Nearly half of South Korea's companies were exempted from corporate tax in 2015, government data showed Wednesday, as many experienced a deficit due to the prolonged economic slump.About 47.1 percent, or 280,000, out of the total 590,000 registered corporations were exempt from corporate taxes in 2015, according to the statistics provided by the National Tax Service. (Yonhap)The comparable figures were 46.2 percent in 2011, 46.5 percent in 2012, 47.1 percent in 2013 and 47.3 percent in 2014."The

Industry April 5, 2017

South Korea's major shipyards saw their ratings cut for their falling new orders and worsening financial status, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the sources, KIS Ratings lowered its rating on Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. to "A-" from "A," citing a protracted industrywide slump, severe competition, falling new orders and lower shipbuilding prices. (Yonhap)Late last month, Korea Ratings also trimmed its rating on Hyundai Heavy to "A" from "A-," the lowest in 15 years. Its rating on Sa

Industry April 5, 2017

South Korea will likely see the number of inbound tourists rise more than 3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the culture ministry said Wednesday, despite growing woes over faltering Chinese inflow amid a diplomatic row with Beijing over a US anti-missile system. The tentative number of foreign tourists to the country stood at 3.72 million in the January-March period, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.  The tourism fest o

Social Affairs April 5, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its new flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone's organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display has been rated "best" in the business by a US display evaluator.The South Korean tech giant said the OLED display equipped in the new flagship received the "Excellent A+" grade from DisplayMate.Samsung Electronics Co. displays the Galaxy S8 at Milan Design Week 2017 held in Italy in this photo released by the company on April 5, 2017. (Yonhap)"The Galaxy S8 is the first in a

Industry April 5, 2017

A bipartisan group of US senators on Tuesday urged President Donald Trump to use his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to bring an end to "unwarranted and unfair" retaliatory measures Beijing has taken against South Korea for hosting the US THAAD missile defense system.A total of 26 senators, led by Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), made the appeal in a joint letter to Trump just two days before he is set to host China's Xi for high-stakes talks expected to cover al

Foreign Affairs April 5, 2017

North Korea is expected to fill the vacancy left by the dismissal of Kim Won-hong as its spy chief earlier this year during the upcoming parliamentary meeting, an expert said Wednesday.Jo Yong-won, a senior official in the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, is highly likely to become the minister of state security at the meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly slated for April 11, according to Cheong Seong-chang, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute.Jo Yong-won (C), an official in the

North Korea April 5, 2017

The number of North Koreans escaping to South Korea declined 18.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, as the North is seen as strengthening border control.A total of 278 North Koreans came to South Korea in the January-March period, compared with 342 tallied the year earlier, according to preliminary data by the Ministry of Unification. (Yonhap)The latest tally marked the smallest number of quarterly defectors since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

North Korea April 5, 2017

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The ballistic missile North Korea recently fired is believed to be "a KN-15 medium range ballistic missile," the US military said Tuesday."The US Pacific Command detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch" at 6:42 Korea time, Cdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the command, said in a statement. "The launch of a single ballistic missile occurred at a land-based facility near Sinpo."(Yonhap)The missile was tracked until it landed in the East Sea at 6

Foreign Affairs April 5, 2017

The tourism industry on South Korea's resort island of Jeju remained relatively sound in March, despite worries about a serious economic setback from China's travel package ban to its neighbor amid a diplomatic standoff, industry sources said Wednesday. The number of tourists who came to Jeju Island was 1.25 million between March 1 and April 3, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Jeju Provincial Tourism Association. (Yonhap)Of the tally, foreign tourists plunged by

Social Affairs April 5, 2017

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The clock for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue "has now run out," and the United States is looking at "all options on the table" to deal with the problem, a senior White House official said Tuesday.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, also said that how to deal with North Korea is a "test of the relationship" between the US and China. US President Donald Tru

Foreign Affairs April 5, 2017

US tech giant Apple Inc. and Chinese smarthphone maker Huawei Technologies Co. are engaging in a fierce competition in the Chinese high-end smartphone sector, industry sources said Wednesday, as Samsung Electronics Co. is set to start sales of its new flagship soon there.Huawei kicked off sales of its flagship smartphone, the P10, in China on Saturday. The P10 is the successor to the mega-hit P9, whose sales reached a whopping 10 million units last year.Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S8 smartp

Industry April 5, 2017

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- North Korea is feared to become capable of striking the US west coast of Seattle with "an indigenously produced nuclear weapon aboard an indigenously produced intercontinental ballistic missile" before US President Donald Trump ends his term, a former CIA said Tuesday.Michael Hayden, who served as CIA director from 2006 to 2009, expressed the concern during a discussion at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, stressing that North Korean prov

North Korea April 5, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's two leading tech giants, expanded their spending on marketing last year amid increased competition, data showed Wednesday.According to industry data, Samsung spent 11.5 trillion won ($10.2 billion) on marketing in 2016. The figure included 4.4 trillion won on advertisements, which advanced 15 percent on-year. (Yonhap)LG Electronics also spent 1.3 trillion won on advertisements last year, a 21.4 percent increase over the cited period.

Industry April 5, 2017

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The commander of the US Strategic Command said Tuesday that North Korea is what he's concerned about "most nights" because it's hard to predict what the communist nation will be doing.Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the US Strategic Command, told a Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing that Russia represents the "greatest threat" to the US, but the actions of Russia as well as China are predictable, compared with the North. US Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander o

Foreign Affairs April 5, 2017

South Korea's current account surplus rose in February from a year earlier due to an increased surplus in the goods account, central bank data showed Wednesday.The country's current account surplus reached $8.4 billion in February, compared with a surplus of $7.62 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.(Yonhap)The figure represents a surplus for 60 months in a row. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.The BOK said the goods ac

April 5, 2017