Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., an affiliate of shipbuilding conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., sold its stakes in the affiliate recently spun off from its parent firm, a move seen to accelerate the conglomerate's drive for a holding company structure.In March, shareholders of Hyundai Heavy approved the company's plan to hive off its noncore businesses, aimed at what it claims will boost each business unit's competitiveness.Under the plan, the shipyard split into four independent entities: sh

South Korea's top economic leaders vowed on Wednesday that they will make concerted efforts to create quality jobs and stir up investment and innovation in the private sector.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon, Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo and presidential chief of staff for policy Jang Ha-sung had trilateral talks in Seoul earlier in the day, their first since the inauguration of President Moon Jae-in on May 10, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The three policymakers

South Korean stocks ended lower on Wednesday as foreigners turned net sellers tracking losses on Wall Street. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.70 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 2,357.53. Trade volume was moderate at 356.21 million shares worth 6.34 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering advancers 516 to 296.Foreigners sold a net 180.29 billion won worth of stocks and institutional investors also dumped share

South Korea's provincial airports are still coping with the drop in passenger traffic due to China's ban on package tours over a diplomatic row linked to the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system, industry sources said Wednesday. China has for the past months also restricted imports of a number of South Korean-made goods, and forced most of the 99 stores of Lotte Mart, the discount outlet chain of Lotte Group, operating in China to close, citing violations of safety regulations. (Yonhap)

South Korea's tallest skyscraper built by retail giant Lotte Group received a green building certificate from a U.S.-based environment organization, Lotte Corp. said Wednesday.The 123-story Lotte World Tower received a Gold rating in the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system, the conglomerate said. LEED is a green building rating system that gives certifications based on various criteria from energy efficiency to indoor environmental quality, the USGBC

Netmarble Games, South Korea's top mobile game developer, said Wednesday it plans to release its mega-hit title, "Lineage 2: Revolution," in Japan later this year, in a bid to further expand its presence in overseas markets.The mobile role-playing game -- which has gained huge popularity after its release in 11 Asian countries earlier this month -- will be available to Japanese users during the third quarter of this year, the company said. The exact date has yet to be decided. (Photo courtesy of

South Korea's public sector net lending hit a record high last year, thanks to a robust gain in tax revenues and lower oil prices, data showed Wednesday. Net lending, which refers to total revenue minus total expenditures, came to 43.9 trillion won ($38.4 billion) in 2016, compared with 32.9 trillion won from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.It was the highest annual net lending since the central bank began compiling statistics on the public sector account. La

South Korea will seek North Korea's participation in a continental weightlifting competition to be held this fall south of the border, Seoul's sports minister said Wednesday.Do Jong-hwan, the minister of culture, sports and tourism, said South Korea will try to bring North Korean athletes on board for the 2017 Asian Cup and Interclub Weightlifting Championship starting on Oct. 18 in Yanggu, some 175 kilometers east of Seoul. In this file photo taken on Sept. 25, 2014, North Korean weightlifter K

NCsoft Corp., a South Korean online gamemaker, said Wednesday the mobile version of its mega-hit game "Lineage," "Lineage M," ranked as the No. 1 mobile application in terms of sales."Lineage M" became the most popular app both in the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store in South Korea, within seven hours of its launch, the company said. (Photo courtesy of NCsoft Corp.) (Yonhap)The new "Lineage M" features a very high degree of visual resolution, yet brings back the classic "Lineage" game by

South Korean shares extended losses late Wednesday morning as foreigners dumped stocks on profit taking. The won traded lower against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 12.58 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,356.65 as of 11:20 a.m. Foreigners and institutional investors offloaded a combined 182 billion won ($159 million) worth of stocks. But individuals bought a net 163 billion won worth of stocks.  Large-cap stocks were mostly trading lower. Market bel

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors midfielder Kim Bo-kyung is set to join Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, his South Korean football club said Wednesday.Jeonbuk said they've received an offer from Kashiwa, and both sides are currently closing the deal on the 27-year-old's transfer.If completed, Kim will leave the K League Classic club after playing one-and-a-half seasons. He was pivotal in Jeonbuk's Asian Football Confederation Champions League title run last year, playing all 13 matches at the continental clu

US tech giant Apple Inc. maintained its status as the world's top IT firm by sales in 2016, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Gartner Inc., Apple posted $218.1 billion in sales last year, hovering far above the $139.1 billion posted by South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co.Other major players included US-based Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., and IBM, which posted sales of $90.1 billion, $85.7 billion, and $77.8 billion, respectively, the data also showed.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major construction company here, said Wednesday it has won two reclamation projects worth a combined 270 billion won ($236 million) from Singapore.In a 184 billion won deal placed by Juron Town Corp., Hyundai E&C will build a dock in the western sea of Tuas after working on the reclamation process for 57 months starting in July, the company said in a statement. In the other 84 billion won project by the Housing and Development Board, the South Korean bui

South Korea's presidential policy advisory panel said Tuesday that within the next five years it will abolish the country's antitrust watchdog's exclusive rights to file a complaint with the state prosecution for any fair trade violations."We will remove the Fair Trade Commission of its exclusive authority to file complaints during the Moon Jae-in government's five-year term," said Park Kwang-on, the spokesman for the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee. "We will set up a task force team t

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new sports minister traveled to PyeongChang on Tuesday to check on preparations for the country's first Winter Olympics next year.Do Jong-hwan, newly appointed minister of culture, sports and tourism, visited the headquarters of the 2018 Winter Olympics organizing committee in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, in Gangwon Province.The PyeongChang Winters Games will be held from Feb. 9-25, 2018.After getting briefed on the preparatio

South Korean stocks ended lower on Tuesday as institutions went on profit taking, but top cap Samsung Electronics and second most-valued SK hynix surged to fresh record highs, aided by heavy foreign buying. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.67 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,369.23. Trade volume was moderate at 346.16 million shares worth 6.67 trillion won, with decliners outnumbering advancers 618 to 199.Institutional investo

South Korea's state-run tourism promotion body said Tuesday it will hold various events in New York this week to promote the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The Korea Tourism Organization and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold the Korea, PyeongChang Festival in New York from Thursday to Saturday. This undated photo provided by the Korea Tourism Organization on June 20, 2017, shows Korea, PyeongChang Festival in New York under way in the United States in 2015. (Yonhap)The eve

KB Kookmin Card Co., a unit of South Korea's banking giant KB Financial Group Inc., said Tuesday it has inked a partnership with Bank of Hope in the United States in a move to make inroads into the large North American market.The card company said it will set up a joint venture with the Los Angeles-based lender with the aim of pursuing joint projects. (Yonhap)KB Kookmin Card said it expects the partnership to help it make inroads into the world's No. 1 economy.Bank of Hope, which has more than $

The likelihood of a capital outflow from South Korea is low even if the interest rate gap between Korea and the US is reversed, as the local currency is expected to remain strong, an analyst said Tuesday. Kim Jae-chil, a researcher at the Korea Capital Market Institute, said volatility in the local foreign exchange market will likely be limited due to various conditions. South Korea's sovereign bonds are also attractive for investors in Europe, where several central banks slashed interest rates

ULSAN, South Korea (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that it has begun production of its all-new subcompact Kona SUV, a move to bolster its lackluster sales in global markets.The country's biggest carmaker by sales said production began on Monday at its plants in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, less than a week after the official unveiling. It aims to sell 26,000 units domestically and export 41,000 units this year.  Hyundai has added the subcompact SUV to its lineup to take a