An association of 118 civic groups will hold a street demonstration in central Seoul this weekend, police said Friday, following a court ruling that overturned the police ban on the rally.It is the second rally after one in mid-November, which brought tens of thousands of demonstrators to the streets in downtown Seoul to protest the government's decision to adopt state history textbooks for secondary students and push for labor reforms. The rally turned violent as some protesters brandished meta

Social Affairs Dec. 4, 2015

North Korea's flag carrier Air Koryo has redesigned its homepage to serve customers only in English.The website (www.airkoryo.com.kp), which used to be in both Korean and English, offers booking services and other airline information in English.Much of the site remains bare, however, with only three items under "latest news," including one on the launch of a new aircraft, the Tupolev 204-100, on the Pyongyang-Beijing route in April 2010.Another article, dated Oct. 1, 2015, says the airline launc

North Korea Dec. 4, 2015

South Korean stocks fell 0.99 percent Friday as investors joined the global selloff stemming from the disappointing stimulus measures by the European Central Bank.The local currency gained ground sharply against the U.S. dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 19.67 points to 1,974.4. Trade volume was slim at 370.9 million shares worth 3.2 trillion won ($2.77 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 544 to 254.  The ECB said it will extend its quantitative easing prog

Dec. 4, 2015

South Korean construction companies racked up 35 percent more domestic orders in October than a year earlier, aided by a continued recovery in the local property market, data showed Friday.According to the data compiled by the Construction Association of Korea, local builders received 11.99 trillion won (US$10.3 billion) in October, which, however, represents a pullback from the previous month's record 20.41 trillion won worth of orders.Of the orders tallied, they bagged 2.79 trillion won worth

Industry Dec. 4, 2015

Samsung Engineering Co., South Korea's top engineering firm, said Friday that it has a received a US$880 million order to build petrochemical plants in Malaysia.Under the deal with state-run utility firm Petronas, Samsung Engineering will construct plants that produce polyethylene and other chemicals in Pengerang, southern Johor, by 2019.Petronas is cultivating a refinery and petrochemical integrated development project (RAPID) and other associated facilities in Pengerang, Malaysia.Last year, Sa

Companies Dec. 4, 2015

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 full-service carrier, said Friday that it will temporarily suspend flight services to Vladivostok, Bali and Yangon due to weak demand.The company said it will halt flights to Vladivostok in Russia's Far East starting Feb. 1, while services to Indonesia's resort of Bali and Myanmar's capital will be discontinued March 1.Asiana currently operates four weekly flights to the Russian port city and two to the two Southeast Asian destinations.The company said i

Companies Dec. 4, 2015