Seoul and Moscow on Friday agreed to set up a consultative body to develop business opportunities and support South Korea companies in Russia's untouched easternmost region.The working-level channel will arrange natural resources development and infrastructure construction projects in Siberia and the far eastern part of the Asian continent.The two countries have already agreed to raise US$3 billion in 2013 to support bilateral business projects.The two countries will exchange lists of prospectiv

Foreign Affairs Oct. 23, 2015

President Park Geun-hye has noted that the current history textbooks are mostly authored by left-wing historians, renewing her calls for standardized books for secondary school students.  Park made such remarks at a meeting with Rep. Kim Moo-sung, head of the ruling Saenuri Party, and Rep. Moon Jae-in, leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, on Thursday. "Some of the textbooks children are learning from these days state that South Korea shouldn't have been born, and ca

Politics Oct. 23, 2015

South Korea will push for inter-Korean government and red cross talks in the near future after the on-going event of family reunions, Seoul's security adviser said Friday."Regarding the South-North agreement, we will go ahead with government-level talks some time after the family reunion, although we haven't decided the exact time yet, along with the red cross talks," Kim Kwan-jin, the chief of the National Security Council, said in a parliamentary audit.In the landmark Aug. 25 deal ending a mil

North Korea Oct. 23, 2015

South Korea's economy expanded 2.6 percent in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, the fastest annual clip in three quarters, the Bank of Korea said Friday, showing a recovery from the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome crisis that gripped the country in the summer.The result was better than expected. Asia's fourth-largest economy took a hit after a deadly outbreak of MERS in the country, prompting tourists to cancel trips and keeping local residents away from shopping malls and conc

Oct. 23, 2015

South Korean stocks traded 1.38 percent higher late Friday morning on hopes for additional stimulus measures by the European Central Bank (ECB) and better-than-expected domestic growth data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) vaulted 26.79 points to 2,049.79 as of 11:20 a.m.Stocks across the board rose after ECB chief Mario Draghi said Thursday that the bank will consider bolstering its bond-buying program this year, sending European and U.S. stocks higher.SK Innovation, the

Oct. 23, 2015

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's top auto parts maker, said Friday its third-quarter earnings plunged 20 percent from a year earlier due mainly to falling sales in China and other major countries.Net profit stood at 621 billion won (US$552 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 776 billion won a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.Operating profit also shed 8.3 percent on-year to 670 billion won in the third quarter, while sales rose 2.9 percent to 8

Industry Oct. 23, 2015

Nonghyup Financial Group Inc. said Friday its third-quarter earnings rose nearly 3 percent on-year thanks to strong performances of its units and less money set aside to cover bad debt.Net profit reached 182.7 billion won (US$162.2 million) in the July-September period, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, Nonghyup Financial said in a press release. "The on-year gain was possible because many firms under the group posted net profits and the group as a whole cut back on bad debt reserves," it said

Industry Oct. 23, 2015