South Korea’s leading chemical company LG Chem has fallen victim to an online scam that caused 24 billion won ($21.1 million) of financial damage to the company.The fraud case started with an email last month that was sent to LG Chem from Aramco Products Trading Co. The email claimed that the bank account for their bilateral business transaction had changed, and asked LG to send its payment to a different account. LG sent the money without suspecting any foul play.(Yonhap)But the account did not

Korea will allow four more duty-free shops to open in Seoul to meet growing demand from Chinese tourists, the government announced Friday. “Four new licenses will be issued for operation in Seoul, while the city of Busan and Gangwon Province will also get one each,” Lee Myung-gu, director of the Korea Customs Service, said at a press briefing in Sejong. The licensees will be selected by the end of this year through an open competition, the official explained, with one ticket reserved for midsize

A high-ranking official at the Bank of Korea said Friday that social consensus is needed for the central bank to pump money into policy banks, voicing caution on President Park Geun-hye-backed “Korean-style quantitative easing” proposal.  “If policy banks need injection of capital to support corporate restructuring, that is primarily a fiscal policy issue, (not a monetary policy one),” said Yoon Myun-shik, assistant governor during a press briefing. “For the central bank to exercise its money-is

Shoppers from overseas powered a rebound in duty-free sales last month, data showed Monday, indicating that big-spending Chinese tourists are returning to Korea after a drop in their numbers last year.According to data from the Korea Duty Free Association, duty-free stores recorded sales of $822.7 million in March, up nearly 15 percent from the same month last year.The bulk of those sales came from 1.6 million foreign shoppers, who spent approximately $610 million, up 21.6 percent from March las

(AmorePacific)Social and corporate leaders cheer with other supporters at the Pink Ribbon Love Marathon for breast cancer awareness in Busan on Sunday. Included are Kim Young-soo (fifth from left), head of AmorePacific‘s Premium Business Unit, Mamonde spokesmodel Park Shin-hye (center) and Noh Dong-young (fifth from right), head of the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation.The Busan race was the first of an annual series of races for breast cancer awareness sponsored by AmorePacific. The races are host

CJ Group has opened its second production studio and performance hall to support new artists in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of its CJ Culture Foundation, the group said Sunday.“Just as CJ Group pioneered the culture industry 20 years ago and helped to develop the industry, the CJ Culture Foundation will provide a space where talented artists can grow and complete a virtuous cycle within the cultural ecosystem,” CJ Corp. vice chairman Lee Chae-wook said in an official statement.Artists,

Korean processed food exports to China saw a nearly 20 percent increase in 2015 despite an overall drop in total China-bound exports, data showed Sunday.According to figures released by the Korea International Trade Association, Korea exported $623 million of processed food to China last year. This showed an 18.2 percent increase from the previous year‘s $527 million. (Yonhap)Processed food was the only product category that grew by double digits last year. Total shipments from Korea to China fe

For the second time in five months, Defense Secretary Ash Carter landed aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the bitterly contested South China Sea, sending a deliberate message to China on American power in the region.With a key Asia Pacific ally at his side, Carter's visit aboard the USS John C. Stennis underscores persistent complaints from the U.S. and its allies in the region about China's military build-up in the South China Sea. Beijing has been creating man-made islands, and equipping many

The head of South Korea's largest brokerage called on his own company Friday to more actively seek new investment opportunities in overseas stock markets, also revealing a plan to boost the company's overseas assets by at least 200 billion won (US$174.2 million).Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group, said the stock market and securities firms were about to enjoy a new booming era, partly brought on by low interest rates that he said were already directing investors to stock mar

The South Korean city of Gwangmyeong will host an exhibition of prehistoric cave drawings from France as one of many cultural exchanges to commemorate the 130th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the city announced Friday.In a joint press conference held in Seoul, Gwangmyeong city Mayor Yang Ki-dae and former French Culture and Communications Minister Fleur Pellerin said the upcoming event will showcase the Paleolithic drawings from the Lascaux Cave in southwestern France.

"Gangnam Style," a mega-hit song by South Korean pop star Psy, returned to Seoul on Friday in the form of a giant landmark sculpture.The sculpture was unveiled to the public in an opening ceremony at 7 p.m. on the eastern patio of COEX, a multi-cultural complex in the Gangnam Ward of southeastern Seoul. The event was hosted and organized by the city's Gangnam Ward Office.The bronze sculpture, 5 meters high and 8 meters wide, is modeled after the signature horse-riding hand motion of the Gangnam

The nation’s three leading mobile-focused retail giants logged combined losses of 831.3 billion won ($724.3 million) last year -- greater than the market had expected -- sparking concerns over their elusive profit structures. Coupang, the largest of the three, said in its regulatory filing Thursday that its sales surged more than threefold to 1.13 trillion won last year, but with an operating loss of 520 billion won. The other two, WeMakePrice and TicketMonster, also posted 216.5 billion won and

The ailing CJ Group chairman didn’t attend his son’s wedding on Saturday, due to his health condition and the court’s order that bans him from leaving the hospital, officials said Sunday.Lee Jay-hyun’s 30-month jail term is currently suspended due to complications from a kidney transparent in 2013. “The chairman could have requested the court’s permission to attend his son’s wedding but didn’t even ask for it considering his health,” a CJ official said.Lee Sun-ho (CJ Group)The chairman’s son, Le

Celltrion has offered the least amount in charitable donations among Korea’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies last year, data showed Sunday.According to its audit report filed with the Financial Supervisory Service, Celltrion donated a total of 18.9 million won ($16,390) last year, equivalent to about 0.003 percent of its revenue of 603.4 billion won.(Yonhap)The data shows Celltrion lagging in the area of corporate social responsibility despite being the most-watched company in the field, followi

Prices of Korean beef, or “Hanwoo,” are continuing to rise due to growing demand and fewer Korean-bred cattle, data showed Friday.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the average price of beef from a cow weighing 600 kg rose from 5.12 million won ($4,450) in 2014 to 5.87 million won in 2015.After passing the 6 million-won mark this year, prices continued to rise. It hit 6.67 million won last month.This marks a nearly 30 percent increase compared to March 2015.(Yonhap

South Korean drug manufacturer Samsung Bioepis will be launching its second biosimilar product, Renflexis, in Korea at 363,530 won ($315) per box.Its price is about 5 percent cheaper than Remicade -- a product made by Janssen that provided the reference for Renflexi -- but similar to rival Celltrion’s Remsima.Renflexis will hit local markets in June, according to MSD Korea, which is responsible for the marketing and distribution of Renflexis. The drug was approved by the Korean Ministry of Food

  Belgium has charged a second man linked to a foiled French attack with involvement in a terrorist group, the federal prosecutor said Sunday, as the investigation into Belgium's worst ever terrorist attacks continued.   The prosecutor named the suspect as Abderamane A. who police shot in the leg after a stand-off at a tram-stop Friday in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels.   The Belgian authorities on Saturday had charged another suspect Rabah N. with the same offence in connection with the ar

Bernie Sanders made a clean sweep of Democratic election contests in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, although he barely dented the formidable lead enjoyed by frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the battle for the party's presidential nomination.US news networks showed Sanders winning by wide margins Saturday's caucus votes in all three western states. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally at Safeco Field in Seattle on March 25, 2016. (AFP-Yonhap)In Washington -- the bi

A 3.0-magnitude earthquake believed to have occurred naturally struck North Korea on Sunday, South Korea's weather agency said.The quake was detected at 6.28 p.m. some 12km southeast of Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, in central North Korea, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.Considering the shape and amplitude of the tremor, it doesn't seem to have been caused artificially, the KMA added. (Yonhap)

Calls are growing for Korea to take bolder steps to support the economy, after a string of recent economic data indicated that Asia’s fourth-largest economy may be in for a rougher than expected ride this year. Private experts, increasingly doubtful of the government-projected recovery path for the economy, are slashing their forecasts for Korea’s economic growth in 2016. Local think tanks and foreign investment banks now predict that the economy, as measured by gross domestic product, will grow