NKorean killed for spreading Gospel: report

A news report said Monday that a North Korean was killed for spreading Gospel.

The Associated Press said Son Jong-nam was reportedly tortured to death for spreading the Gospel with 20 bibles and 10 cassette tapes in the reclusive state in 2009, 11 years after living in the neighboring area of China in 1998.

The wire said it obtained the information from his younger brother Son Jung-hun, who lives in South Korea.

P.M. office staff accused of abusing investigative power

Members of the prime minister’s office face a criminal investigation for allegedly conducting illegal surveillance on a civilian.

The prime minister’s office said Monday it has referred four of its staff members for a prosecution probe as they were found to have violated rules on government officials’ duties.

Lee In-kyu, a senior official in charge of inspecting ethics-code violation by public officials, and three lower-level officials allegedly led an illegal probe of a businessman surnamed Kim who posted on his blog a video image of slander against President Lee Myung-bak and his policies. Kim at that time ran a subcontractor of a major bank.

A Democratic Party lawmaker and MBC-TV claimed late last month that Lee In-kyu’s people searched Kim’s office and pressured the bank to stop doing business with Kim. The case was then transferred to the police who interrogated Kim on charges of embezzlement and libel against the president. 

Prime Minster Chung Un-chan addresses the last meeting of a panel on implementing a revised Sejong City plan Monday. Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald

LG faces critical test with Optimus series

LG Electronics on Monday announced the launch of its flagship Android smartphone Optimus One with Google via 120 carriers worldwide in the third quarter. 

LG's first global smartphone will be a make-or-break test for its mobile division president, Ahn Seung-kwon, who is struggling to rejuvenate the ailing smartphone business. 

 

Ahn Seung-kwon

Ahn gained fame for leading the development of LG’s hit feature phone Chocolate in 2006, as then head of LG’s mobile research center. Propelled by the huge success of the Chocolate, he grabbed the top position at LG’s mobile division in 2007, and since nurtured LG’s mobile business as a major cash cow. 

However, his successful career has been tarnished by his failure to predict and prepare for the fast growth of the smartphone market.

LG’s handset division is expected to swing to a loss in the second quarter, hit by its weak smartphone line-up. 

The company is determined to revive its smartphone fortunes with the rollout of the Optimus One, which runs Google’s Android 2.2 operating system, LG did not disclose other details, but said the new model will be competitively-priced. The phone will be available via 120 carriers while Samsung Electronics’ smartphone Galaxy S is currently sold via 100 operators.

Samsung, LG, Hyundai team up for flexible display: report

Samsung, LG, and Hyundai Motor Group will team up to develop flexible display material, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing officials from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and related industries. 

The global flexible display market is expected to reach 17 trillion won ($14 billion) by 2018, according to the Korean-language report.

Auto, electronics companies likely to report better earnings in Q2

Investors are bracing for a flurry of second-quarter earnings results to be released by Korean firms starting this week. 

Eyes are on forecasts for the second half to see whether Korea would be able to sustain its growth momentum after its quick recovery from the global recession. 

Many of Korea’s auto and electronics makers are expected to post further improvements in their profits in the second quarter and third quarter, despite the global economic uncertainty stemming from the European debt crisis and monetary tightening, analysts said. 

Korea’s top 209 listed firms are expected to see their profit jump 61.9 percent to 22.9 trillion won ($18.6 billion) in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to data from local financial information provider, FnGuide. That would be a 15.6 percent rise from the previous quarter. 

Their operating profit is expected to climb to 24.5 trillion won in the third quarter, before dipping to 21.6 trillion won in the fourth quarter, according to FnGuide figures.

Opponents pile pressure on Lee over river project

Opposition parties and civic groups held a large-scale rally in Seoul on Saturday, stepping up their offensive against the controversial Four-River Restoration Project. 

The river plan, a key item on President Lee Myung-bak’s policy agenda, is expected to become the next big thing on the political scene here after opposition parties succeeded in impeding the parliamentary approval of the revised Sejong City plan last month.

The rally was organized by an alliance of representatives from five opposition parties, civic and religious groups, with an attendance of some 4,500 people, according to the government estimate. The rally organizers estimated the number of participants at about 20,000. 

Heads of opposition parties a candlelight rally against the Four-River Restoration Project in Seoul on Saturday. Yonhap News

Afghan mission starts despite attack

South Korea‘s team tasked with helping rebuild war-torn Afghanistan has begun its mission despite a rocket attack on its future headquarters, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The Provincial Reconstruction Team went to work after a formal launching ceremony on Thursday, a day after the construction site of its headquarters came under a grenade attack. 

Ministry officials said they have to yet to uncover who was culpable, saying no individual or group has come forward.

The government suspects the Taliban as a possible culprit. 

The assailants fired two rounds of rocket-propelled grenades toward the base construction site on Wednesday, a Foreign Ministry official said. 

Col. Park Sung-woo, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that both assailants and security guards used Russian-made RPG-7s in the exchange of fire. 

Troops of the “Ashena” unit dispatched to Afghanistan to protect Korean civilian workers salute during a ceremony to see them off on Thursday. Yonhap News