South Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday launched a task force to spearhead organizational reforms aimed at strengthening its overall capability and efficiency.The task force is led by Oh Yeoung-ju, a special advisor to Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and comprises three divisions in charge of personnel, organization and renovation, according to the ministry.The task force will carry out an analysis of the ministry's organization and structure and collect opinions from officials and outside ex

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., has proposed slightly reducing the number of branches it plans to shut down, an industry source said Tuesday, in a bid to avoid a backlash from its labor union. If the labor union of Citibank Korea agrees on the proposal, the number of branches facing closure will be cut to 90 from 101 in South Korea. Last Friday, five branches of Citibank Korea were shut down and 30 more branches will be closed by the end of this month. (Yonhap)The move h

South Korean brokerage firms plan to provide a joint authentication service based on blockchain technology, an official said Tuesday, in the latest move to further strengthen security.The pilot project -- which involves 25 securities firms and five blockchain companies -- is set to begin within this month, said Lee Sang-gi, an official handling the issue at Koscom Corp., the system manager of South Korean bourse operator Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)Lee said the brokerage firms plan to provide full-s

South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning on the back of gains in technology firms and mobile carriers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.53 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,390.63 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech shares continued to advance, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining 1.63 percent and LG Electronics increasing 0.99 percent.Top market cap Samsung Electronics edged up 0.08 percent.Mobile carriers were also among winners, with industry leader SK Telecom moving up 1.

North Korea has yet to fully secure the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile as it remains still unknown whether the country's recently fired ballistic missile successfully re-entered the atmosphere, a lawmaker said Tuesday quoting the spy agency. (Yonhap)North Korea claimed that it has developed an ICBM that could carry a large-size nuclear warhead, but it appears to be an unsubstantiated boast, Rep. Yi Wan-young of the Liberty Korea Party said after a parliamentary meeting with

South Korea's exports shot up nearly 40 percent in the first 10 days of this month from a year earlier on robust overseas demand for semiconductors and ships, customs data showed Tuesday.Total outbound shipments reached $14.3 billion from July 1-10, up 38.5 percent from $10.3 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to numbers compiled by the Korea Customs Service.The sharp increase was led by a 574.4 percent on-year surge in exports of vessels and a 50.4 percent gain in chips,

The number of foreigners visiting South Korea could drop by as many as 4.69 million this year, following a diplomatic row with China over the deployment of a US missile defense system here, the state-run tourism promotion body said Tuesday.During a meeting with local governments and district tourism offices, the Korea Tourism Organization said visitor numbers could shrink up to 17.24 million, or 27.2 percent on-year, if the current trend continues until the end of this year.  This file photo tak

South Korea ranked second among emerging economies in the amount of stocks purchased by foreign investors during the first six months this year, market data showed Tuesday.Foreigners net bought $9 billion worth of South Korean stocks during the January-June period, the second largest only after Taiwan's $9.4 billion, according to the statistics by Yuanta Securities.India came in third with $8.5 billion, followed by Brazil at $1.4 billion, Indonesia at $1.3 billion, the Philippines at $408 millio

President Moon Jae-in again urged the opposition parties Tuesday to approve the government's request for an extra budget, calling it an urgent issue imperative to the economic recovery."At the Group of 20 summit, all international organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, diagnosed the global economy as being in a recovery phase," the president said in a Cabinet meeting, according to pool reports.Moon returned home Monday after his five-day trip to Germa

The Peruvian government has called on the North Korean Embassy in Lima to halve the number of its staff as part of steps to implement the UN Security Council sanctions against the North's nuclear and missile programs, a US broadcaster reported Tuesday. According to its report submitted to the Security Council on June 28, Peru called for the reduction of the number of diplomats in the North Korean mission in Lima from six to three in a letter sent to the North Korean ambassador there April 2, Voi

The highway toll charges for electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will halve from September, the transport ministry said Tuesday. The government plans to temporarily operate the discount program for environment-friendly vehicles by 2020, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation said in a statement. Depending on the operation results, it will decide on whether to continue the program or not, it said. In this photo taken on July 7, 2017, Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee answers q

President Moon Jae-in has appointed two new ministers, the presidential office said Tuesday, but without a formal ceremony amid an opposition protest against some of his other picks for new ministers.The president electronically approved the appointment of the new minister of science, ICT and future planning, Yoo Young-min, and new minister of gender equality, Chung Hyun-back, according to the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae.(Yonhap)It marked the first time since Moon took office May 10 that

President Moon Jae-in has decided to delay his appointment of two ministers opposed by opposition parties for last-minute efforts to win their support and also help normalize the parliament crippled partly by the proposed appointments, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.The decision followed a request from the ruling Democratic Party, whose floor leader Woo Won-shik stressed the importance of the opposition's support for many pending issues, including the government-requested sup

Russia's oil exports to North Korea sharply increased in the first four months of the year amid the international community's sanctions on the country, a US broadcaster said Tuesday. Russia shipped $2.3 million worth of oil products to North Korea between January and April, up more than 200 percent on-year, Voice of America said, citing Russian customs data.The amount of the oil shipments posted about 4,100 tons during the period, up 150 percent from a year before, the broadcaster said, adding t

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's recently tested intercontinental ballistic missile, if fully developed, would be able to strike the US naval base at San Diego with a nuclear warhead and multiple decoys designed to penetrate missile defenses, a top American missile expert said Monday.John Schilling, an aerospace engineer with expertise on North Korean missiles, presented the analysis in an article to the 38 North website, noting that the North's Hwasong-14 ICBM could fly as far as 9,700 kilometers wi

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump failed to use last week's G20 summit to enlist support from world leaders for his efforts to pressure China to rein in North Korea, a US senator said Monday.Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) made the remark in an interview with MSNBC after a declaration of the G20 summit made no mention of the North. He criticized that Trump's "America First" foreign policy is "increasingly turning out to mean America alone.""I'll remind you that President Trump's strategy for how t

The head of South Korean retail giant Lotte vowed on Monday to boost the group's transparent management as it attempts to tide over a string of troubles through a governance shakeup. During an IR session held in Tokyo, Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin said his group will be able to better adapt to changing market circumstances with transparent management once the revamp plan for its management structure is completed this year. "Lotte Group will continue with its growth as a trusted company by

Talks are underway between South Korea and the United States on possibly using a "secondary boycott" aimed at toughening sanctions against North Korea's evolving missile and nuclear programs, Seoul's top diplomat said Monday.Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks during a parliamentary committee session in response to a question about what measures are being considered in the wake of the North's recent missile provocation.  (Yonhap)"Talks are underway even on the option of (using) a se

State-run Korea Development Bank said Monday it has begun preparatory work to sell its controlling stake at Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co.KDB plans to pick an investment bank, a law firm and an accounting firm during next month to arrange the planned sale of its 50.75-percent stake in Daewoo Engineering that has been valued at 1.65 trillion won ($1.42 billion) as of Monday closing price.  (Yonhap)KDB will announce the sale of the Daewoo Engineering stake by the end of this year after cond

Drivers who are less at fault for a car accident, will pay lower auto insurance premiums in a change from the current system, the financial regulator said Monday. The change, which will go into effect from September, is aimed at adjusting the degree of balance between at-fault drivers and those who are much less responsible for an accident after reporting the case to an insurance firm to get compensation. Currently, if a driver is 80 percent responsible for an accident with the other driver bein