Super typhoon Neoguri was barrelling toward Japan's Okinawa islands Monday, packing violent winds and torrential rains as officials warned residents to stay indoors, while the biggest US Air Force base in the Pacific evacuated some of its aircraft.The storm could be one of the worst in decades, with gusts of up to 270 kilometres per hour (160 miles per hour) expected to slam into the southernmost subtropical island chain early Tuesday, and possibly reaching mainland Japan by Wednesday, the natio

World News July 7, 2014

A group of some 1,700 local consumers launched a class-action lawsuit against six local and foreign automakers Monday, claiming that they have overstated the gas mileage of some of their vehicles.In the lawsuit to be filed with the Seoul Central District Court, the plaintiffs sought between 1.5 million won and 3 million won (US$1,490-$2,960) each in compensation for the mileage gap.The move comes after the government said last month that it will fine two local SUV makers and four import car bran

Industry July 7, 2014

South Korea and Turkey have reached a de facto agreement for free trade in the investment and service sectors, the trade ministry here said Monday.The agreement, once implemented, will complement a free trade pact for products between the countries that went into effect in May 2013, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA) in the investment and service sectors were resumed in August 2013 after a 17-month suspension due to what minist

Foreign Affairs July 7, 2014

President Park Geun-hye pledged Monday that she will spare no effort to help boost achievement in South Korea's economic diplomacy with other countries."I will visit anywhere for the sake of our economic takeoff,"Park said in a meeting with local business leaders meant to demonstrate her commitment to taking follow-up steps for her recent trip to Central Asia.The comments came weeks after she traveled to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to expand economic cooperation and win support for h

Politics July 7, 2014

The South Korean alpine town of Pyeongchang will start hosting international events for disabled athletes in its preparation for the next Winter Paralympic Games, officials said on Monday.The organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang said the host city will be staging up to two international competitions in each of the Winter Paralympic sports a year as part of its "Actualizing the Dream Project (ADP)." Alpine skiing, para-snowboarding, ice sledge hockey, biathlon, cros

Sports July 7, 2014

South Korea is near the bottom in terms of traffic safety among developed countries, with its traffic fatality rate being the second-highest among surveyed countries despite improvement over the past decade, data showed on Monday.The number of South Koreans killed on the road reached 105 per 1 million people in 2011, ranking 30th among 31 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that provided the data.South Korea's reading, although an improvement from 119 in

Social Affairs July 7, 2014

South Korea's major tech players have expanded the battery capacities of their flagship smartphones over the past years, data showed Monday, as they engaged in a fierce competition over wider displays and faster networks.Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 1 maker of handsets, saw its battery capacity of the Galaxy 5S model reach 2,800mAh, up 87 percent from the 1,500mAh posted by the Galaxy S smartphone released in June 2010.The improvement was also observed in phablets, a cross between ta

Industry July 7, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a front-line military detachment in the East Sea and instructed firing drills, its official media said Monday.The young leader "inspected the defense detachment on Ung Islet ... which is defending an outpost in the East Sea of Korea," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English dispatch, without disclosing the date of the visit, as it often does.The islet is located in waters off its eastern border town of Wonsan, Gangwon Pro

North Korea July 7, 2014

North Korea said Monday it will dispatch a cheerleading contingent to the upcoming Incheon Asian Games.In a government announcement, the communist country said it will send a cheerleading contingent to the 17th Asian Games along with its athletes.It said the purpose of the contingent is to improve inter-Korean relations and to show Pyongyang's commitment to unification.The latest announcement then said that both North and South Korea should desist from confrontation, and open a new chapter of re

North Korea July 7, 2014

South Korean exporters are facing growing protectionism as economies around the globe, in particular those in developing countries, still struggle to shield their local industries from a prolonged economic slowdown and surge in foreign imports, industry data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), a total of 34 import restrictions, including anti-dumping measures, were newly imposed on South Korean-made goods by 17 countries last year

July 6, 2014