A man who threatened a bar owner with a weapon while demanding for a woman to attend to him was arrested in Suncheon-si, South Jeolla Province, the police said Thursday.  (123RF)The 43-year-old man, identified by the surname Mun, had demanded in a drunken state for a woman’s company, but his request had been denied. The police said he then used a weapon to create a ruckus. He surrendered without protest when the authorities arrived. By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

South Korea's foreign minister urged the international community Thursday to send a clear and strong message against North Korea's nuclear weapons development as the communist country boasted the successful launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile earlier this week.Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the call in his first public comments since North Korea launched two Musudan missiles Wednesday, one of which flew 400 kilometers before landing in targeted waters in the East Sea.The North

South Korea's exports to China continued to shrink from a year earlier in May, tying the record streak of 11 months of decrease, industry data showed Thursday.Outbound shipments to China came to US$9.93 billion won last month, down 9.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association.The decline apparently contributed to a 6 percent on-year drop in the country's overall exports. China by far is the world's single largest importer of Sout

The prosecution on Thursday arrested a former executive of Lotte Chemical Co., an affiliate of South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group, on charges of being involved in an alleged tax evasion scheme.It was the first arrest of a former Lotte official since prosecutors launched the first round of raids on a series of the group's affiliates on June 10 as part of their probe into the country's fifth-largest conglomerate and its alleged slush funds.The prosecution claims that the suspect, identified on

Lotte Group, South Korea's fifth-largest family-controlled conglomerate, operates some four dozen overseas units in suspected tax havens, data showed Thursday, in a potential blow to the embattled group under investigation for alleged wrongdoing.According to the data by corporate tracker Korea 20000 Corporate Research Institute, 46 of Lotte's 256 overseas subsidiaries are based in suspected tax havens as of 2016.Lotte has 26 subsidiaries, the largest amount, in Hong Kong, followed by Singapore w

President Park Geun-hye will host a luncheon with South Korea's top commanders Thursday to encourage them and check the military's readiness amid Pyongyang's continued saber-rattling.The luncheon at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae will follow a meeting of top officers from all armed services at the Ministry of National Defense. On Wednesday, Pyongyang launched two Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles, raising cross-border tensions."President Park will invite the commanders who hav

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, said Thursday it has ranked highest among nameplates in a U.S. quality test, beating Porsche and other premium brands."Kia ranks highest in initial quality with a score of 83 PP100, the first time in 27 years that a non-premium brand has topped the rankings," J.D. Power and Associates, a U.S.-based marketing information service company, said in the 2016 U.S. Initial Quality Study, referring to problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100).The study

The global shipments of organic light-emitting diode panels surpassed 90 million units in the first quarter of the year, with Samsung Display Co., a South Korean panel maker, dominating the fast-growing market, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by market researcher IHS, a total of 90.8 million OLED panels were sold in the January-March period, 96.2 percent of which, or 87.35 million, were for smartphones. The smartphone panels mark a 62.8 percent rise from a year earlier, the d

South Korean shares opened lower Thursday due to lingering worries over Britain's possible withdrawal from the European Union.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.28 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,986.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The outcome of the Brexit vote is scheduled to be officially announced at around 3 p.m. Friday (Korean time) after the referendum ends at 6 a.m. on the same day. Two separate polls, conducted after the murder of a pro-EU lawmaker Jo Cox last we

Most cigarette packs sold in South Korea will carry graphic health warning labels on them starting on Dec. 23, in a move to promote people's health, the government said Wednesday.The government has recently passed a law to introduce a total of 10 graphic health warnings to be placed on the upper part of both sides of a cigarette packet. The photos are required to cover more than 30 percent of both sides of a packet, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.  (Ministry of Health and Welfar

Male workers in their 40s were under the most work-related stress among all age and gender groups in South Korea, while work itself was the largest source of their stress in 2014, a report showed Wednesday.According to the report based on a survey of 195,666 workers who underwent physical examinations at Seoul's Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, 68.1 percent of men in their 40s said they suffered from work-related stress, while 67.5 percent of those in their 30s also noted having similar problems. (123R

Blueberry prices are going down in Korea due to increased supply on constant demand, according to reports made by the agriculture-heavy South Jeolla Province on Wednesday. The fruit was once a high-yield crop due to its nutritional benefits to the eyes.  (123RF)However, with more farmers joining the bandwagon and free trade agreements propelling blueberry imports, the increasing supply against steady demand is pushing down the produce price overall. Park Gwang-sun, a blueberry farmer by 10 years

The 8th Busan Mayor’s Cup International Surfing Championship will take place at Busan’s Haeundae beach from Friday to Sunday. Busan Metropolitan City anticipated more than 400 surfers from five countries would participate in the year’s competition. (KSA)There will be a total of five criteria, including professional surfers’ competition, free competition open for everyone, longboard competition, stand-up paddle racing and an under-13 juniors’ competition.Winners will receive as much as 1 million

Opposition lawmakers on Wednesday handed in a bill that will ban employers from texting their staff after work hours, amid rising concerns among South Koreans that they are "too connected" to their companies.The so-called KakaoTalk-bill will ban firms from issuing orders through smartphones after regular work hours in order to protect workers' privacy and their time off. KakaoTalk is South Korea's most popular mobile messenger that is used by more than 37 million in the country with a population

A set-top box specially designed to accommodate Netflix programs was launched Tuesday by cable and Internet service provider D’Live.Dubbed “D’Live Plus,” the new product supports up to 1,080 pixels of resolution.  (D'Live)Its remote control has a central button that immediately takes users to browse Netflix. The set-top box also has a mirroring function that allows users to display their smartphone photos and videos on the TV screen.“D’Live Plus” is priced at 150,000 won ($130).By Lim Jeong-yeo

South Korea's mergers and acquisitions market is expected to take a hit from the ongoing prosecution probe into Lotte Group over alleged slush funds as it has been a big player over the past years under the stewardship of a hard-charging chairman, industry watchers said Wednesday.Since the prosecution opened an investigation into the group's alleged embezzlement and slush fund creation earlier this month, investigators have raided Lotte headquarters, affiliates and houses of senior executives tw

The South Korean government has exceeded its planned fiscal spending earmarked for the first five months of the year as part of its efforts to stimulate the sluggish economy, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The government earlier announced that it would spend some 60 percent of this year's 280 trillion won ($242 billion) budget set aside for the central government in the first half in order to get over tough challenges at home and abroad.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said it has execu

The United States strongly condemned North Korea's missile launches Tuesday, saying it will raise the issue at the U.N. Security Council to hold the communist nation accountable for the provocative actions."We strongly condemn these and North Korea's other recent missile tests, which violate U.N. Security Council Resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea's launches using ballistic missile technology," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement."These provocations only serve t

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a series of measures aimed at creating a more equal society for women, about a month after a woman was killed by a stranger in a high-traffic neighborhood in Seoul.The murder sent a shockwave through a nation that has made strides in recent years but apparently leaves much to be desired in areas of gender equality.  Gender Minister Kang Eun-hee (L) and National Police Agency Commissioner General Kang Sin-myeong talk during a ministerial-level talks held at Gover

South Korea on Wednesday condemned North Korea for launching two intermediate-range ballistic missiles, calling the launch a clear violation of existing U.N. resolutions.Earlier in the day, North Korea fired off what is believed to be two Musudan mid-range missiles from its east coast city of Wonsan."Relevant U.N. resolutions ban North Korea from using ballistic missile technology. North Korea's missile launches were clearly acts of provocation," Jeong Joon-hee, spokesman at Seoul's unification