Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's top shipping firm, said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with a state-run shipbuilding financing firm to sell part of its fleet to receive fresh funding.Under the deal, Hyundai Merchant will sell 10 container ships at market value of 150 billion won ($131 million) to Korea Shipping Co., versus their book value of 850 billion won. The shortfall will be financed with sales of bonds and stocks to the financing firm. A container ship (Yon

Industry March 7, 2017

The Paralympic test events kicked off last week with the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Gangneung. Three more test events -- the World Para Snowboard World Cup Finals, the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup and the World Para Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals -- will be held this week, while the World Para Ice Hockey Championships A-Pool will be contested from April 11 to 20.After test events, the KPC said there will be national team selection trials and selected members will have oversea

Olympic Games March 7, 2017

The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday that its annual excavation work for the remains of South Korean soldiers who fell during the 1950-53 Korean War will kick off in Gapyeong, east of Seoul, next Monday.This year's excavation will continue through Nov. 10 in fiercely contested areas during the war, the ministry said. (Yonhap)Some 100,000 soldiers will participate in the eight-month project with a goal of excavating about 700 remains of soldiers killed during the war and identifying them

Defense March 7, 2017

Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway, was named the world's best airport for a record 12th consecutive year in a survey conducted by a trade association of airports, its operator said Tuesday.Incheon airport scored 4.99 points out of a possible 5.00 to rank as the best airport in business in the annual Airport Service Quality Awards presented by the Airports Council International, the Incheon International Airport Corp. said in a press release. This file photo taken on Jan.

Social Affairs March 7, 2017

The foreign ministry said Tuesday it has formed a task force to discuss how to promote and support the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games set to open in the eastern South Korean town of PyeongChang early next year.Park Enna, ambassador for public diplomacy, will lead the team until 100 days before the opening of the international sports competitions. After D-100, Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-ghee will helm the team, according to the ministry.(Yonhap)The task force had its first meeting Tuesd

Social Affairs March 7, 2017

South Koreans have yet to claim 1.4 trillion won ($1.21 billion) in dormant financial assets despite the government's campaign to help them withdraw the money, the nation's watchdog said Tuesday.Since the Financial Supervisory Service announced a set of relevant measures in June 2015, a total of 6.42 million people have recovered 1.24 trillion won from such accounts through the end of January, according to the agency.Stacks of 50 thousand won bills (Yonhap)By the type of asset, insurance claims

March 7, 2017

South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that there is very low risk that the avian influenza virus strain in the country will infect humans.The H5N6 strain of AI is not very contagious when it comes to people, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. South Korea has yet to report any human infection of the flu.The announcement comes as the country has struggled to contain the animal disease for nearly three months.(Yonhap)The KCDC said it intentionally infected a weasel wi

Social Affairs March 7, 2017

A top trade adviser to US President Donald Trump on Monday accused South Korea's largest electronics companies of unfair trade practices that hurt American companies.Speaking at an economic policy conference, Peter Navarro, head of the White House National Trade Council, said Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have engaged in "country hopping" by moving manufacturing bases to evade anti-dumping tariffs.US President Donald Trump (Yonhap)Navarro said the practice has seriously hurt the US firm

Industry March 7, 2017

Gong Minzy, former member of the now-disbanded South Korean girl group 2NE1, on Tuesday released a song for the soundtrack of MBC TV series "Rebel: A Thief Who Stole The People," signaling the start of her solo music career. (Yonhap)The song, "I Wanted To Love," was released on major music streaming services at noon, according to Snow Entertainment, which produced the "Rebel" soundtrack.The love ballad is accompanied by a music video that combines footage from the show, centered on the relations

Entertainment March 7, 2017

South Korean banks' capital adequacy ratio edged up last year, helped by the government's new rule on the key measure of their financial soundness, the nation's watchdog said Tuesday.The average capital adequacy ratio of 17 major commercial and policy lenders in South Korea came to 14.92 percent at the end of 2016, up 1.01 percentage points from the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Nation's major bank holding firms (Yonhap)Especially, the ratio rose 0.11 percentage p

March 7, 2017

South Korea's major business groups on Tuesday strongly objected to opposition and government-proposed revisions to commercial and tax codes that they said will turn the country into one of the most business unfriendly nations in the world.They insisted what the country needed instead was an additional removal of excessive regulations.An image portraying the controvery over the commercial act (Yonhap)"Tax revenues cannot but grow when businesses flourish and create more jobs," five major busines

Industry March 7, 2017

North Korea has decided not to allow Malaysians staying in the North to leave the country temporarily, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday, amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries over the death of the half brother of the North's ruler.North Korea's foreign ministry notified the Malaysian Embassy in Pyongyang that it will not permit Malaysians staying in North Korea to leave the country until the safety of North Korean diplomats and citizens in Malaysia is "fully guaranteed through the

North Korea March 7, 2017

The South Korea's modest economic recovery bolstered by the uptick in construction and facility investment is losing steam in the face of a slowdown in private consumption, a state-run think tank said Tuesday."The Korean economy exhibited improved investments, but private consumption weakened slightly, implying only modest growth," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. "Construction investment continued the rapid growth and facilitie

March 7, 2017

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the headquarters of a bank holding firm based in the country's second largest city of Busan over allegations of stock price manipulation, prosecution officials said.Officials at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office said its investigators have confiscated documents from BNK Financial Group and its affiliates Busan Bank Co., BNK Securities Co. and BNK Capital Co., as well as the offices of their top executives.Busan Bank headquarters in Busan. (Yonhap file photo)The

March 7, 2017

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group faces a slew of difficulties, including economic retaliation by China and a criminal investigation for alleged bribery, as it gets ready to mark the 50th anniversary of its foundation next month.Lotte Confectionery Co., the matrix of Lotte Group, was founded by Shin Kyuk-ho, father of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, on April 3, 1967.This file photo provided by Lotte on Nov. 4, 2016, shows a marching band playing a Christmas carol the previous day in fron

Industry March 7, 2017