South Korea and Hong Kong on Monday agreed to share the financial data of their residents in each country in a bid to prevent offshore tax evasion, the finance ministry here said.Under the deal between the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Hong Kong's tax authorities, they will exchange lists on financial information every year, including bank accounts, balances and interest income, of each other's nationals living in each other's countries starting from 2019. (Yonhap)Hong Kong is one of the

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday pledged to make constant efforts to address the issue of families separated by the inter-Korean border following the 1950-53 Korean War.During a luncheon meeting for some of the families with long-lost loved ones in the North, Hwang also urged Pyongyang to respond to Seoul's demands such as verifying whether the members of their divided families in the North are still alive or dead."The (Seoul) government is well aware of

Embattled shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. plans to implement 2.5 trillion won ($2.14 billion) worth of self-rescue measures this year, larger than last year's 1.6 trillion won, as it strives to stay afloat amid a sharp fall in new orders, company officials said Monday.As part of the measures, the shipyard plans to cut its workforce by some 2,000 this year to some 8,500 in total by the end of the year, and accelerate its move to spin off its non-core business units such a

President Park Geun-hye's lawyers requested Monday that 39 more witnesses appear at her impeachment trial in what critics saw as a delaying tactic. The request came during the eighth hearing at the Constitutional Court where a trial has been under way to determine whether to uphold Park's impeachment over an alleged corruption scandal involving her friend Choi Soon-sil. Both Park and Choi have refuted all charges raised and are demanding a fair trial to determine what is really behind the suppos

Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung from the main opposition Democratic Party said Monday he will join the upcoming presidential election, proclaiming he will compete with front-runner Moon Jae-in from the same party at the primary race.During his announcement, Lee said he will devote himself in bringing justice to society, claiming his administration will give no tolerance to President Park Geun-hye and Samsung Group's heir-apparent Lee Jae-yong.Park was impeached in December on alleged corruption, wi

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday mounted a strong defense of the plan to deploy a US missile defense system to the Korean Peninsula, saying it is a "necessary self-defense measure incomparable to any other."His remarks came amid mounting concerns over a series of recent steps China has taken against South Korean businesses, entertainers and other sectors in apparent retaliation for the planned installment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system on

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party, which faces its biggest crisis following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, said Monday it will change its name to show its commitment in seeking reform.Saenuri said it will start gathering public opinions and choose a name that can deliver its conservative political stance.The party said the decision came as a majority of its members supported the plan to adopt a new title. (Yonhap)It marks the first time in five years that the party changed its name

South Korea is pushing to revise its national health insurance program to halve the fees for low income earners in an effort to make health care more affordable, officials said Monday.The Ministry of Health and Welfare released a revision to the national health insurance system, subject to parliamentary endorsement, that will be adopted in three stages for a total of nine years. (Yonhap)The ministry said 80 percent of the total subscribers to the state-run health insurance, or 6.06 million house

North Korea boastfully threatened to strongly confront future US hostility Monday, when it marked the 49th anniversary of its seizure of the US intelligence boat Pueblo.The 906-ton US Navy ship was captured by the North in January 1968. The North claimed the ship violated its territorial waters, while the US argued it was in international waters at the time of the attack. One crew member was killed in the attack, and 80 others and two civilian oceanographers were seized. All of them were freed f

The returns on major private pension programs remained at what local analysts on Monday called a disappointing level due to record low interest rates and risk-avoiding behavior of fund managers, industry data showed.The yield rate of most pension funds over the past seven years stood at below 5 percent as of end-September, according to the data. This file photo, taken on Dec. 28, 2016, shows a local adviser (L) offering advice to a client at a local business fair on retirement programs in Seoul.

Conglomerates in financial trouble are refusing debt workouts, even when facing penalty, partly from passive creditor banks who do not want to provide bailout money, regulators said Monday.A report submitted to Rep. Park Yong-jin by the Financial Supervisory Service said five conglomerates requested a workout last year when there were 11 firms whose annual credit ratings showed they needed debt rearrangements. (Yonhap)Despite the government's stated drive from early in the year to go after poorl

The soon-to-be Bareun Party, made up of lawmakers that bolted from the ruling Saenuri Party, designated Rep. Choung Byoung-gug as its chief on Monday, ahead of its official launch later this week.The party spun off from Saenuri last month amid the deepening factional feud sparked by the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The conservative splinter party will officially set sail on Tuesday.The new conservative party will start with 31 lawmakers, as Rep. Park Soon-ja of Saenuri also decided to

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday vowed to push for seamless policy coordination with the newly launched US administration on a set of key issues, including the nuclear standoff with North Korea.During the New Year's meeting with local reporters, Hwang also reiterated that his government will establish a robust security posture based on its self-defense capabilities and the Seoul-Washington alliance to ward off Pyongyang's possible provocations."(The Seoul government) w

South Korea's Big Mac index moved down two notches from six months earlier to the 25th spot, the global index showed Monday, indicating the South Korean won may be more undervalued than it was before.The average price of a Big Mac hamburger came to US$3.68 in South Korea in January 2017, according to the index posted on the Internet site of the British magazine The Economist. (Yonhap)The price marked the 25th highest among 57 countries surveyed, down two notches from the 23rd spot in July 2016.T

Moon Jae-in, a front-runner presidential candidate from the liberal bloc, stood as the top contender in a local opinion poll, despite former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's efforts to expand his presence after returning home.According to the data compiled by RealMeter last week, Moon held an approval rating of 29.1 percent, approaching the 30 percent level. The study was conducted on 2,520 South Koreans with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.The pollster said the figure s

Another lawmaker from the ruling Saenuri Party decided to join the planned Bareun Party on Monday, increasing the number of lawmakers in the splinter group to 31.The departure of Rep. Park Soon-ja will also reduce the number of lawmakers at Saenuri to 96. The Bareun Party, which spun off from Saenuri last month after engaging in a factional feud with loyalists to President Park Geun-hye, initially started with 30 lawmakers. (Yonhap)Political pundits said another batch of lawmakers are expected t

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, was relegated to third on the list of order backlog in December amid a fall in new orders, while a Japanese rival climbed to second place, industry sources said Monday.According to the data compiled by global research firm Clarkson Research Services, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., another South Korean shipbuilder, ranked first in terms of order backlog as of December with 6.79 million compensated gross tons to build 104 ships, f

South Korea's trade has turned upward after a two-year lull, but it is likely to miss the US$1 trillion target again this year and possibly next year as well, the central bank said in its estimate Monday.The Bank of Korea projected a trade volume of $955 billion this year, a 6 percent increase from last year on a customs clearance basis. Exports are expected to rise 4.3 percent to $517 billion and imports 8 percent to $438 billion. (Yonhap)The estimate is an improvement from a 5.9 percent fall i

The two missiles that North Korea is believed to have readied for possible test-firing could be either part of the KN series intercontinental ballistic missiles or the Rodong medium-range missile, a US expert said.Officials in Seoul said last week that South Korea and the United States have picked up signs that the North placed the two missiles, less than 15 meters long, on mobile launchers in an indication that Pyongyang could carry out a threatened ICBM test earlier than expected.John Schillin

Ssangyong Motor Co., the local unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., is believed to have posted an operating profit in 2015 for the first time in nearly a decade, market observers noted Monday.The observers estimated the company's operating profit at 50 billion won ($42.5 million) last year. Ssangyong Motor's small SUV, the Tivoli Air (Ssangyong Motor)The company earlier said it had posted an operating profit of 38.6 billion won in the January-September period.A 50 billion-won operat