South Korean stocks finished higher Thursday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, analysts said. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.73 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 2,443.24. Trading volume was moderate at 420 million shares worth 5.3 trillion won ($4.7 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 430 to 356.The local stock market opened higher on US gains and

The government panel tasked with overseeing public deliberation on the fate of two nuclear reactors decided Thursday to select around 350 citizens who will review whether to cancel the construction.The panel under the prime minister's office made the decision during their second meeting where its members discussed procedures to collect public opinions over the now-suspended construction in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul.Panel members agreed to carry out the first opinion survey on the

South Korea will put its "Surion" military helicopter to a formal test again on its anti-icing system within the next several months, the nation's arms agency said Thursday.The multi-role KUH-1 chopper was once an icon of South Korea's fast-developing defense industry, developed in 2009 by Korea Aerospace Industries in partnership with Airbus Helicopters.But it has become a source of public concern amid a series of reports of flaws including cracks in the airframe and a problem in the gearbox.Th

South Korea has started looking into the operations of a foundation for victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery, established after a controversial "comfort women" deal with Japan in late 2015, according to a senior official Thursday."We've launched an inspection team that will review and assess activities of the foundation. It's expected to be wrapped up by late August but could also be delayed a bit," said Gender Equality Minister Chung Hyun-back, referring to the Reconciliation and Healing Foun

South Korea has completed an official development assistance project worth $4.7 million for El Salvador, which will benefit hundreds of farmers and their families in the northern part of the Central American country, the South Korean ODA agency said Thursday.Under the farmer-empowerment project which started in 2013, the Korea International Cooperation Agency built irrigation and solar energy generation systems as well as a community center for farmers in El Porvenir, Santa Ana, according to the

South Korea's vaccination rates for hepatitis B and several other major diseases are higher than those of the United States, Britain and Australia, government data showed Thursday.South Korea's vaccination rates for HepB, BCG, DTaP, IPV, Hib and MMR stood at 96.6 percent, according to the statistics by the Korea Centers for Disease Control which analyzed the vaccination records of 440,000 children born in 2013 in the four countries.(Yonhap)The comparable figures were 90.9 percent for the US, 94.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. on Thursday posted a 14 percent on-year jump in its second-quarter net profit as major projects began to be reflected in the bottom line. Net profit for the April-June quarter rose to 216 billion won ($194 million) from 189.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.  Hyundai E&C headquarters in northern Seoul. (Yonhap)"The company has focused on winning plant and infrastructure projects in overseas markets. Initial payments for the proje

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating rebounded to the highest it's been in three weeks, a survey showed Thursday, amid a government plan to increase tax rates only for the superrich.In a survey conducted by Realmeter, 74.7 percent of 1,533 voters surveyed said they approved of the president's management of state affairs, up 2.3 percentage points from the weekly survey conducted last week and released Monday.The latest survey, conducted at the request of local radio station tbs, took place bet

SsangYong Motor Co.'s union has accepted a wage deal to avoid any production losses amid tough competition from rivals, the company said Thursday."The company and its union shared the view that a stable labor-management relation is essential in increasing sales of the G4 Rexton SUV and maintaining its leading status in the subcompact SUV market," the company said in a statement. The 3,451-member union held a vote to decide whether to accept this year's wage deal or not. A total of 3,295 workers

North Korea on Thursday rejected Hyundai Asan Corp.'s request to hold a memorial service in the reclusive country next month to mark the anniversary of the death of its former chairman, a corporate source said.The operator of the now-suspended tour program to Mount Kumgang on North Korea's east coast has held the memorial service for Chung Mong-hun at the scenic resort since his death in August 2003. The company, however, did not seek approval for the visit last year due to tensions on the Korea

Kia Motors Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter net profit plunged 53 percent from a year earlier on weaker demand for its vehicles in China and the United States.For the three months that ended on June 30, net profit declined to 389.6 billion won ($350 million) from 825.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. "On top of political tension with China over the installation of a US missile defense system in South Korea, which Beijing objects to, high US incentive costs and

North Korea on Thursday reiterated its call for the United States to end its hostile policy toward Pyongyang as the two Koreas marked the 64th anniversary of the armistice that ended the conflict in the 1950-53 Korean War.The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, made the comment on the anniversary to celebrate what it claims is its victory against the US during the war which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.It said that Washington does not understand that the North's nuclear and missil

The government will be able to collect about 16 trillion won ($14.3 billion) in additional tax revenues for the coming five years if the tax rate hike for the superrich and top conglomerates advocated by the ruling party are implemented, a parliamentary report said Thursday.Rep. Choo Mi-ae, leader of the ruling Democratic party, has proposed raising tax rates for the super-rich and top-earning conglomerates to help finance the Moon Jae-in administration's welfare and job creation agenda estimate

LG Display Co. said Thursday it will suspend making investments in liquid-crystal display panels for TVs, and instead focus its efforts on developing the next-generation organic light-emitting diode panels."There will be no additional investment on LCD TVs," said Han Sang-beom, the head of LG Display. "There still will be investment for LCD products in the IT sector as there is demand for high-end monitors and laptops," Han said. LG Display said Tuesday it will invest 7.8 trillion won ($6.9 bill

South Korea's No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Thursday its second-quarter operating income increased nearly 4 percent from a year earlier, helped by improved performance of its subsidiaries.Operating profit came to 423.3 billion won ($380.3 million) in the April-June period, the mobile carrier said in a regulatory filing. This represents a 3.9 percent on-year gain. Sales also increased 1.8 percent on-year to reach 4.34 trillion won during the cited period, the company said. The figures

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, boosted by market bellwether Samsung Electronics' strong earnings report.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.75 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,447.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics gained 1.2 percent after releasing its second-quarter earnings through a regulatory filing. The tech giant said it racked up 14.1 trillion won ($12.6 billion) in the April-June period, up 72.7 percent from 8.14 t

President Moon Jae-in was set to meet with the country's top business leaders Thursday for beer and frank discussions that may help fine-tune his economic policies, officials at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with what the officials called a 20-minute beer time.The rare meeting involving beer comes at a suggestion from the president himself, according to the officials. "It will mark the first meeting with business leaders since the president's in

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday proclaimed July 27 as the national day to honor the American troops who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War.That date, which falls on Thursday, is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement that ended the conflict. "On National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, we honor the patriots who defended the Korean Peninsula against the spread of communism in what became the first major conflict of the Cold War," Trump said in a statement released by hi

South Korea's military said Thursday there is no clear indication yet that another North Korean ballistic missile launch is near at hand amid reports of rain there."Currently, there's no sign of an imminent North Korean missile launch," Army Col. Roh Jae-cheon, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press briefing. "Our military is continuing to closely monitor North Korea's every possible provocation, mobilizing combined surveillance assets with the United States."Last week, the sec

South Korea's economic growth slowed in the April-June period from a quarter earlier due to decreased exports, central bank data showed Thursday.In the second quarter, the country's gross domestic product increased 0.6 percent, down from the previous quarter's 1.1 percent gain, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Exports -- one of the major pillars for the Korean economy -- fell 3 percent in the June quarter compared with three months earlier and declined 0.1 percent from the previous year, wh