A Seoul appellate court on Thursday commuted the sentence of an elder brother of former President Lee Myung-bak to one year and two months from two years on bribery charges. Lee Sang-deuk, the former six-term lawmaker, was indicted on charges of receiving a total of 750 million won (US$654,165) in kickbacks from a local company and two troubled savings banks from 2007 to 2011. Clearing the elde...

South Korean stocks closed 0.84 percent higher Monday, dispelling concerns over potential negative impacts from the Japanese upper house election on the local economy, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 8.94 points to finish at 1,880.35. Trading volume was moderate at 353.2 million shares worth 3.60 tri...

Prosecutors have seized an insurance product belonging to former President Chun Doo-hwan's wife as part of efforts to collect a massive fine he owes the state, sources at the prosecution said Monday. The move is part of intensifying efforts by the prosecution to find concealed assets of the former president, who was ordered by the top court in 1997 to return to the state coffers 220 billion won ...

The high popularity of South Korean pop culture has helped the country earn more money in its intellectual property rights (IPR) from abroad last year from a year ago, data showed Sunday. According to data by the Bank of Korea, South Korean companies associated with Korean pop culture earned US$800 million in royalties from IPRs overseas in 2012, up 17.6 percent or $120 million from $680 million...

The popularity of foreign bottled water appears to be waning in South Korea, apparently affected by the protracted economic slump, industry data released on Sunday indicated. According to local retailers, their sales of imported bottled water began to decline last year and have experienced a two-digit fall this year. Market leader E-Mart said its sales of foreign bottled water sank 9.3 percent ...

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend an event next week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, a diplomatic source here said Saturday. "President Obama plans to deliver a speech at the ceremony to be held at the Korean War Veterans Memorial (in Washington, D.C.) next Saturday," the source told Yonhap News Agency. Other participants will include Secretary ...

A man in a wheelchair who was airing grievances set off a homemade bomb in a crowded terminal at Beijing's main airport on Saturday evening, injuring himself but no one else, Chinese state media and witnesses said. Order was quickly restored and no flights were affected by the explosion at the airport's main international terminal, state-run China Central Television said on its microblog. The o...

Police questioned a high school teacher on Saturday on charges of negligence over the drowning deaths of his five students off the country's western beach, police officials said. The 49-year-old teacher, surnamed Kim, is suspected of negligence while overseeing nearly 200 students attending a summer camp in Taean Beach, about 150 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the officials. Bodies of ...

A German brewer has spurned a request by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to open a beer garden and brewery in his isolated communist country, a news report said. Paulaner Brewery said it did not consider opening a biergarten in North Korea, according to Bild, Germany's biggest-selling daily, on its website on Thursday. The Munich-based brewery said its capacity is stretched thin because it plan...

South Korea and Australia played to a 0-0 draw in the opening men's match at the East Asian Cup football tournament here on Saturday, as the host country failed to capitalize on a series of opportunities. At Seoul World Cup Stadium, South Koreans saw their offensive efforts go for naught, as Australian keeper Eugene Galekovic was largely responsible for keeping this a scoreless affair. Japan an...

South Korean stocks closed 0.47 percent lower Tuesday ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on monetary policy slated for this week, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.8 points to finish at 1,866.36. Trading volume was moderate at 300 million shares worth 2.9 trillion won (US$2.63...

South Korea will likely collect 10 trillion won (US$8.9 billion) less in taxes during the first half than a year earlier, raising worries that the government might need to draft a second extra budget plan to fill the revenue gap, data showed Sunday. According to the data submitted by the National Tax Service (NTS) to lawmakers, the government had collected 82.13 trillion won worth of taxes duri...

South Korean stocks shot up nearly 3 percent Thursday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's dovish comments backing the monetary easing fueled investor sentiment, analysts said. The local currency gained sharply against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 53.44 points, or 2.93 percent, to finish at 1,877.60, the highest in 16 trading days. Tr...