South Korean stocks turned higher to reach a fresh record high Tuesday backed by institutional buying. The won rose against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.94 point, or 0.04 percent, to close at a record high of 2,426.04.Trade volume was moderate at 255.64 million shares worth 4.6 trillion won ($4 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 414 to 387. Institutional investors bought a net 122.04 billion won worth of stocks amid expectations that ma

South Korea's antitrust regulator announced a set of measures meant to strengthen rights of franchisees Tuesday, a sign that underscores the government's commitment to ending unfair business practices across the board.The measures call for, among other things, food franchisers to release information on profit margins of essential goods that franchisees need to buy from their corporate parents, the Fair Trade Commission said.Commission officials will team up with their counterparts from the Seoul

Japanese beer topped sales in South Korea's imported beer market this year, industry data showed Tuesday, amid the rising popularity of foreign beer here. According to the data compiled by Lotte Mart, Japanese brands accounted for some 22.2 percent of imported beer sold at the discount store outlet of retail giant Lotte Group through Sunday this year.Japanese beer also ranked first last year with a 21.5 percent share, followed by German beer at 19.9 percent and Belgium at 11.3 percent. Chinese b

South Korea's parliament adopted a resolution condemning North Korea's continued military provocations Tuesday, two weeks after Pyongyang carried out what it claims to have been an intercontinental ballistic missile test.During a plenary session, the National Assembly passed the resolution that called for an end to the North's escalatory actions with a warning that its provocations could lead to the regime's "permanent extinction." The National Assembly holds a plenary session at its main chambe

The 2nd Infantry Division, a forward-deployed US Army unit in South Korea, welcomed its new commanding general Tuesday.Maj. Gen. D. Scott McKean took over the command from Maj. Gen. Theodore D. Martin in a ceremony held at Camp Casey in Dongducheon close to the Demilitarized Zone.McKean will double as leader of the South Korea-US Combined Division, which includes the 2nd Infantry Division and a South Korean Army brigade. Maj. Gen. D. Scott McKean (L), the new commanding general of the US Forces

A consortium led by Hanil Cement Co. has bought a controlling stake in Hyundai Cement for 622.1 billion won ($553.1 million), the state-run creditor bank said Tuesday. Korea Development Bank said creditors completed the sale of 14.17 million shares, or an 84.56-percent stake, in Hyundai Cement to the Hanil-led consortium.  (Photo courtesy of Hyundai Cement Co.)Hyundai Cement, which has been under a debt workout program since 2010, posted operating profits over the past five years. By acquiring H

President Moon Jae-in urged his top military officials to continue enhancing their defense readiness and further defense capabilities Tuesday, calling national defense one of two most important pillars of the nation along with the economy."There are many pillars that help sustain a nation and the most important of them all are defense and economy," the president said while meeting with his top military officials, including his new Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Song's immediate predecessor

The International Federation of Red Cross will conduct anti-disaster training next month for North Korean residents in areas that face repeated flooding, a US broadcaster reported Tuesday. "The Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter and Settlement Awareness training will be carried out for some 500 residents in North Hamkyong Province sometime next month in preparation for possible floods this year," Voice of America said, citing an IFRC report released the previous day. In early September last

A Seoul appellate court on Tuesday commuted the sentence on a former head of a now debt-ridden shipyard convicted of massive accounting fraud that culminated in state-led fund injections.The Seoul High Court reduced the sentence for Ko Jae-ho, former chief executive of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., to nine years in jail. He was handed down a 10-year term by a lower court in January.Ko was indicted in July last year on charges of cooking the books worth over 5.7 trillion won i

Clinical trials carried out by South Korean pharmaceutical companies inched up in the first half of this year, while overall biomedical research and test numbers declined globally, data showed Tuesday.According to the findings by the Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials, experiments and tests carried out locally made up 2.19 percent of the global total for the January-June period, compared with 2.08 percent a year earlier.Meanwhile, the number of global clinical tests decreased 22.5 per

South Korea said Tuesday that it does not see a big difference with the United States in understanding that the right conditions for full-fledged talks with North Korea have not been met due to its nuclear and missile aspirations.Seoul's reaction came amid speculation that the US may be uncomfortable with Seoul's latest offer for inter-Korean dialogue at a time when it is pressing tougher sanctions over North Korea's test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The White House said Monday that

The prosecution on Tuesday raided the offices of five subcontractors of Korea Aerospace Industries as part of its sprawling probe into corruption allegations engulfing the country’s sole aircraft manufacturer. Dozens of investigators were dispatched to the five firms mostly based in South Gyeongsang Province, also home to KAI, securing account books, supply-related documents and digital files and mobile phones of involved officials. (Yonhap)KAI is suspected to have given contracts to the supplie

The annual convention designed to promote the education of Korean as a second language kicked off in Seoul on Tuesday, gathering hundreds of participants from around the world, the education ministry here said. The World Korean Educators Conference started its first day of a four-day run in southern Seoul, attended by some 420 teachers and experts in the Korean language from 29 countries, the education ministry, a co-host of the conference, said in a statement. The meeting, the ninth of its kind

A parliamentary committee on Tuesday adopted a report on the outcome of its confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Park Sang-ki, clearing the way for his official appointment.The adoption of the report is a key procedure before President Moon Jae-in formally appoints him. A ministerial appointment does not require consent from the National Assembly. This photo, taken on July 13, 2017, shows Justice Minister nominee Park Sang-ki speaking during a parliamentary confirmation hearing at t

Hyundai Motor Co. on Tuesday added the Sonata plug-in hybrid to its lineup in a move to absorb growing demand for environment friendly vehicles. As the government moves to implement stricter regulations against fine dust-emitting vehicles centered generally around diesel cars, automakers are making an effort to highlight their "green" credentials in their lineups. Hyundai Motor`s Sonata New Rise plug-in hybrid model (Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor) (Yonhap)The Sonata New Rise plug-in hybrid wen

The US Congress has called on the United States Trade Representative to arrange for a consultation meeting in regards to any amendments to the free trade pact with South Korea, Seoul's trade promotion agency said Tuesday. Four leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives sent a letter to the US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, urging the office to "consult closely with Congress before meeting with South Korea and throughout its discussions," the Korea International Trad

South Korean stocks trimmed earlier losses Tuesday morning as institutions and individuals bought stocks on bargain hunting. The won traded higher against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Indexa backtracked 1.75 points, or 0.07 percent, from the previous day's close to stand at 2,423.35 as of 11:20 a.m.Institutions and individuals bought a combined 85 billion won ($75 million) worth of stocks. Foreigners sold a net 93 billion won, pulling down the main index. Market be

The elder brother of the chief of retail giant Lotte Group said Tuesday he has raised an objection to the conglomerate's governance shakeup plan, demanding that a key unit be taken off the list of split-ups.In April, the board of directors of the group's four key affiliates passed a plan to split each of them into investment and business entities. Under the plan, which will be put up for approval at their respective shareholders meetings next month, the investment entities split from the four un

South Korea's military is mulling over partly financing major firepower projects with private funds, an official said Tuesday.South Korea is pushing for the establishment of a "three-axis" platform to help defend itself against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats. The three elements are the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system, the Korean Air and Missile Defense and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation strategy.South Korean President Moon Jae-in has pledged to complete the

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam has held a meeting with his British counterpart to discuss bilateral relations in trade and cooperation against the growing threats from North Korea's nuclear ambitions, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.The meeting held between Lim and Mark Field in Britain on Monday (local time) focused on how to improve their bilateral ties and expand cooperation in trade, investment and other areas, such as the North's nuclear issue, according to the minist