T'way Air Co. has taken the top spot in a customer satisfaction survey for budget carriers, with high scores in facilities and staff service, a consumer watchdog said Thursday. According to the survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency on 1,000 consumers, T'way Air garnered the highest score of 3.52 points out of 5, slightly ahead of Air Busan Co. and Jin Air Co. each with 3.49. Eastar Jet and Jeju Air followed with 3.45 and 3.42 points, respectively. T'way Air, a Seoul-based budget carrier,

The government on Thursday rolled out a set of measures to tackle the nation's chronic low birthrate, aiming to increase the number of newborns by additional 20,000 next year.Under the measures finalized in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the government will provide subsidies for infertility treatments to couples from all income brackets starting next October. Also, the government will provide up to 2 million won ($1,80

교육열의 치열한 정도가 둘째가라면 서럽다는 중국에서 ‘CEO 지망 아동 특화’ 교육 프로그램이 소개되었다고 지난 23일 온라인 매체 ‘상하이이스트’가 보도했다.　　중국 광저우에 열린 ‘CEO 강습’ 이라는 이 사교육 기관에선 적게는 세살배기들을 대상으로 승마, 골프등의 ‘상류층’ 계발학습을 제공한다는 내용이다.　　일주일에 2회 수업하며 연간 강습료는 한화 850만원가량 된다고 한다. 　 (123RF)　팀워크 능력을 길러주기 위해 세명내지 여덟명 학생들로 조를 짜 함께 협력해 문제를 풀도록 한다던지 블록을 쌓게 하는 수업도 있다. 　　아동용 골프 수업은 숙박비를 제외하고 일당 17만원 가량이라 한달 수업을 신청할 시 약 340만원의 수강료가 청구된다. 　　이는 광저우 직장인의 평균 월급인 116만원의 세 배가 넘는 액수다.　　홍콩 신문 사우쓰차이나모닝포스트 (South China Morning Post)는 이처럼 과열된 교육열의 원인이 “동료집단으로부터 받는 압력” 때문이라며, 주변

라이브 소셜 미디어 아프리카TV는 25일 스타크래프트 II: 공허의 유산(StarCraft® II: Legacy of the Void, 이하 스타2)과 스타크래프트: 브루드워(StarCraft®: Brood War™, 이하 스타1)의 결승전을 서울 광진구 어린이 대공원 ‘능동 숲속의 무대’에서 오는 9월 10일 동시 개최한다고 밝혔다. (트위터)　 　‘능동 숲속의 무대’는 지난 2011년 GSL 월드 챔피언십과 작년 스타크래프트 II 스타리그 2015 시즌3 결승이 성황리에 열리면서 새로운 스타크래프트 II의 성지로 떠올랐다. 뿐만 아니라 교통 접근성이 뛰어나고, 공원 내 무대가 위치한 만큼 스타1 리그에 향수가 있는 가족 단위 관람객들도 현장에서 스타크래프트 축제를 즐길 수 있다는 장점이 있어 선정됐다.　 　ASL 시즌1 결승전은 오후 2시 30분부터, GSL 시즌2 결승전은 같은 날 오후 5시 30분부터 경기가 치러질 예정이다. 자세한 관람 방법에 대한 내용은 아프리카TV 공식

Cargo processed at South Korean seaports rose nearly 2 percent in July from a year earlier on a gain in container freight, government data showed Thursday.The volume of cargo handled at the country's seaports came to 124.3 million tons last month, up 1.9 percent from 122.1 million tons tallied in the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.The July figure marked a turnaround from a 3.7 percent on-year fall in June.The monthly increase was attributed to a rise in c

Some South Korean producers of bottled water and milk are struggling to meet the rising consumer demand as an unprecedented heat wave has affected the supply chain, industry officials said Thursday.Sales of bottled water have sharply surged this summer as more people drank water to fight the scorching heat that has settled in South Korea since July.E-Mart, the nation's largest discount store chain, said sales of bottled water jumped 14.2 percent on-year between June 1 to Aug 23. GS25, a major co

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday pledged "constant efforts" to tackle the low birthrate and promote a work-family balance, outlining the government's comprehensive package of programs to back the efforts.During the government's policy coordination meeting, Hwang stressed that the government would strive harder to resolve "structural problems" that have caused the nation's birthrate to fall, such as unemployment, high education costs and housing-related issues.The country's fertility rate

North Korea's central television broadcasting station on Thursday aired the footage of the latest launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.In the footage running for one minute and 47 seconds, the broadcaster showed the launch of the missile from various angles.Pyongyang's state-run media, including the Rodong Sinmun, the country's main paper and organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, also has been promoting the launch as a huge success.North Korea on Wednesday test-fired a SLBM in

South Korea's household debt jumped 11 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter despite stricter lending rules, its central bank said Thursday.The country's overall household debt climbed to 1,257.3 trillion won ($1.122 billion) in the April-June period from 1,131.5 trillion won from the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.Quarter-on-quarter, household debt, which includes credit-card spending, rose 2.7 percent, it said.Lower rates have pushed up

The number of childbirths in South Korea dropped to a six-month low in June on a low birthrate and late marriage trend, government data showed Thursday.About 32,900 babies were born in June, down 7.3 percent, or 2,600, from 35,500 a year earlier, marking the lowest monthly tally since December last year, when it hit 31,900, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The June figure also recorded the steepest on-year drop since January 2014, when the number of new babies declined 3,000 on-year.T

South Korea on Thursday expressed "deep condolences" for the victims and their families affected by a deadly quake that recently hit central Italy.In a spokesman's statement, the country's foreign ministry also hoped that they can move past the sorrow and shock of the natural disaster as soon as possible through a swift recovery of their lives. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the central region of Italy on Wednesday (local time). Foreign media reports showed that the death toll has risen to 1

The United Nations Security Council is seeking to adopt a press statement to condemn North Korea's latest launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, officials said Wednesday following an emergency meeting on the issue.Member countries of the UNSC agreed to push for the press statement after the council held an emergency meeting to discuss North Korea's latest SLBM launch at the request of South Korea, the US and Japan, the officials who attended the close-door meeting said."There was a ge

State prosecutors will question a former publicity official of the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday over his alleged breach of the Political Fund Act, investigators said.Cho Dong-won, who was in charge of the party's publicity headquarters ahead of the April 13 parliamentary elections, is alleged to have demanded an advertisement firm produce election campaign videos, worth 80 million won ($71,498), for free, which is in violation of the funding act.The prosecutorial probe opened after the Natio

A US private humanitarian group will send medical aid to North Korea next month as part of its efforts to help the impoverished nation, a Washington-based radio station said Thursday.AmeriCares, a nonprofit organization based in Connecticut, will ship medicine and sanitary goods to seven hospitals and health clinics in Pyongyang, Nampo, North Hwanghae Province and South Pyongan Province, the Radio Free Asia reported.According to RFA, the medical goods include antibiotics, medicines for allergy,

A Seoul district court on Thursday ordered a Japanese firm to compensate 14 South Koreans subjected to forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.The Central District Court ruled in favor of the South Korean victims who filed a suit in 2013 based on their claim that they were forced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to work at a Hiroshima-based weapons factory for about a year from September 1944. The court ordered the Japanese firm to pay 90 million won ($80,292) each to the victims.Mitsubi

South Korean shares remained nearly flat on late Thursday morning as investors took to the sidelines amid an apparent lack of leads.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index stood at 2,043.98 as of 11:20 a.m., inching up 0.22 point or 0.01 percent from the previous session's close.The index opened slightly lower following overnight losses on Wall Street.The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.35 percent to close at 18,481.48, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunging 0.81 percent to 5,217.69.

North Korea is developing a larger-class submarine as the country moves to further develop submarine-launched ballistic missile capability by 2020, a US military expert said Wednesday.North Korea is building a new bigger class of submarine than the existing Sinpo-class, and the new project seems to have been kicked off several years ago, Joseph Bermudez, co-founder and chief analytic officer of AllSource Analysis, said at a briefing organized by 38 North.His assessment is in line with outlooks f

South Korea and Japan will hold a finance ministers' meeting this weekend to discuss various economic and financial topics, the finance ministry here said Thursday.South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso will meet in Seoul on Saturday, with 70 officials, including vice ministers, from the two countries having working-level sessions before and after the meeting, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The upcoming bilateral meeting will be the seve

The South Korean market for so-called equity crowdfunding has been gaining momentum recently on growing investor interest amid ultra-low interest rates, industry sources said Thursday.Also referred to as crowdinvesting, equity crowdfunding is the online offer of unlisted shares and corporate bonds to a group of investors. In January, South Korea adopted the new model of raising money from the public through the Internet and social media.According to the sources, IBK Investment & Securities Co. r

South Korea has confirmed an additional case of cholera, raising the number of people infected with the water-born disease here to two, local health authorities said Thursday.A 73-year-old woman residing in the southern coast of the country is presumed to have contracted the disease from eating seafood, the South Gyeongsang Provincial Government said, adding that she had already been cured. The provincial government said she had no contact with the patient of the first infection case.Earlier thi