South Korea's central bank said Friday it has named an expert on foreign reserves as the new head of its Reserve Management Group.Suh Bong-gook, director general at the International Department of the Bank of Korea, will be in charge of planning, investment and risk management of the country's foreign reserves, according to the BOK. As of the end of April, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $376.57 billion, up $1.27 billion from the previous month, according to the BOK.Suh worked at

Market May 12, 2017

North Korea's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs has sent a letter to the US House of Representatives to protest its latest passage of a bill on tougher sanctions against Pyongyang, the North's media said Friday.The legislation, which was overwhelmingly passed at the House last week, calls for tough sanctions mainly targeting North Korea's crude imports, labor exports and international shipping. The bill should pass through the Senate before it becomes law. (Yonhap)In the first official

North Korea May 12, 2017

US commodity trading company Cargill Inc. said Friday it has set an annual revenue target of 1.5 trillion won ($1.33 billion) for its livestock feed business in South Korea by 2025, vowing to push for an aggressive expansion down the road. David MacLennan, CEO of the global agricultural commodity firm, said the company plans to increase its annual feed production to 2.7 million tons from the current 1.6 million tons over the next eight years to meet the revenue target for the Korean market.  Dav

Industry May 12, 2017

A former head of a state-run small and medium-sized business support corporation was sentenced to 10 months in prison Friday for unlawfully hiring a former intern of a lawmaker based on his request.The Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court found Park Cheol-kyu, who headed the Small and Medium Business Corp. from 2012 to 2015, guilty of obstruction of duty. Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party leaves the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on Ma

Politics May 12, 2017

President Moon Jae-in on Friday reaffirmed his pledge to create hundreds of thousands of quality jobs in the public sector, vowing to turn all non-regular job openings in the public sector to regular, full-time employment within his term."I will open an era of zero irregular jobs in the public sector within my term," Moon said in a meeting with workers and citizens at Incheon International Airport Corp., a key public enterprise. The meeting marked the new president's first public event

Economy May 12, 2017

President Moon Jae-in continued to surprise many Friday, at least to the liking of many liberals, ordering the official playing and singing of a controversial protest song shunned over the past decade at an annual ceremony marking a democratic uprising.The president signed an executive order, allowing the official use of "March for the Beloved" at the annual ceremony held May 18, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)It marked only the second executive order s

Politics May 12, 2017

South Korea's unification ministry said Friday that North Korea appears to be paying much attention to the launch of liberal President Moon Jae-in's administration, citing a lengthy media report by its official media on his election.North Korea's state media reported the results of South Korea's presidential election and other information in detail Thursday, one day after he was sworn in as president. (Yonhap)Moon is widely expected to seek engagement with North Korea to improve long-strained ti

North Korea May 12, 2017

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers got rocked by the Colorado Rockies in his return from the disabled list.Ryu was touched for 10 runs -- five of them unearned -- on eight hits and six walks in four innings at Coors Field in Denver on Thursday (local time). The South Korean left-hander left the game with the Dodgers down 10-0. (Yonhap)The 10 totals runs and six walks issued were both single-game highs for Ryu in his major league career. Ryu dropped to 1-5 on the season, and his ERA rose fro

Baseball May 12, 2017

Hyundai Wia Corp., an auto parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said Friday it will produce in-house turbo chargers after years of joint production with its Japanese partner.  Hyundai Wia IHI Turbo, a 51-49 joint venture set up between Hyundai Wia and Japanese auto parts maker IHI, has produced turbo chargers since late 2015 for vehicles made by Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. at its plant in Seosan, 151 kilometers southwest of Seoul, a Hyundai Wia spokesman said. Hyundai Wia's turbo c

Industry May 12, 2017

South Korea's defense ministry said Friday it has started working-level preparations for the implementation of reform measures proposed by President Moon Jae-in during his campaign."With regard to the presidential campaign pledges on the defense sector, of course, we are reviewing conditions and ways for implementation," Moon Sang-gyun, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, told reporters. (Yonhap)Moon's promises include shortening the service period for conscripted soldiers to 18 mo

Defense May 12, 2017

The ruling Democratic Party said Friday that it will push for a parliamentary hearing on the deployment of a US missile defense system on the peninsula to address "national suspicions" surrounding it.The party's special panel on the ongoing controversy over a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense  battery also called on the government to suspend the deployment and prepare for a parliamentary ratification.Key THAAD components, such as a powerful radar system, have already been delivered to the depl

Politics May 12, 2017

South Korean stocks extended losses late Friday morning as foreign investors offloaded large-cap stocks.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 8.25 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,288.12 as of 11:15 a.m.The decline followed overnight losses on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.11 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index declining 0.22 percent.Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said foreign selling of large-cap stocks worth nearly

Market May 12, 2017

Malaysia, which has been at serious diplomatic odds over the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport early this year, is studying the issuance of a North Korea travel warning in order to change the venue of its upcoming Asian Cup preliminary against the North from Pyongyang to a neutral area, a US broadcaster said Friday. The Malaysian government will notify the Football Association of Malaysia of its decision on the trav

Soccer May 12, 2017

North Korea's state radio station on Friday carried out its broadcast of mysterious numbers for the first time since liberal politician Moon Jae-in won South Korea's presidential election earlier this week.North Korea resumed its encrypted numbers broadcasts, a Cold War-era campaign to send coded messages to its agents in South Korea, in June last year. Pyongyang suspended them in 2000 when the two Koreas held a historic summit. (Yonhap)A female announcer at Radio Pyongyang read numbers for minu

North Korea May 12, 2017

China has invited South Korea to join a forum on Beijing's regional economic development plan in what appears to be a move to mend the bilateral relationship following the inauguration of new President Moon Jae-in in Seoul, a government official said Friday.The delegation to be led by Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the Democratic Party will leave for Beijing on Saturday to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that will kick off on Sunday for a two-day run, according to the offi

Economy May 12, 2017