Immigrants married to Koreans will be granted a new type of visa as early as September to better support their settlement here, officials at the Justice Ministry said Friday. The ministry is also seeking to ease rules on visa issuance for foreign businesspeople to attract more investment and create jobs. The ministry put on public notice a series of revision plans pertaining to the immigration ...

China’s chief nuclear envoy said Friday he plans to visit North Korea to coordinate efforts to revive six-party talks on the North, wrapping up a South Korean visit that coincided with a trip to Pyongyang by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Speaking to Yonhap News Agency before departing for China, Wu Dawei, however, said he did not yet have a specific timetable for his visit to North Korea, ...

Former President Roh Tae-woo had an acupuncture needle removed from his lung on Thursday, Seoul National University Hospital confirmed Friday. The hospital refused to elaborate on how or when the needle penetrated Roh’s lung, which caused the 78-year-old former state leader to check into the hospital two days earlier. “The 6.5 centimeter-long material had a small part of ‘handle’ which is used ...

One out of four foreign workers under the employment permit system whose visa has expired has become an illegal sojourner, the government revealed Friday. Tougher regulations are expected but some experts said it was time to consider guaranteeing permanent residency for some skillful workers. According to the ministries of employment and labor and justice, the number of people whose E-9 visas e...

Financial regulators on Thursday issued sanctions against a Korean asset management firm and a brokerage house for incurring huge losses after allegedly making reckless investments in stocks last November. The Financial Supervisory Service held a committee meeting where they fine-tuned the level of penalties they would levy against Wise Asset and Hana Daetoo Securities for their alleged negligen...

World’s top memory chipmaker sees tough conditions in coming quarter Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it logged 2.95 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in net profits for the first quarter of this year amid globally weak demand for flat panels and TVs sets. It is a 33 percent decline from the same period last year and it is the lowest operating profit in seven quarters. Its sales stood at 36.99 tri...

The government is renewing its efforts to advance the service industry. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance has disclosed a new action plan that called for, among other things, a basic law on the promotion of the service industry, the introduction of for-profit hospitals and allowing sales of nonprescription drugs at supermarkets and convenience stores. The renewed push for the service sector i...