Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday it will hold a three-week-long showcase event to unveil its luxury fuel cell concept sport utility vehicle, the GV80, in South Korea.In the showcase that will last through July 9 at its Genesis Studio in Hanam, just east of Seoul, visitors will be able to take a look at the GV80 SUV which is powered by electricity and a hydrogen fuel cell and experience the emissions-free vehicle, a Hyundai spokesman said.  Hyundai Motor`s luxury GV80 concept SUV (Hyundai Motor/Yonh

Mobility June 19, 2017

The South Korean Olympic chief is running for a seat on the International Olympic Committee, an official with the top national sports body said Monday.Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee, submitted his candidacy documents to the IOC's Members Election Commission on Friday, according to the official with the KSOC.The Members Election Commission will review candidates' qualifications and narrow down the list for the IOC's Executive Board meeting starting July 9 in Lausa

More Sports June 19, 2017

South Korean shares extended gains late Monday morning as foreigners turned net buyers. The won traded higher against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.48 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,376.31 as of 11:20 a.m.Foreigners were net buyers of local stocks worth 19.38 billion won ($17 million). They offloaded 163 billion won worth of stocks in the previous session. Institutions also bought 62.48 billion won worth of shares. But individuals sold 92.87 billion won

Market June 19, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. started official sales of its latest TV model that resembles a piece of artwork hung on a wall in South Korea, showcasing its newest innovation in the company's home market."The Frame," which won an innovation award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, is available to local customers for 3.44 million won ($3,043) for the 55-inch version, while the 65-inch model retails for 5.15 million won.The TV, which is equipped with an interchangeable bezel

Industry June 19, 2017

Andy Brown is a member of that rare species: a British man who's fallen in love with South Korean baseball. His first Korea Baseball Organization game was in fall of 2009. Turn the clock forward to 2017. Not only is Brown going to KBO games frequently, he's making artworks out of them.The 36-year-old artist boasts an impressive collection of pastel, watercolor and acrylic paintings of baseball stadiums in South Korea, Japan and the United States, and he'd like to keep expanding it so that he can

Baseball June 19, 2017

A South Korean hockey club has hired a former National Hockey League head coach.The Daemyung Killer Whales in the Asia League Ice Hockey announced Monday they have signed Kevin Constantine to be their new head coach. The financial terms of the three-year deal were not disclosed. They're the first South Korean team to hire an ex-NHL bench boss.(Daemyung Killer Whales)Constantine, a 58-year-old American, previously coached the San Jose Sharks, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New Jersey Devils in t

More Sports June 19, 2017

South Korea's oldest commercial nuclear reactor was shut down permanently Monday as part of a broader policy move to end the country's reliance on atomic power."The Kori-1 reactor, which had been running for the past 40 years, was closed as of 12 a.m. Monday," said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The government will carry out a decommissioning and dismantling process for the next 20 years." The move marks the first time that Asia's fourth largest economy halted power output from one

Industry June 19, 2017

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday, tracking US gains. The won traded higher against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.19 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,364.01. Foreigners continued to sell domestic stocks, weighing on the KOSPI index. They sold 162.9 billion won ($144 million) worth of stocks in the previous session.On Friday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average inched up 0.11 percent to end at 21,384.28, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Compo

Market June 19, 2017

TVs with 50-59 inch display panels are expected to account for more than 50 percent of the global TV market this year, industry data showed Monday, indicating an industry trend toward larger-sized TV panels.According to the data compiled by industry tracker IHS, the share of such big-screen TVs is forecast to reach 51.7 percent this year, exceeding the estimated share of 35.3 percent by models with 40-49 inch panels.After the 50-59 inch segment, 60-69 inch TV panels have great potential to becom

Economy June 19, 2017

Nearly 1 in 3 subsidiaries of South Korea's top 10 family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol here, depend on internal transactions for more than half of their sales, a market tracker said Monday.Chaebul.com said in a report that 174 of the 591 companies belonging to the 10-largest business groups, or 29.4 percent of the total, relied on cross-unit transactions for over half of their top lines last year.The fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group had the largest such subsidiaries at 34, exac

Industry June 19, 2017

South Korea ranks 14th worldwide in terms of stock market value as its bourses have performed superbly this year on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Monday.The combined market capitalization of the country's main and secondary stock markets came to $1.55 trillion as of the end of May, up 20.8 percent from end-2016, according to the data from the bourse operator Korea Exchange.South Korea's ranking was up one spot over the cited period, during which the total value of 81 exchanges b

Market June 19, 2017

LONDON (AP) _ A vehicle struck pedestrians near a mosque in north London early Monday morning, causing several casualties, police said. One person has been arrested. The London Ambulance Service says the injured are being taken to hospitals. Eyewitnesses reported seeing police give emergency medical treatment to at least one of the injured.The Muslim Council tweeted that worshippers were struck by a van as they were leaving prayers near the Finsbury Park mosque. It said its prayers are with the

World News June 19, 2017

US President Donald Trump expressed fury over South Korea's decision to delay the full deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system pending an environmental assessment, a senior official said Sunday.Trump showed the reaction when he discussed the matter with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the White House on June 8, the official told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity.The revelations, if true, raise concern that the issue could affect the first

National June 19, 2017

Loans taken out to finance facility expansions reached an all-time high in March, in line with a recovery in exports and the global economy, data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, facility loans reached a record 404.87 trillion won ($356 billion) as of end-March, up 9.21 trillion won from the end of last year. From a year ago, the figure also swelled by 42.39 trillion won, the data showed.The data indicate that local firms are set to increase spending on facility

Market June 18, 2017

Southeast Asia's online market is expected to expand sharply backed by the region's huge population, which serves as a good business opportunity for South Korean companies, a report showed Sunday.In the report, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said the region's online shopping market has been growing at an annual rate of 32 percent, and will reach $87.8 billion in 2025. (Yonhap)Last year, the comparable figure was $7.4 billion.The Southeast Asian region's online market is in t

Industry June 18, 2017