South Korean exports of chips and other key products are forecast to expand at a double-digit rate in February on increased prices and a recovery in overseas demand, sources said Friday.The sanguine outlook, which local trade associations offered at a meeting hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, comes as the country's overseas shipments have been on the mend in recent months after a prolonged slump. (Yonhap)Overseas shipments of most flagship products are likely to increase in F

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday called for the protection of high-profile North Korean defectors after the murder of the half brother of the communist state's leader Kim Jong-un earlier this week.Hwang made the call during a regular meeting of ministers over a series of pending issues, such as Pyongyang's potential provocations, the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and the country's rising jobless rate.This photo, taken on Feb. 9, 2017, shows Acting Pr

A group of US Republican senators have urged the Treasury Department to significantly tighten the financial screws on North Korea to curb its dangerously accelerating nuclear and missile programs.The six senators -- Ted Cruz, Cory Gardner, Thom Tillis, Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey and David Perdue -- made the appeal in a joint letter urging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to "execute the full extent of financial sanctions and targeted financial measures provided for under current law." (Yonhap)"As

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson agreed Thursday to put together joint strategies to deal with North Korea based on an understanding that the communist nation has reached the final stage of nuclear armament, officials said.The two top diplomats reached the agreement when they held one-on-one talks in the German city of Bonn on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers' gathering, officials said. It was the first foreign ministers' meetin

South Korean futures firms and brokerage houses have declined sharply in the recent seven years due to a deep slump in the local derivatives market, industry data showed Friday.The number of futures firms stood at five as of September last year, more than halving from 11 tallied in 2009, with their employees shrinking to 395 from 683, according to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association. (Yonhap)Over the same period, the number of brokerages also fell to 56 from 62, while

The South Korean government has selected preliminary candidate sites for the Daegu and Suwon airports, with local residents to be asked for their approval, the military said Thursday. Guneui and a site overlapping Guneui and Uiseong have been shortlisted as the potential sites for the new Daegu airport which will be used both as a military airfield and a civilian airport, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. In this photo, taken on Jan. 12, 2017, government officials and experts

A Seoul court on Thursday refused to allow special prosecutors to search the presidential office, casting a cloud over an ongoing corruption probe of President Park Geun-hye and her associates. The special counsel filed the lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court last Friday after its attempt to enter the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae to collect evidence was halted by her aides earlier this month for security reasons.Foreign tourists look on from the photo zone of the fine dust-blanketed

Doosan Heavy Industries Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Thursday its loss narrowed sharply last year from the previous year largely thanks to tough restructuring moves aimed at reducing costs.Net loss reached 216 billion won ($189 million) on a consolidated basis last year, compared with a loss of 1.75 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)The company also logged an operating income of 791 billion won last year, shifting from an operatin

A lower court on Thursday sentenced a 51-year-old Chinese man to 25 years in prison for murdering a South Korean woman who was praying at a church on the country's southern resort island of Jeju last year.Chen Guorui attacked the 61-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Kim, in September when she was praying inside the Catholic church alone. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead a day after the incident took place.This file photo taken on Sept. 22, 2016, sh

South Korea's military said Thursday that it takes the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother very seriously and is maintaining a high level of readiness to deal with all threats to national security.In a press briefing, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it hasn't detected any unusual movement in North Korea following the suspected murder of Kim's estranged half-brother Jong-nam in Malaysia on Monday.  Kim Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yo

Australia's top diplomat will visit South Korea later this week to discuss regional security issues and bilateral economic cooperation, its embassy said Thursday.Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will stay in the country for two days until Saturday, according to the Australian Embassy in Seoul.Julie Bishop (Yonhap)Bishop will visit the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan to pay tribute to Australian veterans of the Korean War. She will also tour the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.Her visit

Residents of Seoul moved out of the capital city last year in the largest number in 19 years, national statistics showed Thursday, apparently driven out by costly housing and lack of jobs.The yearly tally released by Statistics Korea showed 140,000 people moved out of Seoul, the highest number since 178,000 in 1997. By comparison, the southeastern port city of Busan, the country's second-largest city, lost 21,000 people while Daejeon, another major city in the central part of the country, lost 1

South Korean airlines will freeze fuel surcharges on international passenger flights next month as prices of jet kerosene remain steady, industry sources said Thursday. Depending on the itinerary, fuel surcharges on international tickets purchased in South Korea ranged from 1,200 won ($1.05) to 9,600 won.  (Yonhap)The average price of jet fuel came to $65.42 per barrel in Singapore, or about $1.55 per gallon.Local airlines are allowed to impose a fuel surcharge when the average price exceeds $1.

South Korea announced plans Thursday to ease regulations on three industries -- artificial intelligence, virtual reality and financial technology, or fintech -- as part of the government's aggressive deregulation drive to find a new growth engine.The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning reported a set of deregulation measures to Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn to deregulate the three sectors amid the fast-paced industrial transformation, dubbed the "fourth industrial re

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard here, said Thursday that it has won its patent case in China which is related to its core technology for LNG-fueled ship.Daewoo Shipbuilding said that a filing by a Chinese shipbuilding and offshore equipment firm with the Chinese patent office, the SIPO, to nullify the South Korean shipyard's patent for LNG fuel supply technology was dismissed. (Yonhap)Daewoo Shipbuilding registered a patent for the "HiVAR-FGSS" technology in China

South Korean Go champ Lee Se-dol, who fought Google's artificial intelligence program, on Thursday expressed his support for liberal governor An Hee-jung as the country's new president. Lee became one of 15 heads of an association of supporters for the South Chungcheong governor unveiled on the day.  South Korean Go champ Lee Se-dol (R), plays a game of Go with South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung in this file photo taken in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, on Jan. 31, 2017. (Yonhap)"The gam

The recent murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother has Pyongyang's fingerprints all over it, a British historian specializing in the Korean War (1950-53) said Thursday."Speaking from a military perspective, if you want to assassinate someone, the perfect location is an airport," Andrew Salmon said after being awarded an order from the British government in recognition of his books on the Korean War.  U.K. Ambassador to South Korea Charles Hay (L) presents the Most Excellent Orde

SBS TV's high budget series "Saimdang, Memoir of Colors" saw its ratings drop below 10 percent despite efforts to salvage the much-hyped Lee Young-ae show, data showed Thursday.Episode seven of "Saimdang," which aired Wednesday night, recorded 9.7 percent nationwide viewership, according to Nielsen Korea. KBS 2TV's "Good Manager," aired during the same time slot, stood at 16.1 percent and MBC TV's "Missing 9" picked up 4 percent. Poster for "Saimdang, Memoir of Colors" (SBS)The 30-episode fantas

An appeals court on Thursday exonerated a provincial governor of bribery charges in a high-profile lobbying scandal involving a deceased businessman, overturning a lower court's decision to jail him.The Seoul High Court found South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo not guilty of receiving 100 million won ($87,943) from Sung Wan-jong, the former head of Kyungnam Corp., a local construction firm, ahead of a ruling party's leadership election in 2011.South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo speaks to the pr

More than half of Internet users in South Korea said they were unhappy with advertisement banners and links on screen when they use search engines, a report said Thursday. According to a report by the Korea Information Society Development Institute, 55.9 percent of Naver users that browse mostly on PCs said they are unhappy with the ads, with 54.6 percent of those who use Daum on desktops answering the same.  (Yonhap)The survey was carried out in November last year, based on 1,525 Internet porta