The South Korean economy continued to grow at the fastest pace in more than two years in the third quarter on improving domestic demand and a pickup in facility investment, the central bank said Friday.Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew 1.1 percent in the July-September period from three months earlier, after expanding at an identical pace of 1.1 percent in the second quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the fastest quarter

 Samsung Electronics, the world’s No.1 maker of computer memory chips and smartphones, posted a record-high third-quarter profit on stellar performances by the semiconductor and mobile divisions, the company said on Friday.Net profit came to 8.24 trillion won ($7.76 billion), up from the 6.56 trillion won a year earlier, while revenue grew 13.2 percent on-year to 59.08 trillion won.Operating profit surged 26 percent to 10.16 trillion won. During the July to September period, Samsung sold over 10

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investors continued to take a wait-and-see approach on the Chinese economy, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 9.55 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,037.14 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Mobile carriers traded lower, with No. 1 player SK Telecom falling 1.48 percent and KT losing 0.98 percent. LG Uplus, the smallest player, shed 2.38 percent.Carmakers also declined, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor falling 0.39 per

"北, 전향적 입장"…방북후 개성공단 지원 후속책 주목외통위원 등 57명 규모…입주기업 면담•공장시찰 계획국회 외교통일위원회(위원장 안홍준) 소속 여야 의원들은 24일 국정감사 기간인 오는 30일 외통위의 개성공단 현지 시찰 계획에 북측이 동의 표시를 해 온 것에 대해 일제히 환영의 뜻을 표시했다.국감 기간 해당 상임위의 개성공단 시찰은 지난 2004년 개성공단 가동 이후 처음인 것으로 알려졌다.외통위는 지난 14일 안홍준 외통위원장과 여야 간사 등 외통위원 24명과 보좌진, 전문위원 등 총 57명의 개성공단 방북을 통일부에 신청했다.외통위 위원들의 개성공단 방문은 공단 재가동 이후 최근 다시 주춤한 남북관계 와 우리 정부가 추진하는 개성공단 국제화 노력에도 긍정적 영향을 줄 것이라는 기대를 낳고 있다.재외공관 국감을 위해 필리핀 마닐라를 방문 중인 외통위 원유철(새누리당) 의원은 이날 연합뉴스와의 전화통화에서 "북한에서 전향적 입장을 취한 것으로 본다"면서 "개성공단의 안정적 운

North Korea asked Beijing in 1965 to send troops in preparation for another war on the Korean Peninsula, a Chinese scholar said Thursday, citing declassified diplomatic documents.Cheng Xiaohe, a professor of international studies at Renmin University, said in a paper released at an academic seminar hosted by the Institute for Peace Affairs in Seoul, that North Korean leader Kim Il-sung told China‘s envoy to Pyongyang that he wanted to start a second Korean War and that a conflict with South Kore

The Justice Ministry’s nomination committee on Thursday drew up a short list of four candidates to head the prosecution, which is currently embroiled in heavy political wrangling.Committee members narrowed a list of 12 candidates recommended for the chief prosecutor post down to four after reviewing their qualifications. The final candidates were Kim Jin-tae, former deputy prosecutor general; Kil Tae-ki, acting prosecutor general; So Byung-chul, head of the Institute of Justice; and Han Myong-kw

Tens of thousands of teachers in Korea are expected to be affected as the government on Thursday moved to deregister the country’s largest teachers’ union for infringement of the labor law.Employment and Labor Minister Phang Ha-nam and Education Minister Seo Nam-soo announced in a joint news conference that they had officially notified the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union that it would “no longer be recognized” as a legal union.The Ministry of Labor and Employment gave the progressiv

South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter earnings declined 34 percent from a year earlier largely due to increased marketing costs and growing competition.Net profit reached 109 billion won ($103 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 165 billion won a year earlier, LG Electronics said in a regulatory filing.Revenue jumped 4.6 percent on-year to 13.9 trillion won over the cited period, and operating profit surged 27 per

The 94th National Sports Festival drew to a conclusion in Incheon on Thursday as the Olympic swimming hero Park Tae-hwan was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP).Incheon, a metropolitan city located just west of Seoul, played host to the nation's largest multisport competition for the first time in 14 years. Some 22,000 athletes and 8,000 officials descended on the third most-populated city in the country for seven days of action in 46 sports.The national competition came about a year ahead of t

Given a bit of help by the umpires and a lot more by the Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox turned this World Series opener into a rout.Mike Napoli hit a three-run double right after the umps reversed a blown call, Jon Lester made an early lead stand up and the Red Sox romped past sloppy St. Louis 8-1 Wednesday night for their ninth straight win in a World Series game.A season before Major League Baseball is expected to expand instant replay, fans got to see a preview. The entire six-man crew huddled

A map published by Japan in the 19th century marked the name of the water between South Korea and Japan as "the Joseon Sea," citing the name of the Korean Dynasty, the national archives said Thursday, presenting another example that its current naming is an imperialistic legacy.South Korea has locked horns with Japan for decades over the name of the body of water, with Seoul calling it the "East Sea" while Tokyo calls it the "Sea of Japan."Korean historians and experts believe that the original

Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn apologized Thursday over a recent conflict between senior prosecutors in charge of investigating a high-profile election meddling scandal involving the state spy agency.The apology came after a senior prosecutor, who had headed a prosecution team probing the scandal before being dismissed, quarreled with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief, Cho Young-kon, during a nationally televised parliamentary meeting, by accusing his boss of impeding the inve

South Korean stocks traded almost flat late Thursday morning as investors continued to take a wait-and-see approach on the Chinese economy, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 2.74 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,038.49 as of 11:20 a.m.Builders traded bullish, with Hyundai Engineering & Construction adding 0.66 percent and Daewoo Engineering & Construction advancing 0.81 percent. GS Engineering & Construction climbed 0.93 percent.Tech shares lost ground,

Efforts to foster an environment where creative ideas and innovative technologies lead to new jobs and markets are expected to show results starting this year, the country's minister in charge of science and IT affairs said.The so-called "creative economy," though it has many meanings and applications, is a method through which President Park Geun-hye said she can realize many of her economic development campaign pledges."The creative economy has just taken shape, and would show visible results

Satellite imagery shows North Korea has made new tunnel entrances at its nuclear test site in a sign it is preparing to conduct more underground explosions there in the future, a U.S. research institute said Wednesday.That's the latest indication that Pyongyang is pressing on with its nuclear weapons program, although the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies says there's no sign another test explosion is coming soon.In February, North Korea conducted its

A four-day streak of record closes ended for the Standard & Poor's 500 index Wednesday after Caterpillar reported weak earnings and falling oil prices hurt energy stocks.Caterpillar, which makes mining and construction equipment, is considered an important barometer of the global economy. The plunge in Caterpillar's third-quarter profit discouraged investors and stalled a two-week surge in the stock market. Energy stocks dropped as the price of oil fell to its lowest in almost four months.The S&

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Thursday amid rising concerns over a possible economic slowdown in China, the top trading partner of Asia's fourth-largest economy, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 2.87 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,038.62 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Logistics firms gathered ground, with Hyundai Glovis adding 3.77 percent and top air carrier Korean Air rising 1.76 percent. CJ Korea Express gained 0.33 percent.In contrast

A Seoul court on Thursday acquitted a well-known reporter on charges of falsely claiming that the younger brother of President Park Geun-hye was behind a murder case.Joo Jin-woo, a reporter of the monthly news magazine Sisa IN, was cleared of charges that he spread false and defamatory information in his article that the president's younger brother, Park Ji-man, was involved in the killing of a relative.In the same ruling, the Seoul Central District Court also delivered a not-guilty verdict for

South Korea's plastic card spending moved up 1 percent on-year in September, marking an all-time low growth due mainly to the lower number of business days amid the Chuseok holiday, a trade association said Thursday.South Korea's combined plastic card spending totaled 46.3 trillion won ($43.6 billion) last month, inching up from 45.8 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA).It marked a sharp drop from a whopping 7.2 percent and a 7.6 p

German Chancellor Angela Merkel complained to President Barack Obama on Wednesday after learning that U.S. intelligence may have targeted her mobile phone, saying that would be “a serious breach of trust” if confirmed.For its part, the White House denied that the U.S. is listening in on Merkel's phone calls now. “The president assured the chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “The Uni