SEOUL (AFP) -- South Korea's inflation rate hit its lowest  point for 14 months in December, reflecting plunging oil prices, state data showed Wednesday.Consumer prices in December rose 0.8 percent from a year ago, slowing from  1.0 percent growth in November, according to state-run Statistics Korea. This marked the lowest gain since October 2013 when consumer prices rose  0.9 percent.Consumer prices for the whole of 2014 rose 1.3 percent after growing at the  same pace in 2013.Inflation has rem

Dec. 31, 2014

South Korea's top carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are aiming to sell 8.2 million units globally next year, about 1.5 percent higher than their global sales this year, industry sources said Wednesday.Although the final decision on these figures is yet to be made, Hyundai's and Kia's sales targets for overseas markets are likely to stand at 3.18 million units and 1.44 million units, while those for the home turf may come to 1.87 million and 1.71 million, res

Industry Dec. 31, 2014

The number of stock trading accounts at local brokerage houses reached a historic high this year as more retail investors opened new accounts ahead of big initial public offerings (IPOs), data showed Wednesday.The accounts that have been used for stock transactions over the past six months increased to 20.97 million as of Dec. 26, according to data by the Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA).Active trading accounts first surpassed 10 million in July 2007 and reached over 20 million in M

Dec. 31, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's special envoy set to fly to Russia is likely to meet the European country's president next week to discuss diverse bilateral pending issues, sources in Seoul said Sunday.Choe Ryong-hae, the senior secretary of the Workers' Party of (North) Korea, will embark on a eight-day trip to Russia on Monday, according to the Moscow's foreign ministry.The planned visit by Kim Jong-un's close aide came as the communist country has launched vigorous diplomatic campaigns in r

North Korea Nov. 16, 2014

South and North Korea exchanged fire across the heavily fortified border on Sunday in the latest clash on the divided Korean Peninsula amid concerns that tensions could scuttle high-level talks between the two sides.There were no reports of casualties or property damage in South Korea, though no details were immediately known about the situation in the North.The incident occurred around 5:40 p.m. when South Korea, after broadcasting warning messages, fired warning shots against about 10 North Ko

North Korea Oct. 19, 2014

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- A 12-hour ceasefire entered into force between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip at 0500 GMT on Saturday, the 19th day of a conflict that has killed hundreds.Israel and the Islamist movement said they would observe the temporary ceasefire, after US Secretary of State John Kerry was unable to reach a lasting truce during talks Friday in Cairo.In the hours leading up to the pause, however, the violence continued, with Israeli air strikes killing 23 people, among them four child

World News July 26, 2014

Cho Yang-ho, a corporate executive who led PyeongChang's successful bid to host the 2018 Winter Games, has been nominated to be the top organizer of the event, sources said Saturday.Cho, chairman of Hanjin Group, is in line to replace former chief organizer Kim Jin-sun, who resigned on Monday, citing the need for new leadership for PyeongChang, which will host South Korea's first-ever Winter Games.Cho, 65, was the head of PyeongChang's Winter Games bidding committee in 2011, when the alpine town

Social Affairs July 26, 2014

Prosecutors launched an investigation Saturday into the eldest son of the late owner of the Sewol ferry, after he was arrested one day earlier on suspicion of embezzlement related to April's deadly sinking.Yoo Dae-kyun, 44, the son of Yoo Byung-eun, was arrested Friday in Yongin, south of Seoul, following a three-month manhunt. Park Soo-kyung, a 34-year-old woman, was also captured on suspicion of helping Dae-kyun avoid the dragnet.Prosecutors kicked off their investigation into the younger Yoo

Social Affairs July 26, 2014

The United States, France and Australia called for the United Nations Security Council to deal with North Korea's human rights violations, a news report said Saturday.Ambassadors from the three countries to the U.N. sent a joint letter to the president of the Security Council on July 17, which called on the U.N. body to formally discuss a report by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights violations in the North, according to the Voice of America (VOA).Following a year-long probe, th

World News July 26, 2014

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Friday that the alliance between the United States and South Korea "remains as strong as ever" as he marked the anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War 61 years ago.In a proclamation issued ahead of Sunday's anniversary, Obama also said South Korea's rise from the war's ashes is "not an accident." It shows that liberty and democracy "do not come easily," he said, adding, "We must win them, and tend to them constantly, and defend them witho

World News July 26, 2014

TOKYO (AFP) -- Failed Bitcoin exchange MtGox, whose spectacular collapse hammered the digital currency's reputation, is to be liquidated after a Japanese court on Thursday ordered the start of bankruptcy proceedings, said a lawyer appointed to carry out the process.The global virtual currency community was shaken by the shuttering of MtGox, which froze withdrawals in early February because of what the firm said was a bug in the software underpinning Bitcoin that allowed hackers to pilfer them.Th

World Business April 24, 2014