South Korea's major business groups on Tuesday strongly objected to opposition and government-proposed revisions to commercial and tax codes that they said will turn the country into one of the most business unfriendly nations in the world.They insisted what the country needed instead was an additional removal of excessive regulations.An image portraying the controvery over the commercial act (Yonhap)"Tax revenues cannot but grow when businesses flourish and create more jobs," five major busines

North Korea has decided not to allow Malaysians staying in the North to leave the country temporarily, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday, amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries over the death of the half brother of the North's ruler.North Korea's foreign ministry notified the Malaysian Embassy in Pyongyang that it will not permit Malaysians staying in North Korea to leave the country until the safety of North Korean diplomats and citizens in Malaysia is "fully guaranteed through the

The South Korea's modest economic recovery bolstered by the uptick in construction and facility investment is losing steam in the face of a slowdown in private consumption, a state-run think tank said Tuesday."The Korean economy exhibited improved investments, but private consumption weakened slightly, implying only modest growth," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. "Construction investment continued the rapid growth and facilitie

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the headquarters of a bank holding firm based in the country's second largest city of Busan over allegations of stock price manipulation, prosecution officials said.Officials at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office said its investigators have confiscated documents from BNK Financial Group and its affiliates Busan Bank Co., BNK Securities Co. and BNK Capital Co., as well as the offices of their top executives.Busan Bank headquarters in Busan. (Yonhap file photo)The

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group faces a slew of difficulties, including economic retaliation by China and a criminal investigation for alleged bribery, as it gets ready to mark the 50th anniversary of its foundation next month.Lotte Confectionery Co., the matrix of Lotte Group, was founded by Shin Kyuk-ho, father of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, on April 3, 1967.This file photo provided by Lotte on Nov. 4, 2016, shows a marching band playing a Christmas carol the previous day in fron

Korean cultural content and their stars are now under a massive ban in China as a protest over Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced US missile defense system, but popular actor Park Hae-jin appears to be an exception to the measure.China's largest online video sharing platforms Youku and Sohu Video covered a formal dinner held in Seoul on Monday to celebrate the end of shooting for actor Park Hae-jin's new TV series "Man to Man."They interviewed the lead star as he walked into the restaurant t

US President Donald Trump agreed Monday to work with South Korea and Japan to show North Korea "very dire consequences" for its provocative actions, the White House said.Trump reached the agreement when he spoke separately by phone with South Korea's acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a day after the North fired a barrage of four ballistic missiles. US President Donald Trump (Yonhap)"President Trump emphasized the United States' ironclad commitment to stand wi

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday said North Korea's latest missile launch might be intended to circumvent growing criticism for the recent assassination of its leader's half brother and influence Washington's policy toward it.During a Cabinet meeting, Hwang also called Pyongyang's launch Monday of four ballistic missiles toward the East Sea "not only a violation of UN Security Council resolutions but also a serious provocation against us and neighboring

Nearly one in four prisoners at North Korea's labor camps die of disease while in confinement, a Seoul-based think tank said in a report released Tuesday.The report by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said that the fatality rate at North Korea's political prisons is estimated at close to 25 percent, with most of the deaths caused by various diseases. A satellite photo of North Korea's Jungeri Prison. (Yonhap)Go Myong-hyun, an Asan research fellow who authored the report, said that he has ca

South Korean food companies are trying to rekindle the popularity of Korean food in Japan by participating in a festival near Tokyo, a state-run Korean food distribution company said Tuesday. A total of 127 Korean companies, the most ever, are joining Foodex Japan 2017 at Makuhari Messe convention center in Japan's Chiba prefecture, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. This Yonhap file photo, taken on March 3, 2015, shows South Korean food booths at Foodex Japan in Chiba pref

South Korean companies are increasingly faced with China's unreasonable and tighter regulations after Seoul finalized the site for a high-tech US missile defense system, sources said Tuesday.Late last month, South Korea finalized a deal with Lotte Group to station a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery on a Lotte golf course in the southeastern county of Seongju. Lotte agreed to receive a military-owned land plot near Seoul in return. This undated file photo shows a payloader crushing goo

The United States has begun the process of deploying an advanced missile defense system to South Korea, the US and South Korean militaries said Tuesday, a day after North Korea test-fired four ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan.Seoul and Washington have said the system is purely defensive and poses no threat to other countries in the region. But China has explicitly opposed it, saying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system's powerful radars could be used against it.Parts of THAAD

South Koreans who were planning trips to China are having second thoughts on rising safety concerns amid heightening political tension between the two countries over Seoul's planned deployment of the THAAD missile defense system, sources said Tuesday.A 35-year-old woman, asking only to be identified by her surname Kim, said she is deeply worried about whether she should stick to her plan to vacation in China.  Tourists at the airport (Yonhap)"I'm afraid because I don't know how bad the situation

South Korea and its exporting companies must prepare for new and intensifying import restrictions by other countries, especially the United States, local experts said Tuesday.They noted the US was widely expected to deviate from multilateral conventions, including the World Trade Organization, while in pursuit of President Donald Trump's "America First" policy.Image depicting the controversy surrounding the THAAD installment between China and South Korea. (Yonhap)"In the trade policy agenda rele

KEB Hana Bank, a major South Korean lender, said Tuesday that it detected $134,000 in fake currencies last year.Stacks of foreign currency notes. (Yonhap)The value of the counterfeit bills accounted for 86 percent of the country's overall fake foreign currencies identified by banks in 2016, according to the lender,The bank said the fake notes were in US dollars, Chinese yuan and euros. (Yonhap)

Sales of imported cars in South Korea gained 3.5 percent from a year earlier last month, partly due to a steady advance by Mercedes-Benz, market data showed Tuesday.The number of newly registered imported vehicles here came to 16,212 in February, compared to 15,671 in the same month last year, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.Dimitris Psillakis, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, holds a press conference at a Seoul hotel on Jan. 16, 2017, announcing

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corp., a South Korean consumer electronics maker, said Tuesday that cumulative global sales of its wall-mounted washing machine have surpassed 150,000 units. Dongbu Daewoo launched the "mini" washing machine in 2012, marking the first wall-mounted washing machine in the world.A model posing in front of Dongbu Daewoo's mini washing machine (Yonhap)With a loading capacity of 3 kg, the mini-washer features higher energy efficiency and a faster wash time. As the number of s

South Korea's Hyundai Kia Automotive Group said Tuesday it showcased several eco-friendly vehicles at this year's auto show in Geneva, Switzerland, wooing European customers sensitive to the environment and fuel efficiency.Hyundai Motor Co. said it has introduced a new i30 wagon, a European-style wagon derived from the i30 compact hatchback, at the Geneva International Motor Show at Palexpo, Geneva, which opened Tuesday and will run through Sept. 19.The Hyundai i30 wagon (Hyundai Motor)Hyundai i

South Korea will run a pilot service utilizing the short-range wireless technology used in credit cards for personal authentication and mobile payments, the country's telecommunication watchdog said Tuesday.Under the program managed by the Korea Communications Commission and set to begin later this month, the new service grants Internet users the ability to verify their personal information using Near Field Communication-tagged credit cards.A user demonstrates Samsung Electronics Co.'s Samsung P

The Genesis, a separate premium brand of South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co., has won this year's best brand ranking among local cars for the first time, a survey said Tuesday.Brandstock, a South Korean market research firm that determines the rankings of local brands, said in its latest survey that the Genesis got 873.7 points on a scale of 1,000 in terms of its Brand Stock Top Index, topping this year's car brand ranking.The Genesis EQ900 (Hyundai Motor Co.)It represents a marked ris