Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday its March sales rose 4.3 percent on-year on robust demand for its midsize QM6 sport utility vehicle.Renault Samsung Motors sold a total of 25,281 vehicles last month, up from 24,237 units a year earlier, the carmaker said in a statement.  Renault Samsung Motor's flagship SM6 sedan (Yonhap file photo)The QM6 SUV was the biggest contributor to the solid monthly sales results. Exports of the flagship SUV soared to 4,382 autos last month from 1,335 a month ea

Mobility April 3, 2017

South Korea's football governing body said Monday the men's national team head coach Uli Stielike will remain at the helm despite an uninspiring World Cup qualifying performance last month. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said its technical committee decided to keep Stielike as the national team boss after discussing his status in a meeting at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul. The technical committee, led by KFA Vice President Lee Yong-soo, reserves the right to hire and

Soccer April 3, 2017

South Korean stocks finished slightly higher Monday helped by gains in information-technology stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.28 points, or 0.34 percent, to hit 2,167.51. Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said investors' buying of Samsung Electronics Co. and chipmaker SK hynix Inc. drove up the main index."Improved first quarter earnings estimates in information-technology companies, such as Samsung El

April 3, 2017

The prosecution said Monday they were considering relocating a key suspect in a corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye to a different detention center to keep the two from ever encountering each other in prison.The prosecutors said they may remove Choi Soon-sil from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of Seoul, and put her in a different facility located in western Seoul. Former President Park Geun-hye is taken to a detention house in Uiwang on Friday morning. (

Social Affairs April 3, 2017

Overall sales by SsangYong Motor Co., the smallest carmaker in the country, remained little changed in March compared with a year earlier, backed by steady demand for its SUVs, the company said Monday. SsangYong Motor sold a total of 12,992 vehicles last month, compared with 13,010 units a year earlier, the carmaker said in a statement.  SsangYong Motor's Tivoli compact SUV (Yonhap file photo)Domestic sales rose 1.8 percent on-year to 9,229 units in March, while exports fell 4.5 percent to 3,763

Mobility April 3, 2017

GM Korea Co. said Monday it posted a double-digit on-year drop in sales last month due to lower demand for small cars and its flagship models.  In March, the company's domestic sales plunged 12.4 percent year-on-year to 14,778 vehicles from 16,868. Exports were also down 8.2 percent to 36,072 from 39,276, GM Korea said in a statement.  GM's Impala upper midsize sedan (GM Korea)The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. also didn't report robust sales results for the first quarter ending March 3

Mobility April 3, 2017

The ratio of South Korea's exports of sophisticated goods has increased steadily in the past decade, although Asia's fourth-largest economy still trails behind major industrial economies, data showed Monday.South Korea's index of sophisticated exports, measuring the level of high value added shipments abroad, soared gradually to 231.7 in 2015 from 218.0 in 2005, according to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association.(Yonhap)The comparable figures for 2015 were 285 for Germany, 2

Industry April 3, 2017

South Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung signed a management deal with a Japanese company, her Korean agency said Monday.Management AND said she inked the deal with Humanite Co., expecting the Japanese company to help the actress expand her career in Japan, as well as in other countries.  This undated photo provided by Management AND shows South Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung. (Yonhap)"We believe the good connection Humanite has established will serve as a stepping stone for Shim to enter other market

Film April 3, 2017

The combined net profit of South Korea's listed companies rose last year, while their revenues were roughly flat, data showed Monday. The data indicated that listed firms reported profits mainly on the back of job cuts and other cost-cutting measures last year, hit by sluggish domestic consumption and weaker exports.(Yonhap)According to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association, the total revenue of 533 listed firms, which closed their books in December last year,

Industry April 3, 2017

Autonomous cars are forecast to become popular in the South Korean auto market in 2028, five years after they do so in the United States, according to analysts Monday.According to the industry analysts in a book published by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, self-driving cars will gain popularity down the road to account for 12 percent of newly sold cars in those years.(Naver Corp.)The outlook is based on a survey on nearly 6,000 experts in the industry who predicted that 24 rela

Mobility April 3, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. and Netmarble Games, South Korea's top mobile game developer, agreed to join forces in promoting "Lineage 2: Revolution" on the latest Galaxy S8 smartphones, industry sources said Monday."We will allow users of the Galaxy S8 to enjoy the 'Revolution' in the most optimized gaming environment," an official from Netmarble said, adding the company plans to provide an opportunity for visitors to play the mobile game on the latest smartphone at major Samsung shops.(Yonhap)Samsu

Industry April 3, 2017

South Korea's liberal Democratic Party on Monday renewed its call for a parliamentary inspection of the ongoing deployment of a US missile defense system, raising suspicion that the government may have pressured a local company to agree to offer land to host the missile shield unit.The largest political party's special committee on the issue insisted Lotte Group's decision to provide its 18-hole golf club in Seongju, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was made under government pressure, if not c

Politics April 3, 2017

South Korea's unification ministry said Monday it plans to allow North Korea to take part in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics if Pyongyang decides to do so.On Sunday, North Korea expressed its intent to take part in the Winter Games in PyeongChang, 180 kilometers east of Seoul, and its sub-cities, according to Choi Moon-soon, the provincial governor of the host city. (Yonhap)Seoul's unification ministry said that a set of U.N. sanctions and punitive measures against North Korea's nuclear pro

Olympic Games April 3, 2017

South Koreans are spending less as their income and living expenses move in opposite directions, while the country's economy has yet to pick up beyond doubt, but one segment of consumer groups seems unbothered, or uncaring at least. Retail data analyzed on Sunday showed that sales of items that would normally be the first to be dropped from the shopping list when pinched for money are showing growth, often in double digits.(Yonhap)Ahn, a 36-year-old who describes himself as an ordinary salary wo

April 3, 2017

South Korea's mortgage loans edged up 0.05 percent in March from a month earlier on increased home transactions, bank data showed Monday.The accumulated mortgages rolled out by six major lenders -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank, NH Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea -- stood at 378.06 trillion won ($339 billion) in March, up 211.7 billion won from a month earlier, according to official data.(Yonhap)The increase came as the number of home sales went up. The number of

April 3, 2017