President Park Geun-hye will resume her official schedule early next week after a weeklong respite following her intense 12-day trip to Africa and France, her aides said Friday.Her schedule is expected to begin on Monday at the National Assembly as Park is determined to address one of her pressing tasks --setting the tone for smooth cooperation with the opposition-led legislature, which is critical for advancing her agenda for economic revitalization.The relations between Park and the opposition

South Korea will cope actively with a recent wave of foreign trade pressure on Korean companies, the country's trade minister said Friday."The government will not turn a blind eye to South Korean companies, which suffer from unfair treatment in the overseas market," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyung-hwan said in a meeting with reporters."South Korean businessmen often say they are treated unfairly in overseas markets. So I try to make every effort to broach such an issue when I me

South Korea's coal stockpiles are running out fast due to a decrease in coal production caused by slumped consumption, industrial data said Friday.The data released by the state Korea Coal Corp. showed that the country's coal stockpiles came to 1.86 million tons in 2015 after peaking at 10.69 million tons in 2000. The stockpile figure was almost on par with the 1.71 tons recorded for consumption in 2015.Coal stockpiles refer to the entire amount of coal stored in pitheads, coal briquette plants,

South Korea will begin a series of guided tours of the country's UNESCO-listed world heritage for foreign residents this week, a state-run culture agency said Friday.On Saturday and Sunday the Korean Culture and Information Service will take U.S. military officials in Korea and their families to the east coast city of Gangneung for the "Gangneung Dano Festival."The festival is one of the biggest surviving cultural feasts to celebrate the day of Dano, May 5th in the Korean lunar calendar.The Dano

South Korea's crab catch has been more than halved so far this year, the government said Friday, an apparent result of a recent rise in the number of Chinese boats fishing illegally in South Korean waters.According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the country's catch of crab amounted to 575 tons in April, down 69 percent from the same month last year.Also in the first four months of the year, the country's crab catch plunged 68.5 percent on-year to 664 tons.The ministry largely attribute

Prosecutors raided the headquarters of South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group, as well as its seven affiliates, on Friday over allegations of embezzlement and malpractice.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said it sent some 200 investigators to 17 places, including the group's headquarters in central Seoul, its major affiliates and the homes of some executives. Hotel Lotte Co., TV channel Lotte Homeshopping and its key retail unit Lotte Shopping Co. were all raided.Prosecutors said t

North Korea offered to host an inter-Korean meeting to discuss ways to bring about reunification, the latest in the communist country's dialogue proposals to Seoul since a high-profile ruling party congress in early May."We propose opening a nationwide grand meeting for reunification on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of Korea's liberation, prompted by the ardent desire ... (in) improving the inter-Korean relations and accomplishing the cause of national reunification by the concerted effor

National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun said Friday he will hold talks with political party representatives about the controversial hearings bill that was vetoed by the president late last month."We need to review the legal issues involved, and hold discussions with political parties," Chung said.Last month, the presidential office sent back a bill which, if made into law, would allow parliament to hold hearings on government policies more frequently. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and t

Ahn Cheol-soo, co-chairman of the minor opposition People's Party, said Friday he will take "all necessary steps" to deal with allegations that a lawmaker raised illegal political funds ahead of the April 13 polls."I was told that the issues raised are not true, but the party will take resolute actions once the ongoing investigation is concluded," Ahn said, touching on the unfolding scandal.  "We will also actively cooperate with the prosecutors' investigation. I hope the prosecutors will also c

South Korean investors are piling into high-yield corporate bonds with relatively high risk in search of bigger returns as the country's interest rates are at rock bottom, sources said Friday.Trading of these so-called mezzanine bonds have recently been active as investors are drawn to debt that offers a higher rate of return, but is riskier because of its lower status in the capital structure.The trend comes as financially troubled companies, which find it difficult to float bonds through publi

Government ministries and other public entities are hoping to boost their annual spending by 3 percent next year, the slowest rate of growth in at least six years, the finance ministry said Friday.According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, government offices have submitted preliminary requests for their 2017 budget that totaled 398.1 trillion won ($343.19 billion), compared with 386.4 trillion won this year.The request, if finalized, will mark the slowest on-year expansion at least since

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 automaker, has been named as the popular brand with the highest satisfaction in the U.S., according to an automotive research company Friday. Kia, affiliated with South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co., was recognized as the most satisfying popular brand by U.S.-based AutoPacific Inc.  This year's awards were given based on a survey of 65,000 owners of new vehicles, where respondents evaluated their cars across 50 categories including safety featu

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that the U.S. should not allow U.S. alliances in Asia to "atrophy" and the top U.S. foreign policy priority in the region should be to counter the threat of North Korea."In East Asia, our allies are desperate for a greater American role. Our top priority must be to counter the threat of a nuclear North Korea. And we must respond strategically to expansionist China's rise, including checking its territorial ambitions," Ryan said in a foreign policy repor

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday made official his endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying she is "so qualified" to succeed him."I know how hard this job can be. That's why I know Hillary will be so good at it. In fact, I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office," Obama said in a video message.Obama said Clinton has "the courage, the compassion and the heart to get the job done.""I'm with her, I am fired up, and I can't wait t

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday he won't be distracted from his duties as U.N. chief "until the very last minute," amid heightened speculation he may be considering a run for president of South Korea.Ban, whose second five-year term as U.N. chief ends late this year, has long been talked about as a potential candidate for next year's presidential election in his home country. Even though he has refused to discuss such a possibility, he has never ruled out the possibility, either

South Korean tech firm LG Electronics Inc.'s organic light-emitting diode TV has received the top grade from a U.S. consumer review magazine, the publication showed Wednesday.In a recent review by Consumer Reports, the 55-inch LG OLED TV, dubbed the OLED55E6, has received the highest marks among 204 rival models with 84 points.The magazine said the LG model gets top scores for "very good color accuracy and unlimited viewing angle" with no particular flaw.Another LG Ultra OLED TV, dubbed the 65EF

South Korea's ICT and transport ministries agreed Thursday to step up cooperation in developing drones, self-driving cars and smart cities.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are two key government organizations in charge of exploring the nation's fresh growth engines.Top ministry officials held a discussion session on Thursday and attended a demonstration of drones at the Gwangnaru Han River Park in eastern Seoul.ICT Minister C

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's third-biggest shipbuilder by order backlog, is considering issuing shares to raise funds amid an extended industry slump, the company said Thursday. "We are mulling over a capital increase as part of our self-rescue programs. But the size and the timeframe for the rights issue are not decided yet," the company said in a regulatory filing.The size of the capital increase will be decided in late June after its main creditor Korea Development Bank completes

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Thursday that it has clinched a US$580 million order to build four carriers for a Greek shipper. Under the agreement with Maran Tankers Management, a unit of Greece's largest shipper, Angelicoussis Shipping Group, Daewoo Shipbuilding plans to deliver two liquefied natural gas carriers by 2019 and two very large crude carriers by 2017.The latest deal will raise the number of ships delivered or to be delivered by the So

A state-funded research institute said Thursday that it has developed a new technology that helps diesel cars reduce soot emissions by nearly 95 percent and improves air quality.The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials said it has completed 60,000-kilometer on-road tests on a diesel car equipped with the newly developed diesel particulate filter and a plasma burner.The institute said the new system can be applied to vehicles around next year after winning government certification.A PDF is