SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- The government granted its annual "Christmas parole"
on Wednesday to 1,373 felons, more than doubling the number from previous years

By Yoo Cheong-mo
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday ordered his
Cabinet to map out emergency welfare measures for the underprivileged,

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks traded 1.81 percent lower late
Wednesday morning as investors became skittish over looming restructuring plans

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top plant builder Samsung Engineering
Co. said Wednesday a consortium led by it signed a US$1.4 billion deal to build

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- Housing construction in South Korea dropped in October
as cash-strapped builders scaled back on construction projects amid a deepening

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- A government study has found that nearly seven out of
every 10 South Koreans oppose allowing alternative service for those who refuse

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- After months of renewed tension over a territorial
issue, South Korea and Japan are fast moving to put their often-prickly ties back

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's major ports handled less cargo in
November than a year earlier due to a global economic slump, the maritime
ministry said Wednesday.

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korean media claimed that Kim Jong-il made
year-round inspections "without rest," not mentioning the months-long interval

By Koh Byung-joon
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- This year has been the toughest for South Korea's
economy in a decade due mainly to worldwide financial turmoil, but the worst has