The city government of Seoul plans to decide by the end of this month whether to permit the use of completed lower floors of a skyscraper retail giant Lotte Group is building in the southern part of the capital, an official said Monday.Citing safety and traffic concerns, the metropolitan city rejected the retail group's previous request in July for permission to open the lower floors of the 123-story high-rise being built in the district of Jamsil. It will be the tallest building in South Korea

Prosecutors said Monday that they were quizzing a Japanese reporter over his recent article that raised questions on President Park Geun-hye's whereabouts on the day of April's deadly ferry sinking.Tatsuya Kato, head of the Seoul bureau of Japan's conservative Sankei Shimbun newspaper, appeared before prosecutors earlier in the day along with his lawyer and interpreter. Prosecutors said they plan to review whether Kato's article constitutes defamation before deciding whether to bring criminal ch

Pope Francis has written a condolence letter to the families of those still missing in April's ferry sinking, saying he prayed for the victims of the tragedy throughout his stay in South Korea."I deeply regret that I was not able to personally visit and comfort everyone who is suffering," the pontiff began in the letter written in Korean with his signature at the bottom. "However, I never forgot to pray for the deceased, the missing and all their families during my stay in South Korea." The lett

Nearly 100 workers from Samsung factories are claimed to have died from work-related diseases such as leukemia, an activists' group said Monday, as negotiations with South Korea's largest conglomerate Samsung Group over accountability are at a standstill.The Protector of Health and Human Rights of Semiconductor Workers (SHARP), an advocacy group representing the victims who fell ill or died while working at Samsung's plants, said it knows of 98 deaths from work-related diseases as of August, wit

Relatives and politicians paid tribute to late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on Monday as they marked the fifth death anniversary of the former pro-democracy champion and Nobel peace laureate.Kim, a liberal icon, was a vocal critic of the 1961-79 authoritarian rule of former President Park Chung-hee -- the father of current President Park Geun-hye -- and almost lost his life while protesting against the regime.While serving as president from 1998 to 2003, he held the first-ever inter-Korea

Nepalese authorities on Monday feared an outbreak of diseases as they attempted to reach thousands of people stranded by flooding that has already killed 101 people and left more than 136 missing.Jhanka Nath Dhakal of Nepal's National Emergency Operation Center said four helicopters with food, emergency supplies, medicine and medical workers were sent to villages in the west of the country. Rescuers were also attempting to reach the villages by road. However, most of the highways and rural roads

Hotel Shilla, the luxury accommodation affiliate of South Korea's biggest conglomerate Samsung, has been chosen as the preferred bidder for a duty-free store at the Macau International Airport, company officials said Monday."We are discussing the terms with the airport. The final decision is expected early next month," said a company official.Hotel Shilla, which operates a namesake duty-free business, The Shilla Duty Free Shop, had bid for the deal with its partner, Sky Connection, which operate

North Korea has introduced and test-fired new tactical rockets that can pose a threat to South Korea's major military facilities, a military source here said Monday."The five short-range projectiles that North Korea fired off last week were found to be novel tactical missiles, according to our analysis jointly with the United States of the North's photo of the rockets," said the source, asking not to be named.The communist country launched five short-range rockets that flew some 220 kilometers f

South Korea's service industry has rapidly increased sales and employment over the last five years, outperforming the manufacturing sectors, data showed Monday. The number of workers employed by 330 listed companies in the seven service sectors jumped 46.5 percent to 274,766 last year, up from 197,505 in 2009, according to data compiled by Chaebul.com, which tracks the nation's big business groups.The government pledged last week to nurture the seven service areas -- health, medical, tourism, ed

Lee Yong-soo hopes a meeting Monday with Pope Francis will provide some solace for the pain that still feels fresh more than seven decades after Japanese soldiers forced her into prostitution during World War II. Lee, 86, and a group of other elderly former “comfort women” will sit in the front row during the last Mass of the pope's five-day trip to South Korea. Francis cannot solve a long-running grievance that has become a major hurdle to better ties between neighbors and U.S. allies Japan and

Pope Francis called on the divided Koreas Monday to unite in the spirit of mutual forgiveness, saying they are "members of one family, one people.""All Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people," the pope said during a special Mass on peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. "Let us pray for the emergence of new opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences," the pope said during the Mass at Seoul's Myeongdong Cathedral that wrapped up

South Korea's foreign ministry has set up a task force to mainly deal with Seoul's shared history with Japan such as Tokyo's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, officials said Monday.The ministry said the three-member task force under the Northeast Asian affairs bureau is charged with dealing with Japan's moves to gloss over its wartime atrocities.The move comes as bilateral relations between Seoul and Tokyo have been strained to their lowest point in recent years due to Japan's stance o

Local firms spent more than 9 trillion won (US$8.8 billion) last year on business-related entertainment, government data showed Monday, indicating they continued to spend heavily to treat clients despite the slumping economy.According to the National Tax Service, the firms are estimated to have spent more than 9 trillion won last year on entertainment expenses, which refer to those covering meals, drinks and other treats aimed at facilitating business deals. The estimate is larger than the 8.77

South Korean golfer Park In-bee captured the Wegmans LPGA Championship in a playoff on Sunday in New York, coming from behind to take her fifth career major title.Park edged out Brittany Lincicome with a par on the first hole of their sudden death playoff at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, New York.This was Park's fifth career major, which ties her with Pak Se-ri for most LPGA majors won by a South Korean golfer.Park, former world No. 1 and currently ranked third, won three majors last year. Her

에볼라 공포가 아프리카 대륙뿐 아니라 전세계를 뒤덮고 있다. 서아프리카 라이베리아의 에볼라 바이러스 감염자 치료 시설에 괴한들이 침입해 환자 17명이 집단 탈출했다.  (Yonhap-AP)17일(현지시간) 현지 언론에 따르면 전날 오후 늦은 시간 라이베리아 수도 몬로비아에 위치한 한 에볼라 감염자 치료시설에 괴한들이 습격해 “에볼라는 존재하지 않는다”고 외치며 환자들의 타액과 혈흔이 묻은 집기를 약탈했다. 환자들과 간호사들은 괴한들의 공격을 피해 치료소에서 탈출했다. 격리치료를 받던 29명의 환자들이 치료소에서 벗어났으며 이 중 17명은 아직도 해방이 묘연한 것으로 전해졌다.  (Yonhap-AP)해당시설은 인구 5만 명이 밀집한 빈민가에 위치해 있다. 또 괴한들이 환자들의 타액과 혈흔으로 오염된 담요와 집기를 탈취해 에볼라 바이러스 추가 감염이 우려된다. 18일까지 에볼라 바이러스에 감염돼 숨진 희생자는 1145명으로 집계됐다. 에볼라 환자 집단 탈출 소식을 접한 누리꾼들은 “에볼

Seventeen Ebola patients in Liberia who fled from a guarantine centre after it was attacked by club-wielding youths were missing on Sunday, striking a fresh blow to efforts to contain the deadly virus.The attack on the Monrovia centre late Saturday highlighted the challenge faced by health authorities battling the epidemic that has killed 1,145 people since it erupted in west Africa early this year, spreading panic among local populations. (Yonhap-AFP)Doctors and nurses are not only fighting the

Yoochun, actor and member of K-pop boy band JYJ, cautiously revealed his feelings about his former group TVXQ in an interview with a local daily.　The singer-turned-actor had an interview with the Korean media outlet Edaily on Aug. 13 shortly before the release of his new film “Sea Fog” released the same day. 　In the interview, he was asked how he felt about his former band TVXQ and its members.  (OSEN)“I hope the five of us can do well in our position. I don’t know when, but it would be cool if

Rookie K-pop group Winner made its debut TV performance with songs “Empty” and “Color Ring” on the SBS music show “Inkigayo” on Sunday.　The members of the idol group, wearing trendy suits, received a big round of applause for their flawless performances and skillful manners onstage. 　Winner dropped its debut EP “2014 S/S” on Aug. 12 and made its official debut with an onstage performance at the AIA Real Life: Now Festival 2014 on Aug. 15. 　 (SBS)Winner’s debut track “Empty” has drawn positive re

South Korea may consider holding a long-delayed meeting between the South Korean and Japanese heads of state if Tokyo takes sincere steps toward resolving bilateral issues including the Japanese imperial army's wartime enslavement of Korean women, Seoul's foreign minister said Sunday."With next year marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (between South Korea and Japan), we would not exclude the possibility (of a Seoul-Tokyo summit meeting) if the Japanese side

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest handset maker, struck a deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Sunday to officially sponsor the Olympic Games until 2020, the South Korean company said. Under the deal, Samsung will sponsor South Korea's PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018 and the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 by supplying a wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops for athletes and other participants. IOC President Thomas Bach and Lee Jae-yo