South Korea should carry out a sweeping reform of its economy to tide over a series of crises facing Asia's fourth-largest economy, a leading economist said Thursday.Kim Joon-kyung, president of the state-run Korea Development Institute, claimed South Korea is facing such challenges as falling growth potential, still high levels of regulation, plunging corporate earnings, a gaping income gap and a lack of preparedness for the so-called fourth industrial revolution.This file photo shows Kim Joon-

South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier LG Uplus Corp. said Thursday it has clinched an agreement with a local ventilator maker to apply its Internet of Things technology to the products.LG Uplus said it plans to release two ventilators for restrooms using the technology in cooperation with Himpel, the top local player in the area. (Yonhap)IoT is a concept in which all tangible objects are connected to the Internet and can identify themselves to other devices in order to exchange necessary data for i

South Korea and France will hold senior-level military talks this week on ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation on regional and global security issues, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday.Wee Seung-ho, deputy minister for policy, plans to attend the South Korea-France National Defense Strategic Dialogue in Paris from Thursday till Sunday, it added. His French counterpart will be Philippe Errera, director of strategic affairs of its defense ministry.South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo

Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party was the favorite presidential contender this week for the 12th straight week even after falling from his all-time high record, a poll showed Thursday.Moon gained 35 percent in the poll conducted from Monday to Wednesday, maintaining his wide lead over his rivals ahead of the May 9 presidential vote, according to Realmeter. Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party (Yonhap)The figure was still shy of last week's 36.6 percent possibly due to backlash o

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, taking their cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  rose 2.77 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,171.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 0.42 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor declined 1.47 percent, while top steelmaker POSCO rose 0.71 percent.Naver, the operator of the country's top Internet portal, gained 0.59 percent.The loc

Despite the economic slowdown, more than seven out of 10 South Korean lawmakers and high-ranking civil servants saw their wealth rise last year due mainly to an increase in the value of their real estate assets and stocks, data showed Thursday.The annual data, released by the Government Public Ethics Committee, showed that of the nation's 1,800 public officials, 1,382, or 76.8 percent, reported an increase in their assets in 2016.  This photo, taken on March 22, 2017, shows former President Park

More than half of listed firms in South Korea saw their share prices drop in 2017 from the end of last year despite the recent surge of the benchmark index and top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., data showed Thursday.As of Thursday, 56.4 percent of the 2,084 companies traded on the country's main and secondary stock markets, or 1,175 issues, closed lower compared with the end of 2016, according to the data by the Korea Exchange.  (Yonhap)On the main bourse, 52.3 percent of the 886 listed firms suff

South Korea will host an international football tournament featuring Honduras, Zambia and Ecuador this week to fine-tune their preparations for the FIFA U-20 World Cup at home.The U-20 national team was assembled on Sunday and has been training at the National Football Center in Paju, just north of Seoul, for the four-nation invitational tournament slated from Saturday to March 29. In this photo taken on March 19, 2017, the players for the South Korean national U-20 football team exercise during

North Korea is highly likely to fire more missiles in the coming weeks as its military prepares to wrap up months of winter training, defense officials and experts here said Thursday."Chances are high that North Korea may soon take additional provocative steps," a senior defense ministry official said on background. "A key concern is whether it will test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile or conduct a nuclear test." This undated file photo shows North Korea launching a ballistic missile.

South Korea's election watchdog is hastening its preparations for a rare presidential by-election to pick the successor of ousted President Park Geun-hye. The government fixed the voting date to May 9 last week after Park was dismissed on March 10 in a corruption scandal. Officials at the National Election Commission attending a meeting to crack down on fake news ahead of the May 9 presidential election at the commission's building in Gwacheon, some 18 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)Accordin

South Korea's top prosecutor said Thursday the prosecution will decide whether to seek the arrest of former President Park Geun-hye only on the basis of the law and principles and the results of the investigation.The former president returned home Wednesday after a 21-hour interrogation at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as she faces allegations of bribery, abuse of power, coercion and leaking government secrets. Prosecutor-General Kim Soo-nam speaks to the press upon arrival at h

Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party has postponed the official announcement of his presidential bid, as he seeks to restrain from campaigning due to the planned lifting of a passenger ferry that sank three years ago, party officials said Thursday.The frontrunner was originally scheduled to release a recorded video declaring his intention to run in the May 9 election later Thursday.Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party (Yonhap)"As the ferry Sewol will be pulled up today, we decided

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin promised to play an important role in cranking up sanctions on North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se Wednesday.Yun said he met with Mnuchin during a foreign ministers' meeting of 68 countries that the State Department hosted to discuss the fight against the militant group Islamic State.US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (AFP-Yonhap)"Secretary Mnuchin stressed that the Treasury Department will play an important role in North Korea sanctions

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis lashed out at China on Wednesday for taking a "tribute nation" approach to other countries and seeking "veto power" over sovereign decisions made by neighboring nations."In the South China Sea, we see China shredding trust as they adopt a tribute-nation kind of approach where all other nations have to pay tribute or acquiescence to the more powerful nation, the larger nation," Mattis said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. US Defense Secretary James

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that a string of global security threats, including North Korea's "reckless" and "provocative" behavior, requires the United States to maintain strong nuclear and conventional forces.US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (AP-Yonhap)"We must look reality in the eye: we see Russia and China seeking veto power over the economic, diplomatic, and security decisions of nations on their periphery. Terrorist groups murder the innocent and threaten peace in many r

Two veteran hurlers are turning back the clock in preseason baseball this month, as they battle for a spot on their respective rotations.Bae Young-soo of the Hanwha Eagles tossed four scoreless innings in a 7-4 win over the NC Dinos in their Korea Baseball Organization preseason game at Masan Stadium in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. The 35-year-old right-hander gave up only two hits while striking out four and walking none to pick up his second win of the preseason. Bae Youn

Food franchises in South Korea are on alert as consumers are refraining from eating chicken on worries over imported Brazilian poultry meat, industry sources said Wednesday. On Monday, the local authorities imposed a temporary halt on the distribution of Brazilian chicken and announced a recall after foreign media reported on a corruption scandal in Brazil involving major food processing firms who bribed government officials to overlook inspections and let them export rotten meat.  (Yonhap)But t

South Korea's top economic policymaker pledged Wednesday to increase financial assistance to promising startups and small companies as part of efforts to boost their competitiveness.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said the government will expand assistance in research and development for aspiring entrepreneurs with high growth potential, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho speaks in a meeting with more than a dozen leaders of small firms in Seoul on March 22, 2017. (Yon

North Korea has called for South Korea to immediately return a group of 13 North Korean restaurant workers, who defected to South Korea en masse last year, to the country at a UN meeting, asserting the South abducted them, the North's state-run news wire reported Wednesday. A North Korean delegate made the call at the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women that opened at the UN headquarters in New York on March 13, the Korean Central News Agency said.  North Korean women, ident

The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea has declined sharply this month compared with a year earlier, after Beijing imposed a group tour ban to protest Seoul's deployment of an advanced US anti-missile battery, the government said Wednesday. A total of 280,000 Chinese tourists came into the country between March 1-19, down 21.9 percent from 360,000 tallied over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.(Yonhap)Early this month, Beijing told its tra