President Moon Jae-in hailed the scheduled increase in the minimum wage Monday, calling it a great move toward people-oriented growth and the right to live as humans."It will mark a great turning point for opening the era of people-oriented growth by reducing the extreme income gap," he said while meeting with his top presidential secretaries, according to Cheong Wa Dae pool reports.Moon's remarks came after the tripartite commission of the government, labor and management reached an agreement o

Politics July 17, 2017

A team of South Korean scientists announced Monday it has developed a material that can be utilized to collect precious metals from sea water, which can help recycle industrial waste.The team from Pohang University of Science and Technology said the material, which took a cue from sea squirts, successfully collected 99 percent of gold liquefied in sea water, while filtering out chrome, which is considered a hazardous material. Sea squirts are categorized as "filter feeders," which consume food p

Technology July 17, 2017

Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday it will strengthen door-to-door charging services for its Ioniq electric vehicles, a move to promote consumer acceptance of electric vehicles.Hyundai Motor has recently increased the number of service vehicles which offer door-to-door charging services to 60 from 10 across the country. It formerly operated 10 such vehicles in Seoul and Jeju Island, the company said in a statement. In this photo taken on July 17, 2017, Hyundai Motor employees stand before the carmake

Mobility July 17, 2017

SsangYong Motor Co. said Monday it will launch the upgraded Tivoli SUV this week to compete with rivals in the heavily contested subcompact crossover markets. The carmaker's facelifted Tivoli subcompact, equipped with a 1.6-liter gasoline or diesel engine, will go on sale in the domestic market Thursday, the company said in a statement. The move is aimed at maintaining its dominant market share in the rapidly growing subcompact SUV market. Currently, five out of 10 subcompact SUVs being sold in

Mobility July 17, 2017

The number of fathers taking time off work to take care of their children is growing continuously, encouraged by the government policy that aims to further boost support for family leave, government data showed Monday. A total of 5,101 men signed up for paternity leave in the first half of this year, up 52.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The number came to 7,616 for all of last year, while that for 2015 stood at 4,872, the ministry said. Given th

Social Affairs July 17, 2017

National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun voiced hopes Monday that ruling and opposition parties can come up with a joint proposal for a constitutional revision by the end of the year and submit it early next year.During his speech marking the 69th Constitution Day, Chung also said that the amendment of the decades-old basic law must be carried out "for the benefit of the country's citizens and its future" in an open, transparent way.  National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a cere

Politics July 17, 2017

Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said Monday the number of passengers it has served has exceeded the 19 million mark since it began operations nine years ago. Jin Air currently operates flights between Seoul and the popular resort island of Jeju and other domestic routes.On top of the local routes, it also serves 33 foreign destinations, with a fleet of 22 planes composed of four B777-200s and 18 B737-800s.   (Yonhap)In 2016, the country's six budget carriers -- Jin

Industry July 17, 2017

Listed firms of the nation's top 10 conglomerates were stingy in making public donations last year, even though their profits increased, industry data showed Monday. According to the data by market researcher Chaebul.com, listed firms of the conglomerates donated 963.2 billion won ($847.8 million) last year, down 1.7 percent from a year earlier. Last year, their combined operating profit rose 4 percent on-year to 44.5 trillion won, the data showed.  (Yonhap)Listed affiliates of Samsung, Hyundai

Industry July 17, 2017

South Korea proposed holding inter-Korean military talks Friday, the South’s Ministry of National Defense said on Monday“In order to suspend hostile activities at the military demarcation line, we propose holding an inter-Korean military talk at Tongilgak,” the North Korean building inside the truce village of Panmunjeom, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry asked North Korea to respond by restoring the two Koreas’ military communication line in the West Sea. The North has yet to issue

North Korea July 17, 2017

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating declined last week amid a drawn-out political standoff over his disputed personnel choices and a fake tip-off scandal, a survey indicated Monday.In the weekly survey conducted by local pollster Realmeter from Monday through Friday, 74.6 percent approved of Moon's job performance, down 2 percentage points from a week earlier.Those, who disapproved of his performance, made up 18.6 percent, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous week, while 6.8 percent sa

Politics July 17, 2017

South Korea's coal-fired power generation increased this year as the country's new government vows to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear power, industry data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Power Exchange, coal-fired power generation reached 95,550 gigawatt-hours in the first five months of the year, up 13.6 percent from a year earlier.The figure accounted for 42.4 percent of the total electricity output during the cited period, up 4.7 percentage points f

Industry July 17, 2017

Almost all of the some 40 million cases of speeding over the past five years were concluded after drivers paid fines, statistics showed Monday, raising criticism that the punishment is too lax.According to the Korea Transport Institute, 40.7 million cases of speeding were caught on camera during the 2011-2015 period, and 98 percent of them were closed after fines were paid. Only 1.99 percent, or about 795,000 cases, were punished with both fines and penalty points. Statistics showed that only 0.

Social Affairs July 17, 2017

WASHINGTON -- The United States must reassess the nuclear and missile cooperation between North Korea and Iran in the wake of the North's recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch, a former American ambassador said Sunday.John Bolton, who served as the top US envoy to the United Nations from 2005-2006, made the point in an opinion piece contributed to The Hill, saying Pyongyang and Tehran are known to have deep and long-standing ties. John Bolton (R), former US ambassador to the United Na

North Korea July 17, 2017

The board of directors at South Korea's nuclear operator that recently voted for a temporary suspension of construction of two nuclear power plants is opposed to the permanent halt of the projects, one of its members said Sunday.Cho Sung-jin, professor in the department of energy science at Kyungsung University and a non-permanent member of the board at the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., said the opposition to the permanent suspension was "unanimous."Last Friday, the board was in favor of the

Business July 17, 2017

South Korea's state audit agency said Sunday that the country's transport utility helicopters have various defects including flight stability and requested that the prosecution probe  the arms procurement chief on charges of breach of trust. The Board of Audit and Inspection said that South Korea-born Surion helicopters are not airworthy as they lack lightning protection and anti-icing capability, while failing to receive proper engine certification. It even reported that the homegrown chopper,

Defense July 16, 2017