No toxic chemicals linked to cancer have been found in widely used baby diapers sold by a global brand, South Korea's trade ministry said Monday, a result that followed a French study that claimed they contain harmful compounds.A test conducted jointly by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as pharmaceutical and toxicology experts here, concluded that no traces of dioxin or hexachlorobenzene and pentachloronitrobenzene were detected in Pampers' diapers, sold by Proctor and Gamble

Foreign tourists prefer subways and railroads while shying away from buses and taxis due to complicated route maps and expensive fares, a survey showed Monday.About 70 percent of 649 foreign tourists were satisfied by their use of subways and railroads, according to the survey conducted by the Korea Transport Institute between September and October.The comparable figures for the KTX bullet train was 10.3 percent, taxis 4.9 percent, intercity buses 4.8 percent, city tour and charter buses 2.3 per

South Korea's confectionery market has steadily grown over the past five years on rising demand for sweets and candy, a government report showed Monday.The total market value of sweetstuffs including potato chips, cookies and jelly reached 3.35 trillion won ($2.9 billion) last year, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The confectionery market in Korea (Yonhap)It marked a 30.4-percent jump from 2.57 trillion

A South Korean non-governmental organization said Monday that it will launch a youth team in Ukraine this week to step up promotion of South Korea and its policy and culture in the European region. The digital public diplomacy team will be comprised of 100 local and Korean students. Its launch ceremony will be held at a university in Kiev, Ukraine on Friday, according to the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea.The students will serve as public goodwill diplomats whose main job is to produce digita

Boeing has won a five-year contract to continue to provide maintenance services for South Korea's F-15K aircraft, the US aircraft company said Monday.Boeing has been sustaining the Korean Air Force's F-15K fleet since 2012, the St. Louis-based aircraft maker said in a statement released on Sunday (US time)."This approach guarantees materials and technical support required for aircraft maintenance over many years while managing costs," Tim Buerk, director of Boeing's F-15 sustainment in the Far E

Former aides and loyalists to ex-President Park Geun-hye are coming to her assistance as the court's dismissal last week deprived her of state support and privileges normally granted to a former leader, according to political sources Monday.Park returned to her private home in southern Seoul on Sunday, two days after the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment that parliament passed in December. Former President Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)Rep. Suh Chung-won and Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan of the Liberty

The United States will deploy an unmanned attack aircraft to its military unit in South Korea to enhance its strike capabilities against ground targets in North Korea, a military official said Monday. "The US Army has begun the process to dispatch a squadron, which will operate the Grey Eagle unmanned aircraft, to a US unit in Gunsan (274 kilometers south of Seoul)," the official told Yonhap News Agency asking not to be identified.Grey Eagle unmanned aircraft (Yonhap)Escalating nuclear and missi

A pair of domestic league strikers will lead the attack for South Korea in upcoming World Cup qualifying matches.The Korea Football Association unveiled a 24-man roster for the two matches in the final Asian World Cup qualifying round this month. South Korea will travel to China on March 23 and host Syria five days later in Group A play. Kim Shin-wook of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors celebrates his goal against Jeonnam Dragons in a K League Classic football match at Jeonju Sports Complex in Jeonju, Nor

South Korea's average daily exports will likely exceed $2 billion this month buttressed by growing shipments of semiconductors, petroleum and petrochemical products, government officials said Monday.Exports of petroleum and petrochemical goods reached $6.7 billion and those for semiconductors $6.4 billion in February. The figures represent a 72.3 percent and 54.2 percent surge, respectively, from a year earlier. (Yonhap)"We expect export growth will continue for the time being as both advanced a

LG Electronics Inc. said Monday that its portable projector maintained the No. 1 spot in global markets for electro-luminescent display projectors last year. Citing recent data by market tracker Pacific Media Associates, LG said its "Minibeam TV" projector was named as the world's top-selling LED projector in terms of revenues in 2016.   This photo shows LG Electronics Inc.'s 'Minibeam TV' projectors. (Yonhap file photo)It marked the sixth consecutive year that the LG projector stood at the top

Cash-strapped Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard in South Korea, is accelerating its move to sell its non-core assets to beef up its financial status amid concerns over a sharp fall in new orders, industry sources said Monday.According to the sources, Daewoo Shipbuilding has recently signed a memorandum of understanding to sell its building in downtown Seoul, a deal valued at some 35 billion won ($30 million).  The building of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering

The government will strengthen nationwide monitoring of hepatitis C as part of efforts to prevent a mass outbreak from recurring, officials said Monday.Hundreds of South Koreans were infected with the virus between 2015 and last year, which causes both acute and chronic infection.There is currently no vaccine, though about 15 to 45 percent of infected persons are known to spontaneously recover and clear out the virus within six months of infection without treatment.The Ministry of Welfare and He

South Korea's Air Force said Monday that they are conducting a weeklong air combat exercise this week to practice their readiness against possible provocations from North Korea and their counterattack operations.Some 50 Air Force assets, including the F-15K and FA-50 fighters, and 500 airmen from 15 Air Force units are mobilized for the drill which began last Friday, the Air Force said in a statement.Air Force fighters participating in a drill. (Yonhap)The "Soaring Eagle" exercise, which runs th

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, is in talks with at least two overseas shipping firms to build a slew of very large crude carriers, the combined value of which may reach up to $1 billion, industry sources said Monday.According to the sources, Hyundai Heavy is in negotiations with a Hong Kong-based shipping firm and another firm based in Singapore over the deals to build up to 12 ships, when options are considered.  (Yonhap)Hyundai Heavy has clinched deals to build four ships

Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party, stood as the most favored presidential hopeful among the supporters of the liberal party, a poll showed Monday.According to the survey conducted by Realmeter, 68.7 percent of the respondents who claim to be supporters of the Democratic Party picked Moon as the favored candidate, trailed by Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung with 14.6 percent and South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung with 13 percent. Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party (Yonhap

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday on eased political uncertainties following the ouster of President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.88 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,108.23 as of 9:15 a.m. An image depicting the stock market (123RF)South Korea's Constitutional Court upheld the ouster of Park on Friday, acknowledging she abused her power to help her confidante Choi Soon-sil pursue personal gains."The decision removed political

South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party, long mentioned as a conservative bloc presidential hopeful, is set to announce his presidential ambitions later this week, his aides said Monday."Hong has already made up his mind on his candidacy," one of his close aides told Yonhap News Agency. Along with Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party, Hong has been cited as a strong presidential contender to represent the conservative

South Korea's stock market posted the lowest level of price swings in the first two months of the year, data showed Monday.It indicates that the stock trade here was relatively lackluster with the benchmark index KOSPI stuck in a tight range. An image of South Korea's financial and industrial markets (Yonhap)The number is also indicative of the stability and resilience of the country's stock market despite a series of financial and business troubles at home and abroad.According to the Korea Exch

Top South Korean and US military officials on Sunday visited an aircraft carrier taking part in the ongoing joint military exercises, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. JCS Chairman Gen. Lee Sun-jin and Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander of US forces in South Korea, visited the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during the annual drill. "The aircraft carrier group's participation in the Foal Eagle exercise shows that US strategic assets could be deployed at any time to the K

King Kong conquered Wolverine in its first weekend in South Korean theaters. The Hollywood action blockbuster "Kong: Skull Island" drew in 823,222 viewers, or 49.1 percent of ticket sales, over the March 10-12 weekend, the official box office figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) showed on Monday. (Yonhap)The King Kong movie surpassed the 1 million mark in the aggregated number of views on Sunday, the fifth day of its run.It pushed aside the previous lead "Logan," a Hollywood superhero mo