The use of prepaid cards has dropped sharply in recent years, data showed Monday, as credit card companies have shunned promoting their use due to inconvenience.Credit card firms have been reluctant to stage marketing campaigns for prepaid cards as such payment methods are burdensome to issuers with little benefits.(Yonhap)The amount purchased by prepaid cards issued by eight credit card firms declined 22.9 percent to 379.9 billion won ($340.8 million) last year from a year earlier, according to

The Doosan Bears, winners of the past two Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) titles, are heavily favored to repeat as the champions in 2017.That doesn't mean their players aren't wary of their opponents. Kim Jae-ho of the Doosan Bears hits a two-run home run against the SK Wyverns in their Korea Baseball Organization preseason game at Incheon SK Happy Dream Park on March 21, 2017. (Yonhap)Shortstop Kim Jae-ho, team captain, and catcher Yang Eui-ji, voted the 2016 Korean Series MVP, in particular

The number of foreigners overstaying their visas in the country increased for the second straight month last month, the immigration office said Monday.According to data from the office, the figure was tabulated at 214,615 as of February, accounting for 10.8 percent of the total number of 1,986,353 foreigners staying in the nation.  This file photo shows the arrival lounge of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, crowded with Chinese and other foreign tourists. (Yonhap)The figure was an i

South Korea's main stock price index is expected to flirt with the 2,300-point level in the second half of this year on high expectations for improved corporate earnings, brokerages said Monday.Citing a recovery in the global economy, NH Investment & Securities Co. said in a research note that it has raised its 2017 target for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index to 2,350 from an earlier 2,250.(Yonhap)"After walking sideways for years, Kospi is on pace to breach the previous record,"

All-Star left-hander Cha Woo-chan made a splash in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) offseason in December, becoming the highest-paid pitcher in the country. And he wants to live up to his contract by doing what he's been doing all along -- giving his team a consistent presence on the mound.The LG Twins signed him to a four-year deal worth 9.5 billion won ($8.5 million), luring him from the Samsung Lions after 11 seasons there. South Korean pitcher Cha Woo-chan throws a pitch against Chinese

The Sewol ferry that was raised from the bottom of the sea last week will head to port in the next few days after salvage crews complete drainage and repair work, the government said Monday."The semisubmersible ship and the Sewol will be able to embark for Mokpo around Thursday," Lee Cheol-jo, in charge of the salvage operation at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said in a televised press briefing in Jindo, some 472 kilometers southwest of Seoul."It will take eight hours to sail the 105-kil

LG Electronics Inc. said Monday it has opened a store in Qatar to promote its premium electronic goods, speeding up steps to tap deeper into the Middle East market.The shop will allow visitors to experience its high-end products, including the tech giant's Signature series of appliances. (Yonhap)The South Korean tech giant has been rolling out various marketing efforts in the Middle East, as well as Africa, to expand its presence there.LG Electronics already operates such premium shops in Iran,

South Korea's political parties expressed mixed feelings toward a possible arrest of former President Park Geun-hye on Monday, with the former opposition bloc calling it an inevitable outcome and the former ruling party a regrettable decision.The public prosecutors said they have already filed a request with the local district court for the arrest of the former president on suspicions of bribery and a dozen other allegations. Former President Park Geun-hye emerges from the public prosecutors' of

A group of South Korean scientists has developed a graphene with enhanced thermoelectric capabilities, a state-run science laboratory said Monday, a discovery that could be used for wearable technologies such as bendable electronic devices.Graphene is an atomically thin two-dimensional allotrope of carbon materials in which one atom forms each vertex. It is about 200 times stronger than the strongest steel and has applications in semiconductors and various electronic devices. (Korea Institute of

The government of Seoul plans to sell the naming rights for more than 50 subway stations this year to make up for losses in its subway operations.The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that it will auction off the naming rights for 58 additional subway stations, including 23 on lines 1-4 and 20 on lines 5-8. Hongje Station of Seoul Subway Line 3 uses the additional name of Seoul Culture Arts University. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)A number of downtown and commercial hub area stations,

Two-thirds of South Korean firms plan to increase their spending on facility investment this year, a survey by the central bank showed Monday, as the nation's exports show signs of a recovery. The Bank of Korea said in a statement that 66.7 percent of the 271 manufacturers checked said they will invest more in facilities this year than in 2016.  (Yonhap)The remaining 33.7 percent responded that their facility investment would fall in 2017, compared with last year. Of the firms that plan to incre

South Korea will establish a 113.5 billion-won ($101.8 million) fund to nurture startups and venture firms in the bio sector to secure new growth engines, the science ministry said Monday.Under the comprehensive plan finalized during a government meeting presided over by Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the fund will be floated to help young jobseekers launch new startups and develop new bio technology, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said. (Yonhap)The ministry

A local brokerage house on Monday criticized Samsung Electronics Co. for putting off its plan to adopt a holding-company structure, stressing the top smartphone maker should have been more cautious when approaching the issue.The tech giant said through a regulatory filing in November that it will seek a change in the management structure, which includes splitting itself into a holding company and an operating company to boost shareholder returns. (Yonhap)Last week during a shareholders' meeting,

South Korean stocks traded 0.41 percent lower late Monday morning led by a drop in auto and financial large-caps, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 8.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,160.02 as of 11:20 a.m.Top automaker Hyundai Motor slipped 1.2 percent, with its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis dipping more than 2 percent.KB Financial Group lost nearly 2.3 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics also inched down 0.1 percent. But shares of it

South Korea's exports to trade partners that it has free trade agreements with jumped 16.7 percent on-year in the first two months of 2017 amid a recovery in the country's total outbound shipments, customs data showed Monday.Exports to 52 countries that have open trade pacts with South Korea reached $59.7 billion in the January-February period, up from $51.1 billion tallied a year ago, according to the data released by the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)Imports rose 13.7 percent on-year to $45.4

In this undated photo provided by the Lotte Giants baseball club, Parker Markel prepares to make a pitch during the team's spring training. (Yonhap)South Korean baseball club Lotte Giants on Monday released an American pitcher Parker Markel before he even threw a regular season pitch.The Korea Baseball Organization team said Markel asked for the termination of his $525,000 contract, and the Giants agreed to place him on the voluntarily retired list.Players on that list are ineligible to perform

EXID, the South Korean girl group of the hit track "Up & Down," will release its third EP album titled "Eclipse" next month, its agency said Monday.The album containing five new tracks, including title track "Night Rather Than Day," will go on sale from April 10, according to Banana Culture Entertainment, the team's agency. The album will also include an instrumental version of "Night Rather Than Day," co-produced by Shinsadong Tiger, KeeBomb and EXID member Eli. A promotional photo of South Kor

Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party remained the front-runner in South Korea's presidential race for the 12th consecutive week, a poll showed Monday.The former opposition leader gained 34.4 percent last week, down 2.2 percentage points from the previous week, according to the survey by Realmeter.The decline was possibly due to voter backlash over increased mudslinging among the party's four contenders, the pollster said. Presidential contenders of the Democratic Party -- An Hee-jung (R),

The liberal Democratic Party is set to hold its first primary election Monday at its own power base with the outcome of the vote likely to set the mood for the entire process to name the party's presidential candidate.The one day vote at a college gym in Gwangju, located some 320 kilometers south of Seoul, is to involve about 1,900 party members.The vote is set to begin at 2 p.m., according to party officials. The outcome of the vote will be released after being combined with the outcome of an e

A total of 521 executives and employees in the nation's financial industry were disciplined last year over their irregularities, data showed Monday, representing that moral hazard was still rampant in the financial markets. Some employees were accused of allegedly swindling customers' money, while others were criticized for neglecting their duties of securing customer information, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.  (Yonhap)Of the 521 people who were disciplined last yea