More than seven in 10 North Korean defectors stayed in Thailand en route to South Korea, a poll released by Seoul's unification ministry showed Tuesday, with over half of the defectors citing economic hardships as the top reason to flee the North.In the survey of graduates of a resettlement education center for defectors, Hanawon, in 2016, 72 percent said they came to South Korea via Thailand, the ministry said.The ministry said Laos was the No. 2 place for stopovers, followed by China, but it d

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Tuesday received an honorary doctorate from South Korea's only national sports university.Korea National Sport University conferred the doctoral degree in physical education on Bach in a ceremony at its Seoul campus, recognizing the German's role in the development of sports and his contribution to global peace through the Olympic Games. IOC President Thomas Bach (Yonhap)Bach, 63, has been leading the Olympic body since 2013.Bach, a fencin

AmorePacific Corp., South Korea's top cosmetics maker, unveiled a plan Tuesday to spend more than 160 billion won ($139.6 million) on expanding its research and development and production complex, as part of its efforts to bolster competitiveness through more investment. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gyeonggi provincial government earlier in the day for a project to expand its R&D and production facilities in Yongin, 49 kilometers south of Seoul, it said in a statemen

A SM Group-led consortium was picked as the preferred bidder for STX Corp., the company said Tuesday.SM Group and three others made offers earlier last week to buy the cash-strapped STX, an affiliate of the now-defunct shipping conglomerate STX.Since mid-February, trading of STX, a trading firm, has been suspended on the Seoul bourse due to the erosion of its capital base. The company faces the risk of being delisted if it fails to come up with measures to bolster its capital base.SM Group, a mi

South Korea's football governing body said Tuesday it has officially asked the Asian Football Confederation and its Chinese counterpart to prepare safety measures for Korean players and fans in the upcoming World Cup qualifying match in China. The Korea Football Association said the AFC and the Chinese Football Association will be asked to provide protections for Korean players and fans in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier slated for March 23 in Changsha, China.The match between South Korea and

Samsung Electronics Co. has been considering whether to transition into a holding company structure, regardless of the leadership vacuum caused by the detention of its de facto chief, Lee Jae-yong, a senior company executive said Tuesday. Samsung announced last November that it will review a possible switch to a holding company structure, but some analysts said the move may be delayed as Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., was arrested on Feb. 17 over his alleged role in a corruption

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday reiterated his vow to ensure the successful hosting of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics despite political turmoil sparked by the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye.During his talks with Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, Hwang underscored the government and citizens striving hard to overcome the current national crisis and thoroughly prepare for the quadrennial games. South Korea's Ac

North Korea on Tuesday called for the reform of the United Nations as its earlier attempt to make the ongoing South Korea-US joint military drills an agenda item at the UN Security Council has failed. "The Security Council has degenerated into a puppet of (the United States) and a maid of hegemonism," the Rodong Sinmun, a daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary titled, "The UN Should Be Reformed As Befitted Its Mission."  South Korea's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta

Bruce Cumings, a renowned US expert on the Korean Peninsula, has been chosen as the second winner of the Jeju April 3 Peace Prize, its selection committee said Tuesday.The 74-year-old Cumings, a chair professor of the University of Chicago, has produced a number of research papers on Korea's modern history and authored "The Origins of the Korean War," which helped expand the global understanding of the causes of the 1950-53 war.Bruce Cumings (R) visits Jeju Island to attend a peace forum. (Yonha

South Korea's presidential national security adviser will visit the United States this week for talks with his counterpart on North Korea, the presidential office here said Tuesday.During his two-day visit to Washington, Kim Kwan-jin, chief of the National Security Office, will meet with H.R. McMaster, the US national security adviser, to discuss joint efforts to counter Pyongyang's growing missile and nuclear threats, the office said.National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin attends a securit

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn ordered troops Tuesday to be on guard against North Korea's possible provocations in the wake of President Park Geun-hye's ouster.Hwang made the remark during a visit to the wartime command post of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where South Korea-US military drills are under way. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Yonhap)It marked his first on-site inspection since the Constitutional Court ruled to dismiss Park over a corruption scand

Host South Korea has avoided powerhouses in the group stage for this year's FIFA U-20 World Cup.FIFA on Tuesday unveiled its four "pots" for the quadrennial event set to open on May 20 in South Korea, with six host cities staging matches for 24 nations.Countries in the same pot will not be drawn into the same group. The 24 countries will be paired into six groups, and the top two teams from each, plus the four best third-place nations, will reach the knockout stage.As the host, South Korea has b

Police said Tuesday they are investigating 16 people for their violent acts during rallies after the Constitutional Court's ouster of former leader Park Geun-hye.The National Police Agency said they are looking into 21 cases that took place during rallies Friday and Saturday, after the court's ruling was delivered. Supporters of ousted President Park Geun-hye march in Seoul on March 11, 2017, during a rally in protest of the Constitutional Court's decision to remove her from office the previous

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona showed off his skills and entertained delighted South Korean fans in a special football match here Tuesday.Maradona landed in South Korea on Monday with fellow Argentine football star Pablo Aimar to attend the drawing ceremony for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The U-20 World Cup, featuring 24 teams, will be played from May 20 to June 11 in six South Korean cities: Cheonan, Daejeon, Incheon, Jeju, Jeonju and Suwon. Argentine football legend Diego Maradona celeb

South Korea's home transactions grew from a year earlier last month, helped by a sharp increase in rural areas, the government said Tuesday.In February, a total of 63,484 homes here changed hands, up 7.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. From a month before, the February tally marks an 8.4-percent increase. It also marks a turnaround from a 6.1-percent on-year drop in January.The rise in February was largely attributed to a 12

South Korean tech firms successfully showcased their advanced technology at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this month, industry and government officials said Tuesday.About 170 local firms, including many small and midsized companies, took part in the annual technology event, marking the largest number of South Korean companies to do so, they said.  Participants at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, on March 1, 2017 (Yonhap)The remarks were made durin

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Thursday that it has bagged a 300 billion-won ($262 million) deal to upgrade an existing power plant in Indonesia.Under the deal with the state-run Indonesian PLN, Doosan Heavy and a state-run Indonesian construction firm will upgrade the gas-powered Muara Tawar power plant's capacity to 1,800 megawatts from the current 1,150 MW over the next 30 months.A map of Indonesia (Yonhap)The power plant is some 40 k

KBS 2TV's late night office series "Good Manager" stood at No. 1 on a benchmark TV popularity chart, while "King of Mask Singer" and a number of variety shows also added strong momentum, data showed Tuesday."Good Manager" scored 247.1 points on the Content Power Index, staying as the No. 1 TV program during the Feb. 27-March 5 period. (KBS)CPI, developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, measures the popularity of TV shows based on the number of views of related news stories, on

South Korean pop singer Sunmi has signed up with a new management agency after leaving JYP Entertainment following the disbandment of Wonder Girls early this year, her new company announced on Tuesday. Make Us Entertainment said that it signed an exclusive contract with Sunmi last month. The company, which also represents artists Park Won and Urban Zakapa, said it "won't shy away from fully supporting Sunmi's music endeavors."Sunmi promised fans that she will deliver an unseen, fresh image throu

The "Boy In Luv" music video by BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, has surpassed 100 million views on YouTube, becoming the South Korean idol group's fourth video to reach the milestone, its agency said Tuesday.The view count for the video, uploaded on February 2014 on YouTube, stood at 100,274,422 as of 8:50 a.m. Tuesday, according to Big Hit Entertainment, the team's agency. (Big Hit Entertainment)So far, BTS has four songs -- the three others being "Dope," "Fire" and "Blood Sweat & Tears" -- wi