The government is considering extending a financial support program for low-income patients with serious diseases in an effort to reduce their financial burden, the health ministry said Tuesday.The program, which started in 2013 and is slated to end this year, is designed to protect people with four critical illnesses -- cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and rare and incurable diseases -- and serious burns from big out-of-pocket payments.Ministry of Health and Welfare (Yonhap)The m

Social Affairs June 27, 2017

South Korea's parliamentary speaker Chung Sye-kyun called Tuesday for dialogue with North Korea to run in parallel with sanctions, although the reclusive state's provocations have posed a "serious" threat to regional peace.During a meeting with parliamentary leaders from 25 Asian and European countries, Chung also said that to help engage with Pyongyang, his National Assembly is seeking a meeting of the two Koreas' legislative chiefs."North Korea's provocative actions deserve sanctions from the

North Korea June 27, 2017

MEXICO CITY -- A group of armed robbers shot to death the chief of a South Korean company's factory and seriously injured another worker on Sunday after storming their lodgings in the city of Villa Nueva, south of Guatemala City, the South Korean Embassy in Guatemala City said Monday.The embassy said the three armed men broke into the house where the two South Korean workers lived around 11:40 a.m. (Captured from Google map)According to embassy officials, police believe that they hit the worker,

Foreign Affairs June 27, 2017

South Korea's pharmaceutical industry has posted more than double the annual growth rate in terms of employment compared to the manufacturing sector as a whole, industry data showed Tuesday.The pharmaceutical industry has recorded 3.9 percent in annual employment growth rate between 2005 and 2015, while the comparable figure for overall manufacturing stood at 1.6 percent, according to data by the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association which checked figures released by Stat

Industry June 27, 2017

South Korea's three oil commodity exchange traded funds have posted abysmal returns over the past month due to falling international crude prices, a fund evaluation firm said Tuesday.With crude prices on the skids for five weeks running, the oil ETFs chalked up an average return of over minus 16 percent in the month to Friday, according to Zeroin. Oil ETFs consist of either crude firm stocks or futures and derivative contracts to track the price and performance of oil, or in some cases oil-relat

Market June 27, 2017

The price index gap between South Korea's main and secondary bourses has hit a new high as the current bull run of the local stock market is driven largely by big caps, data showed Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 0.42 percent to finish at a fresh high of 2,388.66 on Monday, while the key index of the minor KOSDAQ market fell 0.09 percent to 668.36.The difference between the price indexes reached an all-time high of 1,720.30, surpassing the previous record set on J

Market June 27, 2017

South Korean shares opened marginally lower Tuesday as investors opted to cash in part of recent gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 1.34 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,387.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.62 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor declined 0.91 percent, and top steelmaker POSCO fell 0.37 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,135.00 won against the US dollar, up 2.1 wo

Market June 27, 2017

North Korea on Tuesday condemned US President Donald Trump's "America-first" policy as Nazism of the 21st century, claiming that Washington seeks to stifle other countries to serve its interests.Its official Korean Central News Agency said Trump's policy is stirring up extreme aggression and chauvinism against other countries, resembling late German dictator Adolf Hitler's concept of world occupation.(Yonhap)"The idea is the American version of Nazism, far surpassing the fascism in the last cent

North Korea June 27, 2017

South Korea said Tuesday it has started to assemble the first prototype of a light armed helicopter with the goal of conducting a test flight in 2019.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the country's arms procurement agency, launched the development project in June 2015 to replace the aging 500MD and AH-1S choppers in partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries. A model of South Korea`s new light armed helicopter in a photo provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (

Defense June 27, 2017

WASHINGTON, June 26 (Yonhap) -- The United States will name China one of the worst countries for human trafficking in an annual report set to be released this week, a news report said Monday, after President Trump complained Chinese efforts didn't work on North Korea.The State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report" is set to put China in the lowest Tier 3 of its classification of countries, together with North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria, in this year's report to be released Tuesday,

World News June 27, 2017

WASHINGTON -- A Japanese diplomat has come under fire after he portrayed the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery as "paid prostitutes."The Japanese consul general in Atlanta, Takashi Shinozuka, made the remark in an interview last week with the Reporter Newspapers, urging the Brookhaven City Council to reverse its decision to accept a memorial honoring sexual slavery victims, also known as "comfort women." The Japanese consul general in Atlanta, Takashi Shinozuka. (Captured from the websit

Foreign Affairs June 27, 2017

South Korea's defense ministry said Sunday it is reviewing ways to conduct an environmental survey for the US anti-missile system being deployed on its soil, but nothing specific has been decided. "The ministry is in talks with related government agencies over ways to adequately carry out an environmental assessment on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, and nothing at this stage has been decided yet," it said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The release came in response to some local media reports

Defense June 25, 2017

MUJU -- South Korean Olympic taekwondo champion Kim So-hui was ousted in the quarterfinals of the world championships at home on Sunday.Kim, competing in the women's under-49kg, was one of two South Koreans to suffer early exits at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships at T1 Arena inside Taekwondowon in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. Kim Hun was also eliminated in the quarterfinals of the men's under-74kg class. Kim So-hui of South Korea (left) battles Courtney Eardl

More Sports June 25, 2017

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday made all-out effort to prepare for his upcoming talks with US President Donald Trump, checking his schedules, messages and speeches in the United States, an official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.The new South Korean president will hold the two-day talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday (US time) after heading for the United States on Wednesday for his first-ever summit with a foreign leader.  An image of South Korean President Moon Jae-in (lef

Politics June 25, 2017