A government panel on Wednesday rejected a proposal to set up a cable car on a popular mountain range near the country's eastern coast, a plan that has been criticized for its potential harm to the regional environment, government officials said.The project calls for a 3.5-kilometer-long cable car system to be built in the southern region of Mount Seorak in Yangyang County, some 215 kilometers east of Seoul, providing a means of convenient transportation all the way up to the peak of the Osaek a

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2016

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday a 2.16 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) order to build an offshore facility has been canceled, but there are no losses for the shipbuilder. In a regulatory filing, the world's biggest shipbuilder by orders said Chevron North Sea Ltd. on Tuesday notified them of its decision to cancel the order to build a floating production storage offloading (FPSO) unit, citing a deteriorating business environment."As the process to build the offshore plant has not begun

Industry Dec. 14, 2016

The Asian club football champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors took fifth place at the FIFA Club World Cup after defeating South African side the Mamelodi Sundowns 4-1 on Wednesday.Kim Bo-kyung, Lee Jong-ho and Kim Shin-wook each scored one goal to help Jeonbuk, the winners of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, beat the Sundowns at the Suita City Football Stadium in Osaka, Japan.The FIFA Club World Cup features seven teams -- the winners of the continental club championships and

Soccer Dec. 14, 2016

A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday ordered the government to disclose the results of a probe on pollution detected in the water table near a U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) garrison in Seoul. The U.S. Army base in Yongsan, central Seoul, has been suspected as the source of oil that has polluted the nearby water table and land. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been conducting a water table purification project since 2003 but petroleum-based contaminants above the standard level keep being de

Social Affairs Dec. 14, 2016

Park Seung-joo, the nominee for minister of Public Safety and Security, offered to step down Wednesday amid the escalating controversy over his shamanistic activities and dissertation plagiarism. "I will step down from the nominee position today. I will go back to work for social activities for children and the youth,” Park said. “Seeing that Donald Trump was elected the US president, I thought its impact on Korean politics, the economy and society would be huge. I believe that it is necessary f

Politics Nov. 9, 2016

South Korea and the Czech Republic agreed to cooperate on the European Union's adoption of additional sanctions against North Korea, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday. "Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek shared the understanding that North Korea's nuclear test is an unpardonable, serious provocation and pledged to do all that is necessary to bring about strong sanctions and pressure from the EU in close collaboration with our (South Korean) side," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

Foreign Affairs Nov. 9, 2016

North Korea said Monday that it wants Britain to pull out of upcoming military exercises in South Korea, calling the drills a ``hostile act.'' Britain has announced that it will send fighter jets and support planes to Asia, and that it will take part in exercises in South Korea together with South Korean and U.S. forces in early November.``This is a hostile act, openly joining the U.S. and South Korean forces in moves for a new war against us,'' said North Korean Foreign Ministry official Pak Yu

North Korea Oct. 17, 2016

The alliance between South Korea and the United States faces a grave challenge from the evolving nuclear and missile threat from North Korea, Seoul's top diplomat said Monday, adding that it is more important than ever to maintain the allies' cooperation on a unified front. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se expressed the concerns during a meeting with 14 U.S. security experts belonging to the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a think tank established in 2007 by senior defense and diplomatic

Politics Oct. 17, 2016

First generation K-pop group S.E.S. is preparing to comeback with a new album next year to celebrate its 20th anniversary of debut, the group's management said Monday."The preparations for a new album and a concert are still in the initial stages and nothing concrete can be said yet," an official from South Korean Entertainment giant S.M. Entertainment told Yonhap News Agency. Lee Soo-man, the founder of the agency and the original inceptor of the group, will spearhead production, making the reu

Oct. 17, 2016

Uganda has terminated all of its police-related ties with North Korea and is now reviewing whether to suspend military contracts with the communist regime, the foreign ministry here said Monday, following a meeting between senior diplomats from the two countries.The action taken by the Eastern African country is an implementation of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's pledge to sever security and military relations with North Korea, after his meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in

North Korea Oct. 17, 2016

The South Korean government on Monday designated six more regions in the southern part of the country that were hit hard by the latest typhoon as special disaster areas.The new designated areas hit hard by Typhoon Chaba were Busan's Saha district, Gyeongju, Tongyoung, Geoje, Yangsan and Jeju Island. With the announcement, the total number of areas designated as disaster zones reached eight. Soon after the typhoon hit the country, part of Ulsan and nearby Ulju County were marked as areas eligible

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2016