South Korea has disclosed information on hundreds of its official development assistance projects to an international aid transparency agency, the Seoul government said Wednesday.The disclosure to the International Aid Transparency Initiative was part of Seoul's efforts to enhance transparency in the implementation of its overseas aid programs, officials at the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister's Office said. It marked the first time for an Asian IATI member to r

South Korean stocks rose slightly on Thursday on the back of gains in tech stocks, extending its winning streak for a sixth consecutive session and hitting fresh yearly highs, despite a renewed slump in global oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.16 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 2,048.80. Trade volume was moderate at 342 million shares worth 4.42 trillion won ($4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 419 to 370.Trading was choppy. The market opened slight

Major South Korean tech firms have recently rolled out a number of automated translation applications for Korean and major foreign languages, industry officials and analysts said Thursday.Co-developed by local software firm Hancom Interfree Inc., and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, "Genie Talk" is capable of translating Korean, Japanese, English, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Russian and Arabic.The app will be available to athletes during the 2018 PyeongChang Winte

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday said her government will announce a plan in the near future to address mounting calls to overhaul South Korea's controversial electricity billing scheme that many say exceedingly overcharges users."The government has been exploring ways to help people struggling due to unusually high temperatures this year," the chief executive said during a luncheon with the newly elected Saenuri Party leadership, referring to public concerns about high utility bills caused b

The antitrust watchdog has been investigating transactions between affiliates of Hanjin Group, South Korea's 15th largest conglomerate, to figure out whether children of the group's chairman took undue profits from unfair business practices, officials said Thursday. The investigation by the Fair Trade Commission focuses on transactions between Uniconverse, an IT service provider under Hanjin Group, and CyberSky, which operates an online duty-free shopping mall for Korean Air Co. It is the group'

Police on Thursday said they have arrested a British DJ, 52, on charges of smuggling in drugs to South Korea and handing them over to the executives of a local pharmaceutical company.The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said the DJ, whose identity was withheld, is suspected of bringing in a total of 3.78 liters of gamma hydroxybutyrate, a banned substance also known as a "date rape drug," over four times between January and June.  (Yonhap)The amount, worth some 370 million won ($340,000), is eno

South Korea's overseas direct investment expanded 21.6 percent in the first six months of the year from a year earlier on a sharp rise in purchases of real estate overseas, government data showed Thursday.The country's overseas direct investment came to $21.75 billion in the January-June period, compared with $17.89 billion tallied in the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.Investments by financial institutions, including insurers, soared

The number of female subscribers to South Korea's state pension fund jumped remarkably in the past five years, data showed Thursday, indicating that more women are joining the workforce to guarantee they can financially support themselves in their later years.According to the data by the National Pension Service, the number of female subscribers increased from 7.66 million in 2010 to 9.41 million in 2015.As of May 2016, the total number of female subscribers came to 9.48 million, or 43.9 percent

A Chinese state-run newspaper blamed South Korea and the United States on Thursday for the recent failure by the United Nations Security Council to issue a statement denouncing Pyongyang's missile provocations. On Wednesday, foreign media reports said that China's push to include its opposition to the Terminal High-Altitude Areas Defense system to be placed here by end-2017 ended up blocking the UNSC's efforts to issue a statement condemning the North's' latest missile launches. In a story carri

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday vowed to make "all-out" efforts to secure parliamentary approval for a set of labor reform bills that languished at the previous National Assembly.Presiding over a national policy coordination meeting, Hwang highlighted the importance of the bills to create jobs for young people and reinvigorate the country's economy."It is regrettable that the passage of the bills for creating jobs and for other purposes is being delayed," Hwang said during the gathering

 The number of people filing petitions to the White House has reached above the 100,000 mark against the decision by South Korea and the United States to set up a new missile defense system in South Korea to counter North Korea's missile threats, a section of the U.S. administration's website said Wednesday.As of the afternoon of the same day, a petition against the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system drew a total of 103,335 signatures on We the People, a petitioning sys

South Koreans take free Wi-Fi access available in public places for granted, but it was the most impressive experience for foreigners visiting Asia's tech powerhouse, a survey showed Thursday. According to the poll conducted by Cosmo Jin Travel R&D Institute on 706 foreign travelers between June and July, 55 percent were most surprised by being able to use the free Internet connection in such places as airports, subway lines, restaurants and ancient palaces during their stay here.Over 130 respon

Convenience stores and fast food chains have rapidly grown in South Korea in line with a rising number of people who dine or drink alone, while pubs have been on a steady decline, data showed Thursday. Among 1.46 million who owned small retail businesses, 32,096 operated convenience stores as of May, up 11.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the National Tax Service.Industry officials attribute a continuous rise in single-person households to their fast expansion, ci

South Korea's exports expanded more than 16 percent in the first 10 days of the month from a year earlier on the back of increased business days and rising demand for chips and auto parts, customs data showed Thursday.Outbound shipments totaled US$9.7 billion from Aug. 1-10, up 16.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.Exports of semiconductors jumped 18.8 percent on-year and those of automobile components soared 41.3 percent over the cited period.The on

Nearly 4 out of every 10 single female workers here do not plan to have a baby when they get married, partly due to fears of losing their jobs, a survey showed Thursday, offering an explanation for the country's low birthrate.In a survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries, 38.3 percent of unmarried female workers in their 20s and 30s said they had no plans to give birth when they got married.Stock image(123rf)The survey was conducted on 500 married and single females who are curren

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology products fell 6.6 percent in July from a year earlier due largely to decreased shipments of flat displays and mobile phones, government data showed Thursday.ICT exports reached $13.02 billion last month, down from $13.93 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.It marked the 10th consecutive on-year decline since October last year.Exports of ICT goods accounted for 31.7 perce

Over 3,100 local firms benefited from the government's offshore marketing support program and achieved their first export this year, the trade ministry here said Thursday.Cases of successful overseas inroads were reported at a government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn to examine its support measures announced throughout the year to promote the export sector.The ministry also reported at the meeting that the number of smart factories intended to revamp the manufacturing sector ha

Six incumbent and former executives of the South Korean unit of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis have been indicted on charges of providing illegal kickbacks to doctors, industry sources said Thursday. Earlier this week, the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office charged the six, including the former CEO surnamed Moon, for allegedly providing money or other kickbacks known in the industry as rebates to doctors in exchange for prescribing its products.A total of 23 people, including six pu

North Korea on Thursday railed against the U.S. deployment of three B-2 Spirit nuclear-capable bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, saying "a pre-emptive nuclear attack is not a monopoly of the United States."On Tuesday, the U.S. Strategic Command announced Washington has temporarily deployed the bombers to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam from Whiteman Air Force Base in the U.S. state of Missouri."What should not be overlooked is that the massive forward-deployment of nuclear war hardware is u

State prosecutors on Thursday summoned the local chief of German carmaker Volkswagen to question the executive over irregularities committed by the automaker in South Korea. Johannes Thammer appeared before the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on charges of getting involved in fabrication of reports on noise level, fuel efficiency and emissions results to obtain approval from the local authorities. "Fist of all, I want to say that I am sorry for the situation and we will do everything,