The South Korean government said Wednesday that it has lifted the legal hurdles to opening the won-yuan direct trade market in China later this year.A revised local currency law allows all South Korean nationals and businesses to engage in any financial transactions in China using the local currency, including won-yuan spot trading and the settlement of accounts, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.So far, the South Korean currency had been permitted to be used only in trade paymen

전 세계 부의 절반을 1퍼센트 인구가 소유하고 있다는 보도가 나와 충격을 주고 있다. 외신이 인용한 글로벌 자문 회사 보스턴 컨설팅 그룹 연차보고서에 따르면 세계에서 스스로 백만장자라 (미국 달러 기준) 자부할 수 있는 사람은 전 세계 인구 1퍼센트가량인 1천8백5십만 가구이다. 이 가구들은 부동산을 제외한　현금, 금융, 주식으로 각기 최소 1백만 달러의 자산을 보유하고 있으며 그 총합은 788억 달러에 달한다.  (123RF)이 소수 1퍼센트 가구는 2013년 세계 부의 45퍼센트를 차지했으며 차근차근 그 몸집을 키워 2015년 47퍼센트 부의 점유율을 달성했다.  보스턴 컨설팅 그룹은 세계에서 백만장자 수가 가장 많은 곳이 8백만 명을 기록한 미국이며 그 뒤를 중국이 2백만 명, 일본이 1백만 명으로 쫓고 있다고 말했다. 인구분포도로 살펴보면 부가 가장 집중된 국가는 조세 피난처로 알려진 리히텐슈타인과 스위스였다.또한, 경제 성장속도가 가속화 되는 아시아 태평양 지역에서도 지난

The head of the national skating federation was tapped as the vice president for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday.Kim Jae-youl, currently president of the Korea Skating Union (KSU), was nominated as vice president for international affairs of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) during its executive board meeting.  (Yonhap)His nomination must be approved at the POCOG's general congress at a later date, though it's consider

South Korean police said Wednesday that North Korea was behind three separate cyberattacks carried out earlier this year, claiming the reclusive country sent a large number of malware-tainted emails by disguising the senders.Between January and February, North Korea sent a large number of emails to South Koreans, including local journalists, defectors and North Korea experts, said the National Police Agency, wrapping up their months-long investigation.In late January, a link to a video clip, edi

Two nuns from Austria were awarded certificates of honorary South Korean citizenship Wednesday in recognition of their contributions to the country through more than 40 years of caring for leprosy patients, government officials said.The Justice Ministry conferred citizenship on sisters Marianne Stoeger, 82, and Margareta Pissar, 81, who have treated leprosy patients on South Korea's most famous leper colony of Sorok Island off the country's southern coast. Stoeger attended a ceremony at the mini

South Korea's government and central bank announced Wednesday that they will jointly create an 11 trillion won ($9.5 billion) recapitalization fund to help state-run banks rehabilitate the nation's debt-stricken shipping and shipbuilding companies, capping months of intensive debate on restructuring the ailing core industries.The recapitalization fund includes 1 trillion won directly injected by the government into the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) and a loan of 10 trillion won ex

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Wednesday that their combined sales in China grew double digits in May for the first time this year.The two South Korean carmakers sold a combined 150,450 units last month in China, up 16.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data provided by the companies.The strong sales brushed off concerns of a sales slump by the two carmakers in the world's largest market earlier this year.The data showed that Hyundai Motor sold 100

North Korea ranks 134th of the world's 170 countries in terms of internet connection speed, a U.S.-based media report said Wednesday.According to the Voice of America (VOA), North Korea's internet speed remained at 2.0 Mbps, a mere one-thirteenth of South Korea, which has the fastest Internet connectivity speed at 26.7 Mbps.The media report is based on the fourth quarter report of 2015 by Akamai, a cloud services provider that helps deliver content online. The service provider publishes its "Sta

Kim Chong-in, the leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, visited the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Wednesday as part of the liberal party's drive to highlight its commitment to national security.It marked the first time that the head of the main opposition party paid a call to the JCS.Earlier this month Kim, the interim leader, also visited a Marine Corps division located near the border with North Korea amid heightened inter-Korean tensions."The visit aims to

South Korea's military and coast guard on Wednesday began two-day maritime drills aimed at better safeguarding the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, amid Japan's persistent sovereignty claim.The South Korean military mobilized some 10 vessels, P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft and Lynx antisubmarine helicopters, along with Marine Corps personnel for the maneuvers in the East Sea, military officials said.The drills are being staged based on a scenario under which foreign forces are making a

After a days-long stalemate, South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party announced Wednesday that it will allow the main opposition to appoint the new National Assembly speaker, which will allow 20th National Assembly to start work in earnest.The announcement made by Saenuri's floor leader Chung Jin-suk opens the door for the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea to designate the new National Assembly speaker. The deadlock on who will sit in the speaker's chair has stalled all parliamentary proceedings s

"Ode to My Father," a major South Korean box-office hit, was screened at the Paris headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday (local time) for its officials and diplomats there.Some 80 people, including OECD Deputy Secretary-General Rintaro Tamaki, attended the screening event held during lunch time. It was hosted by South Korea's Permanent Delegation to the OECD to mark the 20th year of Korea's membership in the organization for economic powers.S

A new gas range manufactured by South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. has received the best evaluation among competitors from a U.S. consumer magazine, the publication showed Wednesday.Samsung's gas range with dual fuel technology, NY9000J, clinched the top spot with 79 points out of 100 in the most recent review by Consumer Reports in the double door section.South Korean rival LG Electronics Co.'s LDG4315ST came in second, followed by U.S. company General Electric (GE)'s CGS990SETSS,

A group of South Korean businessmen asked the government Wednesday to approve their visit to the now-shuttered joint industrial park in North Korea to check their factories.Twenty-three businessmen made the request to visit the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North's border city of the same name, saying they needed to check their facilities ahead of the summer rainy season.On Feb. 10, South Korea shut down the factory zone, some 50 kilometers northwest of Seoul, in response to the North's fou

South Korea and the European Union agreed to keep pressure on the North Korean regime to force it to abandon its nuclear weapons program, officials said Wednesday.The consensus came during a meeting between Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, and Alain Le Roy, secretary-general of the European External Action Service, at the EU headquarters on Tuesday, according to South Korean diplomats here.North Korea has come under growing pres

Thousands of Volkswagen owners plan to ask South Korea's environment ministry to order the local unit of the German carmaker to refund the cost of their cars, a lawyer said Wednesday.Jason Ha, who represents about 4,400 Volkswagen owners at Barun Law, said he will formally file the petition with the ministry as early as Thursday.He said the government can order carmakers to refund the cost of cars under the law.On Tuesday, the environment ministry rejected Volkswagen's plan to recall vehicles th

President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday conducted a small-scale reshuffle of her senior secretaries and vice-ministerial officials amid calls for a personnel shift in the wake of the ruling Saenuri Party's defeat in April's parliamentary polls.Park appointed former Saenuri Party lawmaker Kim Jae-won as her new senior secretary for political affairs while naming Hyun Dai-won, a professor at the communication department of Sogang University, as her senior secretary for future strategy.She also tapped

The South Korean economy has remained in the doldrums due to weak exports and production stemming from waning global demand, despite a slight recovery in domestic consumption, a government report showed Wednesday."Amid a delayed recovery of the world economy, faltering exports and production have dragged down the South Korean economy," the finance ministry said in its monthly economy assessment report called "Green Book.""But domestic demand, including private consumption, has been in a favorabl

A former head of Hanjin Shipping Co. was summoned by prosecutors Wednesday over suspicions she illegally sold company stock after obtaining insider information to avoid losses.Choi Eun-young appeared before the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office as a suspect on charges of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. Choi Eun-young (Yonhap)"I will fully cooperate with the investigation," she told reporters before entering the office. The 54-year-old and her two da

Veteran defender Hong Jeong-ho will not be made available by his German club for South Korea at this year's Summer Olympics, an official from the national football federation said Wednesday.The official said that FC Augsburg recently sent a letter to the Korea Football Association that they will not release Hong, 26, for the Rio de Janeiro Games in August. South Korea have been paired with Germany, Fiji and Mexico in Group C at the quadrennial event."In late May, Augsburg sent a letter that they