The giant for South Korea's economy as the head of Samsung Group, Lee Kun-hee, who passed away Sunday at age 78, also left an important mark on sports for his country. Lee was a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1996 to 2017, serving on its Cultural Commission in 1997 and Finance Commission from 1998 to 1999. With Samsung also emerging as one of the IOC's most important corporate partners, Lee played an instrumental role in helping bring the 2018 Winter Olympics to the So

As Samsung chief Lee Kun-hee passed away, his heirs, including his only son, Jae-yong, and his sisters will shoulder a record high amount of inheritance tax, industry sources said Sunday. Lee Kun-hee, who led South Korea's top family-controlled conglomerate Samsung Group, died at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday at age 78, leaving behind stock assets of some 18 trillion won ($15.9 billion). The senior Lee is survived by his wife, Hong Ra-hee, and only son, Jae-yong, and two daughters -- Boo-jin a

Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays came off the bench to work two walks in his club's dramatic World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Choi also scored a run in his two trips to the plate, as the Rays walked off on the Dodgers 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4 of the World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday (local time). The best-of-seven series is now tied at 2-2. Game 5 is back at the same ballpark at 7:08 p.m. Sunday in Arlington, or 9:08 a.m. Monda

The market capitalization of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate, rose 348 times under the leadership of now deceased group chief Lee Kun-hee, data showed Sunday. The conglomerate, which includes crown jewel Samsung Electronics Co. and construction company Samsung C&T Corp., sprawled under his management, with its market capitalization reaching 318.7 trillion won ($282.4 billion) in 2014 from just 900 billion won in 1987, when Lee rose to the conglomerate's top position, accor

Lee Kun-hee, chief of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, died at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday at age 78. The following are the major events during the life of the late business tycoon in chronological order. 1942 - born in Daegu as third son of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull 1953 - heads to Japan for education 1965 - graduates from Waseda University with business major 1966 - finishes George Washington University's MBA program, joins Samsung-affiliated Tongyang Broadcasti

Lee Kun-hee, the architect of now South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, had been making headlines in the country's business, social and even political realms since taking over the helm of the business empire from his father for his offbeat approaches and business insights. Lee inherited the Samsung crown in 1987 at the age of 45 when his father Lee Byung-chull, founder of the present day Samsung Group, died. Under his leadership, the group has the world's largest smartphome and memory

Retail sales in South Korea advanced 8.5 percent in September from a year earlier as online shops enjoyed brisk sales amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 11.9 trillion won ($10 billion) last month, up from 11.16 trillion won posted last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Online platforms led the overall growth, with their revenue advancing 20 percent over the

South Korea said Sunday it will launch a special probe into the working environment for foreign crewmen working on local fishing boats to root out possible human rights violations by their employers. The country plans to look deeper into the working conditions of foreign workers on local fishing boats sized 20 tons and above during the four-week period that will run through Nov. 20, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. "Foreign workers are crucial for the country's fishery i

A highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) case was reported in South Korea on Sunday, marking the first virulent bird flu case in the country in 32 months. The virulent avian influenza strain of H5N8 was discovered from a fecal sample collected from wild birds Wednesday in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The discovery marked the first highly pathogenic AI case confirmed in the country since the H5N6 case, which is similar

North Korea and China seek to further develop their friendly relationship and pursue the advancement of socialist achievements, the North's official newspaper said Sunday, in marking the 70th anniversary of China's participation in the Korean War. In its front-page editorial Sunday, the Rodong Sinmun, the official paper of the country's ruling party, said the participation of China's People's Volunteer Army (PVA) in the 1950-1953 Korean conflict was a display of the two country's friendship and

버락 오바마 전 미국 대통령은 24일(현지시간) 한국과 미국의 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 사례를 비교하며 도널드 트럼프 대통령의 대응을 강도 높게 비판했다. 오바마 전 대통령은 미 대선을 꼭 열흘 남겨둔 이날 플로리다주 마이애미에서 가진 조 바이든 민주당 대선 후보 지원 유세에서 한국과 미국의 인구당 사망률을 언급했다. 그는 한국과 미국에서 첫 확진자가 같은 날 나왔다고 지적하고 양국의 인구당 사망자를 비교했다. 오바마 전 대통령은 "한국의 인구당 사망자는 우리의 1.3%에 불과하다"며 "이는 그들의 정부가 자신의 업무에 신경을 썼기 때문"이라고 말했다. 오바마 전 대통령은 미국의 이웃 국가인 캐나다도 피해를 최소화하려는 정부 조치 덕분에 인구당 사망자가 미국의 39% 수준이라고 지적했다. 독일의 데이터 기업인 스타티스타(Statista) 자료에 따르면 인구 100만명당 코로나19 사망자는 미국이 679.06명인 반면 한국은

LG Electronics Inc. on Sunday introduced a new budget smartphone as the South Korean tech firm seeks to boost its presence in the mobile market with price-competitive devices. LG said the Q52 will go on sale in South Korea on Wednesday with a price tag of 333,000 won ($290). The handset is the fifth Q series model released this year. The Q52 has upgraded features and design compared with its predecessor, the Q51. However, the latest smartphone does not support 5G. The Q52 comes with a quad

South Korea saw its sales of luxury imported cars rise sharply over the first nine months of the year despite the new coronavirus pandemic straining the economy, data showed Sunday. The combined sales of imported automobiles with a price tag of more than 100 million won ($88,600) surpassed 30,000 units over the January-September period, marking the first time that annual sales have surpassed the threshold, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. The figure,

South Korea's combined trade volume dropped 18.3 percent in the second quarter of 2020 from a year earlier amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. Asia's No. 4 economy saw its exports and imports reach $109 billion over the April-June period, falling $24 billion from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the ruling Democratic Party. It marked a further drop compared with the 1.8 percent on-year decrease reported over the first quarter. The

A civic group held a memorial rally in Seoul on Saturday for a South Korean fisheries official shot to death by the North Korean military last month, with his son vowing to "fight until the end" to regain his honor. The group consisting of people in their 20s and 30s led the rally, as the family of the ill-fated official strongly protested the Coast Guard's interim conclusion that he sought to defect to the North after losing money in gambling. Lee Rae-jin, the elder brother of the

South Korea's health authorities said Saturday they will continue a free flu shots program despite dozens of recent deaths after vaccinations, as they found no links between vaccines and fatalities. The number of deaths following flu shots jumped to 48 as of 1 p.m., up from 36 the previous day, after the first suspected death was reported on Oct. 16, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). About 80 percent of the dead were in their 70s and 80s.  "We a

South Korea's tax agency said Saturday it will consider imposing taxes on Google Inc.'s planned enforcement of a 30 percent commission on in-app purchases of digital content from its Play Store next year. In a written answer submitted to Rep. Kim Soo-hong of the ruling Democratic Party, the National Tax Service said it will consider various measures to impose taxes on Google's income from the fees and will closely monitor the size of Google's sales in the domestic application market. The NTS sa

A UN human rights official has denounced North Korea's killing of a South Korean official last month as a violation of international human rights law during a meeting of the UN General Assembly. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation, raised the issue at the UN committee on social, humanitarian and cultural issues on Friday (local time). The 47-year-old fisheries official was fatally shot by the North Korean military on Sept. 22 while adrift in it

Recent satellite imagery indicates North Korea has begun repairing flood damage to a reservoir overflow dam used to maintain a constant source of water for the cooling systems of its nuclear reactors in Yongbyon, according to 38 North, a US website monitoring the North. In a report posted Thursday (local time), 38 North said between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17, repair work began on the dam in the Kuryong River, which was breached by the flood waters of August. Imagery from Sept. 22 showed a dramatic

  South Korea's new coronavirus cases returned to below 100 on Saturday after triple-digit infections were reported for the past two days, as sporadic cluster infections continued at senior care hospitals and other risk-prone facilities. The country added 77 more COVID-19 cases, including 66 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,775, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). New virus cases exceeded 100 for the past two days. Daily new cases came