ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Forces loyal to Turkey's president quashed a coup attempt in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left dozens dead Saturday. Authorities arrested thousands of people as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed those responsible ``will pay a heavy price for their treason.''  Turkish police arrest Turkish soldiers at the Taksim Square after a failed coup attempt, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday. (EPA-Yonhap)The chaos capped a period of political turmoil in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkish officials said Saturday morning the government had appeared to have repelled an attempted military coup following a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire across the capital that left at least 17 dead, according to state-run media.Turkish people attempt to stop a tank moving into position in Ankara, Turkey, late Friday, July 15, 2016. Members of Turkey's armed forces said they had taken control of the country, but Turkish officials said the coup attempt had b

WASHINGTON (AP)  -- President Barack Obama on Friday urged all sides in Turkey to support the democratically elected government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid a military takeover of the key NATO ally.  In a statement issued after a meeting with his national security advisers, Obama also urged everyone in Turkey to show restraint and avoid violence or bloodshed.   Members of Turkey's armed forces declared hours earlier that they had taken control of the country as explosions, gunfire and

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Saturday it will keep a watchful eye on the latest coup attempt in Turkey overnight, adding it has also started the operation of emergency hotlines among South Korean organizations in the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its Turkey-based embassy will keep in close contact with South Korean companies and organizations in an effort to ensure the safety of its overseas residents. The Turkish military said Friday (local time) that it has taken full co

 South Korea joined the so-called Paris Club as its 21st member country on Friday, the finance ministry here said, a step that acknowledges the country's transition into a creditor country.The membership was endorsed at the club's meeting to celebrate its 60th anniversary in Paris, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.South Korea's Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok attended the ceremony, it added.The Paris Club is an association of creditor countries with the major aim of finding

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering’s current difficulties were fueled by neglect by its biggest shareholder Korea Development Bank, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced on Wednesday. According to the BAI, the state-run bank neglected its duty in monitoring the shipbuilder’s accounts and financial stability. The KDB holds 49.7 percent of DSME, making it the biggest shareholder as well as the shipbuilder’s main creditor. DSME's Okpo Shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province (Yonh

South Korea's two largest container carriers posted massive losses in the first quarter, hard hit by plummeting freight rates, the already-troubled firms said Monday. Both Hanjin Shipping Co. and Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. are struggling to stay afloat amid a drawn-out slump in the global industry. They have sought creditors' help to buy time for self-restructuring programs and avoid court receivership. Hanjin, the bigger shipper by revenue, said in a regulatory filing that it swung to a net lo

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday its first-quarter net profit plunged 64.5 percent, as its advertisement business suffered falling seasonal demand and it spent big on new businesses.Net profit reached 10.9 billion won ($9.3 million) in the January-March period, compared with 30.8 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income also dropped 47.7 percent on-year to 21 billion won, while sales rose 3.5

 South Korea will conduct an integrated survey of its seven public funds' long-term fiscal estimation in 2018 in a bid to map out proper fund management plans based on an accurate assessment, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Tuesday.The survey by the National Pension Service and six others -- the Government Employees Pension Service, the Korea Teachers Pension, the Military Pension Service, the National Health Insurance Service, Workers' Compensation Insurance and Employment Insurance -

South Korea has decided to cut the discretionary spending of government agencies by 10 percent next year in a bid to focus its fiscal policy on job creation, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The 2017 budget guidelines, which passed the Cabinet on Tuesday, call for a thorough examination of spending earmarked for public works projects and welfare outlays.Out of the nearly 380 trillion won (US$326.2 billion) of the state budget last year, some 53 percent, or 200 trillion won, is discretionary spe

South Korea will actively remove administrative red tape and help companies invest in new energy industries that can generate long-term growth, the trade and industry minister said Monday.Large companies have announced plans to invest some 8.2 trillion won ($6.7 billion) into the so-called new energy sectors by 2017, calling for government assistance.The new energy sectors, which cover such areas as energy storage systems, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and technologies to improve energy e

The recent shutdown of the inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea's border town of Gaeseong could have adverse impacts on South Korea's credit ratings, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.Last week, Seoul suspended the Gaeseong Industrial Complex as punishment for Pyongyang's launch of a long-range rocket which came on the heels of its fourth nuclear test last month.Bashing the South for the move, the North expelled all workers and froze all assets belonging to South Korean firms. "The

The eponymous “Abenomics,” a set of reform plans named after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, frequently turns up in the world’s media. But nobody ever refers to “Geunhyenomics” for South Korean President Park Geun-hye, and it’s not just because it’s hard to pronounce. It’s because nothing has changed from the ancient government policies of the 20th century despite almost every aspect of the economy changing.Consequently, companies are faltering, foreign reserves are down, stock markets are o

Hyundai Motor executive vice president Kwak Jin poses with an EQ900 sedan at a ceremony in Seoul on Friday after the first model of Hyundai Motor’s global luxury brand Genesis was awarded by the Korean Auto Journalists Association as the “Car of the year 2015.” (Hyundai Motor)

Samsung Electronics Co. reported a sharp drop in fourth-quarter profit Thursday as its smartphone business stuttered on sluggish demand for premium models and chip prices remained weak.Net profit reached 3.22 trillion won ($2.68 billion) in the October-December period, down 39.7 percent from the 5.34 trillion won posted a year earlier, Samsung Electronics said in its regulatory filing.Sales advanced 1.11 percent on-year to 53.3 trillion won in the October-December period while operating profit m

South Korea's tax authorities said Wednesday that it has launched probes into 30 offshore tax evasion cases as part of its efforts to clamp down on tax dodging.The National Tax Service (NTS) said the investigation is targeting companies and individuals who have allegedly concealed their wealth using offshore paper companies in various tax havens around the world.A total of 1.3 trillion won (US$1.08 billion) in taxes were slapped on evaders as a result of its offshore probes last year, up 5 perce

(KOTRA)South Korea's spending on information technology products and services is expected to grow 2.4 percent in 2016 from the previous year, data showed Friday.Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to spend 86.1 trillion won ($71.4 billion) on IT products and services this year, according to the data compiled by industry tracker Gartner Inc.Of the amount, expenditures on fixed-line and mobile network services are estimated to account for 40.8 trillion won, followed by spending on smartphone

A local court on Friday ordered three credit card-related companies, hit by a massive data leak in 2014, to give 100,000 won ($83) to each victim, a ruling that could set a precedent for other similar lawsuits.The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of a total of some 5,000 customers who filed four separate suits against KB Kookmin Card Co., NH Nonghyup Card Co., and a credit rating agency, the Korea Credit Bureau.In 2014, some 100 million clients' personal data, including bank account n

Hyundai Rotem Co., a train-making affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said Friday that it has inked a deal to construct a subway line and other necessary systems in the Philippines for 530 billion won ($440.2 million).The deals signed with ULC, a local company, calls for Hyundai Rotem to build a subway line linking a station in Manila to another in Bulacan which is located in the northern part of the country.It will also provide the trains to be deployed for the line along with other necessary com

South Korea's ICT ministry said Friday it will determine whether to license the country's fourth mobile carrier next week after months of deliberation on candidates.The three candidates passed an initial government assessment in November in line with the ministry's plan to inject more competition into the market, which is currently dominated by only three -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp. The Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, which oversees the country's communications