South Korea's major department stores and discount chains saw their sales rise sharply in July from a year earlier on improved consumer sentiment and an increase in holidays, government data showed Tuesday.The combined sales of three department stores -- Hyundai, Lotte and Shinsegae -- advanced 7 percent on-year last month, while those of major discount retailers -- E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus -- gained 2.1 percent during the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Minis

South Korea's major department stores and discount chains saw their sales rise sharply in July from a year earlier on improved consumer sentiment and an increase in holidays, government data showed Tuesday.The combined sales of three department stores -- Hyundai, Lotte and Shinsegae -- advanced 7 percent on-year last month, while those of major discount retailers -- E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus -- gained 2.1 percent during the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Minis

South Korean chip equipment manufacturers are likely to see their earnings rise in the second half of the year amid market speculation that Samsung Electronics Co. may plan to heavily invest in production lines for 3-D NAND flash memory chips. Samsung, the world's largest maker of memory chips, has not revealed how much it will spend on boosting the production capacity of 3-D NAND chips, which are widely used for smartphones and other smart devices. But market watchers have speculated that Samsu

The national archery governing body said Tuesday it will hold a new competition pitting the top homegrown archers against each other this fall.The Korea Archery Association said the event, tentatively titled "Korea Archery Competition 2016," will be held from Oct. 20 to 22. After the official practice on Oct. 20, the auxiliary stadium at Jamsil Sports Complex will host the preliminaries the following day. The finals will be held at Olympic Park's Peace Square on Oct. 22. All venues are in Seoul.

The ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday adopted an official stance to support the planned deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to South Korea, saying it is the "least" Seoul can do to counter Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and missile threats.The party lawmakers' unanimous backing for the plan to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery on the peninsula by end-2017 came as opposition politicians are largely opposed to the plan.(Yonhap)"Adopting the official stance despite political di

A South Korean think tank on freshwater organisms and biodiversity conservation agreed on Tuesday with India's Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development to make preparations toward initialing joint research on the exploration and use of bioresources, the think tank said.The state-run Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources and the Indian research center signed a business pact on the agreement in Imphal, a city in India's northeast province of Manipur.The IBSD, based in

The head of South Korea's central bank said Tuesday that there is a heightened possibility that the US Federal Reserve could raise its interest rates.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol made the comment in a meeting with leading economists and scholars on the current economic conditions, citing recent remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.Last week, Yellen said the Federal Open Market Committee continues to anticipate that gradual increases in the federal funds rate will be appropriate over t

South Korea unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to build a network of smart expressways that will include new sections of road that charge electric vehicles as they go.Under the envisioned plan, the government will also build an additional 1,000 kilometers of expressway, extending the total length in the country to 5,131 kilometers by 2020, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The new expressways will create what the ministry called a complete network of roads where nea

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday following Wall Street's overnight rise.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 13.51 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,045.86 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The advance was apparently helped by gains in the New York stock exchange. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 107.59 points, or 0.58 percent, to 18,502.99, led by the banking sector being boosted by expectations that the Fed's interest-rate hikes will increase their lending margins

Creditors of Kumho Tire Co. are poised to begin the sale process for South Korea's second-largest tire maker next month with the aim of picking a prime bidder during the first half of 2017, sources said Tuesday.Kumho Tire graduated from a debt workout program in late 2014, five years after it was placed under creditor oversight because its parent Kumho Asiana Group suffered a severe liquidity crunch from the purchase of Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. Nine creditors hold a combined 42.1

외국에 있는 브로커에게 선불금을 주고 외국인 여성들을 입국시켜 성매매를 알선한 조폭이 낀 성매매 조직이 경찰에 붙잡혔다. 이들은 외국인 성매매 여성이 달아나는 것을 막으려고 여권을 빼앗았고, 달아나면 위치를 추적해 붙잡아 다른 성매매업자에게 몸값을 받고 넘기기도 했다. 부산경찰청 광역수사대는 외국인 여성을 상대로 성매매를 알선해 부당이득을 챙긴 혐의(성매매 알선 등 처벌법 위반 등)로 조직폭력배 강모(44)씨 등 성매매업자 3 명과 김모(35)씨 등 입국 브로커 2명을 구속했다고 30일 밝혔다. (123RF)외국인 성매매 여성 8명은 출입국관리사무소에 넘겨 추방했으며, 성매매업소 관계자 16명을 불구속 입건했다.경찰이 낸 자료를 보면 브로커 김씨 등은 외국 현지 알선책에게 선불금과 항공료를 주고 올해 1월부터 최근까지 태국과 카자흐스탄 여성 8명을 관광비자로 입국시켰다. 성매매하는 불법 마사지 업소를 운영하는 강씨 등은 채팅 애플리케이션 등을 이용, 이들 외국인 여성에게 12만∼15

최근 지카 바이러스 감염자가 무더기로 나온 싱가포르에서 또다시 10여 명의 확진자가 추가로 확인됐다.싱가포르 보건부와 환경청은 중남부 알주니드(Aljunied)와 심스 드라이브(Sims Drive) 지역에서 나온 50명의 의심환자를 조사한 결과 15명이 지카 바이러스에 감염 된 것으로 확인됐다고 29일 밝혔다.이로써 지난 27일 이후 사흘간 이 지역에서 보고된 확진자는 모두 56명으로 늘었다. (123RF)또 지난 5월 브라질 여행후 확진 판정을 받은 감염자를 포함하면 싱가포르에서 지금까지 보고된 확진자는 모두 57명이다. 보건부는 15명의 추가 확진자 가운데 13명은 이 지역에서 일하거나 거주하는 것으로 확인됐다.나머지 2명은 심스 드라이브의 건설 현장에서 일하는 근로자로, 모두 완쾌한 상태라고 당국은 설명했다.보건부는 이번에 추가로 확인된 환자들도 최근 몇달간 지카 발병국을 여행한 적이 없는 '지역 감염' 사례라고 덧붙였다.특정 지역에서 수십명의 감염자가 무더기로 쏟아지자 싱가포

미국 웨어러블 기기 제조사 핏빗이 새로운 피트 니스밴드 핏빗 차지2와 플렉스2를 조만간 국내에서 출시한다고 30일 밝혔다. 핏빗 차지2는 실시간 심박수 모니터링 기능으로 인기를 끈 차지HR의 후속 모델이다. 차지HR보다 디스플레이가 4배 커서 모든 정보를 한눈에 확인할 수 있는 것이 특징이다.  핏빗 차지2 (Fitbit)핏빗 차지2는 또 심박수를 고려해 심호흡법을 알려주는 '호흡 가이드 세션', 체내 산소량을 바탕으로 운동 능력을 측정하고 맞춤형 운동을 안내하는 '유산소 피트니스 레벨' 등의 기능을 갖췄다. 핏빗 플렉스2는 기존 제품보다 크기가 30％가량 작아졌고, 수심 50ｍ 방수기능을 탑재했다. 수영 시간과 칼로리 소모량 등을 측정하기 편리하다.  핏빗 플렉스 2 (Fitbit)핏빗은 차지2를 9월 말, 플렉스2를 10월 말 각각 국내 시장에서 시판한다. 미국 에서 차지2는 144.95달러, 플렉스2는 99.95달러에 판매되며, 국내 판매가는 아직 정해지지 않았다. (연합뉴스)

자녀 양육비용의 부담 주체를 다투는 소송에서 양육비를 대는 남성 파트너가 요구할 경우 이 자녀를 낳은 여성은 가임 의심기간 다른 누구와 성관계를 했는지 의무적으로 밝히도록 하는 법안이 독일에서 추진된다.하이코 마스 독일 법무부 장관은 29일(현지시간) 자신이 생부가 아니라고 의심하며 양육비를 부담하는 것에 대해 구상권을 행사하려는 남성을 보호하는 차원이라고 입법 취지를 현지 언론에 설명했다. (123RF)법안은 특별한 사정이 없는 한 여성은 양육비를 대는 남성의 요구에 응해야 한다고 규정하고, 이 남성이 만약 생부가 아니었는데도 양육비를 부담한 것으로 확인되면 생부로부터 길게는 2년간 배상(반환)을 요구할 수 있다고 적시했다. 이번 입법 조치는 지난해 2월 헌법재판소가 생부로 속아서 양육비를 억울하게 부담해야 하는 남성들에 대해 법적 보호를 강화하라고 판결한 데 따른 것이다.법안은 이르면 오는 31일 각의에서 의결되고 나서 연방의회에 제출된다. (연합뉴스)

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corp., a South Korean consumer electronics maker, said Tuesday that global sales of its localized microwave ovens exceeded 1.5 million units over seven years. Since 2009, Dongbu Daewoo has introduced microwave ovens with pre-programmed features that were influenced by local recipes and touch, as part of its efforts to better break into overseas markets. Such microwave ovens included "Chef Mexicano" for Mexico and air fryer ovens for Ayam Goreng for Indonesia. For exampl

South Korean firms continued to reduce equity and bond issuance in July, government data showed Tuesday, amid lingering uncertainties over business conditions at home and abroad.The value of stocks and bonds issued during the month totaled 10.87 trillion won ($9.6 billion), down 7.8 percent from June, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Equity and debt issuance fell by 38.1 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively."In general, local companies seem to be reluctant to make new investments

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula will be a key topic for US President Barack Obama's upcoming talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said Monday.Obama is scheduled to visit China later this week for a summit with Xi and a summit of the Group of 20 nations.The trip comes after the North ratcheted up tensions with a successful submarine-launched ballistic missile test that demonstrated the communist nation is making fast progress in its SLBM development.The Obama-Xi summit, set f

A recent UN panel's proposal to launch negotiations to ban nuclear weapons is "unrealistic" as it fails to take the international security environment into consideration, a State Department nonproliferation official said Monday.Earlier this month, the UN panel -- the Open Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament -- voted to adopt its final report calling for the UN General Assembly to launch negotiations to forge a legally binding instrument to ban nuclear weapons.The US and other nuclear stat

At least two THAAD batteries are necessary for South Korea to better defend against North Korea's submarine launched ballistic missiles as a single unit can't cover all of the North's seas, a US arms expert said Monday.Increasing THAAD batteries, however, doesn't guarantee full defense against the North's SLBMs because it's questionable whether THAAD is capable of intercepting missiles that are launched at high angles and involve atmospheric reentry, said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia

More than nine out of every 10 victims of industrial accidents came from subcontractors last year, a lawmaker said Monday, suggesting that workers from smaller firms are exposed to more dangers than their peers from large contracting companies.Over the past five years, the country's top 30 businesses reported 209 industrial accidents at their workplaces, killing a total of 245 workers, according to Rep. Moon Jin-kook of the ruling Saenuri Party.However, out of those killed, only 33, or 13.5 perc