South Korea's inflation is expected to remain above the 4 percent range in April due to higher oil prices and other external shocks such as the fallout from Japan's nuclear crisis, experts said Sunday.   The country's consumer prices rose to a 29-month high last month and were far above the central bank's target, stoking expectation that the nation's central bank may raise its key rate soon.  

April 3, 2011

   Educational spending in South Korea increased at the slowest pace in more than a decade last year due to large debts owed by households and high inflation, a report said Sunday.   According to the report compiled by Statistics Korea, households in the country spent 34.6 trillion won ($31.71 billion) on education last year, up 0.5 percent from a year earlier.   The increase is the lowest since 1

Social Affairs April 3, 2011

   NEW ORLEANS (AFP) -- People who suffer from irregular heartbeat could see their episodes cut in half if they do yoga regularly, according to a study released Saturday in the United States.   Doing yoga three times a week also reduced depression and anxiety while boosting people's opinion of their own social and mental well-being, said the research presented at a New Orleans cardiology conferenc

Technology April 3, 2011

  Minuscule traces of radioactive silver were found in South Korean atmosphere for the first time Saturday since Japan's nuclear accident, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety said.   The substance was detected in air samples taken from the central city of Daejeon and the southeastern city of Daegu, the agency said. Radioactive iodine and cesium had been found in South Korean air before, but it w

Technology April 3, 2011

   A compulsory seat belt-wearing law for all passengers on motorways nationwide will take effect on Friday, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Thursday.   Under the new law, all passengers of vehicles, including those sitting in the back seats, must put on seat belts when they are on a motorway, a measure aimed to reduce casualties in traffic accidents, said the NPA.   NPA officials said offen

Social Affairs March 31, 2011

 South Korea said Thursday it has allowed civilian groups to resume humanitarian aid to North Korea for the first time since last November when the North bombarded a South Korean island.   The Unification Ministry approved requests by three relief groups to send aid to the North, an official here told reporters amid reports of dire food shortages in the communist country.<한글뉴스>민간단체 北취약계층 지원재개 허용연평

North Korea March 31, 2011

  President Lee Myung-bak plans to hold a press conference later this week to express his position on the government's decision to abort a major airport construction project, his aides said Thursday, amid fierce backlash from local residents, authorities and lawmakers.   "The president is scheduled to express his position tomorrow," a senior official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said o

Politics March 31, 2011

   South Korea's industrial output grew for the 20th straight month in February, indicating the economy is continuing to expand, a government report showed Thursday.   According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining and manufacturing industries rose 9.1 percent last month from the same month a year earlier. Output has increased since July 2009.   Output was fueled mainly by s

March 31, 2011

  South Korean manufacturers' business confidence for April inched down as rising oil costs and Japan's quake are expected to increase economic uncertainty, the central bank said Thursday.   The index of manufacturers' outlook on business conditions reached 95 for April, down from 96 for March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions f

March 31, 2011

  Japan authorized a dozen new school textbooks renewing territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on Wednesday in a move sure to sour the warming relations between the two neighbors.   The approval was seen by many South Koreans as a slap in the face as it came at a time when they have been pouring out sympathy and support for their former colonial ruler as it suffers from a

Foreign Affairs March 30, 2011

   South Korea's military conducted a live-fire artillery drill on Wednesday on a border island shelled by North Korea last November, officials said, the second firing drill since the North's bombardment that inflamed tensions.   The firing exercise was started by marines on Yeonpyeong Island, near the tense Yellow Sea border with North Korea, at around 9:30 a.m. and was scheduled to last for abou

Defense March 30, 2011

   South Korea's consumer prices grew at the second-fastest pace among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in February, data showed Wednesday.   According to the data offered by the OECD, South Korea's consumer prices jumped 4.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the second steepest hike among its 34 member nations. Estonia ranked first with 5.

March 30, 2011

The South Korean economy grew 6.2 percent last year, the fastest expansion in eight years, as exports remained robust and facility investment jumped amid improved consumer spending, the central bank said Wednesday.   The country's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, was revised up from an earlier estimate of 6.1 percent for last year, according to the Bank o

March 30, 2011

South Korea's current account surplus widened in February from the previous month mainly because spending on overseas travel decreased amid still brisk exports, the central bank said Tuesday.   The current account surplus reached $1.18 billion in February, up sharply from a revised $154.7 million the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure

March 29, 2011