Korea Ratings, a leading credit rating agency in South Korea, downgraded the credit outlook for CJ CGV from "stable" to "negative" Wednesday, citing a growing financial burden from its planned takeover of a Turkish cinema chain.CJ CGV, South Korea's top operator of multi-screen theaters, announced earlier that its consortium would buy Istanbul-based Mars Entertainment Group for 792 billion won ($682 million).CJ CGV plans to pay 300 billion won to secure a 38.1 percent stake.Korea Ratings noted t

Two South Korean ships have been released by China after being seized for an alleged collision with a local fishing boat, officials said Wednesday.A tugboat and a barge were impounded on March 18 in the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo after they reportedly collided with the Chinese vessel while sailing through Chinese waters west of the Korean Peninsula.Nine Chinese fishermen went missing as it sank.The owner of the ships has completed talks about compensation through an insurance firm, acco

Former Olympic swimming gold medalist Park Tae-hwan was ruled out of this year's Rio Summer Games Wednesday following a decision by the nation's top sports body.The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) said it would not amend its rule preventing athletes who've served doping suspensions from representing the country for three years, starting on the day the suspension ends.Park recently served an 18-month suspension after testing positive for testosterone, and his ban ended on March 2.The KOC institute

Some senior diplomats have found themselves in the center of controversy after being spotted taking selfies the same day a protocol error was made during President Park Geun-hye’s participation at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington last week. Recent video footage captured the scene where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon came to see the president before the conference’s plenary session kicked off last Friday. As the two shook hands and exchanged conversation, Choi Jong-moon, deputy minis

South Korea confirmed a new case of bird flu on Saturday, the first outbreak in about five months.The Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said ducks at a poultry farm in Icheon, 80 kilometers east of Seoul, have tested positive for the virulent strain of avian influenza (AI).All 10,900 ducks were culled as a precautionary measure, and the farm has been under quarantine to prevent the virulent virus from spreading, according to the ministry.South Korea has not reported any additional

A North Korean Web site unveiled video footage on Saturday in which its submarine-launched ballistic missile scorches Washington D.C., ratcheting up its provocative acts in defiance of international pressure.The 4-minute long footage, uploaded on the website of dprktoday.com, one of the North's propaganda sites for outside online users, shows an SLBM, after re-entering the earth's atmosphere from outer space, hitting the U.S.' capital.Earlier this month, a U.S. news report said that the North ha

A leading civic group sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border on Saturday amid escalating tensions sparked by the North's nuclear tests and missile launches.The Fighters for a Free North Korea said that it has scattered some 80,000 leaflets critical of the communist regime.The civic group regularly launches big balloons carrying such anti-Pyongyang leaflets in a campaign to spread dissenting messages in the reclusive country.The campaign had irked North Korea in the past, whi

Heavily armed police swept into Brussels neighborhoods Friday in operations linked to this week's bombings as well as a suspected new plot in France, detaining three people and shooting two of them in the leg. One man was carrying a suspicious bag while accompanied by a young girl.As Easter weekend began, jittery Europeans faced uncertainly about how many violent extremists remain at large, and where and when they might strike again. On Friday afternoon, two blasts and gunfire rang out in the Sc

Samsung Group vice chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang this week and discussed Samsung's businesses in China ranging from semiconductors to car batteries, Samsung officials said Saturday. The meeting between Lee and Wang took place at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound on Friday, the Chinese unit of Samsung said in a statement. Lee and Wang "exchanged views about investment into high-tech industrial sectors, including semiconductor, LCD and car battery," the statement

South Korea's state-run pension fund actively exercised its voting rights last year with its number of dissenting votes edging up, data showed Saturday.Data from the National Pension Service (NPS), the operator of the fund, showed it voted against 10 percent of 2,836 resolutions last year at shareholders meetings of the companies it invested in, a 1.1 percentage point rise from a year earlier.The fund had been casting more opposing votes in the past few years, the no votes accounting for 6.6 per

 South Korean shares will likely remain rangebound ahead of key U.S. indicators next week, but begin an upward march toward the end on a continued inflow of foreign capital, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,983.81 on Friday, down 0.4 percent from a week earlier.Foreign investors purchased a net 286 billion won ($244.2 million) worth of stocks. Both retail and institutional investors were net sellers as they sought to cash in on their gain

More than 900 candidates have registered for next month's parliamentary elections, South Korea's election watchdog said.A total of 944 candidates -- 844 men and 100 women -- are set to compete for the 253 seats up for grabs on April 13. The competition rate is 3.7 to one, compared with 4.84 to one in the 2004 parliamentary elections.The remaining 47 seats will be allocated to political parties according to the numbers of votes that they receive overall under proportional representation, the Nati

Tens of thousands of jubilant Cubans and tourists swarmed the site of the Rolling Stones' free concert in Havana Friday, calling it a historic moment for a country that once forced rock fans to listen to their favorite music behind closed doors. Coming just two days after Barack Obama finished the first trip to Cuba by a U.S. president in nearly 90 years, the evening concert cemented the communist-run nation's opening to the world. Organizers expect at least a half million spectators to see the

U.S. forces killed a senior Islamic State leader, among several key members of the militant group eliminated this week, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday. The successful attack is the latest in a string of strikes targeting the group's leadership even as it losses territory in both Iraq and Syria. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington DC, Friday. (AFP-Yonhap)Carter identified the senior IS leader as Haji Imam and described him a

The owner of Hanjin Group, parent company of the country’s largest flag carrier Korean Air, came under fire Monday for demeaning pilots by stating that they are useful only during emergencies.Commenting on a Facebook post uploaded by a Korean Air pilot, Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho said his employee was exaggerating, and that pilots’ work is easier than driving a car thanks to the autopilot system. “Pilots are briefed by flight control staff as well as weather analysis by the operation cent

French air accident investigators recommended Sunday that world aviation bodies draw up new rules requiring medical workers to warn authorities when a pilot's mental health could threaten public safety, after 150 people died when a Germanwings co-pilot deliberately crashed a jet into the French Alps last year.Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had been treated for depression in the past, and the investigation found that he had consulted dozens of doctors in the weeks before the crash on March 24, 2015. But

 Kumho Asiana Group held a speech contest in Tokyo on Saturday to bridge cultural differences between Japan and Korea, officials said Sunday. Nearly 600 students participated in the annual event, demonstrating growing interest in Korean language and culture among the young generation. Two finalists stage a short play at the ninth Kumho Asiana speech contest held at the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo on Saturday. (Kumho Asiana)Held at the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo, students competed in thr

Male consumers appear to be cutting back on their spending on White Day gifts this year, purchasing cheap candies instead, amid the prolonged economic downturn, according to an online market operator on Sunday.(Yonhap)Gmarket said based on its data analysis that sales of expensive gift items such as handbags and perfumes, fell 13 percent and 7 percent respectively, compared to the same period last year. The volume of jelly and candies purchased by male customers, however, surged 47 percent and 1

The ill-fated son of the late honorary chairman of food and entertainment giant CJ group -- born out of wedlock -- has filed an inheritance suit against the owner family, asking a local court to return part of his father’s fortune.According to sources in legal circles, the illegitimate son -- of late CJ chairman Lee Maeng-hee and an actress in the `60s -- had requested to retrieve a legal portion of his inheritance worth 200 million won ($167,000) late last year. The first trial of the inheritan

Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho often used to say he dreamt of building a landmark skyscraper that represented the country’s dramatic economic achievement and cultural prosperity -- his vision behind the construction of the tallest building in Korea. However, according to industry insiders, the 123-story Lotte World Tower was actually built to glorify his own success story -- a self-made man who turned himself into a tycoon of a 90-trillion-won ($74.5 billion) business empire.Putting his legacy