Sales of midsize hybrid cars were halved in the first four months of this year, mainly due to existing vehicle models becoming dated and the popularity of new non-hybrid vehicles, market watchers said Sunday.Data provided by carmakers showed sales of the Sonata, K5 and Malibu hit 2,268 units at the end of April, down a sharp 49.7 percent from a year earlier.Broken down by month, sales in January plunged 62.6 percent on-year, with numbers backtracking 41.7 percent and 29.7 percent in the followin

Mobility May 7, 2017

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said it partially resumed operations Saturday, after being shut down for six days following a deadly crane accident at one of its shipyards earlier this week. The Ministry of Employment and Labor had ordered the South Korean shipbuilder to suspend operations at its shipyard in the southeastern port city of Geoje after two cranes collided at the dockyard Monday, causing a structure to fall from one of the cranes. Six workers at the site were killed and another 25 were

Industry May 7, 2017

The Gangneung city government said more than 2,500 residents were ordered to flee Saturday as a wind-fed forest fire spread in the eastern city.About 300 residents are known to have fled from their homes after the blaze started on a hill near Daegwallyeong, a mountain pass close to the east coast, at around 3:30 p.m., according to city officials.A total of 30 private houses were damaged by the fire as of 10 p.m., but no casualties have been reported, they said. (Yonhap)The residents took shelter

Social Affairs May 7, 2017

The former ruling party on Saturday completed the reinstatement of 12 lawmakers who departed from the conservative Bareun Party earlier this week to support the presidential candidate of the rival party, a party official said. A total of 56 party members are subject to the reinstatement, including the former lawmakers of the splinter party who announced earlier this week they will return to the former ruling party to back Hong Joon-pyo in Tuesday's presidential election. Hong Joon-pyo of the con

Politics May 7, 2017

Presidential hopefuls hit the road and braved dusty conditions on Saturday as their campaigns entered the final stretch.Front-runner Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party stayed in Seoul and its surrounding cities, with the presidential election just three days away. Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party (Yonhap)He made stops in Incheon and Ansan, both lying just west of Seoul, before returning to the capital for the evening.Thirteen candidates are vying for the presidential office,

Politics May 7, 2017

Hotels in central and other main districts of Seoul have seen a sharp rise in bookings made by locals for the long holiday ending early next week, as many opt to avoid the hassle of traveling abroad and instead indulge in a brief city retreat, industry sources said Saturday.Hotel bookings made for the last week of April spiked 256 percent from the previous week, according to a hotel and restaurant reservation app Dailyhotel. (Yonhap)Lotte Hotel Seoul said the booking rates jumped over 20 percent

Industry May 7, 2017

A satellite city of Seoul is trying to land a professional football club at a brand new stadium scheduled to open this fall, its officials said Saturday.Yongin, located some 50 kilometers south of the capital in Gyeonggi Province, is building a 37,000-seat multi-purpose stadium as part of its new municipal sports park, set for completion in November. (Yonhap)And according to city officials, Mayor Jung Chan-min recently ordered his staff to look into the feasibility of hosting a pro football team

Soccer May 7, 2017

Seoul's prosecutors said Saturday that they have launched an investigation into possible election law violations surrounding a recent television news report that appeared to slander presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in.On Tuesday, private broadcaster SBS reported that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries was suspected of attempting to collude with Moon while intentionally delaying the salvaging of the ferry Sewol, which sank off the southwestern coast in April 2014, killing more than 300 people

Social Affairs May 7, 2017

South Korean stocks are set to rise further next week on positive market factors, analysts said Saturday. They expect the country's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index to maintain its upward momentum next week as foreigners are expected to buy more undervalued stocks. The broader index closed at 2,241.24 points Thursday, up 1.6 percent from a week ago. The stock markets were closed on Friday, a national holiday. KB Securities analyst Bae Sung-young said the main index is expected to test

Market May 7, 2017

A whirlwind of events have reshaped the geopolitical landscape surrounding South Korea over the past months, including the deployment of a high-profile US missile defense system here and China's crushing retaliations against Seoul, with no incumbent president in South Korea to cope with the urgent issues.Next week, South Koreans will finally pick a new president to succeed Park Geun-hye, who was ousted from her presidency in March, about one year ahead of the completion of her five-year term.The

Diplomatic Circuit May 7, 2017

The United States House of Representative has introduced a bill on integrating intelligence on North Korea, a report said Saturday.Voice of America said Democratic Party Rep. Stephanie Murphy is the main sponsor of the bill titled "H.R. 2175: North Korea Intelligence Enhancement Act." The purpose of the bill is "to direct the Director of National Intelligence to establish an integration cell to monitor and enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions with respect to North Korea, and for o

North Korea May 7, 2017

The United States is eyeing a military connection between Iran and North Korea after Tehran attempted to test-fire a missile from a submarine earlier this week, a news report said Friday.The missile launch from a "midget" submarine on Tuesday provided US officials more evidence of North Korean influence in the Islamic Republic, with intelligence reports saying the submarine was based on a North Korean design, Fox News reported. (Yonhap)The submarine was the same type that sank a South Korean war

North Korea May 7, 2017

How far China would go in helping change North Korea's behavior is a "litmus test" that will affect the future of the relations between Washington and Beijing, a US expert said Friday.Scott Snyder, a senior expert on Korea at the Council on Foreign Relations, made the point in an article on the think tank's website, noting that many Chinese and American experts expect there would be limits in China pressuring the North. (Yonhap)The Trump administration is clearly eager to change North Korea's tr

North Korea May 7, 2017

The United States and Australia are working together to address threats from North Korea so as to make the Asia-Pacific region more peaceful, the White House said Friday after a meeting between President Donald Trump had with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull."The president and Prime Minister Turnbull discussed the enduring bonds, deep friendship, and close alliance between the United States and Australia that have been critically important to the maintenance of regional and global peac

North Korea May 7, 2017

Former PGA Championship winner Yang Yong-eun said Thursday he'd like to regain his full-time status on the PGA Tour in the near future.Yang, who famously held off then-world No. 1 Tiger Woods to capture the 2009 PGA Championship, lost his PGA privileges in 2014.He has spent the majority of the ensuing seasons in Europe and Asia, while appearing in US events only occasionally.Yang Yong-eun (right) hands a club to his celebrity caddie, singer Lee Seung-chul, at the second hole during the first rou

Golf May 4, 2017