Ousted President Park Geun-hye's late mentor Choi Tae-min faced military investigation in late 1970s over his alleged misdeeds based on his ties with Park, then a presidential daughter, according to a former leader's memoir obtained Thursday by Yonhap News Agency.In the soon-to-be-published book, former President Chun Doo-hwan said Choi was confined in a frontline military unit for a "considerable period of time" after her father Park Chung-hee was assassinated in 1979.Choi is the father of Choi

Social Affairs March 30, 2017

South Korea's central bank said Thursday it increased the portion of US dollar-denominated assets in its foreign exchange reserves in 2016 from a year earlier amid the greenback's strength.The Bank of Korea said that its dollar-denominated holdings accounted for 70.3 percent of its overall foreign reserves at the end of 2016, up from 66.6 percent a year earlier. (Yonhap)"The BOK expanded the portion of US dollar holdings in its portfolio of foreign assets in expectation of a strong US dollar," t

Business March 30, 2017

Bank lending rates on new household loans edged down in February and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits also fell, central bank data showed Thursday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.38 percent in February, down 0.01 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.(Yonhap)The BOK data came amid South Korea's efforts to tackle rising household debt. South Korea's outstanding household credit -- which is compose

March 30, 2017

South Korea's output from fisheries farms fell slightly last year from a year earlier due mainly to a drop in demand for seafood, government data showed Thursday.Local fishing farms produced 80,151 tons of fishery products in 2016, down 6.2 percent from the previous year's 85,448 tons, according to the data by Statistics Korea.(Yonhap)But the total value edged up 0.9 percent on-year to 904.6 billion won last year on the back of a gain in flatfish prices.The statistics office said seafood consump

Industry March 30, 2017

South Korea will invest a combined 260 billion won ($233.1 million) in the system semiconductor sector to develop core technologies and foster experts in the coming four to six years as part of a broader effort to keep up with the fourth industrial revolution, the government said Thursday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy unveiled the investment plan at a meeting with a group of system semiconductor businesses in Seoul.  (Yonhap)The fourth revolution is characterized by many technologie

Technology March 30, 2017

Liberal political parties called for former President Park Geun-hye's arrest Thursday, demanding what they called justice and fairness in the investigation over her allegations that have already led to the arrest of her friend and former aides."The people cannot but feel betrayed to watch a former president attend a court hearing on a warrant for her arrest," Chang Jin-young, a lawyer and spokesman for the liberal People's Party, told a press briefing at the National Assembly."Even belatedly, sh

Politics March 30, 2017

The South Korean military said Thursday North Korea may be preparing for a new kind of nuclear test different from its five previous ones.The Joint Chiefs of Staff reaffirmed its assessment that the unpredictable regime appears ready to conduct its sixth nuclear test at any time on the leadership's decision. South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin holds phone talks with his US counterpart Gen. Joseph F. Dunford on North Korea in this file photo provided by the JCS. (Yonhap)"

North Korea March 30, 2017

A ranking North Korean defector has claimed that the two Koreas' unification cannot be delayed further in the face of the North's mounting nuclear threats, a South Korean political party said Thursday.Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat, made the remark during a closed-door forum hosted by the Liberty Korea Party on Tuesday, according to party officials. Thae Yong-ho speaks during a forum at the National Assembly in Seoul on March 28, 2017, in this photo provided by the Liberty Korea Pa

North Korea March 30, 2017

South Korean stocks snapped earlier gains and turned bearish late Thursday morning, as widening losses in airlines and foodmakers pushed down the main index, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 5.74 points, or 0.26 percent, to move to 2,161.24 as of 11:20 a.m.Shares of Korean Air Lines, the country's top air carrier, tumbled nearly 3 percent, with those of Lotte Confectionery dipping 2.7 percent. LG Electronics, the smaller rival of tech giant Samsung Electronics,

March 30, 2017

The US Embassy in South Korea on Thursday posted a photo of a magnolia tree that former President Barack Obama dedicated to a high school three years ago to pay tribute to the victims of the country's worst maritime disaster. (Yonhap)Obama gave the tree as a gift to Danwon High School when he visited South Korea in April 2014, right after the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol capsized and sank off the country's southwest coast on April 16, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing. Many students from the

Social Affairs March 30, 2017

North Korea has sent a document guaranteeing the safety of South Korean women football players who seek to visit Pyongyang next month for the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying matches, Seoul's unification ministry said Thursday.Late Wednesday, South Korea's football governing body received the document in an email via the Asian Football Confederation as the Group B qualifying games will be held in North Korea from April 3-11, the ministry added.South Korean players will have a match with their No

Soccer March 30, 2017

The government said Thursday it will foster two regional cities and one county as tourist destinations that can offer industry-related attractions to visitors. Yeongdo, an industrial district located in the country's southern port city of Busan, will be funded by its metropolitan city government to build a museum, from where visitors will be able to enjoy the cityscape toward the sea, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in a release. An old industrial block of vessel repair shops in

Social Affairs March 30, 2017

The national football governing body will convene a meeting next week to discuss the status of the beleaguered men's coach, Uli Stielike, officials said Thursday.The Korea Football Association will hold a technical committee meeting sometime next week to break down what's been ailing the men's squad in the ongoing Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. South Korea men's national football head coach Uli Stielike waits for the start of the World Cup qualifying match against Syria at S

Soccer March 30, 2017

The new Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone unveiled for the first time in New York and London boasts an advanced voice recognition system, dubbed Bixby, which stands out from other existing programs in the market, the phone's manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday.Samsung showcased the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, the first flagship series to be launched since the suspended production of the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 last year, with an emphasis on promoting Bixby. Samsung Electronics C

Technology March 30, 2017

South Korean companies issued bonds worth 13.8 trillion won ($12.4 billion) last month, up 72.8 percent from a month earlier, data showed Thursday, as they capitalized on record-low interest rates. Sales of debts by non-financial firms more than doubled to 4.9 trillion won last month from a month earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.  Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S8 (Yonhap)Sales of debts by financial firms also shot up 35.9 percent on month to 7.5 trillion won

Technology March 30, 2017