The head of South Korea's central bank called Thursday for preemptive efforts to ensure Seoul will not be designated as a currency manipulator."I don't think that there is a high possibility that South Korea will be labeled as a currency manipulator," Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol told reporters. The Bank of Korea's building (Yonhap)Still, he sounded a cautious note on the looming US decision, noting South Korea's possibility of being branded as a manipulator cannot be ruled out.He said Sou

March 23, 2017

A UN council is expected to adopt a resolution condemning the dismal human rights situation in North Korea this week, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.The UN Human Rights Council is to convene a meeting in Geneva to adopt the resolution either on Thursday or Friday (local time), according to foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck. South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck (Yonhap)Cho noted that the UNHRC has adopted a resolution on the North's human rights since 2003 and,

Foreign Affairs March 23, 2017

South Korea has confirmed another case of the Zika virus infection, raising the number of people infected with the virus here to 19, health authorities said Thursday.A 55-year-old Korean man was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus after visiting Bolivia, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Yonhap)He is presumed to have been bitten by a mosquito during his stay in the South American nation earlier this month, the authorities said.The man,

Technology March 23, 2017

South Korean stocks rose slightly Thursday on the back of net purchases by foreign and institutional investors, ahead of a US healthcare vote that will demonstrate US President Donald Trump's ability to deliver economic policies.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 2,172.72. Trade volume was moderate at 352 million shares worth 5.02 trillion won ($4.47 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 407 to 382.The local stock market opened high

March 23, 2017

South Korea has not gained the momentum needed for early recovery despite the global economy showing signs of picking up pace, the head of a local business group said Thursday."The pace of domestic economic recovery is still slow, although things have picked up for the global market," Park Yong-man, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, told a meeting with leaders of the country's four major political parties at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Yonhap)South Korea appears to be su

March 23, 2017

South Korea spent some 51 trillion won ($45.5 billion) of the state budget in the first two months of the year to prop up the economy, the finance ministry said Thursday.The budget spending by the government and public institutions for the January-February period is 5.3 trillion won higher than its planned outlay of 45.7 trillion won during the cited period, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. (Yonhap)The South Korean government has focused on ushering in an economic recovery thro

March 23, 2017

Veteran left-hander Jang Won-sam has won a starting rotation job for the Samsung Lions on the strength of a strong preseason.Kim Han-soo, manager of the Korea Baseball Organization club, said Thursday Jang will take the fifth spot in the rotation when the regular season starts later this month. In this file photo taken on March 14, 2017, Jang Won-sam of the Samsung Lions (C) chats with teammates during a Korea Baseball Organization preseason game against the KT Wiz at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in

Baseball March 23, 2017

The Korea Gas Corp., the world's fourth-largest LNG buyer, said Thursday that it has reached a deal with its counterparts in China and Japan to cooperate on jointly purchasing LNG and sharing related information. (Yonhap)Under the memorandum of understanding with Japan's JERA and China's CNOOC, KOGAS will work together with the two companies to create a "favorable" environment for LNG purchases, the utility firm said.South Korea, Asia's fourth-biggest economy, is one of the largest consumers of

Industry March 23, 2017

The double Olympic archery gold medalist Ku Bon-chan missed the national team cut for this season on Thursday.The Korea Archery Association said Ku finished 10th among 12 archers in the national team trials held in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul, with only the top eight athletes making the squad. In this file photo taken on Oct. 8, 2016, South Korean archer Ku Bon-chan competes in the National Sports Festival at Hongju Sports Complex in Hongseong, South Chungchong Province. (Yonhap)

More Sports March 23, 2017

South Korean companies need advisers, instead of lobbyists, if they want to be successful in China, a global consultancy said Thursday. In a seminar hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, consultants from Control Risks, a London-based risk consulting firm, made the suggestion to South Korean companies operating in China.  (Yonhap)They said the existing approach of lobbying based on "Guanxi" won't work as an effective tool to resolve problems in China in the long term. Gua

Industry March 23, 2017

The head of the International Judo Federation has indicated a possibility of putting off the World Junior Championships set for October in North Korea, citing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a US broadcaster said Thursday. "We are in the process of re-evaluating this opportunity (the World Junior Championships) and probably we will postpone until a more peaceful period," Voice of America quoted IJF President Marius Vizer as answering to a question about the progress in preparing for the upcomi

More Sports March 23, 2017

South Korean lawmakers need to differentiate between industries while introducing a law to reduce work hours for South Korean workers, a private research institute said Thursday.South Koreans worked an average 2,113 hours annually compared to 1,766 hours on average for all member state of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a 2015 OECD data shows. A file photo of jobseekers at a job fair in Busan, South Korea, on Dec. 8, 2016. (Yonhap)People in the country put in some of t

Industry March 23, 2017

One key word that describes the upcoming Seoul Motor Show will be eco-friendly as one-fifth of the planned vehicles to be introduced there will be fuel-efficient, the show's organizer said Thursday. In the biennial motor show here, participating carmakers plan to promote 50 emission-free or less-emitting models amid a growing appetite for such cars among customers, the show's organizing committee said in a statement.  Lexus's fuel-cell electric concept car 'LF-FC' (Yonhap)The Seoul International

Mobility March 23, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co.'s upcoming flagship smartphones are expected to come with a smaller battery than the one in its defunct predecessor Galaxy Note 7 to improve the product's safety, industry sources said Thursday.According to the photo leaked by industry tracker Slashleaks, the presumed Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are anticipated to come with batteries that are 3,000 milliamp hour and 3,500mAh, respectively. A teaser poster of the presumed Galaxy S8 (Yonhap)Samsung had released the Galaxy

Technology March 23, 2017

The country's rival parties spoke in rare unison Thursday, calling for the safe recovery of a passenger ferry that sank nearly three years ago.But the pro-government and opposition blocs still differ about what should come next.The liberal Democratic Party, formerly the largest opposition party here, urged efforts to identify what caused the tragic sinking of the ship, Sewol, on April 16, 2014, and the death of 304 passengers, mostly high school students. Protesters urge efforts to recover a sun

Politics March 23, 2017