Prosecutors said Wednesday they have indicted two Vietnamese fishermen on charges of murdering two South Koreans aboard a vessel in the Indian Ocean last month.The Busan District Prosecutors' Office said the suspects, both aged 32, are accused of stabbing to death the 43-year-old captain and the 42-year-old engineer of the deep-sea fishing vessel Kwang Hyun 803 in waters near Seychelles.The two arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier this month.  (Yonhap)During the inves

Social Affairs July 27, 2016

South Korea plans to submit a draft on the international food standard for makgeolli, as part of its efforts to export the indigenous traditional rice wine overseas, the agricultural ministry said Wednesday.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will officially submit a plan to codify safety standards for makgeolli to the Asian office meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in September.The ministry said it aims to establish an international food standard for makgeolli

Industry July 27, 2016

South Korea's bourse operator imposed a heavy penalty on a Chinese company traded on the country's stock market on Wednesday, for a false regulatory filing that could lead to its delisting.The Korea Exchange designated China Ocean Resources Co. an "unfaithful disclosure" corporate and placed it under a special watch. It was blacklisted as what the KRX calls an "administrative issue." The KRX also slapped a fine of 200 million won ($176,000) on the company, the heaviest fine levied on a listed fi

July 27, 2016

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, reported Wednesday that it swung to a net profit during the second quarter thanks in part to reduced costs and improvement in its non-shipbuilding business. Net income came to 392 billion won ($345 million) in the April-June period on a consolidation basis, a turnaround from a loss of 242 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales dropped 17.4 percent on-year to reach 9.86 trillion won, while it logged

July 27, 2016

Fans of fried chicken and beer will gather in this sizzling hot city of Daegu this week as it holds a festival wholly dedicated to the hugely popular summer night snack in South Korea with various concerts and events. The combination of chicken and beer is called "chimac" in Korean, and it's the theme of the "Daegu Chimac Festival," which runs from Wednesday to Sunday. (Visit Korea)The Korea Chimac Industry Association Corp. hosts the event in the city, located some 300 kilometers southeast of S

Culture July 27, 2016

The world's biggest leisure sports festival will be held in the country's northeastern lake city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, next month with foreign and local participants competing in 14 sports events, organizers said Wednesday. The fifth edition of the Chuncheon International Leisure Sports Festival will run from Aug. 12-15 at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, with some 5,600 local and foreign athletes from 31 nations to compete. (Visit Korea)This year's in

Culture July 27, 2016

South Korea's imports of Norwegian mackerel rose 73 percent in the first six months of this year from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the Asian country banned catches of mackerel in its waters for one month during the first half.South Korea imported 10,751 tons of mackerel from Norway in the January-June period, compared with 6,199 tons during the same period last year, according to data from the Norwegian Seafood Council.South Korea caught 28,687 tons of mackerel in the first five mon

Industry July 27, 2016

President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that the extra budget submitted to parliament will play a crucial role in bolstering job creation, calling on lawmakers to lend their support by promptly approving the stimulus plan."The government will allocate the extra budget with haste as soon as the plan is passed," Park said in a statement delivered by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn at the National Assembly, adding the budget will play a key part in improving the national economy and creating more jobs.

July 27, 2016

Samsung C&T Corp., a construction affiliate of Samsung Group, bounced back into the black with a net profit of 134.5 billion won ($118.6 million) for the April-June period, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Samsung C&T posted a net loss of 516.6 billion won in the first-quarter of this year, hit by one-off costs derived from its overseas construction projects. At the operating level, the company also posted a profit of 176.8 billion won for the second quarter, compared with a loss of 43

Industry July 27, 2016

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see stance ahead of the U.S policy rate-setting meeting later this week. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,025.05.Trading volume was moderate at 402.25 million shares worth 4.43 trillion won ($3.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 483 to 303.Market analysts said investors are increasing

July 27, 2016