Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party, stood as the most favored presidential hopeful for the 10th consecutive week, a poll showed Thursday, one day before the Constitutional Court rules on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.According to the poll conducted by Realmeter, Moon posted an approval rating of 36.1 percent, beating all other contenders. The poll was conducted from Monday to Wednesday on 1,530 South Koreans, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage point

Bolivia has named one of its streets after South Korea in a show of respect and friendship for the country that helped build its new town in Santa Cruz, the Seoul government said Thursday.The 80-meter wide, 9.85-kilometer-long road bisecting the new town of Santa Cruz was named "Avenida Corea" or Korea Avenue in a ceremony held Wednesday (Bolivia time), according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The rendered image (on left), provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure

The US ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday rejected calls for opening negotiations with North Korea to defuse escalating tensions, saying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "not a rational person." Amb. Nikki Haley also turned down China's suggestion that the US halt annual joint military exercises with South Korea in exchange for Pyongyang's suspension of its nuclear and missile activities. She also said the US is reviewing all options on the table."I appreciate all of my counterparts

The US THAAD missile defense system being installed in South Korea is "critical" to defending the Asian ally from North Korean threats, the White House said Wednesday."We're very troubled by the launch of missiles that have occurred from North Korea. I think that's why the THAAD missile system that we've started to deploy into South Korea is so important," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at a regular briefing."We're continuing to work with the government of South Korea to make sure

US senators have strongly criticized China for raising unfair objections to the deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, saying it's a defensive system designed to guard against a threat that Beijing has long abetted.China angrily reacted to the arrival in South Korea earlier this week of the first elements of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery that the US and the South agreed to install to bolster defenses against growing missile threats from North Korea.Beij

A statue of a girl symbolizing victims who were sexually enslaved by Japanese troops during its occupation of the Korean Peninsula (1910-45) was erected in Germany's southeastern municipality of Wiesent on Wednesday. The erection ceremony of the "comfort women" statue was held at the Nepal Himalaya Pavillon, a park in Wiesent, which is part of the district of Resenburg. It was attended by some 100 local German officials and representatives from the Suwon City government and civic groups from Sou

Chinese tourists are canceling hotel reservations following Beijing's decision to ban sales of tour packages in retaliation for South Korea's deployment of an advanced US missile defense system on its soil, industry sources said Thursday.Ibis Budget Ambassador, located in a busy shopping district of Dongdaemun in Seoul, said all of its group bookings from China have been canceled at the request of the guests.An image of Lotte City Hotels (Yonhap)"We've also had two or three individual bookings c

South Korean seasoned laver products accounted for the bulk of dried seaweed imports rejected by China in 2016, despite their huge popularity in the world's most populous country, data showed Thursday.With Beijing ramping up its economic sanctions on Seoul over a missile defense system, concerns are running high that China may put the brakes on South Korean seasoned laver exports by abusing its rules for the permissible level of bacteria.According to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisher

The net income of South Korea's real estate trust companies hit an all-time high last year, with interest rates staying low and newly built apartments selling like hotcakes, data showed Thursday.Eleven such firms here reported combined net profits of 393.3 billion won ($343 million) last year, up 77 percent from 2015, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Apartments under construction in Korea (Yonhap)It marks a record high, boosted by increases in operating and non-operating income al

김한솔 등 김정남씨의 유가족이 대만으로 피신했다는 주장이 나왔다.국내매체 <뉴데일리>는 8일 김한솔의 유튜브 영상이 공개된 직후 Ri Young Hac 명의의 이메일이 일부 외신기자에게 발송됐다고 보도했다.(사진=유튜브 영상 캡쳐)제보자는 자신이 북한사람이라고 밝힌 것으로  알려졌다.  이 제보자에 따르면 유가족 김한솔과 그의 어머니 리혜경은 지난 2월15일 대만으로 떠났다.이어 "김한솔이 미국, 네덜란드, 중국 그리고 이름을 밝힐 수 없는 나라의 도움을 받았다고 했는데 그곳은 바로 대만"이라고 주장했다.코리아헤럴드 지예은 인턴기자 (yeeunjie@heraldcorp.com)

South Korean actor Gong Yoo will hold meet-and-greet events in Taiwan and Hong Kong starting next month, his management agency said Wednesday. This undated photo provided by Management Soop on March 8, 2017, shows South Korean actor Gong Yoo. (Yonhap)The events will be held at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taipei on April 29 and at the AsiaWorld?Expo in Hong Kong on May 5, Management Soop said in a press release.HIs fan conventions are part of an overseas promotional tour for the popular series "Gu

SBS TV's crime thriller "Defendant" held steadfast to its lead in the Monday-Tuesday late night television drama race, while Ko So-young's comeback series "Ms. Perfect" lagged far behind, data showed Wednesday. Tuesday night's 12th episode of "Defendant" recorded 24.9 percent viewership, according to Nielsen Korea, reaching a new high for the series.  Promotional image for SBS TV series "Defendant" (Yonhap)MBC TV's "Rebel: A Thief Who Stole The People" raked in 10.5 percent, seeing a small up-ti

South Korean households spend nearly 7 percent of their monthly income on education, a survey showed Wednesday, a sign that underscores the education zeal in Asia's fourth-largest economy.The average monthly income of South Korean households came to 4.68 million won ($4,000) as of late last year. Of the total, 310,000 won was set aside for education, accounting for 6.6 percent of the the income, according to the survey conducted by Shinhan Bank, the country's fourth-largest lender by assets.Stud

South Korea has called for a joint international response to North Korea's suspected use of the banned VX nerve agent in the recent assassination of its leader's half brother during the latest session of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.In his key note speech during the OPCW's executive council session in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs Choi Jong-moon underscored North Korea's chemical weapons threats

Lotte Group said Wednesday more than half of its hypermarket chains operating in China have been forced to shut down temporarily, adding to woes that Beijing's reprisal against Seoul over the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system is intensifying.The number of Lotte Mart stores facing business suspension stands at 55 as of 4:00 p.m., adding another 16 to the 39 outlets previously orderd to stop running, according to Lotte.Lotte Group's hypermarket chains forced to shut down in China

South Korea's finance minister held a meeting with the representative of US businesses on Wednesday to discuss ways to expand understanding on economy and trade between the two countries.At the meeting with James Kim, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, Yoo Il-ho said it is necessary to establish a favorable economic and trade partnership under the new Donald Trump administration, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (

South Korea's economically active population is set to decline in the coming years, a local think tank said Wednesday, a chronic trend that could undermine the growth potential of Asia's fourth-biggest economy. The number of the country's economically active population aged between 15 and 64 is expected to reach 37.62 million in 2017, down from 37.63 million a year earlier, according to government data.The number of the country's economically active population is showing a decreasing trend. (Yon

South Korea will increase funding for the local tourism industry which could be hurt by China's decision to ban sales of tour packages in retaliation for the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system, the government said Wednesday. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it has decided to add another 50 billion won ($43.5 million) to the annual budget worth 550 billion won to help the tourism sector in case of financial difficulties.The Korean cosmetics industry may be struck

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of a much-anticipated rate hike in the United States and on a growing spat between South Korea and China over the deployment of a US missile defense system here. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index  moved up 1.36 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,095.41. Trade volume was moderate at 375 million shares worth 4.38 trillion won ($3.82 billion), wi

Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., a leading brokerage firm in South Korea, was fined 2 billion won ($1.7 million) on Wednesday for skipping the reporting of its securities sale based on the Landmark 72 tower in Hanoi, Vietnam's tallest building.The Financial Services Commission made the final decision to punish Mirae, saying it failed to submit a report on the sale of asset-backed securities worth 300 billion won last year.The headqarters of Mirae Asset Daewoo in Seoul in a file photo. (Yonhap)There were