South Korean President Park Geun-hye received no treatment from her medical staff on the day of a deadly ferry disaster in 2014, a former presidential nurse said Wednesday, amid persisting rumors she might have undergone plastic surgery.The Army nurse, identified as Capt. Cho, who has been in the US for training at an Army hospital in Texas, also said in a telephone interview that neither she nor other medical staff visited Park's residence on April 16, 2014, when the ferry disaster happened.Her

Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., is recalling some 5,200 vehicles sold here for issues related to the car's front bumper shock absorbers, the transportation ministry said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the shock absorber may break due to a manufacturing defect, upsetting the balance of the car should part of the absorber also become detached. The 2017 Korando Turismo (Photo courtesy of Ssangyong Motor)The

A state-run agricultural agency said Wednesday that it has installed an automatic flower vending machine in Seoul in an effort to boost the local floral industry.The machine, which sells preserved flowers, is installed at the head office of the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT) in southern Seoul, officials said.Flowers are kept cold to preserve freshness and to guarantee the best quality, they said, noting that the flowers can keep for up to three years."Customers can easily p

President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday appointed former chief of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office Park Young-soo as the independent counsel to probe into her alleged involvement in the influence-peddling of her confidante Choi Soon-sil.The independent counsel, which is to substitute the ongoing prosecutorial investigation, is to go through preparatory procedures for the next 20 days, after which it will carry out an in-depth probe for 70 days, or 100 days upon the president’s approval for an ext

South Korean and US forces kicked off their annual aerial exercise, the military here said Wednesday, the latest in a series of maneuvers aimed at enhancing combined defense capabilities against evolving threats from North Korea. The allies began the Vigilant ACE exercise as part of a broader effort to hone their skills to better counter the North's nuclear and missile capabilities. The latest drill is set to run till Monday.The US military based in South Korea did not make any comments.The two

The net asset of South Korea's overseas investment funds last week hit a record high of 88.2 trillion won ($75.4 billion) in nearly nine years, government data showed Wednesday.It marked the highest since Dec. 6, 2007, when the corresponding figure came to 87.8 trillion won, according to data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association. This photo, taken on Aug. 4, 2016, shows a group of self-employed people holding a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Seoul to call

Foreign shippers have increased their market shares in major global shipping routes following the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping Co., defying expectations that its Korean peer Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. would secure a chunk of Hanjin's share, data showed Wednesday. Hanjin accounted for 7.78 percent of the Asia-US shipping route in October last year, but its share plunged to 1.1 percent in October this year, according to the data by the Busan Port Authority. The data showed the vacuum created fro

SM Group is looking for a partner in its plan to buy Hanjin Shipping Co.'s 54-percent stake in a port terminal on the US West Coast, an acquisition estimated at more than 400 billion won ($342.5 million), according to industry sources Wednesday.SM Group, which owns South Korea's No. 2 bulk carrier Korea Line Corp., has been seeking to buy a partial stake in the port terminal in Long Beach, California, after acquiring the troubled shipper's US-Asia route and other assets for 37 billion won last w

South Korea's state financial watchdog said Wednesday it has established a consolidated monitoring system for the nation's credit unions and other financial cooperatives.There have been difficulties in regulating the industry vulnerable to financial accidents and breaches, with 2,263 firms, mostly small, operating nationwide, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). A file photo of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives' building. (Yonhap)The FSS launched the Advanced Det

South Korea's net external assets in debt instruments hit a record high of $383.5 billion in the third quarter, data showed Wednesday.The figure represents an increase of $25.7 billion from the previous quarter, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.The nation's total external liability reached $400.4 billion in the third quarter, up $8.6 billion from a quarter earlier.Among them, the country's short-term external debt, with a maturity of one year or less, totaled $111.8 billion as of the e

South Korea's recent local real estate market boom has been largely driven by a government policy to ease bank loan regulations, a report by a state-run think tank said Wednesday.Housing construction in the country has been accelerating for more than a year since the government lowered a set of financial regulations on home-backed household debts -- the debt-to-income (DTI) and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios -- in August 2014.As a result, new construction permits had grown for 16 months in a row unt

Two former presidential secretaries are currently under investigation over their alleged involvement in an influence-peddling scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her confidante, according to the government.In a document written for the parliamentary probe over the scandal, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said Kim Ki-choon, former presidential chief of staff, and Woo Byung-woo, ex-senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, have been named as suspects

US hedge fund Elliott Management said Wednesday that Samsung Electronics Co.'s decision to consider shifting to a holding company structure and boost dividend payouts was "a constructive initial step" but hinted it wants "more meaningful changes."Shares of Samsung climbed a day after its announcement of governance overhaul decisions, which include a review of the possibility of creating a holding company structure, a 30 percent increase in dividends and an appointment of an independent director

Nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan are moving to hold talks next month in Seoul to discuss cooperation in dealing with the growing nuclear threat from North Korea, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will meet with his US and Japanese counterparts, Joseph Yun and Kenji Kanasugi, in Seoul in mid-December, according to official sources.This would mark the

The South Korean government said Wednesday that it will expand a program to help young job seekers find jobs at small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and create assets in a way to tackle the country's high youth unemployment rate.Under the program, which was initiated in April, an SME employee will be given a total of 12 million won after saving 3 million won for two years, with the employer and the government additionally paying 3 million won and 6 million won, respectively. South Korea's Fina

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday that President Park Geun-hye will accept whatever decision parliament will make regarding her fate as she stated a day earlier.The comments came amid lingering doubts over Park's decision to leave her presidency in the hands of parliament. Addressing the nation Tuesday over the corruption scandal involving her and her longtime friend, Park pledged to step down "in line with the timeline and the procedures" set by political parties.Opposition p

Deposits at cash management accounts rose to a record high this week, as investors stayed on the sidelines over a lackluster performance in stock markets, data showed Wednesday. A cash management account refers to a type of account offered by brokerage houses and other financial institutions that allows an account holder to trade equities while earning interest on cash balances. The net asset value of cash management accounts reached 53.1 trillion won ($45.5 billion) as of Tuesday, up 500 billio

Coffee companies are engaging in cultural promotions as a way of improving their brand image with customers through hosting mini concerts and art exhibitions.Dongsuh Food, famous for its instant coffee mix brand Maxim, recently hosted its latest classical music concert in the southwestern city of Jeonju on Nov. 2. The company began the "Dongsuh Coffee Classic" series in 2008 as a cultural sharing event and to help promote the music genre in the country. The concert has toured throughout the nati

Pharmaceutical companies are diversifying hangover remedies to cater better to customers, especially foreigners, creating new products in different packaging, industry officials said Wednesday.Handok succeeded in grabbing Chinese customers with its Ready Q Chew, the only jelly-type hangover remedy in the local market, where most of the products are bottled drinks.  "Ready Q Chew spread through the word of mouth among Chinese tourists, and its sales this year leaped about 970 percent this year fr

A group of ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers supportive of the ousting of President Park Geun-hye called on her Wednesday to clarify her timeline for resignation, saying it would be proper for her to quit by the end of April.The group also said it secured a sufficient number of lawmakers to pass the impeachment motion led by the opposition, which requires approval from at least 200 members of the 300-seat National Assembly.As the opposition parties and independent lawmakers take up 172 seats, at le