Aussie coach aims to take Korean wheelchair hoops to LondonHe knows exactly where his heart is, and has a clear vision of what he’d like for the future. Australian basketball coach Mark Walker says his current goal is to take the Korean wheelchair basketball team to the London 2012 Paralympics. Yet his ambition appears impossible, considering the current level of the Korean national team: Korea ha

Korea’s full-size car sales surged in the first half of this year thanks to the popularity of the fifth-generation Grandeur sedan made by top automaker Hyundai Motor Co., industry data showed Monday.Domestic sales of full or large luxury sedans jumped 39.6 percent on-year to 112,927 units in the January-June period. The increase far outstrips overall car sales in the country that grew 4.1 percent

Korea aims to increase its market share in the European Union to 3 percent within three years by taking advantage of a bilateral free trade pact that took effect last week, Korea’s trade minister said Monday.In a radio interview, Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said increasing market share from 2.6 percent at present is possible since the free trade agreement gives local businesses an edge over rival

Output of makgeolli is picking up in Korea as more people are opting to drink the traditional rice wine following a report that it contains anti-cancer compounds, government data showed Monday. Production of makgeolli rose 12.8 percent on-year to 35,114 kiloliters in April, with the number jumping 16.8 percent to 39,543 kiloliters in May, according to the data by Statistics Korea. Domestic shipmen

Korea’s foreign exchange reserves shrank for the second straight month in June because a weaker British pound reduced the dollar conversion value, the central bank said Monday.The country’s foreign reserves reached $304.48 billion as of the end of June, down $600 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The reserves fell for the second straight month in June after hitting a

Korea’s Cha Dong-min won a gold medal in a world qualifying competition Sunday to win a place in the 2012 London Olympics.On the final day of the World Taekwondo Federation qualification tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Korean defeated Russia’s Gadzhi Umarov 6-1 for the gold medal in the men’s over-80 kg final. Cha was the fourth Korean taekwondo athlete to secure a berth in the London Olympics

Korean city aims to bring Winter Olympics to Asia for third timeDURBAN, South Africa (Yonhap News) ― With the vote here on the 2018 Winter Olympics host just two days away, Pyeong-Chang, the South Korean candidate, in its last-minute pitch has been stressing its main point ― that Asia is due for a Winter Games.The International Olympic Committee is set to select the Olympic host on Wednesday, with

Korea’s trade deficit with Japan fell in the first half, compared with a year earlier mainly because exports by Asia’s fourth-largest economy benefited from Japan’s devastating quake in March, data showed Sunday.Korea’s exports to Japan rose 49.9 percent on-year to $17.7 billion in the January-June period while imports grew 11.3 percent to $32.1 billion, according to data compiled by the Ministry

Korea’s financial watchdog said Sunday it plans to inspect large local banks and insurers every other year, a change from the current annual checkups, in a bid to ease unintended burdens on financial firms.Instead, the Financial Supervisory Service is seeking to strengthen the sector-wide monitoring system and focus on issue-based inspections when potential systemic risks crop up.In the wake of th

Finance ministers of South Korea and Japan agreed to step up policy coordination in pushing for “a strong, sustainable and balanced growth,” both sides said.During their meeting in Tokyo on Friday, South Korea’s Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda shared the view that the economy in East Asia still faces risk factors, despite its steady rebound from the global

Some automated teller machine services of Kookmin Bank, South Korea’s largest lender, were paralyzed for around three hours on Saturday morning, bank officials said, rekindling concerns over banking security in the country. Customers had difficulties depositing and withdrawing money through ATMs across the nation between 7:30 a.m. and 10:20 a.m., according to the officials.Kookmin Bank said its of

                                                                     Honda AccordHonda Korea is offering special deals for the Accord mid-sized sedan until the end of the month in celebration of selling more than 40,000 units here, the company said.The company is offering a complimentary DVD-navigation system and free check-ups for up to five years, all on top of 1 million won ($939) cash coupons.

Hyundai Motor Co., Korea’s largest carmaker, said Friday that it started selling the 2012 model Santa Fe sport utility vehicle on the local market.The updated model of the popular SUV has a restyled radiator grille, new headlights and positioning lamps that improve the overall attractiveness of the vehicle, the company said.It also said the new Santa Fe will have 18-inch aluminum wheels, a black h

                                                                   Porsche CayenneChina surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest car market on sales of sedans. Future growth lies with sport-utility vehicles. SUV deliveries rose 30 percent this year through May, compared with a 6 percent gain for total passenger-car sales, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Sales of SU

Audi AG is taking aim at Ferrari SpA with a convertible version of the R8 GT supercar, as the Volkswagen AG unit hones a high-end sporty image in its quest to overtake Bayerische Motoren Werke AG as the luxury-car leader. The R8 GT Spyder, Audi’s most expensive series production car, boasts carbon-fiber in the front and rear spoilers to reduce weight and help the car accelerate to 100 kilometers p

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Google is in preliminary talks to acquire the online video site Hulu, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website Friday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the discussions.Hulu’s owners have met with Google and other prospective buyers including Yahoo! and Microsoft, the newspaper reported.The site, which broadcasts television shows through on-demand streaming, is owned by

It may sound a little strange now, but just a few years ago, Lee Young-pyo was almost as big a star in South Korea as Park Ji-sung. That was never likely to last and it didn’t. Lee is a solid, no-nonsense, no-headlines type defender while Park operates mostly in the opposition’s half of the field, the one that offers opportunity for glory.More than most players however, just how impressive Lee’s c

Korean city anticipating better luck third time aroundLONDON (AP) ― Send the Winter Olympics to a new frontier in Asia, or go back to the roots of winter sports in the heart of Europe?That sums up the choice facing the International Olympic Committee when it selects the host city for the 2018 Games.By all accounts, the South Korean bid from PyeongChang remains the one to beat in the three-city rac

American cadets experience Korean culture, history and share military lifeSEONGNAM ― Their looks, languages and cultures were different. But it took only a few minutes for South Korean and U.S. Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets to become united while training together here at an Army training center on Thursday.Although they sweated profusely on this rainy but sweltering day, their smiles we

Honda Korea plans to voluntarily recall 32 units of its Shadow 750 motorcycles due to manufacturing defects that could cause engines to stall unexpectedly, the country’s Transportation Ministry said Thursday.The decision resulted from a malfunction in bank angle sensors, which are designed to turn off the engine only when the motorbikes fall onto its side, according to the manufacturer.The recall