President Moon Jae-in on Thursday reiterated his call for an economic paradigm shift to address weak growth and polarization, stressing a more active government role in tackling the country's economic challenges. During a forum on financial strategy, Moon also underscored that the country's financial policies should be "people-oriented," inclusive, balanced and transparent, and involve citizens' participation."There has been a blind belief in a small government, but in order to ov

Asiana Airlines was fined 900 million won ($802,282) for a runway accident two years ago and the pilot responsible stripped of his license, the transport ministry said Thursday while announcing a series of punitive actions against carriers.Korean Air Lines Co. was ordered to pay 600 million won in penalties, also for a runway incident in the same year.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport convened a meeting of its administrative action review board earlier in the week to decide the

Scientists are divided over the new government's energy policy that aims to increase electricity output with clean, renewable energy, a survey showed Thursday.The Moon Jae-in government earlier announced that it plans to generate 20 percent of its electricity with clean, renewable energy by 2030, while reducing its reliance on fossil fuel and nuclear power plants.According to the survey conducted by the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies on 2,029 scientists in different majors

South Korea will set up a new ministry in charge of small and medium-sized businesses that will be dedicated to supporting smaller companies and creating more jobs, the government said Thursday.After long-drawn-out negotiations, the National Assembly passed the bill which included elevating the Small and Medium Business Administration to a Cabinet ministry supporting SMEs, venture startups and micro-businesses, as was pledged by President Moon Jae-in during the election campaign. The SMBA is cur

South Korea on Thursday created the post of trade minister in a move to strengthen its negotiating capacity ahead of crucial talks with the United States on revising the bilateral free trade deal.The move is part of a bill endorsed by parliament on government reorganization on the same day, and came days after US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer called for a special joint committee meeting to start the process of revising the free trade agreement. According to the trade pact, a special joi

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has discovered additional documents from the preceding government that shed more light on the alleged misdeeds of the ousted former president and her aides, its spokesman said Thursday.More than 500 documents contained information about the former government's support for conservative polemic writers and civic groups, and the controversial plan to merge two Samsung affiliates, seen as part of the family-run conglomerate's power succession scheme. Presidentia

South Korean stocks ended up at a fresh record high Thursday amid expectations of solid corporate earnings results. The won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 11.90 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 2,441.84. Trade volume was moderate at 246.84 million shares worth 5.27 trillion won ($4.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 431 to 354. Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 102.45 billion won worth of stocks amid expect

South Korea's potential unification with North Korea could slow the pace of population aging on the Korean Peninsula by up to five years, an economist said Thursday.Choi Ji-young, an economist at the Bank of Korea, said South Korea alone could enter into an aged society this year where people over 65 make up between 14 percent and 20 percent of the population. Bank of Korea (Yonhap)South Korea could cross the threshold into a super-aged society around 2026, when more than 20 percent of the peopl

Per-store operating profit at convenience stores in South Korea fell in 2015 as the market became more crowded, government data showed Thursday. An average per-store operating profit at franchised convenience stores stood at 18.6 million won ($16,523) in 2015, down 17 percent from a year ago, according to the data by the Statistics Korea.The number of convenience stores, however, rose 12.7 percent on year to 29,628 at the end of 2015, the data showed.  Convenience stores accounted for 16.4

Rival parties decided Thursday to change the name of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning four years after the agency was created.According to the agreement made by the vice floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, the People's Party and the Bareun Party, the ministry will be given the new name roughly translated as the Ministry of Science, Technology and ICT.  You Young-min (Yonhap)The ministry said the exact English name and the abbrevi

South Korea and the United States are closely watching North Korea for any signs for a possible imminent provocation, the foreign ministry in Seoul said Thursday, amid concerns that Pyongyang is preparing a missile test-fire that runs counter to global sanctions."Military authorities of South Korea and the US are closely monitoring any signs of the North's ballistic missile test," Cho June-hyuck, a ministry spokesman, said at a regular press briefing. "The North should come out to the negotiatin

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday appointed Kim Yong-beom, the secretary-general of the Financial Services Commission, as its new vice chairman, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said."Kim, an official well versed in finance, is best suited to carry out the new government's financial policy as he is equipped with expertise, professionalism, planning and analytic capabilities, and communication skills," presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun told reporters. This photo, taken on July 19, 2017, s

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Thursday that it has delivered an offshore oil stage facility, the fourth of five orders scheduled for this year.In 2012, Daewoo Shipbuilding clinched a $2 billion contract from Inpex Corp. of Japan to build the so-called floating production and storage offloading unit.The FPSO, measuring 336 meters long and 59 meters wide, is designed to process and store oil or natural gas, and can be maneuvered to serve different l

South Korea's finance chief said Thursday that he will try to shift the country's economic paradigm to try to address chronic low growth and the deepening social divide.The country's central bank has lately raised its growth outlook for the gross domestic product to 2.8 percent for 2017, up 0.2 percentage point from its estimate released in April.The Bank of Korea said it expects the economy could grow 2.9 percent in 2018 on the back of global economic recovery and increased domestic spending. A

Kia Motors Corp. on Thursday domestically launched a face-lifted Sorento crossover to maintain its edge in the midsize SUV market. The upgraded Sorento incorporates a new grille and front and rear graphics and LED accents that make the car sharper. It can be equipped with a choice of 2.0-liter turbo gasoline, a 2.2 diesel or 2.0 diesel engine with buyers given the option of an eight-speed automatic transmission, the first of its kind for a locally produced midsize SUV, the company said in a stat

The South Korean government has invited some US teachers to an annual program meant to enhance public awareness on the historic meaning of the 1950-53 Korean War, a related ministry said Thursday.The weeklong camp to open Sunday is timed with the 64th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement that put an end to the conflict.Around 30 teachers and college professors of history and sociology will take part in the event, according to the Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs. Particip

Rival parties agreed Thursday to pass a bill on government reorganization after an intense tug of war, giving a much-needed boost to President Moon Jae-in's efforts to complete his nascent administration.A parliamentary committee handling the issue endorsed the bill soon after the agreement. The National Assembly is set to hold a plenary session later in the day to vote on it.The agreement followed days of grueling negotiations and was announced by the vice floor leaders of the ruling Democratic

South Korea's defense ministry said Thursday it's still waiting for North Korea's response to its recent proposal for military talks on easing border tension.On Monday, the ministry suggested a bilateral meeting be held on Friday at the truce village of Panmunjom in what would be the first inter-Korean military talks in nearly three years. Moon Sang-gyun (Yonhap)"There is no response from North Korea yet in connection with the offer of South-North military talks," the ministry said in a statemen

North Korea said Thursday that it is nonsense for South Korea to hope to improve inter-Korean ties while taking a confrontational policy against the North without giving up its dependence on the United States.The North's comments came three days after Seoul proposed holding inter-Korean military talks on Friday to ease tensions along the tense border and Red Cross talks on Aug. 1 to resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper, calle

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 full-service passenger carrier by sales, said Thursday it will deploy its second A350 jet on long-haul routes from next week.The second of four A350 jets scheduled to be delivered this year arrived at the Incheon International Airport later in the day after a day-long flight from Airbus, a Toulouse-based civil aircraft manufacturer, the company said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The second A350 will carry passengers on routes to Shanghai and Singapore from Tu