Host South Korea has been drawn into a tough group for the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup.South Korea on Wednesday was paired with six-time tournament champions Argentina, European powerhouse England and African side Guinea in Group A at the draw ceremony for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul. As the host, South Korea had already been seeded at the top of Group A.  South Korea will stage the FIFA U-20 World Cup from May 20 to June 11 in six cities: Cheonan, Daejeo

South Korea's automobile production surged in February amid strong demand for eco-friendly and luxury vehicles both at home and abroad, government data showed Wednesday.Automobile output rose 9.8 percent to 336,032 units last month from a year earlier, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Exports jumped 5.3 percent to 201,757 units in February from the same period last year.The value of automobiles shipped abroad also climbed 9.6 percent to $3.28 billion

Marine Corps officials from South Korea and the United States on Wednesday called on troops to stay vigilant against  threats of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction.South Korean Marine Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hoon and Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, visited the 6th brigade on Baengnyeong Island near the western maritime border with North Korea, to check military readiness against the North and discuss countermeasures, the

With Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn withdrawing from the presidential race, the Liberty Korea Party said Wednesday it has decided to revise the controversial primary rules criticized for giving favor to popular figures like Hwang.Under the revision, the party will trim the number of applicants for the primary to four through two rounds of opinion polls on March 17 and 19. Leaders of the Liberty Korea Party hold a meeting in Seoul on March 15, 2017. (Yonhap)The former ruling pa

South Korea's stock market operator made a pitch Wednesday for the country's equity market in Singapore as part of efforts to attract more global investors and firms seeking IPOs.The annual Korea Capital Market Conference is designed to promote the main KOSPI board and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ, according to the Korea Exchange. The Korea Exchange holds an IR even in Singapore on March 15, 2017 in this photo provided by the KRX. (Yonhap)In this year's session, Kim Jae-joon, chief executive officer of

A South Korean space institute said Wednesday that one of its astrophysicists has suggested a way to protect a nano-sized spacecraft during an interstellar voyage project that was unveiled last year.In April 2016, tech investor Yuri Milner announced the so-called "Breakthrough Starshot" initiative to send nanocrafts to a small rocky "Earth-like" planet that might exist in the nearest star system to the sun, Alpha Centauri. The billionaire said he will inject $100 million to fund scientists and e

South Korea's central bank chief left for Germany on Wednesday to discuss pending economic issues with his counterparts from the world's major economies, the Bank of Korea said. BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol is scheduled to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings in Baden-Baden, a town in southwestern Germany, on Friday and Saturday, according to the central bank.Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol (Yonhap)The trip comes amid a possible rate hike in the US Federal Reserve

Chief executives of South Korea's three major shipbuilders will join the world's biggest gas and liquefied natural gas conference in Japan next month, industry sources said Wednesday, amid the growing demand for LNG carriers to meet rising natural gas consumption in emerging economies.South Korea has emerged as a major player in the production of LNG carriers and floating storage and regasification units in recent years with three South Korean shipbuilders clinching a large portion of these orde

South Korea should seek summit talks with the North under the next government in order to keep the North's nuclear threats in check through negotiations and dialogue, a North Korea expert here said Wednesday.South Korea will hold an election to choose its new president on May 9 following the country's top court ruling last week to unseat Park Geun-hye from office over a massive corruption scandal."In order to keep the North's nuclear and missile threats in check through negotiations and dialogue

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea rose 5 percent in February from a month earlier as exporters deposited their dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Wednesday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local banks, domestic and foreign, reached $67.94 billion in February, up from $64.65 billion a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.(Yonhap)Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic lenders rose 5.7 percent to $56.45

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Wednesday announced his decision not to run in the presidential election slated for May 9, dealing a blow to the conservative bloc on the lookout for viable contenders to take on more popular liberal rivals.During a Cabinet meeting, Hwang made the announcement, ending the months-long speculation over his presidential ambitions that emerged after he took over as acting president in December following former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment

Advent of the Internet is like a double-edged sword. Anyone with a smartphone today can express their views online and exercise their freedom of speech.Unfortunately, it comes at a cost -- of also empowering misogynists to engage in unfettered gender-based violence. A key way to fight this alarming trend? Strike directly at the core of the problem -- online communities where anonymous trolls share and reinforce their misinformed views -- and puncture them, a group of European experts advised. A

A group of South Korean scientists have developed a new type of peptide to treat autoinflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, the science ministry said Wednesday.Autoinflammatory diseases are defined as the loss of self-tolerance in which an inflammatory response occurs in reaction to inappropriate triggering of Toll-Like Receptor-4. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning) (Yonhap)The team led by Choi Sang-don successfully designed small peptide inhibitors

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier on Wednesday arrived at South Korea's southern port of Busan to participate in the ongoing joint exercises by Seoul and Washington in the latest show of force against North Korea, the US military said.The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier is anchored at the port of Busan on March 15, 2017. (Yonhap)The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier plans to conduct bilateral exercises with forces from the South Korean Navy in the waters around the Korean Peninsula during the

South Korea's presidential security advisor said Wednesday he will hold talks with his US counterpart this week over North Korea's growing military threats and ways to further strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance.Kim Kwan-jin, the chief of the National Security Office, made the remarks shortly before departing for Washington for talks with H.R. McMaster, the US national security adviser. Kim will stay in the US capital for two days and return home on Friday. Kim Kwan-jin, the chief of the Na

South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday morning as investors took to the sidelines waiting the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's statement on its rate policy.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.79 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,129.99 as of 11:20 a.m., slipping from its almost 2-year high in the previous session.Top market cap Samsung Electronics advanced 0.1 percent to a record high, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, shed 2.58 percent.AmorePacific, the country's top

Falling crude oil prices will likely boost petroleum and petrochemical products consumption in emerging economies that will benefit South Korea's refiners, industry sources said Wednesday.Benchmark West Texas Intermediate ended at $49.28 per barrel as of March 9, industry data showed.It is the first time since November that WTI fell below $50 per barrel.The fall in crude prices are attributed to the rising stockpiles and the increase in crude oil drilling equipment in the United States.Crude oil

South Korea is keeping a close watch on China's next moves that may work to further hurt its industries, as Beijing's travel ban to its neighboring country came into effect Wednesday, the latest hostile measure taken in protest of Seoul's stationing of a US anti-missile system. China-based travel agencies, both online and offline, are now forbidden to sell trips to Korea, including group tours, cruise stopovers and individual travels booked through agencies, following an instruction from the Chi

South Korean exports of information and communications technology products increased for the fourth month in a row in February on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Wednesday.Overseas shipments of ICT products surged 22.8 percent on-year to $14.06 billion last month, exceeding the $14 billion mark for the first time in February, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.ICT imports increased 6 percent on-year to $7.29 bi

Some analysts on Wednesday gave mixed forecasts on sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, which will be unveiled later this month. Two analysts in South Korea expected sales of the S8 smartphone to exceed those of its predecessor, the S7 smartphone, while a brokerage in Taiwan predicted that sales of the S8 may fall short of the S7. The S8 smartphone follows Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phablet, which was discontinued last year due to battery problems that caused some of th