Sales at South Korean department stores advanced around 10 percent on-year in the first three days of a nationwide shopping event, industry data showed Sunday, helped by an increase of Chinese tourists visiting the country.Lotte Department Store, a major chain, said its sales jumped 12.1 percent in the first three days of the Korea Sale Festa, which kicked off Thursday, compared with the similar period last year when South Korea celebrated the Korea Grand Sale.The event aims to connect the retai

The Coast Guard said Sunday it is looking closely into the causes of deaths of three Chinese fishermen who were on a boat that caught fire while operating illegally in waters off South Korea's southwestern coast last week. The Mokpo Coast Guard is questioning Chinese fishermen in custody to figure out the exact circumstances before and after the fire engulfed the Chinese fishing boat. Fourteen Chinese fishermen were rescued Thursday, but three others were found dead later on the boat.Authorities

The U.S. military is expected to move one of its operational Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries from Texas to South Korea to better counter Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and missile threats, local sources said Sunday.Government sources said Washington is considering moving a battery from Fort Bliss to Seongju by late 2017 as part of an agreement with Seoul. The move will involve the deployment of the AN/TPY-2 radar and associated equipment, a command and communications unit, an

Three public hospitals in the Philippines reopened in July after being expanded and renovated for 13 months, with financial support from South Korea's state-run aid agency.The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) said Sunday that the renovation is part of the agency's regional health improvement program that started in 2013 with a total budget of US$7 million.  Dignitaries from South Korea and the Philippines celebrate the reopening of Aleosan Hospital on Sept. 27.(Yonhap)The three hos

Rice prices are stabilizing in flood ravaged areas of North Korea, after they soared following problems with distribution, a media report said Sunday.Citing a report by Japanese media outlet Asia Press, U.S.-based media Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that a kilogram of rice in Musan, North Hamgyong Province, was selling for 4,300 North Korean won, with the same amount of corn trading for 1,300 won. This is down from 8,000 won for rice and 2,000 won for corn traded in the same county earlier in t

South Korea's exports of automobiles trailed that of Mexico through August this year, the latest data showed Sunday, as overall weak demand from emerging markets and domestic labor strikes hurt output.Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co. and other manufacturers shipped 1.69 million cars over the January-August period, down 14.4 percent from a year earlier, the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association showed. In contrast, that of Mexico edged down 2.7 percent o

Samsung Electronics Co. is anticipated to post relatively stable earnings for the third quarter, industry watchers said Sunday, despite the worldwide recall of the Galaxy Note 7 phablet caused by defective batteries.According to the data compiled by industry tracker FnGuide, the South Korean tech giant is set to post an operating profit of 7.5 trillion won (US$6.79 billion) over the July-September period, down 6 percent from 8 trillion posted a quarter earlier. The company's sales are estimated

South Korean TV watchers aged over 40 prefer traditional territorial networks, while young people like to watch cable networks, recent research showed Sunday.The "2016 TV Viewing Trend" data by the research firm Nielsen was published in a paper by the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corp.According to the study, people aged over 60 prefer terrestrial networks to cable TV by 53 percent to 30 percent. The ratio was 50 to 35 among those in their 50s and 50 to 40 in their 40s.In contrast, people in their

A revision of the parliament law to clearly stipulate the speaker's duty to remain neutral may emerge as a way to resolve the latest deadlock at the National Assembly, political pundits said Sunday, as the public is growing impatient over prolonged discord that has disrupted normal proceedings.There has been a rising debate over the political neutrality of National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, with the ruling party claiming the speaker's recent actions intentionally gave support to the oppos

North Korea and China are showing signs they are trying to improve bilateral relations that have cooled following Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test last month, diplomatic sources said Sunday.Observers said senior officials from the two countries took part to mark National Day that celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1, 1949.The top envoys of the two countries took part in the celebratory events that took place in Pyongyang and Beijing, observers in the Chinese capital

Samsung Electronics Co.'s newest Galaxy Note 7 boasted strong sales on its first day of relaunch, industry sources said Sunday, after the tech giant ordered a full recall over the defective battery issues.The new phablet, a cross between regular smartphones and tablet PCs, saw its sales reach 21,000 units in South Korea on Saturday after Samsung officially resumed the sales for the first time after it suspended all shipments last month.The company first kicked off sales of the much-awaited mobil

Seoul's top diplomat has said in meetings with his counterparts that North Korea's fifth nuke test is being viewed by many South Koreans as a kind of Sept. 11 attack, official sources said Sunday.The comparison with the surprise terrorist attack carried out on the United States that shocked the world reflects the magnitude of the latest provocation and how alarmed South Koreans are becoming over Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities."Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has been comparing the Sept. 9 test w

North Korea is clearly moving to intervene in South Korea's 2017 presidential race by blasting conservatives for trying to hold on to power, observers in Seoul said Sunday.President Park Geun-hye and her conservative government have taken a non-conciliatory stance against Pyongyang's continued nuclear program and demanded it end its provocations. Seoul has cut off all inter-Korean economic ties that have been cited for bankrolling the North's weapons of mass destruction program.The reclusive cou

Leading K-pop artists made concertgoers forget all about the inclement weather Saturday by putting on impressive performances to open the K-culture world festival. The concert kicked off the annual 2016 Busan One Asia Festival in South Korea's second-largest city, located some 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The show was televised live on SBS Medianet, the concert's organizer.A total of 15 globally followed K-pop musicians and groups performed at the Busan Asiad Stadium in the western part of

South Korea's Navy said Saturday it recovered the fuselage of a helicopter that crashed into the sea off the country's east coast earlier this week during joint drills with the United States.The fuselage of the Lynx helicopter was found at about 3:13 p.m., and will be moved to a military base in Jinhae, 410 km south of Seoul, for investigation to figure out the cause of the crash, according to the Navy. A Navy official said that it has not yet been confirmed whether the chopper's flight data and

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korean tech behemoth, said Monday that it has launched a startups-incubating program in Israel as part of its efforts to help promising startups expand their presence.The Samsung NEXT Tel Aviv will serve as a center for startups there. A startup may be funded up to US$1 million by Samsung, and the South Korean tech firm will cooperate with venture firms with cutting-edge technologies through a stake purchase and mergers and acquisitions.Samsung Electronics has inve

After a round of raucous debate, dozens of top diplomats, lawmakers and their aides bated their breath as Kim Bok-dong, a victim of Japan’s sex slavery during World War II, took the stand to tell about the most appalling chapter of her life of 90 years at a parliamentary audit Monday. At age 14, the daughter of a rural farmer was taken by the Japanese, who faced her family with the choice of sending her to a military uniform plant or property confiscation and eventual deportation. Days later, Ki

South Korean girl group Apink on Monday hoped to show ample change and growth with its latest album "Pink Revolution," calling musical maturity its top priority to match its six-year career.In a media showcase held in southeastern Seoul, the girl group called its third full-length album a "revolution," exploring different genres in the album's nine songs, including "Boom Pow Love," "Ding Dong," "Oh Yes," "Catch Me" and lead song "Only One." "This is not our first attempt to show Apink's mature s

A outspoken South Korean victim of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement on Monday slammed the government's deal to settle the long-running diplomatic feud, calling the pact's legitimacy into question.The 90 year-old victim, Kim Bok-dong who is one of 40 surviving victims, claimed the 2015 Seoul-Tokyo agreement was reached without prior consultation with her and other victims during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was in charge of the diplomatic agreement.The two neig

Chinese tourists using the country's largest mobile carrier will be able to pay for South Korea's public transportation with their smartphones from later this week, the Seoul city government said Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said subscribers of China Mobile can download an application co-produced by China-based bank card giant Unionpay and Korea Smart Card Co. starting Tuesday. Users of the app can simply tap their mobile phones to pay for subways, buses and taxis here.  (Yonhap)The