Imports of vehicles produced in Germany or by German automakers dropped for the first time in 13 years, apparently due to a large cut in inbound shipments of Volkswagen and Audi cars mired in an emissions scandal, industry data showed Tuesday.In the first five months of the year, imports of German vehicles came to 51,736 cars, down 12.7 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.This marks the first on-year drop since a 7.2-p

South Korea's credit card spending soared nearly 14 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier when the nation's economy was hit by the spread of the MERS viral respiratory disease, statistics showed Tuesday.Credit card purchases totaled 178.4 trillion won ($156 billion) during the April-June period, a 13.8 percent on-year rise, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association.The upswing is largely due to a base effect. South Koreans slashed their consumption in the second quart

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix Inc. on Tuesday reported its lowest quarterly profit in 13 quarters as falling demand for smartphones and computers hit chip prices. SK hynix posted a net profit of 286.1 billion won ($250.4 million) in the April-June period, down 74.2 percent from the same period last year. Second-quarter operating profit dipped 67.1 percent on year to 452.8 billion won. Sales fell 15 percent to 3.9 trillion won. Compared with the previous quarter, sales rose 7.8 percent as shipm

South Korea's economy posted improved growth in the second quarter on increased exports and consumption, central bank data showed Tuesday.In the three months that ended June 30, the country's gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent from a quarter earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The second-quarter estimate marks an improvement from a 0.5 percent on-quarter expansion in the previous quarter. From a year earlier, it marks a 3.2 percent improvement.Domestic consumption

Toyota is recalling over 6,200 cars sold in South Korea for defective airbags, the transportation ministry said Tuesday.The recall affects 6,209 units of three vehicle types -- the Prius, Prius PHV and Lexus CT200h -- that were produced between Feb. 26, 2009 and April 27, 2012 and sold here by Toyota Korea Co., the local unit of Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp.The cars come with side airbags that deploy in some crashes.But due to some defective parts, the airbag and other components of the a

U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday the U.S. commitment to South Korea's security will never waver and the country will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Asian ally in defense of peace and prosperity.Obama made the remark in a message issued in honor of Korean War veterans to mark the upcoming 63rd anniversary of the 1953 armistice that ended three-year fighting in the Korean War. The message came as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump increasingly questions the value of alliances

South Korean Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moon arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with U.S. officials about increasing defense technology cooperation between the two countries, an official said.The talks, set for Tuesday, represent the inaugural meeting of the Defense Technology Strategy and Cooperation Group that the defense ministers of the two countries agreed to establish at their annual meeting in November in an effort to bolster defense technology cooperation.Tuesday's meeting wil

The U.S. Democratic Party opened its national convention Monday to formally nominate Hillary Clinton as its candidate for the White House and rally public support for her bid to become the first female president in U.S. history.The former secretary of state is scheduled to be officially anointed as the Democratic nominee on Tuesday and deliver an acceptance speech on Thursday, the final day of the four-day convention held at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.Clinton's vice presidential running

South Korea's electricity consumption hit a summer-time high on Monday, with fans and air conditioners running at full blast nationwide amid sweltering heat.The maximum electricity load shot up to 80.22 million kilowatts as of 3 p.m., as the temperature hovered above 30 C in most parts of the country, according to the state-run Korea Power Exchange.It marks the first time that the maximum electricity demand topped 80 million kilowatts here in the summer.The all-time high was set at 82.97 million

Only cigarettes produced by South Korea's sole tobacco maker KT&G Corp. are sold at highway service areas nationwide despite the antitrust watchdog's earlier order to correct such an unfair practice, industry sources said Monday.Last year, the Fair Trade Commission delivered a fine of 2.5 billion won ($2.19 million) to KT&G for forcing retailers not to sell cigarettes produced by foreign companies.KT&G offered cigarettes at lower prices to retailers at rest stops across the country to exclusivel

South Korea's exports may continue to drop from a year earlier this month partly due to a series of labor strikes at major automakers, its trade minister said Monday.While meeting with reporters in Sejong, Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan noted the country's auto output may be reduced by up to 16,000 cars this month due to partial walkouts held at leading automakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp."In the first half of the year, automobile production dropped 5.4 percent from the same period l

S-Oil Corp., the No. 3 oil refiner in South Korea, said Monday that its second-quarter net profit gained 3.8 percent from a year earlier, largely thanks to an improvement in its refining business and other areas.Net profit reached 445 billion won ($391 million) on a consolidated basis in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 429 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales dropped 18.4 percent on-year to reach 4.19 trillion won in the second quarter, while

Seoul's recent decision to deploy an advanced U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea was triggered by North Korea's increasing nuclear ambitions, the unification ministry said Monday, amid the North's continued bashing of the deployment plan. North Korea has stepped up its criticisms against the South after July 8 when the plan was announced to allow the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in the country by 2017.The move is aimed at better defending South Korea from evolving nuclear and

South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday that it would mandate local banks to set aside more foreign exchange reserves starting next year to better deal with any possible massive foreign capital outflows.The local banks are required to raise the foreign exchange liquidity coverage ratio to 80 percent in 2019 from 60 percent in 2017, the Financial Services Commission said.The liquidity coverage ratio is measured as high-quality liquid foreign assets to projected net cash outflows over 30

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Monday said it will announce later this week whether applying the controversial anti-graft law to journalists and private school teachers is constitutional, ahead of its official implementation.The country is set to implement the so-called Kim Young-ran law named after its proposer, which punishes civil servants, journalists and those hired by private schools from receiving goods and services that exceed 1 million won ($879) in total over a one-year period.T

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Monday as investors took to the sidelines waiting for a slew of key data and economic events in the coming days. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 1.98 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 2,012.32. Trade volume was slim at 346.73 million shares worth 4.14 trillion won ($3.64 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 436 to 374.Market analysts say the market is expected to remain in a tig

A vast trove of archaeological treasures retrieved from a sunken ship from the 14th century will be shown to the public this week, a local museum said Monday.The National Museum of Korea is to open "Discoveries from the Sinan Shipwreck" Tuesday, which will run until Sept. 4, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the deep-sea recovery operation."Although we aren't sure what caused the ship to sink and if the crew members survived or not, it must have been a horrible disaster," Yi Young-hoon, dir

South Korean women who were sexually abused by Japanese soldiers during the country's colonial occupation period (1910-45) denounced the government for "unilaterally" pushing forward with a foundation dedicated to the victims.In December, South Korea and Japan reached a landmark deal in which Tokyo apologized for its colonial-era atrocities and agreed to provide 1 billion yen ($9.4 million) for the creation of a foundation aimed at supporting the victims, euphemistically called comfort women.The

Foreign traders have favored South Korean tech shares recently, while turning their backs on the automobile sector, data showed Monday.Foreigners scooped up a net 2.96 trillion won ($2.6 billion) worth of local stocks in the first three weeks of July alone, buttressing the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, according to the Korea Exchange.Ditching the traditional pattern of a "balanced" portfolio, they focused buying on tech, steel and materials shares.They net-purchased 631.6 billion

A lawmaker of South Korea's main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea proposed a bill on Monday to ban private lenders from making advertisements on TVs amid the country's mounting household debts.Under the bill proposed by Rep. Je Youn-kyung, private lenders will be banned from making TV advertisements. Currently, the ban is only applied at certain times of the day to prevent teenagers and children from watching them."Although the number of advertisements rolled out by the top 10 private lenders fe