Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., will recall over 2,600 units of its flagship Korando C sport utility vehicle sold here for faulty seatbelts that may be too loose to keep passengers safe, the transportation ministry said Thursday.The car is one of six vehicle models, including two types of two-wheeled vehicles and a commercial truck, from five separate manufacturers that failed government tests, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastruct

Samsung C&T Corp., the largest builder in South Korea in terms of sales, has been named the best builder in terms of building capacity, the government said Thursday.The construction unit of the country's top conglomerate Samsung was ranked top among 56,067 local construction firms evaluated, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.Those evaluated account for about 90 percent of 62,533 construction firms here.Samsung C&T took the top position for the third consecutive year

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed again Wednesday to renegotiate trade and defense deals the U.S. has with other countries."I would renegotiate so much of everything. I'm going to renegotiate our trade deals where we're losing with everybody," Trump said at a news conference in Florida. "I'm going to renegotiate our military deals where we're protecting countries and they're not living up to the bargain."Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (Yonhap)Renegotiating existin

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice clearly explained to Chinese officials that the THAAD missile defense system the U.S. plans to deploy in South Korea won't hurt China's security interests, and both sides achieved "a certain amount of clarity on that," a senior official said.The official, speaking during a background briefing in Beijing, said that Chinese officials did raise their concerns about the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system during Rice's trip to Beijing that included me

South Korea and the United States agreed Wednesday to make intensive efforts in the coming months to cut off cash flows into North Korea so as to limit Pyongyang's ability to develop nuclear weapons, a top South Korean official said.The agreement was reached when South Korea's deputy national security advisor, Cho Tae-yong, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken held the third round of high-level strategic consultations on North Korea policy in Washington."We agreed on the need to furth

Prosecutors said Wednesday they have indicted two Vietnamese fishermen on charges of murdering two South Koreans aboard a vessel in the Indian Ocean last month.The Busan District Prosecutors' Office said the suspects, both aged 32, are accused of stabbing to death the 43-year-old captain and the 42-year-old engineer of the deep-sea fishing vessel Kwang Hyun 803 in waters near Seychelles.The two arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier this month.  (Yonhap)During the inves

South Korea plans to submit a draft on the international food standard for makgeolli, as part of its efforts to export the indigenous traditional rice wine overseas, the agricultural ministry said Wednesday.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will officially submit a plan to codify safety standards for makgeolli to the Asian office meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in September.The ministry said it aims to establish an international food standard for makgeolli

South Korea's bourse operator imposed a heavy penalty on a Chinese company traded on the country's stock market on Wednesday, for a false regulatory filing that could lead to its delisting.The Korea Exchange designated China Ocean Resources Co. an "unfaithful disclosure" corporate and placed it under a special watch. It was blacklisted as what the KRX calls an "administrative issue." The KRX also slapped a fine of 200 million won ($176,000) on the company, the heaviest fine levied on a listed fi

South Korea will launch a foundation this week aimed at compensating Korean women who were forcefully conscripted by Japan more than seven decades ago, a move which the neighbors hope will lay to rest a long-running diplomatic feud, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.The foundation, named Reconciliation and Healing, will set sail on Thursday to financially compensate the wartime victims and restore their dignity with 1 billion yen ($9.5 million) contributed by Japan, according to the Minist

South Korea's Navy said Wednesday it has received an initial delivery of four Wildcat helicopters it purchased as part of its ongoing efforts to beef up its fighting capability.In 2013, the Navy signed a contract to buy eight AgustaWestland Wildcat marine helicopters for about 400 billion won ($350 million), he said. The helicopters, which carry a low-frequency dipping sonar system that helps it detect and track submarines, will be mounted on frigates or naval destroyers to be used in search and

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, reported Wednesday that it swung to a net profit during the second quarter thanks in part to reduced costs and improvement in its non-shipbuilding business. Net income came to 392 billion won ($345 million) in the April-June period on a consolidation basis, a turnaround from a loss of 242 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales dropped 17.4 percent on-year to reach 9.86 trillion won, while it logged

Fans of fried chicken and beer will gather in this sizzling hot city of Daegu this week as it holds a festival wholly dedicated to the hugely popular summer night snack in South Korea with various concerts and events. The combination of chicken and beer is called "chimac" in Korean, and it's the theme of the "Daegu Chimac Festival," which runs from Wednesday to Sunday. (Visit Korea)The Korea Chimac Industry Association Corp. hosts the event in the city, located some 300 kilometers southeast of S

The world's biggest leisure sports festival will be held in the country's northeastern lake city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, next month with foreign and local participants competing in 14 sports events, organizers said Wednesday. The fifth edition of the Chuncheon International Leisure Sports Festival will run from Aug. 12-15 at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, with some 5,600 local and foreign athletes from 31 nations to compete. (Visit Korea)This year's in

A majority of South Korean experts on inter-Korean ties believe the introduction of a "unification tax" is necessary to prepare for a unified Korea, a survey showed Wednesday.They agreed that a reunification itself is in the interest of South Korea, but they were divided on an ideal format, according to the Hyundai Research Institute.The think tank, affiliated with Hyundai Group, conducted the poll on 93 pundits from July 11-19. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.08 percentage points at a 95

South Korea's imports of Norwegian mackerel rose 73 percent in the first six months of this year from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the Asian country banned catches of mackerel in its waters for one month during the first half.South Korea imported 10,751 tons of mackerel from Norway in the January-June period, compared with 6,199 tons during the same period last year, according to data from the Norwegian Seafood Council.South Korea caught 28,687 tons of mackerel in the first five mon

President Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that the extra budget submitted to parliament will play a crucial role in bolstering job creation, calling on lawmakers to lend their support by promptly approving the stimulus plan."The government will allocate the extra budget with haste as soon as the plan is passed," Park said in a statement delivered by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn at the National Assembly, adding the budget will play a key part in improving the national economy and creating more jobs.

Imposing sanctions will be the most effective way to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions as decades of inter-Korean talks failed to induce any positive changes in the reclusive country, South Korea's unification ministry said Wednesday.  South Korea reiterated its firm stance toward the North in response to North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho's remarks made a day earlier at a press meeting held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in the Laotian capital. At the meeting Ri said,

Samsung C&T Corp., a construction affiliate of Samsung Group, bounced back into the black with a net profit of 134.5 billion won ($118.6 million) for the April-June period, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Samsung C&T posted a net loss of 516.6 billion won in the first-quarter of this year, hit by one-off costs derived from its overseas construction projects. At the operating level, the company also posted a profit of 176.8 billion won for the second quarter, compared with a loss of 43

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see stance ahead of the U.S policy rate-setting meeting later this week. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,025.05.Trading volume was moderate at 402.25 million shares worth 4.43 trillion won ($3.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 483 to 303.Market analysts said investors are increasing

The state prosecutor's office said Wednesday that it has decided to dismiss a senior prosecutor who is suspected of verbally and physically assaulting a junior colleague, leading to his suicide earlier this year.The inspection department under the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said it will advise the country's Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam to ask the justice ministry to fire the senior prosecutor, identified only by his surname Kim, wrapping up their month-long investigation. The Ministry of Just