National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday said the parliament must speed up efforts to hold reunion events of separated families from the two Koreas, adding the time is running out as those that experienced the Korean War (1950-53) are becoming older."We do not have much time. More than 3,000 people are dying every year without fulfilling their dreams of meeting their families. In a humanitarian manner, we must seek to hold a reunion next month for Chuseok," Chung said. Chuseok is the

밀당(연인간에 서로 밀고 당긴다는 의미) 중인 연인은 카톡이 오면 자존심 때문에 바로 확인하지 못하는 경우가 많다. 　　그렇다면 이들은 어느 정도의 시간이 지난 후 카톡 내용을 확인할까? 　　이 같은 질문에 남성은 ‘15분’, 여성은 ‘30분’이 지나고 내용을 확인한다고 대답했다. 　 (123RF)　결혼정보회사 비에나래가 결혼정보업체 온리-유와 공동으로 지난달 25일 ∼ 30일 사이 전국의 결혼희망 미혼 남녀 508명(남녀 각 254명)을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시한 결과이다. 　　남성은 응답자의 40.6%가 ‘15분 지나서’로 답했고, 여성은 37.4%가 ‘30분 지나서’로 답해 각각 가장 높은 비중을 차지한 것. 　　이어 남성은 ‘발견 즉시’(32.7%) - ‘30분 지나서’(17.7%) - ‘1시간 이상 지나서’(9.0%) 등의 순으로 답했고, 여성은 ‘15분 지나서’(32.3%) - ‘1시간 이상 지나서’(17.7%) - ‘발견 즉시’(12.6%) 등의 순이다. 　　(khnew

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as falling oil prices pressured down chemical stocks and gave pause to rallies in local equity prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.3 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,023.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Petrochemical shares slid as U.S. crude on Monday fell below $40 per barrel for the first time since April on concerns over a supply glut. Top refiner SK Innovation decreased 1.33 percent, and No. 3 S-Oil retreated 1.41 percent

South Korea's job market recovery stalled in the first quarter of this year amid weak economic growth despite improvements in other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Tuesday.South Korea's employment rate for people aged 15-65 stood at 65.9 percent for the January-March period, unchanged from the three months prior, according to the OECD data cited by the Korea Institute of Public Finance.The average employment rate for all OECD members came to 66.8

Major South Korean construction companies posted lackluster orders in the first half of this year as they fared poor in overseas markets amid low oil prices, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data, eight out of the country's top 10 construction firms by building capacity posted first-half orders that hovered well below half their yearly targets. The remaining two have not disclosed their 2016 order goals.Of the eight builders, six registered orders that amount to some 30 percent of t

South Korea's consumer prices rose by less than 1 percent for the third consecutive month in July, government data showed Tuesday, amid a flaccid economic recovery.The country's consumer price index rose 0.7 percent last month from a year earlier, marking the lowest on-year gain in 10 months, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The figure grew 0.8 percent on-year both in June and May, after rising 1 percent or more during the February-April period.From a month earlier, the index e

Sales of South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. dropped from a year earlier in July due partly to a decline in output caused by a series of labor strikes that led to significant cuts in both domestic and overseas sales, the company said Monday.The automaker's overall sales came to 339,273 cars last month, down 5.1 percent from July 2015.Domestic sales plunged 20.1 percent on-year to 47,879 units.The sharp drop was also attributed to the termination of a temporary cut in excise tax for

North Korea's participation in the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang depends entirely on the rules and procedures outlined by the International Olympic Committee, the unification ministry said Monday.The ministry gave its stance after the Voice of America reported that North Korea's Olympic committee on Sunday said there is no particular reason why the country cannot take part in the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang that runs from Feb. 9-26, 2018. The North said that if all goes as planned the even

Some victims of the toxic humidifier sterilizers, produced by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, rejected the firm's compensation plan on Monday, saying they won't accept the offer until the ongoing investigations by state prosecutors and parliamentary probes are concluded.The victims and their families also denounced the compensation plan as failing to "adequately" reflect their views, stressing that the company is trying to quickly settle the issue by exploiting the "extreme mental pain and economic diffi

South Korea's ruling and opposition parties are seeking to revise certain clauses in the anti-graft law which won a constitutional nod last week, political watchers said Monday, amid the rising concerns that the law could bring confusion and adversely impact consumption.The Kim Young-ran anti-graft law named after a former head of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission aims to bring more transparency among public officials, journalists and private school faculty. The regulations make it

A consortium led by U.S. casino operator Mohegan Sun on Monday signed a land lease agreement with Incheon International Airport Corporation to build an integrated resort on Yeongjong Island by 2020. Inspire Integrated Resort, a consortium by Mohegan Sun and South Korean chemical maker KCC Group, signed the agreement to use land spanning 2.67 square meters on the gateway island west of Seoul. The agreement comes after Inspire in February won a bid to build an integrated resort with a 5.6 trillion

 North Korean security agents dispatched overseas to watch over their compatriot laborers are secretly using South Korean-made smartphones, a Seoul-based news outlet that specializes in the communist country reported Monday. Citing a source in China familiar with North Korean affairs, the Daily NK reported the North Korean security officials dispatched to monitor laborers are using smartphones made by Samsung and LG, despite the ban on such purchases.Stock image- Samsung Galaxy White (123rf)Ordi

A U.S. servicewoman affiliated with the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division has been found dead at her house near Seoul for unknown reasons, police said Monday.Police said the husband of the 28-year-old soldier found her dead at their off-base quarters in the city of Dongducheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul, around 1:00 p.m. Sunday. Her death is under investigation. (Yonhap)The husband, who is also a U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea, reported her death to the 119 emergency and rescue service t

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's third-largest mobile carrier, said Monday its net profit for the second quarter rose 12.8 percent from a year earlier, thanks to curbs in marketing spending. LG Uplus reported a net profit of 130.7 billion won ($117.4 million) for the April-June period, compared with a profit of 115.9 billion won for the same quarter last year, according to the company's regulatory filing. South Korean telecom firms have benefited from a 2015 law that kept fierce competition to woo

The U.S. Air Force will forward deploy supersonic bombers in Guam early this month, partly to better cope with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, a recent statement by the Pacific Air Forces showed on its website.On Saturday, the B-1B Lancers will be deployed to the U.S. Pacific Command's Andersen Air Force Base on Guam to replace the B-52 bombers, the first time in 10 years that the airplanes will be stationed on the key island. The last time the bombers were sent to the island was in A

South Korea's big hospitals and medical equipment firms have made inroads into Asian and Latin American markets with their telemedicine services, hoping to create new revenue flows in the global market. Telemedicine allows doctors to offer quality health care to those in hard-to-reach areas and for the elderly by connecting patients to doctors using the internet. In April 2015, Gachon University Gil Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding with Peru's Cayetano Heredia Hospital to cooperate

South Korean shares traded 0.67 percent up in late Monday morning as strong foreign buying boosted local shares.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index scored 13.43 points to 2,029.62 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares led the gains. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics surged 2.14 percent, continuing its rally after posting robust second-quarter earnings, and chip giant SK hynix advanced 1.31 percent.Auto shares were in the positive terrain. Industry leader Hyundai Motor increased 1.89 percent

Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., on Monday said its sales grew 8.2 percent from a year earlier in July, with a surge in exports more than offsetting a drop in domestic sales.The automaker sold 12,784 cars globally last month, compared with 11,813 vehicles sold in the same month last year.Domestic sales slipped 8.1 percent on-year to 7,546, which also marked a 22.6 percent plunge from the previous month.Exports, on the other hand, spiked 45.3 perc

 Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Monday the government must make a "determined" push to implement policies to tackle the falling number of newborns in South Korea, a trend that will weigh down the national economy."If the trend (of falling births) continues, the development of society and the happiness of the people will be severely hindered," Hwang said.The prime minister's remark came as the number of newborns in the country came to 34,400 in May, down 5.8 percent from a year earlier. It mar

Construction permits for new buildings grew from a year earlier in the first half, partly on a rise in permits for new residential and commercial buildings, the government said Monday.The number of construction permits issued for new buildings came to 134,348 in the January-June period, up 6.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.From six months earlier, however, the H1 tally marks a 3.6 percent drop.The on-year gain was largely