Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors midfielder Kim Bo-kyung is set to join Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, his South Korean football club said Wednesday.Jeonbuk said they've received an offer from Kashiwa, and both sides are currently closing the deal on the 27-year-old's transfer.If completed, Kim will leave the K League Classic club after playing one-and-a-half seasons. He was pivotal in Jeonbuk's Asian Football Confederation Champions League title run last year, playing all 13 matches at the continental clu

Soccer June 21, 2017

US tech giant Apple Inc. maintained its status as the world's top IT firm by sales in 2016, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Gartner Inc., Apple posted $218.1 billion in sales last year, hovering far above the $139.1 billion posted by South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co.Other major players included US-based Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., and IBM, which posted sales of $90.1 billion, $85.7 billion, and $77.8 billion, respectively, the data also showed.

Technology June 21, 2017

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major construction company here, said Wednesday it has won two reclamation projects worth a combined 270 billion won ($236 million) from Singapore.In a 184 billion won deal placed by Juron Town Corp., Hyundai E&C will build a dock in the western sea of Tuas after working on the reclamation process for 57 months starting in July, the company said in a statement. In the other 84 billion won project by the Housing and Development Board, the South Korean bui

Industry June 21, 2017

South Korea's presidential policy advisory panel said Tuesday that within the next five years it will abolish the country's antitrust watchdog's exclusive rights to file a complaint with the state prosecution for any fair trade violations."We will remove the Fair Trade Commission of its exclusive authority to file complaints during the Moon Jae-in government's five-year term," said Park Kwang-on, the spokesman for the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee. "We will set up a task force team t

Industry June 20, 2017

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new sports minister traveled to PyeongChang on Tuesday to check on preparations for the country's first Winter Olympics next year.Do Jong-hwan, newly appointed minister of culture, sports and tourism, visited the headquarters of the 2018 Winter Olympics organizing committee in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, in Gangwon Province.The PyeongChang Winters Games will be held from Feb. 9-25, 2018.After getting briefed on the preparatio

More Sports June 20, 2017

South Korean stocks ended lower on Tuesday as institutions went on profit taking, but top cap Samsung Electronics and second most-valued SK hynix surged to fresh record highs, aided by heavy foreign buying. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.67 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,369.23. Trade volume was moderate at 346.16 million shares worth 6.67 trillion won, with decliners outnumbering advancers 618 to 199.Institutional investo

Market June 20, 2017

South Korea's state-run tourism promotion body said Tuesday it will hold various events in New York this week to promote the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The Korea Tourism Organization and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold the Korea, PyeongChang Festival in New York from Thursday to Saturday. This undated photo provided by the Korea Tourism Organization on June 20, 2017, shows Korea, PyeongChang Festival in New York under way in the United States in 2015. (Yonhap)The eve

More Sports June 20, 2017

KB Kookmin Card Co., a unit of South Korea's banking giant KB Financial Group Inc., said Tuesday it has inked a partnership with Bank of Hope in the United States in a move to make inroads into the large North American market.The card company said it will set up a joint venture with the Los Angeles-based lender with the aim of pursuing joint projects. (Yonhap)KB Kookmin Card said it expects the partnership to help it make inroads into the world's No. 1 economy.Bank of Hope, which has more than $

Companies June 20, 2017

The likelihood of a capital outflow from South Korea is low even if the interest rate gap between Korea and the US is reversed, as the local currency is expected to remain strong, an analyst said Tuesday. Kim Jae-chil, a researcher at the Korea Capital Market Institute, said volatility in the local foreign exchange market will likely be limited due to various conditions. South Korea's sovereign bonds are also attractive for investors in Europe, where several central banks slashed interest rates

Market June 20, 2017

ULSAN, South Korea (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that it has begun production of its all-new subcompact Kona SUV, a move to bolster its lackluster sales in global markets.The country's biggest carmaker by sales said production began on Monday at its plants in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, less than a week after the official unveiling. It aims to sell 26,000 units domestically and export 41,000 units this year.  Hyundai has added the subcompact SUV to its lineup to take a

Mobility June 20, 2017

South Korean companies are urged to redouble efforts to expand into Africa's rapidly growing consumer goods markets to secure a new growth driver, a state-run trade promotion agency said Tuesday.In a report, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said domestic trading companies need to forge ties with African sales networks and online shopping malls to develop localized products and promote them to woo local customers.  "The African population, currently at 1.2 billion, will likel

Economy June 20, 2017

Hotel Shilla Co., set to open its duty-free shops at an airport in Hong Kong later this year, said Tuesday it has participated in an international travel expo to expand its overseas foothold in the business.One of the major duty-free shop operators in South Korea, Hotel Shilla said it introduced its know-how about the duty-free and hotel business to local industry officials and tourists at the International Travel Expo Hong Kong which ran from Thursday to Sunday.In April, the operator of Shilla

Companies June 20, 2017

A majority of South Korean exporters expect their business conditions to improve in the third quarter from three months earlier thanks to a global economic recovery, a poll showed Tuesday.The Korea International Trade Association said its export business survey index of 833 exporting companies reached 116.6 for the July-September period, up from 106 for the current quarter.It marks the second consecutive quarter that the EBSI has exceeded the benchmark 100 level. A reading above 100 means optimi

Economy June 20, 2017

South Korea's three major shipyards-- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. -- maintained their top global ranking in terms of order backlog, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Clarkson Research, Daewoo Shipbuilding's Geoje shipyard stood at 88 ships representing 6.26 million compensated gross tons, as of end-May, followed by Hyundai Heavy's Ulsan shipyard with 65 vessels, or 3.33 m

Industry June 20, 2017

Seongnam FC striker Hwang Ui-jo will move to Japan's Gamba Osaka, his second division South Korean club announced Tuesday. The K League Challenge side said they've reached an agreement with Gamba on Hwang's transfer. The 24-year-old striker will join the J League outfit on a two-year contract, but the clubs didn't announce the financial details of the deal. In this file photo taken on Sept. 2, 2016, South Korean striker Hwang Ui-jo speaks to reporters after national football team training at the

Soccer June 20, 2017