A close friend of President Park Geun-hye, who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal, slammed the special prosecutor's team as "undemocratic" on Wednesday as she appeared at its office to undergo questioning after refusing to do so for nearly a month.Earlier in the day, the investigation team went to a detention center near Seoul to execute the arrest warrant issued against Choi Soon-sil to compel her to appear before its office for an interrogation."The special counsel's team is no

Former UN chief Ban Ki-moon, a prominent presidential aspirant, reiterated his support for a constitutional revision Wednesday, calling for a sweeping change in the current governing structure, where power is concentrated in a single national leader.During a meeting with some members of the ruling Saenuri Party, Ban also reaffirmed his resolve to work for a "change in politics," upbraiding establishment politicians for being mired in persistent power struggles."(We) have reached the limits in fu

South Korea will accelerate its corporate restructuring drive in shaky industries like shipbuilding and steelmaking in 2017 in a bid to gain a foothold for the future industrial revolution, the government said Wednesday.At a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul chaired by Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, the government reviewed action plans on revamping four key industrial sectors -- shipbuilding, steelmaking, shipping and petroleum -- and came up with detailed schemes for this year. South Korea's Fina

Retailers whose sales of gift sets for the Lunar New Year holiday dropped this year said Wednesday that the top-end presents, priced well over 1 million won ($857), remained highly popular, a sign economists say attests to the economic gap in the country.Lotte Department Store annually markets its "prestige L" limited gift sets, packaging premium-class beef, wine, fish and other foods. Twenty of 30 sets available for dried yellow croaker fish, priced at 3.6 million won, have already been sold, a

South Korean actor Lee Dong-wook, riding a huge wave of popularity thanks to his character on the recent tvN hit drama "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" is to embark on an Asia tour to meet fans, his agency said Wednesday.  (King Kong Entertainment)According to Kingkong Entertainment, the actor will kick off a series of meet-and-greets in Seoul on March 12, and then visit other various regions in Asia starting from April."Lee has been preparing for the upcoming event in his spare time despite

The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party condemned a lawmaker on Wednesday for displaying a painting portraying President Park Geun-hye in the nude at a parliamentary building.On Tuesday, the party referred Rep. Pyo Chang-won to its ethics panel for organizing the exhibition, which featured the picture titled "Dirty Sleep," where Park was lying naked in a parody of Edouard Manet's "Olympia." "It is a punishable act," said floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho. "The Democratic Party will

South Korea's stock funds have suffered massive redemptions in the first three weeks of this year apparently on profit-taking, data showed Wednesday, as no further momentum is expected in the equity market dogged by uncertainties.Domestic stock funds, excluding exchange traded funds, posted 1.03 trillion won ($850 million) of net outflow this year as of Monday, according to fund information provider KG Zeroin. An image of stock funds. (Yonhap)It came after a total of net 7.9 trillion won outflow

Gyeonggi Gov. Nam Kyung-pil of the Bareun Party announced his intention to run in the next presidential election on Wednesday, declaring his vision to "rebuild" the country by eradicating corruption, reforming chaebol and crafting a job-based welfare system. "We need to change the old tradition of revering presidents and high-ranking officials like kings, along with the top-to-bottom system," Nam said. "Such a vertical system is a violent custom that protects the privileged and the old system." 

A former university president avoided arrest Wednesday as a Seoul court rejected investigators' request to issue a warrant over allegations she gave admission and grading favors to the daughter of President Park Geun-hye's close friend.The Seoul Central District Court turned down the request sought against Choi Kyung-hee, saying it is hard to recognize the need for her detention over charges that she directed or collaborated with other professors in helping Chung Yoo-ra gain admission to the sch

South Korean companies tend to work with the same accounting firm for a long period of time, an analysis showed Wednesday, a practice partly blamed for corroborated cover-ups of financial troubles that later blow up in damaging losses for lenders and investors.The analysis by corporate watcher CEO Score of 483 companies said that as of end of 2015, the firms on average stayed with the same accountant for 6.8 years. The trend compares to Japan where, by law, a contract with an accounting firm is

South Korea and the United States are arranging their first defense ministers' talks in Seoul next month since the inauguration of Donald Trump, the defense ministry said Wednesday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly plans to visit Japan and South Korea in his first overseas trip after he was named to head the Pentagon."We are in talks with our US counterparts to hold the defense ministers' meeting early next month in Seoul. We are fine-tuning the detailed schedule," a ministry officia

Presidential hopefuls from the liberal bloc plan to visit military facilities Wednesday, in an apparent bid to highlight their interest in national security and curb perceptions the opposition parties are less concerned about Pyongyang's provocations.Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a potential candidate from the minor People's Party, plans to visit the Joint Chiefs of Staff in central Seoul, amid rising concerns that North Korea may test an intercontinental ballistic missile.Military officials will brief Ah

South Korea's auto exports to the United States fell for the first time in seven years last year amid concerns that the Trump administration may take protectionist measures on vehicle imports, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, automakers here shipped 964,432 cars to the US last year, a 9.5 percent on-year fall.  (Yonhap)The cars were worth $15.58 billion, also down 9.8 percent.In contrast, US vehicle imports here surg

The number of unfair trading cases in South Korea's equity market reported to the nation's financial watchdog increased more than 37 percent on-year in 2016, as it tightened monitoring and supervision, data showed Wednesday.The Financial Supervisory Service said it caught a total of 208 suspected unfair trade practices, such as insider trading, stock manipulation and fraud, during the year, up 37.7 percent from a year earlier. An image of the Financial Supervisory Service provided by Yonhap News

North Korea's state media said Wednesday that a funeral for Kang Ki-sop, the head of the country's aviation agency, was held in Pyongyang. The memorial service for Kang, director-general of the General Administration of Civil Aviation, was held on Tuesday, with family, party and military officials in attendance, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The media outlet did not mention North Korean leader Kim Jong-un being present at the ceremony or the cause of Kang's death and when he died.

LG Electronics Inc. plans to unveil two smartwatches featuring Google's new watch version of its operating system next month, an industry source said Wednesday. Co-developed with Google, the two smartwatches with the Android Wear 2.0 operating system will be released at an annual technology fair, the Mobile World Congress show, in Spain, according to the source.  This photo shows LG Electronics Inc.'s Urbane Luxe smartwatch (Yonhap file photo)It would be the first time that LG and Google debut t

The United States should significantly bolster defensive and offensive military capabilities, drive up sanctions and take other tough measures against North Korea if yet another attempt at diplomacy fails to persuade Pyongyang to move toward denuclearization, US experts said Tuesday.Joel Wit, a North Korea expert with Johns Hopkins University's US-Korea Institute, made the case in a joint article with Richard Sokolsky, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, arguing wh

The Filipino government on Tuesday officially apologized to its South Korean counterpart over a Korean businessman who was kidnapped and killed by local police officers last year.Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella conveyed condolences to the bereaved family of the man in his 50s, surnamed Ji, who was abducted and strangled to death by policemen for ransom in October. The apology came a few days after three Filipinos, including two police officers, were arrested over their involvement in the c

South Korea's leading conglomerates are estimated to have increased their cash holdings last year, raising hopes for ample dividends, investment officials said Wednesday with supportive data.Samsung Electronics, the head of the pack, on Tuesday announced last year's operating profit at 29.2 trillion won ($25 billion), the fifth consecutive year of a sum nearing 30 trillion won. Cash and cashable assets totaled 88.2 trillion won, a record for the IT giant after increasing by close to 17 trillion

Hyundai Rotem Co., the train making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, may soon sign a 490 billion-won ($420 million) deal to supply train cars to Egypt, the company said Wednesday.The South Korean firm has been named the sole preferred bidder for the deal to supply 256 train cars, according to a company official. South Korea's high-speed train developed and built by Hyundai Rotem (Hyundai Rotem)"The company will sign the deal as soon as its receives a letter of offer and acceptance from the Egyptian