Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has dropped his third straight game of the 2017 season, once again getting undone by long balls.Ryu gave up four earned runs on seven hits, including three home runs, in six innings against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday (local time), as the Dodgers fell 4-3. Ryu struck out seven and walked one.This was Ryu's third start of the season, after being held to just one start over the past two years with shoulder and elbow probl

South Korean singer and TV celebrity Jung Joon-young and Jiyeon, a member of girl group T-ara, on Wednesday denied a news report that the two were going out.  (Yonhap)"After confirming with Jiyeon, we've learned that the two are not seeing each other," MBK Entertainment, which represents T-ara, said. It did though confirm that the two made a recent trip to Southeast Asia together with friends."It's true that they went to Southeast Asia with mutual acquaintances, but the two are just friends. The

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, has clinched a deal to build two liquefied natural gas carriers with a local shipping firm, industry sources said Wednesday.Under the deal with Korea Line Corp., Samsung Heavy will build two LNG carriers that can carry 7,500 cubic meters of LNG each by May and December 2019, respectively, according to the sources.(Yonhap)The value of the deal was not immediately revealed.The ships will be used to transport LNG between local ports, they said.In

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, plan to promote China-oriented crossovers at the Shanghai auto show, a move aimed at absorbing growing demand for sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).In the 2017 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, open to the public from April 21-28, Hyundai Motor will debut its ix35 and its sister company Kia will reveal the K2 Cross.The two are SUV models tailored from the outset to satisfy the needs of Chinese consumers

Lee Min-ho is set to begin his mandatory military service in May, according to his agency on Tuesday.Lee Min-ho (MYM Entertainment)“Lee Min-ho’s enlistment date was confirmed today. He will begin service on May 12 at Gangnam-gu office as a public service officer,” MYM Entertainment said. “He’ll spend his time preparing for the service until May.” The actor has been assigned to a noncombat position due to an injury sustained in a 2006 car accident with actor Jung Il-woo. Earlier in the year, offi

A recent government survey showed Wednesday that 42 percent of North Korean defectors have experienced, witnessed or heard about human right violations by the North Korean regime.The Unification Ministry's Center for North Korean Human Rights Records unveiled the results of its survey of 253 defectors, in which 105 had such responses. The survey was conducted from January to March on those who were undergoing resettlement education at the state-run Hanawon.  (Yonhap)Of them, 69 percent had first

South Korea's capital city and its surrounding areas saw their net residents move out from the region in 2015 amid rising housing costs, government data showed Wednesday.About 2.39 million people moved to the Seoul metropolitan area in 2015 from five years ago, while 2.55 million people changed their homes to other regions, according to the data by Statistics Korea. The data is based on a census held in 2015. (Yonhap)The area includes Gyeonggi Province and the cities of Incheon and Suwon, home f

The number of fathers at private firms who took childcare leave showed a steep rise in the first quarter of the year, pushing the percentage of men on such leave above the 10-percent threshold for the first time, government data showed Wednesday.The figure for the January-March period gained 54.2 percent from a year earlier to 2,129, with fathers accounting for 10.2 percent of all 20,935 people on childcare leave, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said. This file photo, dated Aug. 25, 2016, s

Seoul on Wednesday urged Pyongyang to stop intervening in South Korea's upcoming presidential election, accusing the North of seeking to drive a wedge among the voters in the South.The Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper, said in its recent commentary that the conservative bloc in South Korea should not be allowed to take power again, displaying its intent to intervene in the May 9 presidential election. (Yonhap)The Ministry of Unification here said that North Korea seeks to mislead Sout

One out of three middle-aged men in South Korea show risky drinking patterns, suggesting heavy alcohol dependence, a study said Wednesday based on a health and nutrition survey carried out on more than 15,000 people.The study was conducted by professors Kim Dong-jun and Hong Jae-won of Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, who analyzed the results of the 2009-2011 survey on 15,215 people, who were divided into male and female, and into three age groups of 19 to 44, 45 to 64 and over 65. (Yonhap)A

Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in on Wednesday promised to help enhance the job security of middle-aged workers by making it harder for companies to carry out lay-offs.The presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party said he would revise related laws, if he is elected, to prevent forced retirement. Such revisions, he said, would also work to make sure so-called "voluntary retirement" is actually voluntary. Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, ann

The number of emergency patients on commercial flights for one Korean airline rose 10-fold from 2009 to 2013, a report showed Wednesday.A total of 2,818 emergency patients were reported by the domestic airline during the period, the report written by the College of Nursing at Seoul National University said without identifying the name of the airline.The ratio of emergency patients per 1 million people surged to 52 persons in 2013 from 5.2 persons in 2009. (Yonhap)During the period, 15 passengers

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday around 260,000 units of Galaxy S8 smartphones were registered with the country's three mobile carriers on the first day of its preliminary release.Local consumers who purchased the Galaxy S8 smartphones through preorders started receiving the devices Tuesday, ahead of the official launch in South Korea and the United States slated for Friday.(Yonhap)Preorders for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, which ran from April 7-17, surpassed 1 million units, the

Exports of industrial parts and materials increased sharply in the first three months of the year on firm global demand, government data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments of industrial parts and materials jumped 11 percent on-year to $65.8 billion in the January-March period, accounting for 49.7 percent of the country's overall exports, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.(Yonhap)It marked the first double-digit growth since the third quarter of 2013, w

The head of South Korea's state-run overseas aid agency offered to resign on Wednesday amid allegations that his appointment was influenced by a woman who is at the center of a corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye, the foreign ministry said.Kim In-sik, 68, president of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, recently delivered his intention to step down to the ministry, which is supervising its operation, according to the source."He submitted his resign

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, is in the final stage of talks with India over the building of its first plant in the fast-growing automobile market, a company official said Wednesday. "We have searched for the right site for the Indian plant for the past two years. The talks (with a regional authority in India) are in the final stages," a Hyundai Motor Group official told Yonhap News Agency by telephone.  (Yonhap)Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor Co. are key affilia

South Korea's government on Wednesday outlined measures to help local airlines better cope with the drop in traffic on their China routes amid a diplomatic row over the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system here. The number of travelers on domestic and international routes rose 8.9 percent to 8.51 million in March from a year earlier on a strong won and more services offered by low-cost carriers. The latest data, however, showed the number of people traveling to and from China plungin

A US Navy strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has finally started moving toward the Korean Peninsula after finishing joint exercises off Australia, a South Korean military source said Wednesday.The US Pacific Command said in early April the Carl Vinson fleet, which was scheduled to participate in the exercises with Australia redirected to waters off Korea amid growing tensions over North Korea's new provocations. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier (Yonhap)But The New York

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Wednesday called for national effort to heal division and promote unity amid North Korea's escalating missile and nuclear threats.During a ceremony marking the 1960 pro-democracy uprising, Hwang also vowed to "strongly respond" to any North Korean provocation and ensure peace on the peninsula based on a robust defense posture. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (2nd from L) and other dignitaries attend a ceremony m

The organic milk market is expanding rapidly in South Korea, driven by burgeoning demand from younger parents willing to spend money on high-quality food and beverages for their kids, industry data showed Wednesday. The size of the organic milk market has grown by thirteen-fold to 65 billion won ($57.1 million) by the end of 2016, compared to 5 billion won in 2008, according to the data by local dairy industry.  (Yonhap)Organic milk, which mainly refers to high-end plain milk, is labeled so afte