Amid growing tension that the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye may be thwarted or delayed considerably, opposition parties Wednesday renewed the call for her prompt ouster, which would give way to an earlier-than-planned election.They also demanded special prosecutors be given an extra month to continue the ongoing investigation into the president‘s corruption allegations.The leaders of three opposition parties met Wednesday afternoon, pledging to participate in yet another massive candlel

South Korea and the US will employ an operational guideline to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile facilities including the use of Washington’s advanced missile defense system for the first time during their upcoming annual joint military exercises, Seoul’s military officials said Wednesday. During the Key Resolve computer-simulated drills scheduled to kick off in March, the allies will apply the principles of “4D” -- detect, defense, disrupt and destroy. Adopted in 2015, the concept is a

Over the past few months, the Foreign Ministry has been living through an unparalleled crisis. At home, summit diplomacy has been at a standstill since the parliament impeached President Park Geun-hye on Dec. 9, stripping her of her presidential powers and putting her political fate in the hands of the Constitutional Court. Fresh allegations have continued to surface by the day that her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil meddled in the selection of ambassadors and the chief of a state grant aid agenc

Woori Bank, a South Korean lender, said Wednesday it has posted a 29-percent on-year decline in net profit for the fourth quarter due to increased one-off costs.Net profit fell to 155.4 billion won ($135 million) in the October-December period on a consolidated basis, compared to 219.2 billion won a year earlier, the lender said in a statement. (Yonhap)The net result was affected by severance payments worth 86 billion won and bonuses valued at 84 billion won in the last quarter, it said. Still,

Major banking group Shinhan Financial Group said Wednesday its net profit jumped more than 17 percent on-year in 2016, led by an improvement in the earnings of flagship subsidiary Shinhan Bank.Net profit rose 17.2 percent to 2.77 trillion won ($2.35 billion) last year, the third consecutive year for the group to post more than 2 trillion won in net income. It also marks Shinhan's second-biggest earnings in its history after 3.1 trillion won recorded in 2011. The corporate logo of Shinhan Financi

Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the conservative opposition Bareun Party on Wednesday paid homage to the late President Roh Moo-hyun at his southern hometown of Bongha.The tribute is a rare move by a right-leaning politician in a country that is still deeply divided over the legacy of the iconic liberal leader who committed suicide following corruption accusations. “President Roh started low but became the president through a dramatic turnaround,” said Rep. Yoo, paying tribute at the late president’s tomb

South Korea's financial authorities said Wednesday they have started full-scale efforts to promote the trust business with the launch of an inter-agency task force.The team is tasked with laying the groundwork for drafting a related bill and will include officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Justice and the Financial Services Commission. Kim Yong-beom, head of the Financial Services Commission's secretariat, speaks to reporters in this undated file photo. (Yonhap)"

Civic groups in support of sexual minorities on Wednesday called for the abolishment of the Education Ministry’s sex education policy which excludes any mention of sexual minorities, calling it “discriminatory.”“The Education Ministry should discard the sex education guidelines which only promote discrimination and prejudice against sexual minorities and should opt to give LGBT-inclusive education,” they said during a press conference held in front of the government complex in central Seoul.The

The Seoul city unveiled Wednesday a plan to erect a memorial to honor the country’s government-in-exile during the Japanese occupation, the first such facility to be built here. “To celebrate the landmark year (2019) in Korean history, the city of Seoul will prepare to honor the legacy of our provisional government, which successive governments so far have failed to properly acknowledge and put very little attention on,” Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon speaks at a press

North Korea has threatened a pre-emptive strike against South Korea if provoked as it marked a key military anniversary, a state media reported Wednesday.Hwang Pyong-so, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, made the remarks during an event in Pyongyang on Tuesday, one day before the 69th anniversary of the foundation of the armed forces, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "If the enemies dare violate the sovereignty and dignity of the country even a bit

Korean Go master Lee Se-dol has become one of the chief supporters of rising liberal presidential candidate An Hee-jung. “I have admired Master Lee, who became a hero in his match against artificial intelligence AlphaGo and I got to learn from him in a surprise encounter,” South Chungcheong Gov. An said, announcing Lee’s joining of his supporters’ club. “For my invitation to the camp, Lee willingly accepted.” Lee, a 9th-dan Go master, played against the program last year, which was widely viewed

The hiatus of popular weekend show "Infinite Challenge" is estimated to cost its network MBC TV around 2 billion won ($1.75 million) in lost sales, according to industry forecasts Wednesday.(Yonhap)First aired in 2005, the mission-oriented reality TV show is one of the most viewed non-drama programs in South Korea and a major breadwinner for the terrestrial broadcaster.The Saturday evening program entered a seven-week hiatus on Jan. 28 to "take time for reorganization." The "golden timeslot" is

The money supply in South Korea jumped 7.5 percent in December from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.The nation's "M2" totaled 2,405.8 trillion won ($2.1 trillion) in December, compared with 2,241.5 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. (Yonhap)Month-on-month, the money supply was up 0.03 percent from November, the statement said.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposits with a mat

A cow farm in the capital area reported a suspected case of the foot-and-mouth disease Wednesday, officials said, following a series of outbreaks earlier in the week.Ten cows were reported to show symptoms of the virus, such as drooling and blisters, at the farm in Yeoncheon County, 62 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the local officials. They said they will carry out an inspection of the farm where some 100 milk cows are being raised. (Yonhap)It marks the first time the disease has been

South Korea's top financial regulator said Wednesday the government will offer "tailored" financial support for the youth in need, as a growing number of college graduates struggle to get jobs."Financial support for college students and other young people is one of the top priorities in this year's policy on low-income brackets," Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said. "(The government) will expand timely and tailored support so that they can concentrate on studying a

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday lambasted special prosecutors for leaking the schedule set for investigators to question President Park Geun-hye over her role in the corruption scandal that led to her impeachment, further clouding the prospects of the unprecedented inquiry.Some media outlets reported on the day that Cheong Wa Dae and the probe team, led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo, had agreed to the plan to question Park face to face at her presidential office on Thu

The leaders of the Saenuri Party plan to begin a nationwide bus tour next week, a senior party official said Wednesday, in an apparent move to shore up public trust and rally conservatives ahead of a presidential election this year.Rep. Yeom Dong-yeol, the chief of the party's strategy and planning division, said that the trip, which will kick off as early as next Tuesday, is intended partly to deliver a message of "repentance" for a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her f

The leaders of the three opposition parties will meet on Wednesday to call on the Constitutional Court to promptly rule in favor of the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, officials said.Reps. Choo Mi-ae, Park Jie-won and Sim Sang-jeung, the heads of the Democratic Party, the People's Party and the Justice Party, respectively, will hold a meeting in the afternoon to discuss the impeachment trial and other issues.The meeting was arranged after the court decided Tuesday to schedule additional

The state-run Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of the near bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Co., has put 10 vessels of the shipping line up for sale, to retrieve part of its extended loans, industry sources said Wednesday.According to the sources, potential buyers are required to submit their bids for the ships -- two container ships and eight bulk carriers -- by Feb. 21. (Yonhap)Hanjin Shipping returned its ships purchased with bank loans to the respective lender last year as the ocean carrier

Members of families that control South Korea's corporate titans are on the fast track as they usually get promoted to the executive level in less than five years after entering the company, a corporate tracker said Wednesday.Announcing a survey on 208 members of families controlling the top 50 business groups, CEO Score said it took an average of 4.9 years for them to get promoted to executive-level positions after admission. In contrast, it took an average of 24 years for ordinary employees of