President-elect Donald Trump broke with decades of foreign policy to speak with the president of Taiwan, prompting Beijing Saturday to accuse Taipei of a ploy but saying the move would not affect US-China ties.It was not immediately clear whether Trump's telephone call with President Tsai Ing-wen marked a deliberate pivot away from Washington's official "One China" stance, but fuelled fears he is improvising on international affairs.China regards self-ruling Taiwan as part of its own territory a

A local court on Friday ordered police to allow citizens to march up to 100 meters from the presidential office for the rally slated for the weekend amid public anger over the influence-peddling scandal centered on President Park Geun-hye and her confidante.The decision marks an easing of restrictions from a week earlier when the court allowed protesters to march to 200 meters from the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. The ruling only permits the rally from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.Organizers c

Park Geun-hye on Saturday for her alleged violations of the Constitution, which will be put to a vote at the National Assembly plenary session next week.A total of 171 lawmakers supported the motion, which accounts for every member of the three opposition parties and independents, excluding the parliamentary speaker. The motion will officially be proposed during a regular parliamentary session on Thursday, with the vote to place on Friday.Park has been facing the biggest crisis of her political

 The United States imposed additional sanctions on North Korea on Friday, blacklisting seven individuals and 16 entities, including the country's flag carrier, Air Koryo, for their links to weapons proliferation or foreign currency earnings for the regime.The Treasury Department measures came two days after the UN Security Council adopted a new package of sanctions designed to choke off major sources of hard currency for the North, including putting a cap on coal exports, its single biggest sour

South Korea's parliament on Saturday approved a 400.5 trillion won (US$341.4 billion) budget bill for next year after the government and parties resolved their differences over a controversial free child care program a day earlier.The National Assembly passed the 2017 spending plan in a 221-30 vote, with 30 abstentions, about four hours after the Friday deadline set by the Constitution. The total approved by lawmakers is 200 billion smaller than proposed by the government.  South Korean Prime Mi

South Korean shares are expected to move in a tight range in the coming week on rising uncertainties in eurozone and a looming interest rate hike in the US, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,970.61 on Friday, down 0.19 percent from a week ago.The index rose in four out of five sessions, but it posted a weekly loss due to Friday's selloff ahead of the Italian referendum on a constitutional change slated for Sunday. The local market got a bo

  Chang Hye-jin, a double Olympic gold medalist in archery, was named the country's top female athlete of the year Tuesday.Chang took the highest honor at the 2016 Korea Woman Sports Awards in Seoul. The 29-year-old archer won gold medals in both the individual and team competitions at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics in August.South Korean archer Chang Hye-jin celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women`s individual archery competition at the 31st Summer Olympic Games at Sambodromo i

  South Korea's defense chief on Tuesday called on South Korean and U.S. troops to enhance their joint readiness to better cope with threats posed by North Korea.Defense Minister Han Min-koo made the comments during his first visit to a South Korean brigade in Dongducheon and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division in Uijeongbu, both near the border with North Korea. The two units form the Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Division.U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks also joined the inspecti

Rep. Han Jeoung-ae of the main opposition Democratic Party (Yonhap)The South Korean parliament's labor committee on Monday approved a bill which bans employers from requiring job seekers to provide a headshot and information such as their weight and height.It also seeks to prohibit the "discriminatory" practice of requiring information about an applicant's birthplace, religion, marital status, assets and family details on application forms.Violators will be slapped with fines of up to 5 million

The incoming US administration of Donald Trump should impose powerful secondary sanctions on Chinese firms and wage a trade war with China in order to force Beijing to stop its support of North Korea, a US expert said Monday.Gordon Chang, an East Asia security expert, made the case in an article in Forbes magazine, accusing China of failing to sincerely carry out UN sanctions and stressing that waging a trade war on China "may be the only way to obtain Beijing's cooperation on North Korea."   "N

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics is expected to announce the final results of its probe into the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 within the year, industry sources said on Nov. 29.On Nov. 11, the Korean tech giant launched a new round of investigation to find out the cause of several fires and explosions related to the bigger-screen phone together with product safety authorities and experts both in Korea and the US. Right after the first recall issued in September, the company pinpointed faulty batter

The South Korean government said Tuesday it will ban sales of six models by three foreign automakers, accusing them of fabricating reports to win sales approval from the local government.The Ministry of Environment said it detected defects in the certification documents of 10 vehicle models from the local units of Nissan, BMW and Porsche.Among them, six models -- the Infinity Q50 and Qashqai from Nissan, the X5M from BMW and the Macan S Diesel, Cayenne S E-Hybrid and Cayenne Turbo from Porsche -

General Electric and Baker Hughes are joining their oil and gas businesses to create a powerful player in an energy sector buffeted by years of weak prices. The deal could give the new company, which will be called the ``New'' Baker Hughes, more leverage both in technology, and with oil drillers that are cutting back on contracts with oilfield service companies like Baker Hughes.  Baker Hughes is the smallest of the big three oilfield services companies. It has a market capitalization less than

Economic growth in the eurozone remained low but stable in the third quarter as inflation rose to a 27-month high amid fears over Brexit and major elections in France and Germany.The Eurostat statistics agency said growth in the eurozone remained stable in July to September, to 0.3 percent, which was on par with analysts surveyed by Factset, a data company.Analysts said the expansion remained low, however, and came on the back of France that shook off a contraction earlier in the year to expand

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the latest scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye's influence-peddling confidante, one of his acquaintances said Monday, marking a rare remark from the potential presidential contender on domestic issues."I hope the situation is settled in the near future. I am really concerned," Ban was quoted as saying by a former provincial lawmaker who met him last week. Ban has been refraining from making comments on issues at home, adding he will

South Korea's two policy lenders said Monday they will reduce costs by about 70 billion won ($61.2 million) in the coming years as part of their ongoing restructuring.The Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said they will cut jobs and wages to stay slim and regain financial health. The KDB said it will slash the number of its employees by 10 percent to 2,874 by 2021 and cut the annual salaries of executives and operating costs.The policy bank also said it

South Korean Jang Ha-na earned her third LPGA victory of the season in Taiwan on Sunday, holding off a charging rival from China in the rainy final round. Jang captured the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship at 17-under 271 to beat Feng Shanshan of China by one stroke.Jang Ha-na of South Korea reacts after winning the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship in New Taipei city, Taiwan, 09 October 2016. (Yonhap/EPA) Jang shot a final round of 71 at par-72 Miramar Golf Country Club in Taipei with three birdies

 The standoff over the Busan film festival's "artistic freedom" may appear to have ended with the opening of this year's festival but what lies beneath is film groups' fiercer fight for the freedom, film critics and directors said Sunday. The 21st edition of the festival kicked off in Busan on Thursday featuring 299 films from 69 countries around the world, a scale that is not conspicuously smaller than past events. It, however, became a lackluster festival without the presence of stellar Korean

Participants of this year’s KB Hope Camp pose for photographs. (KB Financial Group)KB Financial Group continues to reach out to underprivileged youth through various annual programs. Some 120 young people with disabilities took part in a three-day camp earlier this month, a highlight of the group’s eight-month program that began in May to help participants plan for their future careers and build social skills.  The KB Hope Camp offered job counselling, mock interviews and other activities. The p