Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday the number of accumulated visitors at its shops in South Korea where people can test the Galaxy S8 smartphones was estimated at 3 million, reflecting the public's attention on the flagship devices.On Sunday, the company also said a million units of Galaxy S8 smartphones were sold in South Korea as of the previous day, marking a rare occasion for the company to provide updates of flagship device sales. The devices were officially released April 21. Visitors tak

Technology May 29, 2017

Hot-shot South Korean rookie Park Sung-hyun has posted her best finish of the LPGA Tour season.Park finished tied for second at the LPGA Volvik Championship at Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sunday (local time). After a bogey-free final round of six-under 66, Park ended her four-round play at 18-under 270, one stroke behind the champion, Feng Shanshan. (Yonhap)This was Park's fourth top-10 finish in nine starts this year.The 23-year-old has yet to miss a cut in 2017.Park h

Golf May 29, 2017

More South Koreans, especially women, are voluntarily subscribing to the state pension as a means to secure stable income for their senior years, data showed Monday.As of the end of last month, 317,800 people -- 48,843 men and 268,957 women -- were voluntary subscribers to the state pension plan, according to the National Pension Service. These people are not required to have pension subscriptions, which applies to people aged 18-60 and have an income, but are mostly housewives, military personn

Economy May 29, 2017

Sales of whiskey in South Korea have declined sharply over the last decade due largely to a shift in the country's drinking culture, industry data showed Monday. The domestic sales of the spirit hit 1.67 million boxes, or some 30 million bottles, in 2016, down 41 percent from 2.84 million boxes tallied in 2008, according to industry data.   (Yonhap)The decline in whiskey sales came amid a change in the patterns of the country's drinking culture with people opting to have drinks alone or with fam

Industry May 29, 2017

Cautious optimism is spreading that South Korean shipbuilders may be able to pull out of a drawn-out slump on the back of rising new orders, industry sources said Monday.According to the sources, Samsung Heavy Industries Co., one of the country's top three shipbuilders, has recently clinched a $100 million deal to build two LNG carriers from a local shipping firm, raising this year's total orders to $2.3 billion, to build 12 ships in total. (Yonhap)Samsung Heavy is also expected to bag a $2.5 bi

Industry May 29, 2017

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it has opened a brand shop in Cuba, marking a rare move for a global tech company to make a full-fledged step to tap into the market.The South Korean tech giant said it has opened the brand shop under cooperation with a local retailer Cadena De Tiendas TRD Caribe. Visitors take look at Samsung Electronics Co.'s products at its brand shop based in Havana, Cuba, in this photo released by the company on May 29, 2017. (Yonhap)The shop will display premium Samsung

Technology May 29, 2017

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on increased foreign buying.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 8.11 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,363.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The broad index didn't track Friday's losses on Wall Street.The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.01 percent.Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said foreign investors bought large-cap stocks, giving a boost to the main index.Large-cap stocks were mixed across the boar

Market May 29, 2017

Internal trading by overseas units of South Korea's top 10 business groups has soared 20 percent over the past four years, raising suspicions that they may be engaging in banned contract awarding practices, a market tracker said Monday.Internal transactions by the overseas subsidiaries of the 10 leading family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol here, came to a combined 287.6 trillion won ($257 billion) in 2015, up 47.9 trillion won from four years earlier, according to the data by Chaebu

Industry May 29, 2017

South Korea's three mobile carriers are trying to persuade lawmakers and government officials to rethink President Moon Jae-in's pledge to cut subscription costs to ease households' burden, industry sources said Monday.The move came as the Moon administration seeks to abolish the basic subscription fees of 11,000 won ($9.83) as expenditures on telecommunication services were cited as one of the burdens for South Koreans. Mobile carriers cast concern that the change will hurt their operations and

Technology May 29, 2017

South Korea ranks third in foreign investors' net stock buying among Asian countries, excluding China and Japan, this year, with its stock market performing the best in the region, data showed Monday.Offshore investors bought a net $5.59 billion worth of South Korean stocks between January and April, the third largest among Asian nations after India's $7.11 billion and Taiwan's $6.69 billion, according to the data from the Korea Exchange.  China and Japan were excluded from the rankings as

Market May 29, 2017

A war with North Korea would turn out to be "the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetime" and would also bring danger to Russia and China as well, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned Sunday.Mattis made the remark in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation," referring to the threat of massive artillery the North amassed on its border with South Korea and stressing the importance of finding a diplomatic solution to the problem.(Yonhap)"A conflict in North Korea would be probably the wo

North Korea May 29, 2017

President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)Moon orders meeting of national security council over N. Korean missile launch (Yonhap)

North Korea May 29, 2017

Doosan Infracore Co., South Korea's top construction equipment maker, said Friday that it plans to sell 500 billion won ($447 million) worth of debt with warrants to refinance maturing debt.In a regulatory filing, Doosan Infracore said the holders of BWs will be able to buy Doosan Infracore at a predetermined 9,090 won per share.The proceeds from the debt sale will be used to refinance part of 230 billion won in debt that mature in July, it said. (Yonhap)

Industry May 26, 2017

South Korean workers have generally negative views about internal whistleblowing, convinced that their companies' anti-fraud measures are not effective and not fully enforced, a survey showed Friday.According to the Asia-Pacific Fraud Survey 2017 published by consulting firm EY, 61 percent of South Korea's employees said they won't use their in-house whistleblowing hotline even if they witness fraudulent misconduct. This is the highest in the region that has an average of 37 percent. Japan's cor

Social Affairs May 26, 2017

Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co. said Friday it will complete its integration with PCA Life Insurance Co., the local unit of Britain's largest insurer Prudential Plc., by the first quarter of next year.The move came after Mirae Asset Life Insurance acquired PCA Life Insurance in an arrangement worth 170 billion won ($150 million). (Yonhap)Mirae Asset Life Insurance ruled out restructuring as it vowed to guarantee employment of all employees of PCA Life Insurance.The takeover will make Mirae Asset

Industry May 26, 2017