South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and former US congressmen reaffirmed Wednesday that their countries need to react proactively in addressing North Korea's serious nuclear and missile threats, the foreign ministry here said.Yun held a meeting with an American delegation led by former US Representatives Dan Burton and Matt Salmon to discuss North Korean nuclear threats and alliance issues, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The delegation also included former US chief negotiato

Two 'Wildcat' maritime helicopters stood ready to take off from the deck of the amphibious landing ship Dokdo, with a third one on standby on a frigate in a naval drill in South Korea's southern sea off Geoje Island on Wednesday morning.With scores of reporters watching from the 14,000-ton amphibious ship's bridge, the three AW-159 Wildcat choppers flew one by one to show how they work together with frigates or maritime patrol aircraft to detect and attack enemy submarines.During the drill, an A

Hyosung Corp., a leading South Korean synthetic fiber manufacturer, is expected to have an operating income of over 1 trillion won ($864 million) in 2016, aided by strong sales of spandex and tire cord, industry sources said Thursday.Hyosung, scheduled to report its 2016 earnings this week, logged an operating income of 801 billion won in the first nine months of last year. In 2015, the company posted an operating income of 950 billion won. (Yonhap)Hyosung, the world's No. 1 player in the global

South Korea's state financial watchdog said Thursday it will crack down on unfair stock trading using illegally acquired corporate audit information.The move comes as local companies have entered the full-fledged settlement and accounting season. The logo of the Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)Over 95 percent of incorporated firms in the nation finish their fiscal year at the end of December.Accounting settlements and outside audits are usually held between January and March."(Those firms)

Despite a fall in shipments of durable goods, South Korea's retail sales posted moderate growth in December on increased spending by people who dine or drink alone, government data showed Thursday.The country's retail sales index expanded 1.6 percent in December from the same month a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)The gain was bolstered by a 4.9 percent on-year increase in sales of nondurable consumer goods, though shipments of cars and other durable goods shran

Honda Korea, the local importer of the Japanese car brand, will recall over 1,400 cars sold in South Korea for Takata air bags whose metal inflator can fracture and shoot at passengers when the air bag is deployed, the transportation ministry said Thursday.The recall affects 1,407 Honda Accord cars produced between Aug. 2, 2011, and July 26, 2012. (Yonhap)"The ministry advises owners of such vehicles to immediately have their cars repaired as the issue has led to fatal accidents in other countri

진행자: 조혜림, Kevin Lee Selzer1. 박한철 헌재재판소장 퇴임기사요약: 박한철 헌재재판소장이 1월 31일을 끝으로 6년의 헌법재판관 임기를 채우고 퇴임했다. 박근혜 대통령의 탄핵 심판이 진행 중인 헌재에는 8명의 재판관이 남았다. 박 소장은 퇴임식에서 박 대통령의 탄핵에 대해 조속한 결론을 내야 한다고 말했다. 아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638Chief Justice steps down with ‘heavy heart’[1] Park Han-chul, chief justice of the Constitutional Court, reiterated his calls for a speedy ruling in the impeachment trial of Presiden

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s surprise decision not to run for the presidency prompted mixed responses from political communities Wednesday.The two main conservative parties expressed shock and regret for losing their potential standard-bearer, while the opposition camp welcomed his decision to forgo a presidential bid.“Given that there was much expectation that Ban would have made more contribution to the country, we are so shocked and it’s unfortunate to see him making such a decis

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s surprise announcement Wednesday that he would not run in the upcoming presidential race threw the election campaign blueprint for a loop altogether.Party leaderships, especially those of conservative parties that had sought to join hands with Ban at one point or another, were flustered. Runner-up candidates, whether conservative or progressive, set to gain new momentum by embracing Ban’s support groups.Few had anticipated Ban’s renunciation of a presiden

With the special prosecutors preparing for a seizure and search of Cheong Wa Dae by the weekend, tension is mounting on the legal argument between the defensive presidential office and the unflinching investigators.The key legal ground for the Blue House is the Criminal Procedure Code clause, which bans the forceful search of places which require confidentiality due to national or military security reasons. Its claim is that officials are not entitled to force themselves into zones such as the p

Global sales of cars produced by five South Korea-based automakers shrank slightly from a year earlier in January due to a decline in overseas sales and a slump in domestic sales, data released by the carmakers showed Wednesday.The combined global sales of the five automakers came to 618,930 cars last month, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data. (Yonhap)The January tally marks a decline for two consecutive months on a year-on-year basis. In December, the automakers' sales

Seven out of the 10 most expensive houses in South Korea are located in the popular foreigner-heavy neighborhood of Itaewon in the heart of Seoul, government data showed Wednesday.Among them, Lee Myung-hee, chairwoman of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae Group, owns the most expensive house, according to the survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This file photo shows the house of Lee Myung-hee, chairwoman of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae Group. (Yonhap)Lee's 2,8

South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor managed a 1.3-percent increase in global sales in January from a year ago, the company said Wednesday, while its performance at home slackened. Hyundai sold 342,607 cars in the month, including 297,507 overseas and 45,100 domestically. The figures represent a 3.1-percent hike for overseas but a 9.5 percent slide at home. Of the cars sold abroad, 56,200 were manufactured in the country and 241,307 out of the country. Hyundai's new Grandeur (Hyundai Mot

Kia Motors suffered on-year sales drops both at home and abroad in January, the company said Wednesday, citing aged models and lost production from holidays as the main reasons.Sales at home totaled 35,012 cars for the month, down 9.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the country's second-largest carmaker. Overseas sales came to 163,793 cars, down 6.5 percent from a year earlier. Kia's global sales in January fell 7 percent on-year to 198,805 units.The number of factory working

The heads of South Korea's leading conglomerates will attend a court hearing later this month to give testimony over a high-profile influence-peddling scandal that has led to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, legal sources said Wednesday.Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho have been designated witnesses to testify at the hearing on President Park's friend Choi Soon-sil at the Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 28, acco

South Korea's state-funded trade agency has signed a contract with a US lobbying company to deal with the Donald Trump era, officials said Wednesday.Ever since Trump has stated his protectionist policies, a sense of alarm has grown here over trade pressure from the new US administration. Kim In-ho, chairman and CEO of the Korea International Trade Association, in a photo provided by KITA (Yonhap)"(We) recently inked a contract with the US lobbying firm K&L Gates," an official at the Korea Intern

Renault Samsung Motors Co. said Wednesday it sold 20,256 cars in January, up 34.8 percent from the same month last year, pushed by strong sales at home.The company, which is the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A., sold 7,440 units in the domestic market, 254.1 percent higher than January of last year despite production days lessened by the Lunar New Year holidays that fell at the end of the month. The company said the January performance is the second highest for the month after 2011, w

Ssangyong Motor Co.'s January sales increased 3.4 percent on-year to 10,420 cars on strong domestic sales, with its popular SUV Tivoli taking the lead, the automaker said Wednesday.Domestic sales accounted for 7,015 units, up 6.8 percent, and exports 3,405, down 3 percent from same month last year. The company said the overall sales increase came despite negative factors such as less number of working days from the Lunar New Year holiday and the end of the grand sale period. Crossover SUV Tivoli

GM Korea Co. said Wednesday it sold 46,842 cars in the month of January, 4.8 percent less than a year ago although its local sales increased by some 25 percent. The Minicar Spark, the mid-sedan Malibu and the crossover SUV Trax led the overall sales, according to the South Korean unit of U.S. automaker General Motors Co. The company sold 3,564 units of the Malibu, up 581.5 percent from January last year, while the Trax sales were also up 162 percent to 1,436 units.   Malibu from GM Korea (GM Kor

Consumers here will shoulder less financial burden for canceling car lease contracts under the related authorities' drive to address unfair business practices, the state financial watchdog said Wednesday.The number of people leasing cars instead of buying ones has been on a constant rise. Consumers' complaints have increased as well. A file photo about leasing a car (Yonhap)A total of 192 civilian petitions related to car leases were filed with the Financial Supervisory Service last year, up fro