South Korea is seeking to focus on safety over economic development while pushing for its nuclear policy, the ICT ministry said Tuesday, amid its move to phase out commercial atomic energy generation.The long-term road map on research and development for the nuclear sector was announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Details of the plan will be finalized after receiving opinions from frontline experts."R&D projects in the nuclear sector for the past 20 years have been pushed forward without

Technology Aug. 8, 2017

South Korea has been making efforts to classify indigenous species of biological resources as the country joins the global fray to secure sovereignty over them, a state-run think tank said Tuesday.Classification on what kinds of animals and plants inhabit the country is a vital step toward its endeavor to keep its sovereignty over biological resources.The National Institute of Biological Resources, affiliated with the Environment Ministry, said it had nurtured a batch of 40 researchers, who have

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2017

The government will evaluate all public entities, including state-run firms, and most of their projects for their impact on new and existing jobs that may determine the size of their budget in the future, a presidential committee on jobs said Tuesday.Starting next year, the public entities and their projects will be scored on the number of new, quality jobs they create.The scores will be reflected in the size of their budget for the following year, while private firms that create many new jobs m

Economy Aug. 8, 2017

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday it will toughen punishment for financial holding firms over false disclosures of accounting books and other business reports.Under the toughened rule, which will take effect Oct. 19, fines against financial holding firms will be hiked by as much as 12 times if they violate relevant laws, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. Currently, a financial holding firm is required to pay a fine of 5 million won ($4,447) when it violates

Economy Aug. 8, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. saw its presence in the Japanese smartphone market reach a four-year high in the second quarter, data showed Tuesday, helped by robust sales of the flagship Galaxy S8.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Strategy Analytics, Samsung Electronics sold 700,000 units of smartphones in Japan over the April-June period, taking up 8.8 percent of the market to become the No. 3 player.The figure marks a sharp rise from 3.8 percent posted in the second quarter of 2016.

Technology Aug. 8, 2017

South Korea's exporters should increase their participation in the global value chain in order to improve their productivity, a report by the central bank said Tuesday.The report featured in the monthly periodical of the Bank of Korea said South Korean exports' participation in GVC fell from 62.7 percent in 2008 to 56 percent in 2009, following the global downward pattern after the international financial crisis of 2008.  GVC measures international trade by counting all phases in production

Economy Aug. 8, 2017

South Korea may be hit hardest if the United States turns up the heat on China over trade issues as Seoul vies fiercely with Beijing for a bigger slice of the US market, a report said Tuesday.The Korea International Trade Association claimed in the report that Washington has singled out China for tougher import restrictions, which is resulting in greater import regulation risks for South Korean products.KITA based its assessment on the US administration's "too many" antidumping investi

Economy Aug. 8, 2017

South Korea's top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. said Tuesday it has built a plant capable of mass-producing parts for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in a bid to preempt the global market.The company said the factory, located inside its existing eco-friendly vehicle parts complex in the central city of Chungju, is slated to start test operations in September.The 70 billion-won ($62.2 million) plant has the capacity to produce 3,000 powertrain fuel-cell complete modules per year, which

Mobility Aug. 8, 2017

Com2uS Corp., a South Korean online and mobile game publisher, said Tuesday its sales in the overseas market for the second quarter surpassed the 100 billion-won ($88.9 million) mark for the seventh quarter in a row.The homegrown gamemaker said its quarterly sales outside of South Korea came to 112.3 billion won during the April-June period, accounting for 87 percent of its total revenue. (Yonhap)The company said its operating profit inched up 0.7 percent on-year to 49 billion won during the sam

Technology Aug. 8, 2017

South Korea's total supply in manufacturing gained ground in the April-June period marking five straight quarters of growth on a sharp rise in imports, but the pace slowed down slightly, government data showed Tuesday.The manufacturing domestic supply index that measures both goods produced locally and brought into the country, advanced 5.3 percent on-year to stand at 116.9, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The on-year growth slowed down from a record 7.2-percent gain tallied t

Economy Aug. 8, 2017

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for efforts to ensure the independence, as well as freedom, of state-owned and state-run broadcasters."Over the past 10 years, there have been many norms that collapsed in our society, and I believe our broadcasters, especially public broadcasters, may have taken the most serious fall," the president said in a ceremony held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae to appoint the new head of the Korea Communications Commission, Lee Hyo-seong. President Moon

Politics Aug. 8, 2017

South Korea's top prosecutor apologized Tuesday for high-handed probes by the state prosecution under past governments that often entailed false convictions and extreme human rights abuses. "I feel regrettable and do apologize that the prosecution did not fulfill its duty to adhere to legal procedures and protect human rights in some of the past political cases during authoritarian governments," Prosecutor-General Moon Moo-il said at a press briefing. It is the first time in the country's histor

Politics Aug. 8, 2017

President Moon Jae-in called for additional support for the low-income population Tuesday, noting the key to public welfare was to make sure each person had a decent life."According to various indicators, our income distribution continues to worsen while income disparity continues to deepen," the president said in a weekly Cabinet meeting held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae."The goal of our welfare policy is to guarantee each person may live like humans," he added, according to Cheong

Politics Aug. 8, 2017

South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning as institutions offloaded large-cap stocks in an apparent move to lock in profits, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 6.44 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,392.31 as of 11:20 a.m.The Seoul index had opened higher on Wall Street gains. On Monday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow edging up 0.12 percent to its ninth-record closing high in a row and the S&P 500 adding 0.16 percent on consumer and

Market Aug. 8, 2017

GWANGJU -- A South Korean court ruled Tuesday in favor of victims of Japanese forced labor during World War II, ordering the Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay compensation to an elderly surviving victim and a family member of a deceased victim.The Gwangju District Court ruled that the Japanese company must pay 120 million won ($106,572) in compensation to Kim Young-ok, 85, and 3.25 million won ($2,892) to a family member of late victim Choe Jeong-rye for their toiling labor.The pl

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2017