South Korea’s trade negotiators plan to call for their Chinese counterpart not to discriminate against Korean firms operating in the country in of favor homegrown competitors, antirust regulatory officials said Thursday.According to the Fair Trade Commission, the request will likely be made during the second round of negotiations to conclude a bilateral free trade agreement, slated for next week.FTC officials said the negotiators are seeking to reach a consensus on nondiscrimination between Chin

North Korea could conduct its fourth nuclear weapons test as early as late this year in order to force countries to come to the negotiating table, a U.S. expert on the communist country and former White House security official said Wednesday.In a meeting with South Korean correspondents in Washington, Victor Cha said his prediction is based on set patterns followed by the North in the past that compels other countries to accept talks by first instigating provocations.The Georgetown University pr

Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said Thursday that it was highly “inappropriate” to say that the country was able to achieve current account surpluses mainly due to its undervalued currency.The governor’s remarks to the press came after the BOK monetary policy committee unanimously decided to keep its key base rate unchanged at 2.5 percent for the sixth straight month.Gov. Kim said that Korea saw “surpluses mostly through trade with emerging economies, not with developed economies,” adding tha

An enormous diamond known as “The Pink Star” sold for more than $83 million at auction Wednesday night, far surpassing its expected price.Sotheby's says the sale the vivid and flawless 59.60-carat pink diamond is the highest price ever paid for a gemstone at auction.Prior to the sale to the successful bidder, representing an anonymous buyer, the diamond was estimated to fetch more than $60 million. The bidding opened above $52 million, and it closed with the playing of the “Pink Panther” movie's

The Obama administration revealed Wednesday that fewer than 27,000 people signed up for private health insurance last month in the 36 states relying on a problem-filled federal government website.States running their own enrollment systems did better, signing up more than 79,000, for a total enrollment of more than 106,000.Still, that was barely one-fifth of the nearly 500,000 people administration officials had projected would sign up the first month of President Barack Obama's signature progra

Secretary of State John Kerry warned Congress Wednesday against hurting a historic opportunity for a nuclear pact with Iran by pressing ahead with new sanctions while international negotiators seek to prevent Tehran from being able to assemble an atomic weapons arsenal.Kerry said the United States and other world powers are united behind an offer they presented to Iranian negotiators in Geneva last week. But he said new action now from U.S. lawmakers could shatter an international coalition made

How much does Samsung Electronics owe Apple for copying vital features of the iPhone and iPad, such as scrolling and the “bounce-back” function at the end of documents?Apple says $380 million. Samsung counters with $52 million.The companies made their demands Wednesday during opening statements of a patent trial in San Jose, Calif.At issue are 13 older products a previous jury found infringed several Apple patents. That previous jury awarded Apple $1.05 billion after determining 26 Samsung produ

Japan said Thursday that growth halved in the three months to September, a worrying sign for Tokyo's bid to kick-start the world's third-largest economy.Official data showed the economy expanded by 0.5 percent in the quarter, slightly higher than economists' expectations but a marked slowdown from 0.9 percent growth in the previous quarter.On an annualised basis, growth slumped to 1.9 percent from 3.8 percent in the previous three months -- showing the pace of growth if the data were stretched a

South Korea and the United States held an inaugural round of high-profile talks Wednesday aimed at promoting bilateral cooperation in the information and communication technology (ICT) field.The ICT Policy Forum is a fruit of summit talks between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington in May.The Park administration has concentrated efforts on boosting a creative economy."ROK (South Korea) and U.S. government and industry representatives held extensive

South Korea will host Switzerland on Friday in the last football friendly match of 2013 on home soil.The match between the 56th-ranked South Korea and the world No. 7 Switzerland will kick off at 8 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium.After this match, South Korea will fly to Dubai to face Russia next Tuesday.This is the first clash between South Korea and Switzerland since 2006. At the FIFA World Cup that year in Germany, Switzerland blanked South Korea 2-0 in the last Group G match, knocking the As

Janet Yellen says the economy has regained ground lost to the deepest recession since the 1930s. But she says unemployment remains too high at 7.3 percent and notes that the Fed is still trying to accelerate the economy's recovery.In testimony prepared for her confirmation hearing Thursday, Yellen says the economy is still performing far below its potential. And she points out that inflation is running below the Fed's 2 percent target.“For these reasons, the Federal Reserve is using its monetary

South Korean stocks began higher Thursday as remarks by the U.S. Federal Reserve chief candidate suggesting the stimulus tapering will not happen soon cheered investors, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 14.48 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,978.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with techs and autos leading the climb. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 1.7 percent, with SK hynix hiking 2.4 percent. Hy

‘Gaming addiction is real and growing problem’Ruling party members, parents and experts call for stricter measures against Internet gamingBy Choi He-sukThe Internet game industry has to shoulder its share of the burden in the fight against gaming addiction, according to the ruling Saenuri Party, concerned parents and professionals at addiction clinics. Since the beginning of the year, Saenuri Party lawmakers have proposed two related laws.The first bill, proposed by Rep. Shon In-chun and 16 othe

 이참 한국관광공사 사장이 일본 성인 퇴폐업소 출입과 관련한 보도에 대해 강력 대응하겠다고 밝혔다. 이참 사장은 공식 해명자료를 통해 ”보도에서 언급된 공사 사장과 관련된 내용은 사실관계와 다르며, 이는 제보자로 언급된 이 모 씨가 공사와의 협력사업이 중지되자 허위사실을 일방적으로 제보한 것에 불과하다“고 전했다.공사 관계자는 “담당자에 대해 이 같은 허위사실에 기초해 일방적인 소송을 제기해 현재까지 진행 중인 상태”라며 “이에 대해서는 법적으로 강력히 대응할 예정”이라고 말했다.또한 공사는 “이 사장이 설 연휴를 이용해 평소 잘 알고 지내던 지인과 함께 개인 휴가로 일본 여행을 갔다“며 ”현지에서의 경비는 미리 각자 일정액을 부담해 공동집행했고, 일정은 현지 테마파크 등 주변 명소를 견학하는 내용이었다“고 설명했다.아울러 ”여행 중 일본 회사를 만난 것은 동행한 지인이 자신의 무인안내 시스템 사업을 해당 일본 회사에 소개하고자 자리를 마련한 것“이라며, “이 일본 회사와의 만남을

The prosecution on Wednesday questioned ruling party heavyweight Rep. Kim Moo-sung as its probe into the alleged illegal leaking of the 2007 inter-Korean summit records entered the final stretch. In the run up to the Dec. 19 presidential election, Kim, campaign chief and close aide to President Park Geun-hye, attacked the Democratic Party’s Rep. Moon Jae-in with claims that late President Roh Moo-hyun conceded the Northern Limit Line to Pyongyang with wording very close to that of the transcript

South Korean stocks traded 0.9 percent lower late Wednesday morning, as large-cap tech firms and steelmakers widened their losses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 18 points to 1,977.48 as of 11:20 a.m.Chip giant SK hynix shed 1.1 percent and Hyundai Steel fell 2.7 percent. But domestic-focused shares rose. State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. shot up more than 2 percent, with top mobile carrier SK Telecom advancing 0.5 percent. The local currency w

 Apple’s wearable iWatch is expected to come with a 1.7-inch OLED display for men’s watches and a 1.3-inch OLED screen for women, David Hsieh, DisplaySearch’s Vice President of the Greater China Market, said at a conference today in Taiwan, citing Apple sources. Apple has not officially announced the launch, but the iWatch ― Apple’s first wearable device ― is expected to be rolled out as early as the end of this year, given CEO Tim Cook’s latest remarks confirming new product categories. It is y

애플의 아이워치가 남성용은 1.7인치 올레드, 여성용은 1.3인치 올레드로 확정됐다고 데이빗 시에 (David Hsieh) 디스플레이서치 부사장이 13일 열린 대만 컨퍼런스에서 밝혔다.애플이 공식적으로 아이워치 출시를 발표한 적은 없지만 팀쿡이 10월 실적 발표회에서 새로운 제품 카테고리들을 준비 중에 있다고 밝히면서 빠르면 올해 말 애플이 첫 스마트워치를 출시할 것으로 기대된다. 업계는 애플이 삼성의 갤럭시 기어를 의식해 플렉시블 디스플레이를 탑재할 가능성이 높다고 말했다. 외신에 따르면 애플은 최근 웨어러블 기기에 집중하기 위해 내년 하반기 출시로 예상됐던 TV 제품 출시를 연기할 계획이다. 폴 개그논 (Paul Gagnon) 디스플레이서치 북미TV시장연구이사는 “오랫동안 소문이 무성했던 애플의 TV세트 개발 계획은 다시 중단될 것으로 보인다. 대신 웨어러블 기기가 먼저 출시될 것으로 예상된다.”그는 애플이 컨텐츠 부족과 웨어러블 기기에 집중하기 위해 TV개발을 유보했다고 분석했

The second son of the head of major family-run conglomerate Hyosung Group has undergone questioning by prosecutors over suspicions of tax evasion and accounting fraud, prosecutors said Wednesday.The country's 26th-largest business group has been probed by the prosecution on charges of evading a massive amount of taxes, embezzlement through accounting fraud and amassing slush funds overseas.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigating the case called in Cho Hyun-moon, the second s

South Korea's corporate watchdog has raised its target for money collected as fines and penalties for next year, government sources said Wednesday, in an apparent move to toughen the crackdown on unfair business activities. According to the sources from the finance ministry and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the FTC plans to collect 695.3 billion won ($648.6 million) in fines and penalties next year, which is up 15 percent, or 91.8 billion won, from this year.The fines and penalties are mostly