Sales of high-performance vehicles are on the rise in South Korea amid growing demand by consumers who want more from the cars they drive every day, industry sources said Friday. The number of performance cars sold here fell far behind sales of mass-market models but it has steadily increased in the Korean market.  In this updated captured image from Yonhap News TV, Hyundai`s i30N high-performance car runs the 2017 24 Hours Nurburgring, an endurance race held in Germany last weekend. (Yonhap)Mer

Mobility June 2, 2017

South Korean stocks ended slightly higher Friday as foreign investors scooped up large-cap stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 27.11 points, or 1.16 percent, to 2,371.72.On Friday, foreigners turned net buyers of domestic stocks worth more than 448 billion won ($398 million) after shedding local shares in the past three sessions. Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said a rally in US stocks gave a b

Market June 2, 2017

The nation's top court has confirmed the designation of a nonprofit subsidiary of a law firm as the guardian of the founder of the country's retail giant Lotte Group, legal sources said Friday.The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by Shin Kyuk-ho against a family court's decision that put him under the Sun's legal supervision. It is a subsidiary of law firm One Law Partners that handles matters of public interest. In this file photo taken on March 20, 2017, Shin Kyuk-ho, founde

Companies June 2, 2017

PAJU -- South Korea football coach Uli Stielike said Friday executing a quick passing game will be a key to beat Qatar in the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier. South Korea will take on Qatar in Doha on June 13 in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. With only three matches remaining, South Korea are second in Group A with 13 points from four wins, one draw and two losses. They trail Iran by four points and sit just one point above Uzbekistan.  South Korea`s men`s nation

Soccer June 2, 2017

South Korea has confirmed another case of the Zika virus, raising the number of people infected here to 20, health authorities said Friday.A 33-year-old Korean woman was confirmed to have been infected with the mosquito-borne virus after visiting the Maldives, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Yonhap)She is presumed to have been bitten by a mosquito during her stay in the country earlier this month, the authorities said.The woman, whose identity has been withhel

Social Affairs June 2, 2017

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a South Korean man who shot three compatriots to death in the Philippines last year to 30 years in prison.The Seoul Central District Court convicted the man, identified only by his last name Kim, of murdering three Koreans -- two men and one woman -- who were found in a sugar cane field in Bacolor, some 70 kilometers northwest of Manila, on Oct. 11. All three had gunshot wounds to their heads.He killed the victims following a proposal from another South Korean,

Social Affairs June 2, 2017

PAJU -- South Korean football captain Ki Sung-yueng said Friday that the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier against Qatar will serve as a turning point for the national team.Ki is one of the 24 members called up by head coach Uli Stielike for South Korea's crucial World Cup qualifier against Qatar in Doha on June 13. With only three matches remaining, South Korea are second in Group A in the final Asian qualifying round for the FIFA World Cup in Russia. With 13 points from four wins, one draw and

Soccer June 2, 2017

WASHINGTON -- The United States intends to welcome South Korean President Moon Jae-in with maximum respect and a "full program" of events when he visits Washington later this month for his first summit talks with President Donald Trump, a South Korean official said Thursday.US officials expressed the intent when South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong visited the White House for discussions with his US counterpart H.R. McMaster about setting up the summit, a South Korean official s

Foreign Affairs June 2, 2017

One South Korean died and three others were injured in a shooting attack at a resort hotel complex in Manila, Seoul's embassy in the Southeast Asian country said Friday. Foreign media reported that a gunman barged into a mall at the Resorts World Manila complex early in the day and fired shots multiple times toward a large TV screen, before he poured gasoline on gambling tables and set them on fire.(Yonhap)The South Korean Embassy in the Philippines said a man presumed to be in his mid-40s died

Foreign Affairs June 2, 2017

Purchases made through mobile gadgets like smartphones accounted for record high levels of all products traded online in April, government data showed Friday.Mobile transactions through smartphones and tablets reached 3.68 trillion won ($3.28 billion) in April, surging 42.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)The amount was equal to 60.6 percent of all online purchases made in the cited month that reached 6.08 trillion won, and outpaced the earlier rec

Industry June 2, 2017

The global air purifier market is forecast to expand 17.5 percent this year, fueled by burgeoning demand for the anti-contaminant home appliances, a report showed Friday.The market is expected to be valued at $6.7 billion by the end of this year, based on the growth estimates, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.  (Yonhap)The global air cleaner market has been growing at an annual rate of 12.4 percent over the past three years, the report said, adding that it is likely to p

Industry June 2, 2017

President Moon Jae-in visited dementia patients Friday in his third onsite inspection since taking office, declaring comprehensive support for those affected.Moon visited a nursing home in Segok-dong, southern Seoul, where he met with patients, their families and caregivers to listen to their concerns. President Moon Jae-in makes pots of flowers with senior citizens at a state-operated nursing home in Seoul on June 2, 2017. (Yonhap)The president had stressed during the election campaign that the

Social Affairs June 2, 2017

BEIJING -- The Chinese government on Friday called a bus fire last month that killed 10 South Korean children in China an act of arson, the South Korean Embassy in Beijing said.The Chinese foreign ministry notified the South Korean Embassy of the outcome of an investigation into the cause of the incident on May 9, when a school bus carrying 11 kindergarten students and a teacher caught fire inside the Taojiakuang Tunnel in Weihai, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.Along with the

Foreign Affairs June 2, 2017

MOKPO -- A set of bones found intact in the wreck of the Sewol ferry last month was confirmed to be those of a student who went missing in the 2014 disaster through a DNA test, officials said Friday. The remains, first identified as those of Heo Da-yoon based on dental records last month, have been officially confirmed to be hers by a DNA test, they said.  In this photo taken on May 19, 2017, the father of Sewol ferry victim Heo Da-yoon talks on the phone in front of his daughter`s photo in Mokp

Social Affairs June 2, 2017

President Moon Jae-in's policy advisory panel said Friday that it is mulling reversing its earlier position to put the foreign ministry back in charge of trade issues, though it has yet to make any decision.Park Kwang-on, the spokesman for the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, said that it is expected to make the decision early next week on whether the trade function will be transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This photo, taken

Politics June 2, 2017