South Korea's terms of trade deteriorated slightly in February from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.The terms of trade index for products came to 100.48 last month, down 2.9 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, showing how the country's exports are doing in comparison to

March 22, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it has released its mobile payment service -- Samsung Pay -- in India, tapping into one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets in Asia.The South Korean tech giant said it clinched agreements with seven major Indian financial companies such as AXIS Bank and HDFC Bank, and SBI to provide the mobile payment solution on the subcontinent. Models demonstrate Samsung Pay in this file photo released by Samsung Electronics on Dec. 1, 2016. (Yonhap)Samsung Pay use

March 22, 2017

Google Inc.'s improved artificial intelligence powered algorithm can better recognize and classify photos and may achieve "human-level" accuracy soon, the company's engineer said Wednesday.In November 2016, Google announced that it has applied a machine learning algorithm to its computer vision model of Google Photos to produce captions that can accurately describe images. The service -- both available online and through mobile applications -- can back up, organize and label the photos automatic

Technology March 22, 2017

The air purifier market in South Korea is expanding rapidly, largely due to surging demand as consumers are becoming more concerned about fine dust, industry data showed Wednesday. The market size of air purifiers reached 1 trillion won ($888.4 million) at the end of 2016, soaring from 300 billion won in 2013, according to the latest findings. This year, it is forecast to grow by 50 percent on-year to a value of 1.5 trillion won.  (Yonhap)Air purifier makers sold a combined 1 million units of th

Industry March 22, 2017

South Korea's central bank chief said Wednesday that concerns over US protectionism were a key issue at the recent meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's major economies.Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol made the comments to reporters earlier in the day, just one day after he returned home from the northwestern Swiss city of Basel where he attended a regular meeting of the Bank for International Settlements. (Yonhap)Last week, Lee also attended the G20 Finance

March 22, 2017

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has delivered a strong message to China that it is "uncalled for" for Beijing to retaliate against the ongoing deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea, a senior US official said Wednesday.Tillerson visited Beijing over the weekend and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss key pending issues of mutual concern. The US diplomat chief wrapped up his first Asian tour since taking office, which a

Foreign Affairs March 22, 2017

JAKARTA/HANOI -- A North Korean suspect involved in the killing of Kim Jong-nam is a son of the former top North Korean envoy to Vietnam and lured an Asian woman into the murder using his fluent Vietnamese, sources said Wednesday.Ri Ji-hyon, 33, is the son of former North Korean ambassador to Hanoi Ri Hong and had lived in Vietnam for about 10 years, according to the sources.He is suspected of having lured Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong into the plot to kill the estranged half brother of North Korean

North Korea March 22, 2017

South Korea's presidential front-runner pledged Wednesday to scrap a regulation that denies a state subsidy to those who live below the poverty line but have income-earning family members to depend on.    The controversial rule has been blamed for driving poor people, especially those with disabilities, into deeper poverty.Moon Jae-in, former leader of the liberal Democratic Party, made the pledge during a forum on social issues ahead of the May 9 presidential vote. Moon Jae-in, former leader of

Politics March 22, 2017

South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday that the current pace of the local currency's appreciation is not a problem should the volatility of the won-dollar rate remains limited."If the volatility isn't too high, I think the won's current ascent versus the US dollar is not a big problem," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said after a ministerial level meeting in Seoul. South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho speaks at a ministerial meeting in Seoul on March 22, 2017. (Yonhap)"The latest currency

March 22, 2017

South Korean shares retreated late Wednesday morning from an almost six-year high in the previous session, tracking an overnight decline on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 17.8 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,160.58 as of 11:20 a.m.Most large caps traded lower with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.08 percent, while global chipmaker SK hynix was up 0.63 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor fell 0.88 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 1.

March 22, 2017

South Korea on Wednesday repatriated the remains of Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War six decades ago, a move that reflects Seoul's commitment to the humanitarian project despite a political row between the neighboring countries over a US weapon system.The 28 sets of remains were handed over to China in a repatriation ceremony held at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, according to the Ministry of National Defense.  The repatriation ceremony for the remains of Chinese

Social Affairs March 22, 2017

North Korea test-fired a missile from its east coast Wednesday that appears to have failed, South Korean and US defense authorities said as the allies continued an annual joint military training on the peninsula."North Korea fired one missile from an area near the Wonsan Air Base this morning, but it's presumed to have failed," the ministry said in a brief statement, adding it was "not fired normally."(Yonhap)The military is still trying to confirm details, including the type of projectile and w

North Korea March 22, 2017

The liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday began a 10-day vote to pick its candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The polling of the non-party electorate began at 7 a.m. at 250 stations across the country. The results will be combined with the outcomes of upcoming telephone surveys and additional polls by party members and representatives, the party said.The outcome of Wednesday's vote will not be immediately made available. The liberal Democratic Party (Yonhap)Currently, four contende

Politics March 22, 2017

With another solid spring outing in the books, South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, coming off two surgeries, appears on course for a return to the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation.Ryu tossed four scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday (local time) at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The Dodgers ended up losing 5-4, as the Brewers' offense came to life immediately after Ryu left the game. (Yonhap)Ryu was perfect through the first two innings against the Brewers. He also struck o

Baseball March 22, 2017

The South Korean military's practice of inspecting individual soldiers' smartphone content without consent can violate their constitutional rights to privacy and freedom, the nation's rights watchdog said Wednesday.The National Human Rights Commission said it has asked the Defense Security Command to revise its method of investigations into service members under security inspections and their smartphones to better protect their human rights.Defense Security Command (Yonhap)The recommendation cam

Social Affairs March 22, 2017