SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has met with Chinese joint venture partners to discuss ways to expand cooperation in the petrochemical and chip businesses, his office said Sunday.　Days after announcing a plan to spend 46 trillion won ($38.2 billion) on building three chip plants over the next decade, Chey on Thursday visited a semiconductor plant in Wuxi in Jiangsu Province operated by a local subsidiary of SK hynix and met with business people and senior officials, the group said.  SK Group cha

　A new drink from the local unit of Paris-based Pernod Ricard targeting women is drawing attention amid the recent trend in Korea for lower-strength spirits.　The fruit-flavored liquor, dubbed Eclat by Imperial, is a whiskey-based spirit. The new product, which debuted in the Korean market in late July, is marked for its pomegranate aroma and an alcohol content of 31 percent.Spirit drink Eclat by Imperial (Pernod Ricard Korea)　“As seen in its name, Eclat, which means radiance in French, the produ

　An insurance product of the Korean unit of Allianz Life attracted insurance premiums worth 30 billion won ($25.4 million) in less than two months since its debut on July 1.　The company said Sunday that policyholders’ collective premium for its variable universal insurance product named the Allianz Team Challenge Variable Universal came to 30.21 billion won as of Aug. 21.The print ad to promote the Allianz Team Challenge Variable Universal product (Allianz Life Korea)　A policyholder of the produ

S-Oil, South Korea’s third-largest oil refiner, has been delivering customized study aids to disabled students from low-income families since 2010 as part of its ongoing efforts to give back to the local community.　　This month, the firm handed over equipment worth 100 million won ($92,800) to 42 low-income disabled youths at the Gyeonggi Assistive Technology Research Assistance Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. S-Oil senior vice president Lee Chang-jae (left) delivers a certificate guaranteein

“Safe” and “dynamic” may appear to be conflicting ideas at first glance, but they are two of the most important factors affecting car purchases these days. 　And the Jaguar XE, Jaguar Land Rover’s premium sports sedan, has managed to satisfy both requirements. 　The stormy weather was not perfect for the media test drive for the newly launched Jaguar XE, but at the same time it offered a good chance to assess what the vehicle can offer in adverse weather conditions. The Jaguar XE (Jaguar Land Rove

Ferrari, an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, has been ordered to recall 29 vehicles in South Korea due to defects in its air bags and head rests, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.　　Forza Motors Korea -- Ferrari’s official dealer in Korea affiliated with Hyosung Group -- has recalled a total of 27 vehicles for faults in the angle of the air bags and the position of the head rest, which could potentially risk the safety of the driver and passengers.Ferrari Cal

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo　GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo has pledged to create 9,700 jobs for young Koreans by 2017 and implement the wage peak system across all of the group’s affiliates from next year, group officials said Sunday.　“A continued influx and growth of young talent is the backbone of a vibrant local and national economy,” Huh said in a corporate meeting attended by the heads of major GS affiliates and high officials. The meeting was held for two days in Chuncheon, Gangwon Pr

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) – Myanmar‘s government has approved the country’s first-ever national minimum wage, state media reported on Saturday, August 29, after months of bitter negotiations with labour groups and employers.　　The wage has been set at 3,600 kyat ($2.80) “for a standard eight-hour work day” and takes effect from Tuesday, said the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.　　It will apply to workers “across all sectors and industries” but small businesses employing less than 15 pe

　Seoul plans to provide funding for North Korean forestry specialists to study in Germany, a U.S. news report said Saturday, in its latest effort to restore deforested mountains in the North.　　Under the plan, South Korea will help around 30 North Korean experts study in Germany by providing US$70,000, according to the Voice of America (VOA), which cited the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.　　The specialists will visit Germany in four batches between September and Nov

The Latest from the IAAF world championships (all times local):　———　　12:40 p.m.　　The Jamaican teams advanced fastest in both men‘s and women’s 4x100-meter relay heats at the world championships on Saturday.　　Usain Bolt, who won the 100-200 sprint double, didn‘t run in the Jamaican team that won the second heat in 37.41 seconds. France surged into second place with a strong anchor leg from Jimmy Vicaut to finish in 37.88, narrowly ahead of China, which qualified in an Asian record 37.92.　　The Ame

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) – Malaysia‘s capital braced for possible confrontations Saturday, August 29 between demonstrators seeking the premier’s ouster over corruption allegations and police who have declared their planned two-day street rally illegal.　　The country‘s leading civil society alliance vows to turn out tens of thousands of people in Kuala Lumpur and two other cities for the weekend demonstration, which is due to kick off at 0600 GMT on Saturday.　　The demonstrations by pro-reform

Authorities in central China authorities say seven workers were killed and two injured after exposure to poisonous gasses at a paper mill.　A statement from the Anxiang county government in Hunan province say the accident occurred Friday after an employee fell into a pool filled with poisonous waste paper pulp during a cleaning operation. It says his co-workers rushed to help him but were overcome by the noxious gasses.　　The incident comes amid a spate of industrial accidents in China, the worst

ROSEAU, Dominica (AFP) - Tropical Storm Erika left at least 20 people dead when it swept over the tiny island nation of Dominica, officials reported, as the system barreled through the Caribbean threatening Haiti.　　While crews rushed to search for survivors and clean up scenes of chaos on Caribbean islands, Haitian authorities issued travel restrictions and opened emergency shelters ahead of the storm‘s arrival.　　The US state of Florida declared a state of emergency and Cuba issued an alert as w

　The number of foreign visitors arriving in South Korea returned to the level before the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), data showed Saturday, casting a brighter outlook for the local tourism industry.　South Korea‘s justice ministry said the number of daily foreign visitors came to 40,078 on Tuesday, and has stayed above the 30,000 mark since mid-May.　The figure dropped to as low as 12,325 on June 25 as the outbreak of the disease kept foreigners away. The number of dail

The domestic action film “Veteran” exceeded 10 million in attendance Saturday, the 25th day of its run, the film‘s distributor CJ Entertainment said.　The 10 million mark is considered a huge success for average budget films in the local film market. According to data from the Korean Film Council, only 14 films have reached the milestone so far with 10 of them Korean.　Earlier in the month, “Assassination” became the first Korean film this year to hit the mark.　The latest move set a new record in

Well, that was exciting.Days after China threw the biggest scare into Wall Street in years, U.S. stocks have come surging back and ended the week Friday on a placid note that suggested the worst may be over for now.Even so, investors are buckling their seat belts for more turbulence ahead.The Dow Jones industrial average fell a scant 11.76 points Friday, or 0.1 percent, to 16,643.01, capping a week that saw stomach-churning losses and gains of around 600 points per day. The Standard & Poor‘s 500

South Korean stocks are expected to move higher next week as jitters over China's growth abate and anticipation for a delay in the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike builds up, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 3.3 percent this week to close at 1,937.67 on Friday, snapping a five-week losing streak.The main index got off on a weak note earlier this week, dropping 2.47 percent on Monday on persistent concerns over the world's second-largest econ

Korea Midland Power Co., one of six power generation affiliates of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., is looking to transform the cities of Boryeong and Seocheon into the global energy hub of South Korea.　KOMIPO took the first step toward such a goal in May by transferring its headquarters from Seoul to Boryeong in South Chungcheong Province, where the company operates a major coal-based power generation plant with an energy output of 8.76 million kilowatts. KOMIPO signs a memorandum of u

　More than 100 German business leaders and officials came together in Seoul on Thursday to discuss and share insights on South Korea’s economic trends and outlook for this year.　 At the Half-Year Economy Outlook 2015 conference hosted by the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, German business executives highlighted key downward trends in Korea’s economy as well as industries forecast to grow in the near future.　The German officials cited the slowdown in exports as the biggest future

　Mobile carrier KT and tech giant LG Electronics together showcased the world’s first all-in-one desktop featuring internet protocol TV, or IPTV, technology in Seoul on Thursday. 　The all-in-one PC, sporting LG’s 27-inch in-plane switching full HD display, Intel’s quadcore processor and a 128GB solid-state drive, allows users to enjoy KT’s olleh IPTV services with 220 TV channels and 160,000 videos on demand. The desktop is running on Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 and the update for the latest Windows