South Korea's top financial regulator on Tuesday stressed the need for robust global partnerships to prepare for the consequences of a new industrial revolution."The financial sector can't avoid the trend of the fourth industrial revolution either," Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said at a conference here.Through financial reform, he added, the world should step up efforts to support the real economy and enhance the convenience of financial consumers.Yim was

Dec. 6, 2016

Massive short selling has sent share prices of biopharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics Co. and defense contractor Hanwha Techwin Co. into a tailspin since their inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International's Korea Index last week, sources said Tuesday.The Geneva-based MSCI announced Thursday that Samsung BioLogics, a Samsung Group unit that makes generic drugs, and Hanwha Techwin newly made its Korea Index designed to measure the performance of the large- and mid-cap segments of the So

Dec. 6, 2016

A group of lawmakers in the ruling Saenuri Party who support President Park Geun-hye's ouster said Tuesday they have completed all preparation for her impeachment, adding the scenario of having her step down voluntarily by April is no longer an option.The dissenters' group in Saenrui has been embroiled in a conflict with Park loyalists, who claim that the president should step down on her own in April and the presidential election should be held in June instead of December.While the group earlie

Politics Dec. 6, 2016

North Korea and Cuba reaffirmed their friendly ties as a senior North Korean official visited Havana to attend Fidel Castro's memorial service, Pyongyang's media said Tuesday.Choe Ryong-hae, a vice chairman of the ruling party's central committee, met with Cuba's leader Raul Castro on Saturday during his visit to Havana, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).North Korea sent Choe to Havana on Nov. 28 to pay tribute to the late leader in a move seen as highlighting its close ties wit

North Korea Dec. 6, 2016

South Korean households' overseas spending rose 16.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier on increased outbound travel to foreign countries, the central bank said Tuesday.South Korean households spent 8.21 trillion won ($7 billion) overseas in the July-September period, compared with 7.03 trillion won in the same period last year, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said.It marked the first time that households' overseas quarterly spending has surpassed 8 trillion won.The figure accounts for 4.3

Dec. 6, 2016

A South Korean airliner made an emergency landing in Russia on Monday after a smoke alarm went off, but all aboard are safe, officials said.Asiana Airlines Flight OZ521 was on its way to London with 197 people on board when it landed at an airport in the central Russian city of Khanty-Mansiysk about 10:50 p.m. following an alarm that smoke was detected near the engine, officials said.It was about eight hours after the flight departed from Incheon International Airport around 2:50 p.m.Russian off

Industry Dec. 6, 2016

Choi Soon-sil, the confidante of President Park Geun-hye standing at the center of the ongoing influence-peddling scandal, said on Monday she will not participate in the parliamentary investigation slated for this week.Choi was originally scheduled to go to the National Assembly on Wednesday for questioning as part of the investigation into allegations that she exerted undue influence on state affairs and conglomerates, despite not holding any official seat in the administration.Choi handed in a

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2016

The South Korean government said Monday it will revise errors detected in the state-authored history textbooks unveiled last week, after listening to public opinion on the controversial books that have ignited fierce debate over the country's history. The Ministry of Education said it will revise 13 factual errors found in the draft versions of the new textbooks for middle and high school students to be introduced next year, announcing the interim results of the opinion gathering which will last

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2016

The 2017 budget allocated for South Korea's unification ministry dropped 20.5 percent from a year earlier, as inter-Korean ties remain frayed amid North Korea's nuclear standoff, government officials aid Monday.A total of 1.208 trillion won ($1.02 billion) has been set aside for next year's budget for the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, including 958.8 billion won for the state inter-Korean cooperation fund, they said.The country's parliament on Saturday passed a 400.5 trillion won gover

North Korea Dec. 5, 2016