LG Display Co., the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays, suffered a net loss of 83.9 billion won ($73.7 million) for the second quarter of this year, hit by weaker demand for smartphone panels. Its second-quarter operating profit plunged 91 percent on year to 44 billion won, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Sales for the April-June period also declined 13 percent from a year earlier to 5.9 trillion won, the company said.  (Yonhap)

South Korea and the United States will take steps to expand cooperation in defense technology exchanges and the conventional arms trade, the defense ministry said Wednesday. In the first ever Defense Technology Strategy & Cooperation Group meeting, Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo met his U.S. counterpart David Shear, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy, to discuss ways to promote defense technology cooperation between the two countries, the Ministry of National Defense said

Hillary Clinton formally clinched the Democratic Party's presidential nomination Tuesday as opinion polls point to increasingly ominous signs against her bid to become the first female president in U.S. history.The former secretary of state and first lady received a majority of delegates in a state-by-state roll call vote on the second day of a four-day national convention held at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.She is the first female presidential nominee of a major party in U.S. history.Cli

LG Display Co. on Wednesday said it will spend 1.99 trillion won ($1.75 billion) to build a new production line for small to medium-sized organic light-emitting diodes used for smartphones and smartwatches. The new production line in South Korea will have a capacity of 15,000 sheets of the new OLED per month, LG Display said in a statement.LG Display said it will complete building the new facility by 2018, which will allow the company to produce a total of 30,000 sixth-generation OLED panels, th

International air passengers to and from South Korea jumped nearly 48 percent on-year in June, marking a strong recovery from a large dip caused by the outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday.International air passengers to and from the country came to 5,968,161 last month, up 47.9 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.Overall air passenger traffic jumped 44.5 percent

The overall sentiment of South Korean consumers slightly improved from a month earlier in July as a growing number of people predicted better economic conditions down the road, central bank data showed Wednesday.The composite consumer sentiment index for July came to 101, compared with 99 the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.The rise in consumer sentiment came as people believe their living conditions could get

More than 70 percent of firms listed on the South Korean equity market disclosed their consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2015, a government tally showed Wednesday.Among the 1,846 listed companies, 1,327, or 71.9 percent, made public their CFSs, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The number jumped by 73 from a year earlier but the ratio dropped 1.9 percentage points due to an increase in the number of listed firms.The number of subsidiaries owned by the listed comp

South Korea's deputy national security adviser, Cho Tae-yong, arrived in Washington on Tuesday for talks with U.S. officials about how better to pressure North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.Cho is scheduled to meet with Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Wednesday for the third round of high-level strategic talks on North Korea that were established under an agreement President Park Geun-hye reached with U.S. President Barack Obama at their summit in October."Having the same

The United States urged North Korea on Tuesday to refrain from destabilizing rhetoric and actions after Pyongyang's top diplomat threatened the country could conduct yet another nuclear test depending on the "U.S.' attitude."North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho made the remark to reporters in Laos on the sidelines of a regional security forum, arguing that what he calls the U.S. "hostile policy" toward the North is increasingly becoming severe.Ri also said the "biggest hostile act" by the U.

North Korea's top diplomat blamed the United States Tuesday for dashing hopes for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, saying that whether or not there will be additional nuclear tests depends "entirely" on Washington's attitude.In a hastily-arranged press meeting after attending a regional security gathering held in the Laotian capital, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho also demanded U.S. troops pull out of South Korea altogether."It is the U.S.' hostile policy that is making the cu

Controlling shareholders of all major South Korean financial firms will face tougher eligibility screening starting in August, the Financial Services Commission announced Tuesday.Currently, the owners of banks and mutual savings banks alone are subject to a periodic review by the state financial watchdog of whether they are qualified to run the entities with stability.Under the revision to the Corporate Governance Law of Financial Companies, controlling shareholders of non-banking financial inst

South Korean football chief Chung Mong-gyu has pulled out of the election for a seat on FIFA's main decision-making body, the sport's national federation said Tuesday.Korea Football Association President Chung has informed the international football governing body that he will no longer pursue a seat on the FIFA Council.Chung was recently elected for his second term at the KFA, and is serving as chef de mission for South Korea at next month's Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. The FIFA election is

Shinhan Bank, the flagship unit of South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group Co., said Tuesday that it has introduced flexible working arrangements for its employees, a move that could help them juggle work and family life.The bank said all employees -- who can work without accessing the bank's computer network -- are eligible to work at home.It said those who work in such sectors as planning ideas and developing products and designs can work in their homes.The bank said employees can work at their

The head of the Lotte Foundation and daughter of the Lotte Group's founder was indicted on a string of charges, including embezzlement and bribery, on Tuesday.The indictment marks the first time that a member of the family that runs South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate will stand trial.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Shin Young-ja, 73, is suspected of pocketing a total of some 3.53 billion won ($3.1 million) of kickbacks from various companies, including local cosmetics b

A North Korean official said Tuesday that the North has no plans at the moment to hold an official press conference on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific countries' meetings underway in Laos, but it could have a chance to let its position be known before the end of the gathering.Asked if there is a press conference, the official accompanying North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told a group of reporters, "We don't have enough time for it, but the decision is up to the minister.""I don't know

South Korea will again check the electromagnetic waves coming from the powerful radar used in the advanced U.S. anti-missile system to help allay fears about the health risks associated with the equipment, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The move comes after the Ministry of National Defense carried out a test on electromagnetic waves generated from the X-band radar system used on the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system stationed in Guam on July 18.In the test carried out at the U.S. mi

South Korean shares closed at their highest level this year on Tuesday as investors snapped up major tech shares, helped by foreigners loading for a 14th consecutive session. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 15.02 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 2,027.34. Trade volume was slim at 332.2 million shares worth 3.92 trillion won ($3.45 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 474 to 320.Market analysts say the KOSPI has hovered

South Korean startups will show off their new products at a trade fair in Los Angeles later this week, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said Tuesday. The three-day fair, set to begin at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, is aimed at helping the startups make inroads into the U.S. market and attract foreign investments, according to the ministry. During the fair, named the "Creative Economy Global Road Show," some companies will display beauty and fashion products for fa

The number of marriages and childbirths in South Korea dropped to an all-time seasonal low in May, official data showed Tuesday.The number of newborns fell 5.8 percent on-year to 34,400 during the month, according to Statistics Korea.It is the lowest for May since the agency began compiling related data in 2000.The number of childbirths declined for the sixth consecutive month amid growing concerns over the nation's shrinking and aging population.Marriages also plunged 8.6 percent to 25,500 in M

South Korea's unification minister said Tuesday now is not the right time to hold talks with North Korea as Pyongyang continues to ramp up its saber-rattling over Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced U.S. anti-missile defense system in the country. On July 19, a week after it warned of "physical" counter-actions against the decision by Seoul and Washington to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea by 2017, Pyongyang test-fired three ballistic missiles and made cle