South Korean equity funds investing in Brazilian shares yielded much higher than other overseas stock funds in July ahead of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, a market tracker said Tuesday.According to fund rating and consulting firm KG Zeroin, Brazilian equity-related funds posted the highest return of 8.33 percent among overseas stock funds here as of July 29.Funds for healthcare stocks trailed with 6.69 percent, followed by German equity funds with 6.39 percent and funds for basic materi

Aug. 2, 2016

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party said Tuesday that North Korea's nuclear and missile threats cannot be stopped by diplomatic channels alone, adding a U.S. advanced missile defense system is vital to protecting the country and urged the opposition to work with the government in matters of national defense."The opposition bloc should give us clear answers on what are the alternatives to stopping North Korea's nukes and missiles without the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and the Seoul

North Korea Aug. 2, 2016

South Korea's government on Tuesday banned sales and revoked the certifications of 80 vehicle models of Audi Volkswagen Korea, which has been suspected of obtaining permission to sell cars here by fabricating reports.Under the administrative measure, the Ministry of Environment separately slapped the German automaker with fines of 17.8 billion won ($16 million) for 47 models that are thought to have passed the local authentication process by cheating on gas emissions tests.  The punitive measure

Mobility Aug. 2, 2016

The number of South Koreans going overseas for vacation jumped more than 40 percent on-year in July as more people flock to foreign destinations despite a prolonged slump in domestic demand, industry data showed Tuesday.Hana Tour Co., the nation's leading tour agency, said the number of its clients going abroad came to 289,000 last month, up 43.3 percent from the same month last year.China was the destination that saw the biggest on-year jump with 92.3 percent, followed by Japan with 48.3 percen

Industry Aug. 2, 2016

National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday said the parliament must speed up efforts to hold reunion events of separated families from the two Koreas, adding the time is running out as those that experienced the Korean War (1950-53) are becoming older."We do not have much time. More than 3,000 people are dying every year without fulfilling their dreams of meeting their families. In a humanitarian manner, we must seek to hold a reunion next month for Chuseok," Chung said. Chuseok is the

North Korea Aug. 2, 2016

밀당(연인간에 서로 밀고 당긴다는 의미) 중인 연인은 카톡이 오면 자존심 때문에 바로 확인하지 못하는 경우가 많다. 　　그렇다면 이들은 어느 정도의 시간이 지난 후 카톡 내용을 확인할까? 　　이 같은 질문에 남성은 ‘15분’, 여성은 ‘30분’이 지나고 내용을 확인한다고 대답했다. 　 (123RF)　결혼정보회사 비에나래가 결혼정보업체 온리-유와 공동으로 지난달 25일 ∼ 30일 사이 전국의 결혼희망 미혼 남녀 508명(남녀 각 254명)을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시한 결과이다. 　　남성은 응답자의 40.6%가 ‘15분 지나서’로 답했고, 여성은 37.4%가 ‘30분 지나서’로 답해 각각 가장 높은 비중을 차지한 것. 　　이어 남성은 ‘발견 즉시’(32.7%) - ‘30분 지나서’(17.7%) - ‘1시간 이상 지나서’(9.0%) 등의 순으로 답했고, 여성은 ‘15분 지나서’(32.3%) - ‘1시간 이상 지나서’(17.7%) - ‘발견 즉시’(12.6%) 등의 순이다. 　　(khnew

한국어판 Aug. 2, 2016

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as falling oil prices pressured down chemical stocks and gave pause to rallies in local equity prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.3 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,023.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Petrochemical shares slid as U.S. crude on Monday fell below $40 per barrel for the first time since April on concerns over a supply glut. Top refiner SK Innovation decreased 1.33 percent, and No. 3 S-Oil retreated 1.41 percent

Aug. 2, 2016

South Korea's job market recovery stalled in the first quarter of this year amid weak economic growth despite improvements in other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Tuesday.South Korea's employment rate for people aged 15-65 stood at 65.9 percent for the January-March period, unchanged from the three months prior, according to the OECD data cited by the Korea Institute of Public Finance.The average employment rate for all OECD members came to 66.8

Aug. 2, 2016

Major South Korean construction companies posted lackluster orders in the first half of this year as they fared poor in overseas markets amid low oil prices, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data, eight out of the country's top 10 construction firms by building capacity posted first-half orders that hovered well below half their yearly targets. The remaining two have not disclosed their 2016 order goals.Of the eight builders, six registered orders that amount to some 30 percent of t

Industry Aug. 2, 2016

South Korea's consumer prices rose by less than 1 percent for the third consecutive month in July, government data showed Tuesday, amid a flaccid economic recovery.The country's consumer price index rose 0.7 percent last month from a year earlier, marking the lowest on-year gain in 10 months, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The figure grew 0.8 percent on-year both in June and May, after rising 1 percent or more during the February-April period.From a month earlier, the index e

Aug. 2, 2016

Sales of South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. dropped from a year earlier in July due partly to a decline in output caused by a series of labor strikes that led to significant cuts in both domestic and overseas sales, the company said Monday.The automaker's overall sales came to 339,273 cars last month, down 5.1 percent from July 2015.Domestic sales plunged 20.1 percent on-year to 47,879 units.The sharp drop was also attributed to the termination of a temporary cut in excise tax for

Mobility Aug. 1, 2016

North Korea's participation in the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang depends entirely on the rules and procedures outlined by the International Olympic Committee, the unification ministry said Monday.The ministry gave its stance after the Voice of America reported that North Korea's Olympic committee on Sunday said there is no particular reason why the country cannot take part in the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang that runs from Feb. 9-26, 2018. The North said that if all goes as planned the even

North Korea Aug. 1, 2016

Some victims of the toxic humidifier sterilizers, produced by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, rejected the firm's compensation plan on Monday, saying they won't accept the offer until the ongoing investigations by state prosecutors and parliamentary probes are concluded.The victims and their families also denounced the compensation plan as failing to "adequately" reflect their views, stressing that the company is trying to quickly settle the issue by exploiting the "extreme mental pain and economic diffi

Industry Aug. 1, 2016

South Korea's ruling and opposition parties are seeking to revise certain clauses in the anti-graft law which won a constitutional nod last week, political watchers said Monday, amid the rising concerns that the law could bring confusion and adversely impact consumption.The Kim Young-ran anti-graft law named after a former head of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission aims to bring more transparency among public officials, journalists and private school faculty. The regulations make it

Politics Aug. 1, 2016