The number of consumer complaints lodged against South Korea's budget carriers was nearly twice as high as complaints leveled on full-service airlines last year, a consumer rights agency said Monday. In 2016, low-cost carriers received a total of 417 consumer complaints, while Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. received a combined 213, according to the Korea Consumer Agency. (Yonhap)By company, Jeju Air Co., the country's biggest budget carrier by sales, reported the highest number of

The number of new corporations set up in the first half of this year reached nearly 50,000, setting a new record amid steady overseas demands for local products, the government said Monday.The number of new corporations set up came to 49,424 in the January-June period, up 2.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.Among the total, 10,107 companies were in the manufacturing industry, followed by 10,057 firms in the wholesale and retail sector, the m

North Korea is likely to conduct an additional ballistic missile launch and its sixth nuclear test following its latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, South Korea's defense ministry said Monday."There is a possibility that North Korea is likely to test its nuclear warhead and missile capabilities through a nuclear test with more explosive power," the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the National Assembly.The ministry added that the North is ready to carry out an

South Korea's leading conglomerates had some 116 trillion won ($103.29 billion) in cash or cashable assets as of the end of March this year, an increase of 54 percent from five years ago, data showed Monday, a sign that the companies remain hesitant about investing.Seventy-two companies were analyzed by the Korea Exchange after 28 of the top 100 market cap firms were excluded because their assets could not be measured on an annual basis. The results showed that the firms held an aggregate 115.7

South Korea officially launched a task force to review an agreement with Japan reached in 2015 to settle a long-standing bilateral feud over Japan's imperial-era mobilization of Korean women as sex workers, the foreign ministry said Monday. The TF is tasked with fact-finding and assessing the processes leading up to the signing of the so-called comfort women deal, as well as its terms, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.The launch of the special team marks the first step to fulfill President M

The government and ruling party agreed Monday to reassess costs of nuclear power to include some intangible expenses that have been overlooked in a move to again stress that a shift from nuclear energy is the right way for the country's future energy policy. Officials from the trade ministry and the Democratic Party held a meeting earlier in the day to discuss plans over the nuclear-free energy initiative, one of the key pledges by President Moon Jae-in. They exchanged ideas on the ongoing row o

North Korea's nighttime lighting conditions have improved over the past decade based on satellite images, a report showed Monday, a sign that the reclusive country's economy is on the mend.According to the report published by the state-run Korea Development Institute, satellite images taken in 1992 showed that overall luminosity at night around the North Korean capital of Pyongyang was greater than that in pictures taken in 2002, when the country was still struggling with a deep economic slump o

South Korea has begun consultations with the United States for resuming the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, the defense ministry said Monday. "As for the deployment of six THAAD launchers, South Korea and the US will make a decision after consultations," Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman at the Ministry of National Defense, said in a press briefing. "Such discussion is currently going on, but further consultations are needed for the specific issues of when and how," he said.

Bank lending rates on new household loans inched down in June and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits slightly rose, central bank data showed Monday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.41 percent in June, down 0.06 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The BOK data came amid South Korea's efforts to tackle rising household debt.  South Korea's household debt stood at 1,359.7 trillion won ($1.2 tril

South Korea's central bank on Monday renewed its stance to maintain the current monetary easing policy to support growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy.The Bank of Korea said in a report submitted to the National Assembly that it will maintain its stance of monetary policy accommodation, noting the inflationary pressures on the demand side are not expected to be high, though the solid trend of domestic economic growth could affect prices.The latest assessment came more than two weeks after th

South Korean stocks traded lower late Monday morning, tracking losses on Wall Street losses, although tech blue chips continued to gain ground, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index backtracked 5.37 points, or 0.22 percent, to hit 2,395.62 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech giant Samsung Electronics gained 0.9 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix adding 1.7 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor, meanwhile, shed 2.68 percent, and its affiliate Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts maker, dropped 3.52

The prosecution concluded Monday that the leadership of the minor opposition People’s Party was not involved in a fake tipoff about President Moon Jae-in’s son, which surfaced during the presidential campaign in May.　Announcing the results of the 35-day probe into the case, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office indicted former lawmaker Kim Seong-ho and lawyer Kim In-won, who were on the campaign team for a “fair election” for the People’s Party’s presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo. (

South Korea's unification ministry on Monday urged North Korea to stop provocations and accept Seoul's sincere offer for inter-Korean dialogue following Pyongyang's latest missile launch.The call was made after North Korea fired another intercontinental ballistic missile late Friday, claiming that the whole US mainland is within its striking range."South Korea sternly responds to North Korea's provocations. There is no change in the government's stance that it will seek both sanctions and dialog

A next-generation landing ship capable of transporting more troops and military hardware than existing vessels will be delivered to the Navy this week, the state arms procurement agency said Monday.The Cheonjabong, which will be delivered Tuesday, is the Navy's second LST-II ship acquired under the next generation landing ship project that calls for building a total of four such ships by 2018. The first ship, the Cheonwangbong, was delivered to the Navy in November 2014.The 4,500-ton Cheonjabong

South Korea's trade commission said Monday that it has decided to launch an official investigation into the alleged dumping of a steel product imported from China that has been cited for disrupting fair competition.The decision follows a formal complaint from four South Korean manufacturers, according to the Korea Trade Commission.  (Yonhap)"The petitioners claim there has been actual damage to the local industry, such as a drop in domestic sales of products made here, due to unfair undercutting

GS Retail Co., a major convenience store chain operator, said Monday it has signed an agreement with a Vietnamese company to make inroads into the Southeast Asian market.The Korean firm said it signed a deal with SonKim Group in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to set up a joint venture with a plan to open the first GS25 store in the Vietnamese city within the year.The announcement came as the competition in South Korea's convenience store business, dominated by three chains -- CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven

South Korea's exports to trade partners with which it has free trade agreements jumped nearly 18 percent in the first six months of the year on solid overseas demand, customs data showed Monday.Exports to 52 countries that have open trade pacts with South Korea reached $202.5 billion in the January-June period, up 17.9 percent from $171.6 billion tallied a year ago, according to the data released by the Korea Customs Service. Imports also rose 17.1 percent on-year to $147.9 billion over the cite

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating rose from a week earlier last week, a survey showed Monday, apparently aided by his move to collect more tax from the most well-off businesses and individuals to help those less fortunate.In a survey conducted by Realmeter, 74 percent of all respondents said they approved of the president's management of state affairs, up 1.6 percentage points from a week earlier.The weekly poll was conducted between Monday through Friday on 2,548 voters throughout the cou

Nearly half of South Koreans believe North Korea's participation will have a positive impact on the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a survey showed Monday.The sports ministry said it commissioned a local research firm Metrix to conduct a poll on next year's Winter Games. A thousand South Koreans aged 15 to 79 were polled from July 21 to 22.And 49.8 percent said North Korea's presence in PyeongChang will have a positive effect on the first Winter Olympics in South Korea. In comparison, only 19.

South Korea said Monday that the latest North Korean missile launch had little impact on its financial market, but it will take swift and firm action against any unexpected developments.Pyongyang fired the Hwasong-14 shortly before midnight last Friday, following its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile launch on July 4. Defense experts said the latest provocation that drew swift condemnation from the international community demonstrated some technical progress compared to previou