South Korea will host a ceremony this week to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement, the government said Tuesday, amid no signs of a breakthrough in efforts to ease military tension on the peninsula.The event will be held at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul on Thursday to honor the sacrifice of South Korean soldiers and UN troops, who fought together against the invading North Korea, supported by China, during the 1950-53 Korean War, the Ministry of Patriots and Veteran Affair

North Korea July 25, 2017

Workers at Kumho Tire Co. and its subcontractors on Monday warned they will go on strike unless the tiremaker's creditors stop the process to sell it to a Chinese company. In a press conference held at the National Assembly, the joint committee against the sale of Kumho Tire to an overseas company said they will stop all production lines at the tiremaker's local plants and stage a general strike. "The ongoing process to sell Kumho Tire to Qingdao Doublestar Co. will result in the transfer of som

Industry July 24, 2017

Prosecutors asked a Seoul court on Monday to sentence a former chief of South Korea's intelligence agency to four years in jail over an election-meddling scandal. In a retrial against ex-National Intelligence Agency chief Won Sei-hoon, the prosecution also demanded a four-year disqualification on the defendant. Won was indicted in 2013 on charges of interfering in the 2012 presidential election by instructing his subordinates to post political comments online in a bid to sway public opinion in f

Social Affairs July 24, 2017

South Korea plans to repay 3.5 trillion won worth of state bonds next month ahead of their maturity, the finance ministry said Monday.  The government will repay 1.5 trillion won worth of treasury bonds on Aug. 2, 1 trillion won worth of bonds on Aug. 11 and 1 trillion won worth of debt on Aug. 23. The treasury bonds include five-year bonds that will mature in March 2018 and three-year bonds that will mature in June 2018, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)

Economy July 24, 2017

Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical unit of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, suffered a loss in the second quarter despite a rise in sales, the company said Monday.Sales jumped 33 percent on-year to 63.2 billion won ($57 million) during the April-June period, the company said in a regulatory filing. Despite the rise in sales, the company posted an operating loss of 8.5 billion won, up from a loss of 3.2 billion won posted during the same period a year earlier. (Yonhap)The company

Industry July 24, 2017

The head of the National Intelligence Service paid a rare visit to the country's National Assembly speaker Monday to brief the latter of recent activities by North Korea, a move aimed at enhancing the spy agency's cooperation and communication with the legislature, the NIS said.The briefing involved reports on North Korea's latest activities, an outline on the North Korean Supreme People's Assembly and NIS efforts to prevent and counter cyberterrorist activities by the communist state, it said i

North Korea July 24, 2017

North Korea's state-run Korea National General Insurance Co. has resolved to further expand its business in defiance of UN sanctions on the North's nuclear and missile programs, a North Korean daily reported Monday. The resolve was made at a ceremony to mark the company's 70th anniversary, with its chief Hong Myong-ryong attending, the Rodong Sinmun, the paper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said.Pointing out that even the insurance business, directly linked to humanitarianism, is under un

North Korea July 24, 2017

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday renewed his country's invitation for North Korea to the Winter Olympic Games to be held here early next year, saying the country will keep the doors open until the very last minute.The remarks came at an event aimed at promoting the Winter Olympics to be held in the country's eastern PyeongChang county 200 days from Monday."I again urge North Korea's decision. We will not rush nor be pessimistic, but will keep the doors open until the very last moment

North Korea July 24, 2017

South Korean stocks closed at a new record high on Monday, although the local stock market finished nearly flat, as investors opted for profit-taking on bullish rallies observed last week, analysts said. The Korean won gained against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 1.47 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at a fresh record high of 2,451.53. Trade volume was low at 230 million shares worth 4.56 trillion won ($4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers a

Market July 24, 2017

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has filed a request with a Seoul court seeking a divorce settlement with his wife Roh So-young, legal sources said Monday. The settlement request was lodged with the Seoul Family Court on Wednesday, with the date for a hearing on the mediation yet to be decided, according to the sources familiar with the matter. Chey, who runs South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, has only made the request for divorce and an asset division was not included, the sources said, as

Social Affairs July 24, 2017

South Korea's government on Monday appointed nine members of a panel tasked with overseeing the sensitive process of collecting public opinions to determine the fate of two nuclear reactors, as it began its three-month operation.The panel will select a group of "citizen jurors" who will have the final say over whether to cancel the reactor construction in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and ensure fairness in the opinion gathering process, officials said. The final decision is set to b

Politics July 24, 2017

SEOUL/TOKYO -- A group of women's organizations in South and North Korea called for the revocation of the 2015 deal South Korea signed with Japan to settle the latter's wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women, the North's official news agency reported Monday.The Korean Central News Agency reported that the appeal was issued jointly by the Women Sub-Committee of the North Side Committee for Implementing June 15 Declaration and the Women Headquarters of the South Side Committee dedicated to the

Foreign Affairs July 24, 2017

South Korea's new energy minister said Monday that he will push forward with the Moon Jae-in government's plans to do away with nuclear and coal-fired power plants and replace them with clean, renewable energy."It is the right time to ride the global trend of nuclear and coal-free energy," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Un-gyu said in an inauguration speech. "It must be advantageous for us in terms of industrial competitiveness and a stable energy supply."President Moon, who took of

Politics July 24, 2017

The presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, dismissed reports suggesting a possible halt of anti-spy activities and security investigations by the National Intelligence Service, noting such a move required a legal revision."The reports that the NIS has finalized a decision to halt security investigations are not true," Cheong Wa Dae said in a brief released statement."Whether to halt the security investigation function of the NIS requires legislation by the National Assembly," it added. (Yonhap)The

Politics July 24, 2017

South Korea's coastal city of Boryeong has signed a contract to export its famous mud to Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island, a city official said Monday. Boryeong Mayor Kim Dong-il and Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick signed the contract on Saturday, under which the South Korean city will export 5 tons of mud powder worth 75 million won (about $67,000) to Rotorua, the official said. The signing was made on the sidelines of a world festival cities workshop, one of the programs which the ongoing 20

Industry July 24, 2017