Medal of the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit to the Japanese envoy in a ceremony at the South's mission to the U.N. in New York on Friday, the office said.The medal is the highest honor in the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit.Before taking office as U.N. ambassador in June, Bessho served as Japan's to

Fewer South Koreans said they think positively of Chinese President Xi Jinping this month compared to early July, a local public opinion poll showed Thursday. The result has been attributed to the growing diplomatic row between South Korea and China over the planned deployment of an advanced U.S. missile shield in the country. The survey conducted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies from Aug. 1-3 showed the Chinese president received 4.47 points on the 0-10 scale designed to gauge the favor

More than 2,000 used LPG gas tanks exploded at a tank waste treatment plant in the city of Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday morning. 　The flames from the explosion flew nearly 400 meters, igniting the adjacent mountains in flames.The affected area includes a small village of nine families. There were no casualties, though farmers said the some 200 village cattle were noticeably shaken and the ancestral tombs in the mountains were destroyed. (Yonhap)Helicopters from Korea Forest Se

A man in his 70s received a 16 year jail term on Thursday for strangling a women who owed him money.The Chuncheon District Court said the 72-year-old man, surnamed Kim, was charged with homicide for impulsively killing the 51-year-old victim out of fear that she would not return his money. Kim worked as a gas station worker for 13 years and saved 20 million won ($18,000) which he lent to the victim in March to expand her restaurant.  (Yonhap)Kim worked with the victim until she reportedly quit h

A dispute between Kumho Petrochemical and Kumho Asiana Group that also placed strain on the two brothers that run the companies has apparently come to an end after the former withdrew its legal complaint against the latter, the companies said Thursday.Kumho Petrochemical, run by young brother Park Chan-koo, said it has dropped all legal suits against Kumho Asiana Group, which is run by Park's older brother Sam-koo.The companies have been mired in a number of legal disputes.The latest suit raised

Police said Thursday a woman in her 20s admitted to having abused her 3-year-old nephew, who was found dead from an apparent drowning in Naju, South Jeolla Province, Wednesday. The accused, 25, was detained immediately for interrogation. She had reportedly been looking after the child since June after her sister, the mother of the child, found work at a factory away from their home in Naju.The suspect in a death of a 3-year-old boy is being taken in for questioning by police on Thursday. (Yonhap

South Korea's finance minister on Thursday held a meeting with the head of the Green Climate Fund to discuss ways to enhance the country's contribution to the development of the organization, the finance ministry here said."The South Korean government is concerned about the development of the GCF, which is headquartered in our country," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho was quoted as saying in a meeting with Hela Cheikhrouhou, the executive director of the GCF, in Seoul.South Korea`s Finance Minister Y

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, on Thursday said its second-quarter net profit plunged 38 percent from a year earlier, as its advertisement business suffered from falling seasonal demand and it spent big on new businesses.Net profit reached 13.2 billion won ($12 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June period, compared with 21.4 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income surged 133 percent on-year

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday said it has signed a contract to acquire a U.S. premium kitchen appliance maker, Dacor, in a move to bolster Samsung's presence in the American luxury home-appliance market. The financial terms of the contract were not revealed, but Yoon Boo-keun, head of Samsung's consumer electronics business, said the deal allows Samsung to own a luxury brand that "gets recognition by the American people." Samsung plans to make "steady investments t

Apple launched the Apple Music service in Korea on Friday without a fanfare.IPhone users here found they were suddenly able to access the Music application that had been for a prolonged time a mere decorative presence on the home screen. Android users can also use the Apple Music service by downloading the application from Google’s Play Store. Apple initially excluded Korea from its list of serviced countries because it had failed to reach agreements with music copyright associations here.In Aug

Business owners who sell alcohol to minors might now face lighter penalties, with the previous 60-day suspension of their operations reduced to six days, provided they prove it was an honest mistake, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Thursday.  (123RF)The previous penalty for illegal sale of alcohol to minors was the suspension of the offender’s business for 60 days, for first-timers. For those who flout the rules a second time, the suspension is 180 days and on the third count, the offe

Police on Thursday said they had yet to discover the motive behind the apparent suicide of a 12-year-old boy who hanged himself at after-school study center in Nowon-gu, northeast Seoul.The boy had been found hanging by his backpack straps inside a toilet cubicle at a speed reading private education institute at around 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday. The director of the institute discovered and reported the case to police. (YouTube Capture)The victim reportedly left to use the restroom in the middle of cl

A Korean-Chinese dayworker at an industrial waste disposal house was found dead in a waste crusher Wednesday, the Gyeonggi Ilsan police said.According to the police, the 53-year-old man, surnamed Park, died on the first day of the job at the disposal house in Ilsan, Goyang-si around 5:20 p.m. He was discovered with part of his head caught under the crushing roller. (Yonhap)The witness, who had also instructed Park on how to use the machine, said he was making his way out when he turned around an

Three men from Sinan County accused of gang raping a school teacher in May, reenacted the day of their crime for a court inspection on Wednesday. The usual media attention was absent from the scene, with Mokpo branch of Gwangju District Court specially restricting media access citing protection of the victim’s privacy and prevention of secondary suffering. The three suspects. (YouTube capture)Two judges and prosecutors were present, along with some 20 police.　The village onlookers were asked to