South Korea's financial authorities said Friday they are preparing to revise legislation on a personal pension system as part of efforts to address the post-retirement poverty problem."The government will do its best to submit a revision bill to the National Assembly by May," Yoo Kwang-yeol, standing commissioner of the Securities and Futures Commission, said at a public hearing on the issue. The logo of the Financial Services Commission in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV. (Yonhap)The SFC, an

Feb. 24, 2017

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday pledged to build more public rental homes across the country to help young adults and senior citizens struggling with high housing costs.During a ceremony welcoming new residents of the public rental housing complex in Seoul, Hwang also said the government will seek to expand state housing support for low-income families and push for the construction of public housing exclusively for senior citizens. Acting President and Prime Minister

Social Affairs Feb. 24, 2017

North Korea on Friday launched a vicious personal attack on the South Korean foreign minister, calling him an idiot and traitor who begs for tougher international pressure on its nuclear ambitions.The invective came amid heightening tensions following the North's test of a new ballistic missile on Feb. 12 and the death of leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother in Malaysia last week. The North's Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea denounced Foreign Minister Yun Byu

North Korea Feb. 24, 2017

Sales of lottery tickets in South Korea rose 8.4 percent in 2016 from a year earlier amid a protracted economic slump, the finance ministry said Friday.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it settled the lottery fund account for fiscal 2016, which totals 4.74 trillion won. (Yonhap)Lottery sales rose 8.4 percent on-year to 3.8 trillion won ($3.3 billion) last year, with 1.95 trillion won spent on prize money and 1.67 trillion won used for public projects.The ministry said it will release det

Feb. 24, 2017

South Korea provided a combined $80 million to 13 trust funds created by five international financial organizations last year as part of its efforts to expand its presence on the world stage, the financial ministry here said Friday.The organizations, including the World Bank, the Inter-America Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank, carried out 108 projects worth $68.85 million based on South Korea's contributions, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. (Yonhap)South Korea c

Feb. 24, 2017

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea's top shipping firm, said Friday that its shareholders approved a proposal to raise the number of stocks and bonds to be sold, paving the way to get fresh funding from a state-backed firm.Earlier, Korea Shipping Co. said it would buy stocks and debt to be sold by Hyundai Merchant, as part of efforts to help jack up its financial status. (Yonhap)Established earlier this month, Korea Shipping helps local shipping lines buy new vessels with the aim to suppor

Industry Feb. 24, 2017

Switzerland ranked first among advanced countries in terms of fixed broadband subscriptions last year, with South Korea ranking fifth, according to data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Friday.Switzerland was the leading country for fixed broadband subscriptions as of the end of June 2016 among the 36 OECD countries, with 51.42 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, the data showed. (Yonhap)Denmark came in second with 42.76 and the Netherlands with 41.77, while South Kor

Technology Feb. 24, 2017

Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic Party remained unchallenged in a presidential opinion poll despite a slight fall, data showed Friday. In the survey conducted this week by Gallup Korea, Moon received an approval rating of 32 percent, down 1 percentage point from the previous week. (Yonhap)South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung of the same party, stayed in second with 21 percent. His support also decreased 1 point. The two liberal contenders have bickered over a range of issues from the

Politics Feb. 24, 2017

South Korea on Friday called on North Korea to acknowledge that it is behind the killing of its leader's half-brother and cooperate with Malaysia's probe into the case.In its first official response to the death of Kim Jong-nam, North Korea blamed Malaysia for colluding with South Korea in its investigation while accusing Seoul of generating an anti-Pyongyang conspiracy. (Yonhap)Kim was killed in an airport in Malaysia on Feb. 13 with toxic chemicals identified as VX nerve agent, which is listed

North Korea Feb. 24, 2017

South Korean households' real income and spending retreated last year from a year earlier amid a protracted economic slowdown, a government report showed Friday.An average household earned 4.4 million won ($3,862) per month in 2016, up 0.6 percent from the previous year, according to the report by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)But the inflation-adjusted real income fell 0.4 percent on-year over the one-year period, while the country's consumer prices index inched up 1 percent throughout the year.At

Feb. 24, 2017

South Korea's terms of trade slightly worsened in January from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Friday.The terms of trade index for products came to 100.34 last month, down 0.8 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 with those

Feb. 24, 2017

An elderly man unsatisfied with the capital city's development policy stabbed himself while Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was delivering a congratulatory speech at an opening of an exhibition at the city hall Friday, municipal officials and witnesses said. The 79-year old man, identified only by his last name Lee, approached Mayor Park with a weapon at around 10 a.m. and stabbed himself in the abdomen, after shouting "Can you say you are a mayor?" and "I need to die," according to the witnesses. He

Social Affairs Feb. 24, 2017

South Korea's finance minister said Friday that the country is fully prepared to deal with the possibility of an economic crisis in the coming months amid rising concerns over debt-ridden firms and currency volatility."Some say we may fall into a crisis in April, but such concerns are excessive," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a minister-level meeting in Seoul. "There is low possibility of the crisis taking place, and we are strong enough to deal with it." South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo

Feb. 24, 2017

South Korea said that it has been "faithfully" enforcing sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council against North Korea, according to a report the Seoul government recently submitted to the council.South Korea turned in the report on Feb. 13 detailing what efforts it has been making in line with the latest Resolution 2321 imposed on the North following its fifth nuclear test in September. (Yonhap)The report was recently disclosed on the council's official website."The government of

North Korea Feb. 24, 2017

South Korea's leading business leaders vowed Friday to manage their companies with a higher level of ethics and political neutrality, while making the utmost efforts to revitalize the sagging economy to regain the people's trust.Park Yong-maan, president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and chairmen of its 10 regional chambers that represent the interests of about 160,000 businesspeople nationwide, met and emphasized the importance of business ethics. (Yonhap)"In order for South Ko

Industry Feb. 24, 2017