The annual rice consumption of the South Korean population has halved over the past three decades due mainly to changes in diet and eating habits, government data showed Tuesday.Per capita rice consumption in South Korea reached 62.9 kilograms per year in 2015, sharply down from the 128.1 kg tallied in 1985, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.South Koreans consumed 172.4 g of rice per day last year, also down 3.3 percent from a year earlier, indicating that they eat less than two

South Korea said Tuesday it does not believe it is proper for local firms that ran factories at a joint industrial park in North Korea to visit the factory zone amid a tough sanctions regime imposed on Pyongyang.On Feb. 10, Seoul shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North's border city of the same name after the North's fourth nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier in the year.South Korean firms that ran factories there said they hope to visit the North to check their facil

Kim Chong-in, the interim leader of South Korea's main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, urged China to expand efforts to roll out more effective measures to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.During his meeting with Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong, the lawmaker said despite the international sanctions against the North, Beijing still maintains certain economic ties with Pyongyang, adding such exchanges will limit the effectiveness of global economic pressure."China, which holds si

The South Korean economy is facing a slowdown in the manufacturing sector and the overall economy stemming from protracted sluggish exports, but a steady upbeat trend of domestic consumption buffers a further slump, a state-run think tank said Tuesday."The recent fall in several production indicators implies a minor slowdown in overall economic activities," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions."Mining and manufacturing production and

South Korea's environment ministry said Tuesday it has again rejected Volkswagen's plan to recall its vehicles that fabricated emissions results, saying the local unit of the German carmaker did not admit to using a defeat device to trick vehicle testing.The Ministry of Environment disapproved the plan submitted by Audi Volkswagen Korea for not stipulating that the vehicles were equipped with what are called defeat devices, designed to manipulate emissions results.The carmaker's initial recall m

North Korean party officials have visited Vietnam and Laos, the North's state media said Tuesday, apparently as part of the North's diplomatic effort to break the international sanctions regime.The delegation, led by Choe Thae-bok, a vice chairman of the ruling party's central committee, arrived in Vientiane on Monday after visiting Vietnam for talks with the communist party's officials, according to the Korean Central News Agency.Choe held talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the C

South Korea has developed new wheeled armored combat vehicles that can greatly enhance the mobility and striking power of its infantry troops, the defense acquisition agency said Tuesday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s wheeled armored vehicle project, undertaken by Hyundai Rotem since 2012, has been successfully completed, the DAPA said in a statement. It said the locally built vehicles passed their final qualification test on May 9. The project was aimed at improving the mobil

South Korea will tighten regulations on tour operators that lure Chinese travelers with cheap, low-quality packages to screen out substandard agencies and improve the tourism industry's competitiveness, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will form a task force with related organizations to crack down on tour operators that offer low-quality programs and force travelers to shop at particular places in return for brokerage fees. "As the inbound travel m

South Korean startups in the online-to-offline (O2O) business have been faring poorly over the past couple of years due to high marketing costs amid a lack of solid revenue sources, data showed Tuesday.With the use of smartphones growing fast, O2O startups have sprung up in South Korea in recent years, enabling consumers to use an app or website to order food, car rides, real estate and other services.According to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service, Woowahan Brothers, the operator of

The government will push ahead with a plan to revise a law in order to allow doctors to see patients and provide treatment through the use of telecommunications and information technology, government officials said Tuesday.According to the Health and Welfare Ministry, the Cabinet approved a bill on the revision of the Medicine Law the same day to implement the practice of telemedicine designed to provide quality health care for those in hard-to-access areas and for the elderly by connecting pati

Senior officials from Russia and China held talks in Beijing and shared concerns about the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system to South Korea, according to China's official media on Tuesday. The talks, led by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and Kong Xuanyou, China's assistant foreign minister, were held on Monday, on the same day the U.S. and China began their high-level talks in Beijing. During the Monday talks, Russia and China expressed their "firm opp

South Korea's ruling and opposition parties remained deadlock on Tuesday over which side should fill the positions of the parliamentary speaker and chairs of key committees as they again missed the legal deadline for the formation of the parliament.The ruling Saenuri Party and the Minjoo Party of Korea have been wrangling over parliamentary committees and who will name the National Assembly speaker after the main opposition secured one more seat vis-a-vis the ruling party in the April 13 polls.S

South Korea's government on Tuesday ordered Nissan Korea Co., the local unit of the Japanese carmaker, to recall hundreds of its SUVs sold here and banned sales of vehicles cited as fabricating emissions results.The Ministry of Environment slapped 340 million won ($286,000) in fines on Nissan Korea and banned sales of its Qashqai model, while ordering a recall of 814 of the vehicles that have been sold in South Korea from November to last month.The ministry also said it filed a complaint with th

Hotel Lotte Co.'s proposed initial public offering (IPO) will be postponed to an unspecified date as senior officials have come under investigation for alleged bribery related to its duty-free business, company officials said Tuesday.Lotte's hotel and duty-free unit has been preparing to list its shares on the Seoul bourse on June 29, planning a series of overseas roadshows starting from this week to attract offshore investors. Hotel Lotte Co. (Yonhap)The first overseas deal roadshow slated for

In Singapore, fans can meet K-pop stars anytime they want ?- virtually, that is.In the country's popular tourist attraction Resorts World Sentosa, a hologram concert hall has quickly become one of the must-visit destinations among K-pop fans since it opened in February.At the "K-live Sentosa," fitted with a 7-meter-wide, 3-meter-high screen, visitors can enjoy virtual performances by Korean singers such as 2PM, Wonder Girls and GOT7. "I was very satisfied with the concert because it felt so real

Sales of foreign cars in South Korea rose 5.9 percent on-year in May as some importers secured a sufficient amount of popular car models to meet demand here, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, a total of 19,470 units of imported cars were registered last month, up from 18,386 units tallied in the previous year.From a month earlier, May sales also spiked 9.1 percent, the data showed.The upturn was attributed

More than four out of 10 South Korean cow farms have shut down in the last four years since the implementation of the free trade deal between Seoul and Washington, dealing a hard blow to the local livestock industry, a report showed Tuesday.The number of cow farms stood at 154,000 units in 2012, when the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement took effect, but it plunged 42 percent to 88,000 units in 2016, according to the report compiled by Nonghyup, a state-run farmers' cooperative.Nearly 16,500 farms

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's top air carrier, is going all out to secure liquidity by issuing a large amount of asset-backed securities in an apparent bid to handle maturing debt, industry sources said Tuesday.Korean Air, whose parent Hanjin Group is beset by a liquidity crisis engulfing its shipping arm, floated some 340 billion won ($287 million) worth of ABS in April and May. The airline is also considering issuing an additional 700 billion won in July.Last year, Korea Air issued 570 b

South Korean stocks started higher Tuesday as weaker than expected job data from the U.S. reduced the chance of an imminent rate hike in the world's largest economy.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 12.63 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,998.47 in the first 15 minutes of trading. (Yonhap)The local stock market got off to a strong start as U.S. job data for May has weakened the possibility of a June rate hike by the Federal Reserve.Top market cap Samsung Electronics advanced 0.94

Down but not out, injured South Korean golfer Park In-bee will chase history at the second LPGA major of the season this week.Park is the three-time defending champion of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and she's aiming to become the first woman to win a major in four straight years at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington, starting Thursday (local time). (Yonhap)Only two other players before her have won a major for three straight years: Patty Berg (Titleholders Championship from 193