South Korean stocks closed slightly higher Monday as foreign buyers sought bargain hunting on signs of recovery in the global economy, offsetting a massive selling spree by institutional investors. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 3.3 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,398.75. Trade volume was low at 240 million shares worth 4.3 trillion won ($3.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 458 to 338.Foreign investors reverse

The US Trade Representative's office has asked a group of industry advisers to provide opinions on amending a bilateral trade pact with South Korea by Aug. 15, indicating that the two nations may not be able to hold a joint committee to revise the agreement this week, sources said Monday. According to the report by the Inside US Trade website, published last Saturday, the USTR "recently asked its industry trade advisory committees for ideas on the implementation of the agreement and issues

The leader of the minor opposition People's Party called Monday for closer policy coordination with the United States on how to deal with North Korea, claiming Washington is increasingly bypassing Seoul in its handling of Pyongyang.Rep. Park Joo-sun, the party's interim leader, made the appeal during a party meeting, noting that while South Korean President Moon Jae-in was on vacation, the US led the UN Security Council to approve a package of fresh sanctions on the North and that US National Se

Religious groups in South Korea are preparing for the imposition of taxes on clergy members starting next year, as the government's new tax code revision blueprint did make changes to the upcoming tax duty plan pertaining to clerical workers.Last week, the government announced a plan to amend the current tax code to raise the rate for the superrich and conglomerates, in what many see as a move to finance the Moon Jae-in government's pledges on job creation and social welfare expansion. Changes w

A Japanese state textbook shows that the country hadn't laid a territorial claim to Dokdo, a group of small islets in the East Sea, at least until in the late 19th century, in the latest piece of evidence that gives an upper hand to Korea in the territorial dispute between the two neighbors.At the monthly seminar on Aug. 3, organized by the Seoul-based Northeast Asian History Foundation, Han Cheol-Ho, a history education professor at Dongguk University in Seoul, unveiled a new piece of informati

South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo convened an emergency meeting Monday with top commanders to find ways to improve the service conditions of the nation's conscripts, mostly in their 20s.It came amid a public uproar about the allegations that Gen. Park Chan-ju, commanding general of the Army's 2nd Operational Command, and his wife have long violated the human rights of soldiers assigned to serve at his official residence."Unless the human rights of troops are protected, the people won'

Police said Monday they raided a management office for central Seoul residences of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his relatives over the suspected transfer of corporate money to their remodeling expenses.A special investigation team from the National Police Agency searched the management office located close to the residences of South Korea's biggest family-run conglomerate in Hannam-dong earlier in the day.Police investigators reportedly searched for documents relating to the alle

Consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel in South Korea hit a quarterly record high in the second quarter on falling oil prices, government data showed Monday.During the April-June period, 19.95 million barrels of gasoline were consumed, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Sales of diesel also rose 3.8 percent on-year to 43.17 million barrels over the same period. The latest numbers for both fuels marked the highest quar

South Korean-made goods are losing their ground in the Chinese market, one of their largest overseas markets, amid a diplomatic row over the deployment of a US missile defense system here, industry data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association, South Korean products accounted for 9.4 percent of China's import market in the first half of the year, marking the lowest since 2014, when the comparable figure was 9.7 percent.South Korean goods' presence

South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-whan vowed continuous efforts for North Korea's participation in next year's Winter Olympic Games, due south of the border, despite rising tensions over the North's repeated missile and nuclear provocations.In an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday, Do said the government will keep trying to have sports exchanges with North Korea, although the current situations are not rosy following Pyongyang's latest launch of an intercontin

North Korea's foreign minister dismissed South Korea's recent offer for talks as "lacking sincerity" during his brief encounter with Seoul's top diplomat on the sidelines of an Asian security forum in Manila on Sunday, according to a Seoul government source.North Korea's Ri Yong-ho and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met for three minutes at an official dinner for top diplomats joining a series of meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.Ri was referring to South Korea

Sales of picnic-related products surged during the peak summer vacation season last month, with more South Koreans opting for one-day trips instead of pitching tents for overnight camping, industry data showed Monday. According to the data compiled by the country's largest discount chain E-Mart, the sales of sun shelters rose 6.1 percent in July compared with the same period last year, with the combined sales of mats and blankets also jumping 15 percent on-year.  People rest along the Han River

MANILA -- Top diplomats from Asia-Pacific countries will meet in Manila on Monday to discuss regional security issues, including North Korea's growing military threats. The annual ASEAN Regional Forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will gather together 27 foreign ministers from nations across the region and the European Union. The ARF launched in 1994 is a rare international gathering attended by the North, along with all other countries involved in the now-suspended six-pa

The South Korean government has allowed electronics companies to join a weapons procurement project with a foreign contractor for the first time, enabling them to sell products in return for a contract, an industry source said Monday. Under an "offset" procurement program, a foreign contractor is obliged to undertake local investment or buy local products when they sign a weapons deal with the South Korean government. So far, local defense-related firms have mainly benefited from such arrangemen

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday following gains late last week on Wall Street that were buoyed by sound employment data, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 7.8 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,403.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Friday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow adding 0.30 percent and the S&P 500 gaining 0.19 percent after a strong US July payrolls report.Most large caps on the Seoul bourse were mixed, with tech and ch

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae hailed the new U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea on Sunday, noting the resolution, which imposes fresh sanctions against the communist state, has also been supported by China and Russia, Pyongyang's two closest allies."In the past, it took an average three months for China to express its support for a UNSC resolution," a ranking Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters, while speaking on condition of anonymity."This time, it took only ab

Exports of fishery products rose for the 15th month in a row last month helped by a sharp rise in shipments of laver, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Sunday.Fishery product shipments reached $210 million in July, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier.Exports of fishery products have been on the rise since May last year. Outbound shipments of fishery goods surged 11.1 percent on-year to $1.33 billion for the first seven months this year from $1.2 billion in the same period in 2016.Laver re

Chances of detecting liver cancer are 2.5 times higher for those who have regular checkups than those who do not, a report showed Sunday.Those who have regular medical examinations are also 24 percent less likely to die from this type of cancer than those who do not, according to the report of the state-run National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, which analyzed statistics of the state-sponsored checkups of liver cancer done by the National Health Insurance Service since 2003.Liv

미국 시카고 도심의 호화 아파트에서 '의문의 살인'을 저지르고 도피 중인 명문 의과대학 교수와 영국 유명대학 직원의 수수께끼 같은 행적이 눈길을 끌고 있다.4일(현지시간) 시카고 경찰은 지난달 27일 발생한 엽기적인 살인 사건의 용의자로 지목된 노스웨스턴대학 의대 교수 윈댐 레이뎀(42)과 영국 옥스퍼드대학 재정사무관 앤드류 워런(56)의 범행 후 행적을 공개했다.발표에 따르면 레이뎀 교수와 워런은 범행 직후 승용차 편으로 시카고에서 약 130km 떨어진 위스콘신 주 휴양도시 레이크 제네바의 시립도서관을 찾아가 피해자 트렌튼 코넬-듀런로(26·남) 명의로 현금 1천 달러(약 110만 원)를 기부했다.경찰은 레이뎀 교수가 직접 도서관 건물로 들어가 현금을 건넸으며, 기부 동기에 대해서는 함구했다고 전했다. 도서관 측은 이처럼 조건없는 기부가 드물지 않기 때문에 특별한 경계를 하지 않았다고 신고하지 않은 이유를 해명했다. 일급살인 혐의로 지명수배된 윈댐 레이뎀 교수(맨왼쪽), 앤드류 워

현역 국회의원이 부인이 아닌 50대 여성과 다투다 경찰 조사를 받았다. 5일 경찰에 따르면 이날 오전 2시 4분께 전북 전주시의 한 원룸에서 가정폭력 의심 신고가 접수됐다.주민들은 "이웃집에서 시끄러운 소리가 들린다"며 경찰에 신고했고, 현장에는 A 의원과 B(51·여)씨가 있었다. (사진=연합뉴스)이 여성은 A 의원의 부인이 아닌 선거캠프 관계자인 것으로 알려졌다.A 의원은 B씨가 들고 있던 흉기에 자신의 엄지손가락을 다친 상태였다. 둘의 언성이 높아지던 중 B씨가 자해 등을 이유로 흉기를 들었고 이를 말리던 A 의원이 상처를 입은 것이다. 그는 인근 지구대에서 1차 조사를 마친 뒤 인근 병원으로 옮겨져 치료를 받았다. 경찰 관계자는 "A 의원을 상대로 한 가정폭력 의심 신고가 들어와 현재 조사하고 있지만, 자세한 사항은 확인해줄 수 없다"고 말했다.A 의원은 B씨가 내연녀라는 소문이 돌자 이를 부인하고 나섰다. 그는 연합뉴스와 통화에서 "캠프에서 선거운동을 돕던 여성인데 평소에