South Korea

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Ex-Samsung Boss Convicted in Tax Case

But S. Korean court hands Lee Kun-hee suspended sentence

(Newser) - A South Korean court convicted former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee of tax evasion today, but handed the country's iconic business figure a 3-year suspended sentence, leaving him free from prison, reports the AP. The Seoul court found Lee, who resigned in April when the charges were brought, guilty of not...

S. Korean Tourist Shot Dead by N. Korean Soldier

Death jeopardizes thawing relations

(Newser) - A North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean tourist when she wandered into a restricted area today, Reuters reports. The 53-year-old had been visiting the Mount Kumgang resort, just north of the border. The shooting could jeopardize thawing North/South relations, which had taken a huge step this morning,...

US, S. Korea Reach Beef Deal
 US, S. Korea Reach Beef Deal 

US, S. Korea Reach Beef Deal

Imported US meat must come from cattle younger than 30 months

(Newser) - All US beef imported into South Korea will come from cattle less than 30 months old, officials said today, in a deal made to placate South Korean protesters worried about mad cow disease. Nonetheless, thousands of protesters returned to the streets of Seoul, calling for a complete renegotiation of an...

Leader Offers Fresh Start as Korea Protests Snowball

Biggest protests in 20 years push Lee Myung-bak's presidency to the brink

(Newser) - South Korea's president is battling for his political life as swelling protests continue to rock the country, the New York Times reports. At least 100,000 people joined a massive anti-government rally in Seoul yesterday as Lee Myung-bak—himself a former participant in a pro-democracy student movement—pledged "a...

S. Korean Cabinet Offers to Resign Over US Beef Imports

Cabinet offers resignation as 1m prepare to march

(Newser) - The entire South Korean government has offered to resign in the face of a popular protest triggered by the lifting of import restrictions on US beef. The Korean government withdrew a ban introduced to prevent mad cow disease, setting off demonstrations expected to bring a million people onto the streets...

FTC Opens Antitrust Investigation of Intel

Smaller rival AMD has long accused it of unfair practices

(Newser) - The FTC has opened a formal investigation of Intel over allegations of monopolistic business practices, the Wall Street Journal reports. The world's biggest semiconductor company, which denies any wrongdoing, received a subpoena this week. Intel also learned that it faces a $25.4 million antitrust fine from South Korea, even...

Torch Protests Continue in S. Korea

Anti- and pro-China factions face off

(Newser) - The Olympic torch again met with a clash of protesters today as it arrived in South Korea, Reuters reports. Some South Koreans are angered by Beijing’s human rights record, but the majority are pro-Chinese, wearing their country’s flag and chanting, “No politics, only Olympics.” Despite 8,...

Samsung Chairman Resigns
 Samsung Chairman Resigns 

Samsung Chairman Resigns

Lee steps down amid tax evasion scandal

(Newser) - The chairman of Samsung, Korea's leading exporter, has resigned after being indicted on multiple counts of tax fraud and breach of duty. Lee Kun-hee, whose resignation speech was carried live on all of South Korea's TV networks, has controlled the Samsung consortium since 1987. Lee, his wife, his son, and...

US to Press N. Korea on Nukes: Bush
US to Press
N. Korea on Nukes: Bush

US to Press N. Korea on Nukes: Bush

Prez disputes rumor that Washington will compromise

(Newser) - President Bush challenged rumors today that Washington will go easy on North Korea's nuclear program, the AP reports. Pyongyang must "provide a full declaration of its nuclear programs" and disable its reactor, Bush said at US talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. "Some people are precluding, you...

S. Korea Culls 3M Birds in Flu Fight

Nation on alert as troops sent in to slaughter poultry

(Newser) - South Korea has sent in soldiers to kill and bury birds as bird flu spreads rapidly throughout the country, Reuters reports. More than 3 million farm birds have been culled so far, but fresh cases continue to be reported and the disease is heading for the capital. The entire country...

Samsung Head Indicted for Tax Fraud
Samsung Head Indicted for
Tax Fraud

Samsung Head Indicted for Tax Fraud

Electronics giant vows reform as chairman faces trial

(Newser) - The chairman of electronic giant Samsung will stand trial for tax evasion and breach of duty after special prosecutors alleged corruption in South Korea's largest industrial corporation. Lee Kun-hee was indicted in Seoul today for evading $114 million in taxes and for incurring losses at Samsung while installing his son...

South Korea's First Astronaut Docks at ISS

Nation paid $25M to shoot her to the space station

(Newser) - South Korea’s first astronaut arrived at the International Space Station today, and her country must be relieved—having paid $25 million to get her there, Space.com reports. The South Korean president called So-yeon Yi’s mission a “stepping stone” in that country’s fledgling space program; lacking...

Dubai Is the New Mecca for Theme Parks

Abu Dhabi, Shanghai also among locations planning impressive amusements

(Newser) - The big US amusement companies—Six Flags, Universal, SeaWorld, Warner Bros., MGM—have all seen the future, and it's in Dubai. That's where the world's largest playland—a sprawling $64-billion collection of theme parks, golf courses, museums and hotels—is going up, but it's only the most dramatic of projects...

Irked North Korea Fires Test Missiles

Pyongyang flexes military muscle as Seoul grows testy

(Newser) - North Korea test-fired a number of short-range missiles into the waters off its west coast, according to South Korean officials, in an apparent show of anger at Washington and the new government in Seoul, Reuters reports. "We are monitoring the situation," said a South Korean presidential spokesman. The...

North Korea Boots Officials from S. Korea

Relations sour as South demands an end to nuclear program

(Newser) - South Korean officials left North Korea this morning, after receiving their eviction notice from Pyongyang. Relations have soured between the Koreas since the South demanded the North cease its nuclear activities, but the South said it was “undaunted” by the expulsion of its men. “We will deal with...

South Korea to Back UN on North Korea

Seoul shifts gears to join in criticism of human rights record

(Newser) - South Korea is set to vote in favor of a United Nations resolution that criticizes the "systematic, widespread, and grave violations" of human rights in North Korea, the AP reports. The South's new president, Lee Myung-bak, is changing a decade of precedent: earlier administrations have either abstained or been...

South Koreans Turn to Cambodia to Buy Wives

Government decries 'human trafficking' on rise after Vietnam crackdown

(Newser) - A clampdown on marriage brokers in Vietnam has made neighboring Cambodia the new destination for South Korean men seeking to buy wives, the AP reports. About 2,500 Cambodian women have married Koreans this way in the past four years in a process in which men choose from as many...

United Grounds 7 Jumbos
 United Grounds 7 Jumbos 

United Grounds 7 Jumbos

FAA warned of flawed Korean inspections

(Newser) - United Airlines has grounded seven Boeing 747s to check the cockpit instruments that indicate altitude during flight. The decision was prompted by the discovery that equipment at a facility in South Korea where the instruments had been checked were improperly maintained, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FAA uncovered the...

Korea's Kimchi Ready for Lift-Off
Korea's Kimchi Ready for Lift-Off

Korea's Kimchi Ready for Lift-Off

First Korean astronaut will take along staple dish

(Newser) - South Korea spent millions to make sure its first astronaut is well-prepared for his mission—by perfecting a space-safe kimchi, reports the International Herald Tribune. South Koreans put down 1.6 million tons of the national dish each year, and Ko San will blast off April 8 for a 10-day...

'Bulldozer' Prez Takes Helm in S. Korea

Conservative ex-CEO charges into office, pledging reform

(Newser) - Proclaiming that "economic revival is our most urgent task," South Korea's new president took office today. Ex-Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak, a longtime Hyundai exec known as "the Bulldozer," won the office in a landslide but is likely to struggle implementing the reforms he has promised if...

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