South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se departed for Washington DC, on Tuesday to attend a meeting of a global partnership to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, his office said.US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to preside over the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS on Wednesday. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap"It will bring together the majority of the 68 national partners of the Global

Foreign Affairs March 21, 2017

A video of a North defector's emotional speech has gained tremendous interest from the globe most recently on Facebook, reaching more than 80 million views, a US broadcaster said Tuesday.Park Yeon-mi, along with her mother, escaped North Korea to China in 2007 at 13 and settled in South Korea in 2009. She rose to global prominence after delivering a speech on how she escaped her mother nation at the One Young World Summit in Dublin in October 2014, an international forum for young leaders from a

North Korea March 21, 2017

More than one in every three people in South Korea are in their 40s or 50s, a report showed Tuesday, confirming that people in those age brackets make up the largest group of voters here.According to the report from the interior ministry, the number of people in their 40s was about 8.77 million as of end-February, accounting for 17 percent of the country's overall population of 51.71 million and making it the single largest age bracket. People in their 50s came to some 8.45 million or 16.4 perce

Social Affairs March 21, 2017

South Korea's benchmark stock index on Tuesday hit its highest mark since July 2011, helped by gains made by Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and other market heavyweights. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 21.37 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,178.38. Trade volume was moderate at 299 million shares worth 5.38 trillion won ($4.8 billion). The local stock market opened higher, helped by a buying binge by foreign and institution

March 21, 2017

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's dominant Internet portal, said Tuesday that it will invest 10 billion won ($8.9 million) in beefing up its basic science content over the next four years to strengthen its online encyclopedia. Under a dozen agreements with academic organizations of basic sciences, such as physics and biology, Naver will create a total of 15,000 science content that will be used for its open-source encyclopedia. Naver's logo (Naver Corp.)Naver's encyclopedia, the most po

Industry March 21, 2017

An appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling to dismiss a South Korean business tycoon who was accused of violating the accounting law for years.The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission ordered Hyosung Group to dismiss its chairman Cho Suk-rai, 81, in July 2014 over allegations the conglomerate made official announcements based on false financial statements from 2006 to 2013.  In this file photo, Cho Suck-rai, chairman of Hyosung Group, leaves a Se

Industry March 21, 2017

Hacking attempts on the South Korean military's computer networks have markedly increased this month amid strained ties with China and North Korea's continued belligerence, the defense authorities said Tuesday."Recently, attempts to breach (our) cyber networks have somewhat increased," Moon Sang-gyun, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a press briefing.But there has been no actual damage, he added.He did not elaborate on the source of the cyberthreats he mentioned.Another

Defense March 21, 2017

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest passenger carrier by sales, said Tuesday it will raise fares on its domestic routes to the southern resort island of Jeju by an average of 5 percent next month, marking the first increase in five years.The fare hike, effective beginning April 18, was attributed to the deteriorating business environment."The rate hike was mainly due to the increased use of bullet trains instead of planes, tougher competition among players and higher operating cos

Industry March 21, 2017

Stocks of Doosan Infracore Co. traded at a yearly high Tuesday as investors scooped up the country's leading construction equipment maker on hopes for an improved business performance. Doosan Infracore was changing hands at 10,100 won ($9) on the Seoul bourse as of 1:30 p.m., up 1 percent from the previous session's close. Over the past five sessions, foreign investors bought some 696,000 Doosan Infracore stocks, with institutional investors purchasing some 446,000 stocks.Doosan Infracore is set

Industry March 21, 2017

The government has requested that North Korea guarantee the safety of South Korean football players for the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying matches to be held in Pyongyang next month, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday.The Asian Football Confederation Group B qualifying games will be held in North Korea from April 3-11. South Korean players will have a match with their North Korean counterparts on April 7.This file photo taken on Feb. 29, 2016, shows a women's football match between Sout

Soccer March 21, 2017

South Korean snowboarder Cho Hyeon-min has won the men's halfpipe title at the International Ski Federation Junior World Championships in Switzerland. Cho, 15, scored 240 points in the halfpipe final event staged in Laax, Switzerland, on Monday (local time) and finished first among 18 competitors. He beat American snowboarder Toby Miller by 48 points. Chase Blackwell of the United States was third with a score of 144 points.  In this undated photo provided by the Korea Ski Association, South Kor

More Sports March 21, 2017

South Korea's main stock index hit an intraday record high after almost two years late Tuesday morning, thanks to gains in most large-cap stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 22.13 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,179.14 as of 11:20 a.m.It was the first time since April 2015 that the KOSPI traded above 2,170 points. Most large caps traded higher with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 1.62 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix up 0.11 percent.Top automaker Hyundai

March 21, 2017

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday called for all-out efforts to manage economic risks stemming from the US Federal Reserve's recent decision to raise key interest rates.During a Cabinet meeting, Hwang pointed out growing concerns that the interest rate hike could further weigh down Asia's fourth-largest economy suffering from flaccid domestic consumption and relatively high unemployment.  Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a C

March 21, 2017

Duty-free shops and hotels in South Korea are beginning to feel the pain from a sudden drop in Chinese customers following a travel ban by Beijing, one of a series of trade restrictions in apparent protest against Seoul's stationing of a US anti-missile system, industry sources said Tuesday. Chinese travel agencies have stopped selling group tours to Korea since March 15 upon the authorities' order. The cruises run by the neighboring country have also been banned from making stopovers at South K

Industry March 21, 2017

South Korea's chief financial regulator said Tuesday that stakeholders of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. should shoulder losses, a precondition for another round of rescue package for the cash-strapped shipbuilder.Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Service Commission, made the remarks at a parliamentary committee when asked whether the government is considering another round of capital injection to help rescue Daewoo Shipbuilding. Yim told lawmakers that the government has be

Industry March 21, 2017