South Korea's derivatives market shows no signs of bouncing back, data showed Thursday, amid criticism that strict regulations continue to damp investors' appetite.The country once boasted the world's largest derivatives market, but it has suffered a sharp decline in trading over the past several years. An image of derivatives trading in a file photo provided by Yonhap News TV (Yonhap)The daily average trading volume of stock index futures totaled 17 trillion won ($14.4 billion) last year, down

Sales at major department stores have been stagnant for the past five years and lack promising elements for a pickup, retail industry data indicated Thursday, leading some analysts to draw comparisons with Japan where the slump continued for 16 years.Industry estimates for last year show 2 percent or less sales growth at leading department stores, a number seen since 2012.   Department store sales limp on, reminiscent of JapanLotte is expecting an approximate 2 percent sales increase from the pr

South Korean infants are prescribed antibiotics in much higher frequency than those in other countries, the latest research report said Thursday, confirming concerns in the medical community of serious misuse that could hurt the immune system.The results show South Korean toddlers on average are prescribed antibiotics 3.41 times by the time they reach the age of two, way higher than the five other countries -- Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United States -- surveyed for the report. The pr

"The Wailing," a supernatural thriller, was named best film of 2016 by an association of South Korean film journalists Wednesday. Na Hong-jin was chosen best director for the tense drama which features a tranquil rural village embroiled in mysterious serial murders after the arrival of a stranger. The movie, whose original Korean title is "Goksung," stars Kwak Do-won, Chun Woo-hee and Hwang Jung-min. Since its premiere at last year's Cannes Film Festival, it has been invited to even more interna

Prominent opposition members on Thursday expressed discontent over the Seoul court's decision to reject an arrest warrant sought for Lee Jae-yong, the heir-apparent of Samsung Group embroiled in the influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye.Earlier in the day, the Seoul Central District Court turned down the request made by an independent counsel on arresting Lee on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury."It is hard to understand," Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said through

Moon Jae-in, a liberal presidential front-runner, saw his approval rating edge up this week to widen the gap with his biggest rival, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a poll showed Thursday.The former Democratic Party head received 28.1 percent in support, up 2 percentage points from the previous week in the survey by RealMeter. Ban fell 0.4 point to 21.8 percent. (Yonhap)The former UN head has been seeking to expand his political presence after returning home last Thursday by visiting di

Paris Diderot University, also known as Paris 7, will open a master's course on the Korean independence movement history later this year, the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan said Thursday. "(The IHK) and visiting Marie-Orange Rive-Lasan, a professor of the Oriental Literature Department, have agreed on the opening of the provisionally named "History of Korean Independence Movement"course as part of the regular curriculum of the Korean studies in Paris 7 starting in the fall semester that b

South Korea's foreign ministry said Thursday that it will hold a meeting of diplomats in charge of more than a dozen of its overseas missions this week to discuss the country's multilateral diplomatic strategies and policy direction.Top envoys of 16 overseas missions, including the permanent mission to the United Nations, the permanent delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and embassies in the Netherlands and Thailand, will gather in New York on Friday (local t

South Korea's transportation and construction ministry said Thursday that it is seeking to sign a memorandum of understanding with a development bank in Central America to widen cooperation in building infrastructure in the region.Under the deal, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will share know-how on infrastructure construction, roads and housing with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (L) and Nick Rischbieth, the presid

The Bareun Party, a splinter group of the ruling Saenuri Party, on Thursday dismissed liberal presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in's pledge to create 1.31 million jobs as populist "sweet talk."On Wednesday, Moon, former head of the main opposition Democratic Party, said he would provide more jobs by increasing the number of civil servants and reducing work hours to induce employers to hire more."South Korea's public sector debt has surpassed 1,000 trillion won ($848 billion) for the first time.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a military unit, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday, marking his first inspection of the country's defense establishment in the new year.The North's leader toured the Korean People Army's Unit 233, stressing the need to boost its combat preparations, the Korean Central News Agency said without revealing the date of his inspection.Kim was satisfied that soldiers are keeping weapons and combat equipment "always ready to go into action, thinking only of co

Investors here are increasingly shifting their money to short-term investment vehicles amid lingering uncertainties ahead of the launch of the new US administration and further interest rate rises in the world's largest economy, data showed Thursday.Money market funds in South Korea posted net inflows of 21.1 trillion won ($17.8 billion) this year, according to market tracker FnGuide. This undated file photo shows a Seoul bank official counting banknotes. (Yonhap)It marks a contrast to the 1.6 t

North Korea has probably built two missiles presumed to be intercontinental ballistic missiles and placed them on mobile launchers for test-firing in the near future, military officials said Thursday. The two missiles are estimated to not exceed 15 meters in length, making them shorter than the North's existing ICBMs, the 19-20 meter-long KN-08 and the 17-18 meter-long KN-14, the officials familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency.The North appears to have intentionally leaked the new mis

A local civic group said Wednesday it has asked the UN to arrange a meeting with South Koreans abducted by North Korea.Choi Sung-yong, head of the support group for families of abductees, said he submitted a formal request to Signe Poulsen, head of the Seoul office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Tuesday.Choi's organization believes 21 out of 516 South Koreans abducted by North Korea after the Korean War are still alive and are residing in Pyongyang.Citing his own source, Choi c

More than a quarter of the low-income group are indebted, with the amount of the debts rising with age, a welfare agency report said Thursday.A study conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said that as of 2014, 26.8 percent of the low-income people owed an average 38.97 million won ($33,290) of debts, which incurred 1.43 million won in annual interest payments.The low-income group was defined as those whose earnings are 50 percent or less than the national average income.

South Korea is expecting exports to Sudan to rise down the road as the United States decided to lift sanctions on the African country, a trade promotion agency said Thursday.Last week, US President Barack Obama decided to issue a decision canceling two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.The U.S. has been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and putting it on its list of countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.After a six-month surveillance, sanctions on the African country

A Seoul court on Thursday rejected an arrest warrant sought for Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Group's de facto leader, dealing a blow to investigators who have been accelerating the probe into an influence-peddling scandal centered on President Park Geun-hye and her friend. On Monday, an independent counsel team looking into the scandal announced that it sought the warrant against Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.Lee Jae-yong, vice chairm

A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced a local gallery operator and an antique dealer to four years and seven years in prison, respectively, for selling forged art works of renowned South Korean artist Lee U-fan.The Seoul Central District Court found the gallery operator, identified only by his last name Hyun, guilty of fabricating Lee's works in return for 50 percent of the proceeds. Four pieces have been confirmed to be forged so far. Hyun has admitted to the allegations, though he denied any in

South Korean girl group TWICE will roll out a special album next month, seeking to carry on its winning streak of online music streaming and album sales in the competitive, rapidly changing market, the band's management agency said Wednesday. (JYP Entertainment)According to music industry sources, the special album is currently in production for release in late February. It will be a repackaged version of the group's hit third EP "TWICEcoaster:LANE1," which will include a newly produced track."I

President Park Geun-hye's lawyers asked the Constitutional Court Wednesday to exclude a key piece of evidence from her impeachment trial as they claim the material was gained through "illegal" means.On Tuesday, the court finalized a list of investigation records and material it will use in its deliberation of Park's impeachment, including several notebooks kept by former presidential aide An Chong-bum.An wrote down the president's orders and remarks in 17 notebooks from January 2015 to October 2