South Korean stocks turned lower Wednesday morning as foreigners and individuals offloaded their holdings. The won traded higher against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index that started the day in positive territory surrendered 2.36 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,423.68 as of 11:20 a.m.Foreigners and individuals sold a combined 133 billion won ($118 million) worth of stocks. Institutions bought a net 126 billion won that kept the main index from falling further. Tech

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday despite losses on Wall Street, with institutions buying stocks on bargain hunting.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.26 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,427.30 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index hit a record high of 2,425.10 in the previous session. Institutional investors bought a net 29 billion won ($26 million) worth of stocks. Foreigners and individuals offloaded a combined 27 billion won in shares.  On

A man in his 30s was arrested for breaking and entering into his neighbor’s home as well as attacking the neighbor with a weapon.Police said that the suspect climbed the gas piping of a four-story apartment building in Busan to enter the home. Wearing a mask and wielding a weapon, the suspect threatened the victim and his young daughter, who were inside.CCTV footage of the suspect hanging onto the gas piping beside his apartment building, hiding from police. (Yonhap)The victim was stabbed in the

The evolving dining industry in Seoul has transformed blue-collar communities into hipster havens, where artists and expats alike relocate to open their restaurants and cafes. With food comes locals, drawn by the aesthetically pleasing interiors and foods on a platter, housed inside abandoned warehouses and narrow alleyways.Industrial neighborhoods, like Mangwon-dong, are only in their beginning stages of revival. Mangwon-dong’s main roads are crowded with open-air markets and low-cost produce,

Rapper Jeong Sang-su, who gained popularity through the TV program "Show Me the Money" was arrested for driving under the influence, police said Tuesday.Jeong was reportedly arguing with a man in his 30s in front of a shopping mall in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, accusing the man of blocking the road with his car. He then slammed his car into the man’s and was subsequently arrested. The man did not suffer serious injuries. (Yonhap)This is only one of a string of Jeong’s encounters with the law. Last week,

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it kicked off efforts to recycle parts from the Galaxy Note 7 phablets in environmentally friendly ways after the product was discontinued last year due to faulty batteries.The South Korean tech giant released the Galaxy Note FE, a refurbished version of the ill-fated Note 7, earlier this month. The Note FE kept key features of the flagship but came with a lower battery capacity amid safety concerns. Visitors take a look at the Galaxy Note FE at a shop in Seoul i

A man in his 50s was arrested for attempted murder Sunday night.The suspect was accused of stabbing his landlady during an argument over a leak in his home, according to Namyangju Police. It was reported the leak had been left unfixed for at least three months.(Yonhap)On Sunday, the suspect drunkenly argued with the victim, who is in her 60s, and angrily attacked her with a knife.The victim reportedly did not suffer serious injury.Police said the suspect was in custody and undergoing an investig

Cheong Wa Dae told local media on Monday that it remains undecided about what to do with the bed left behind by ousted former President Park Geun-hye.Park reportedly bought her bed using finances from the national budget, and Cheong Wa Dae continues to mull over its options on what to do with it. (Yonhap)After being expelled from the presidency over a corruption scandal, Park had attempted to move her bed from Cheong Wa Dae to her private residence in Samseong-dong, but she was not allowed to ta

The Beautiful Foundation said Monday that it plans to set up a youth committee designed to address social issues surrounding adolescents.The committee, to be launched in August, will hold discussions on a project aimed to alleviate a specific issue that Korean youth face. A total of 10 million won ($9,300) will be allocated to the endeavor.(Yonhap)The committee will become the first non-profit organization in South Korea to be run exclusively by teenagers, said the foundation.Members of the yout

South Korea will gradually phase out the anti-trust regulator's exclusive right to file complaints against a company for any fair trade violation, the head of regulator said Monday, in an apparent attempt to hold companies more accountable.Under the Fair Trade Act, the Fair Trade Commission is the only entity that can bring a fair trade case to court through the state prosecutors' office. The law is aimed at preventing a flood of lawsuits being filed against firms by individuals and civic groups

The number of people who run small businesses without any employees in the retail sector declined this year, data showed Monday, amid a prolonged slump due to lukewarm private consumption in Asia's fourth-largest economy.According to the data from the Bank of Korea, the number of small business owners without employees in the sector dropped to 832,000 in May from 851,000 at end 2016. In this file photo taken on March 2, 2017, banners hung at a clothes shop in Seoul's Namdaemun Market advertise a

The nominee for the nation's top financial regulator said Monday he would take "bold" steps in restructuring the petrochemical and steel sectors Choi Jong-ku, a former deputy finance minister who served at the finance ministry for about three decades, was picked by President Moon Jae-in to head the Financial Services Commission.If appointed, he will be tasked with slowing down the nation's mountain of household debt and restructuring some of the country's bloated business sectors. Asked by lawma

LG Electronics said Monday that independent studies showed its robot vacuum cleaner released earlier this year were as intelligent as a 6-to-7-year-old child.Citing a research conducted by Robotics & Intelligent Systems Lab under Seoul National University, the South Korean consumer electronics giant said the vacuum cleaner, named the Roboking Turbo Plus, boasts outstanding intelligence in terms of perceptions, decisions and activity. (Yonhap)The research tested 100 criteria and categorized the i

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday tracking gains on Wall Street, with investors waiting for second-quarter earnings results from big companies due out later this month.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 11.89 points, or 0.49 percent, to a high of 2,426.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.39 percent at 21,637.74 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was up 0.61 percent to 6,312.47. Companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. and

Stock trading via smartphones accounted for an average 34.48 percent of daily trading on the secondary KOSDAQ market during the first half of this year, the nation's bourse operator said Monday. In 2010, stock trading via smartphones took up just 3.8 percent of the KOSDAQ market, according to the Korea Exchange. Mobile stock trading in South Korea has jumped over the past seven years, mainly due to brokerages' stepped-up marketing efforts for smartphone users.  Last year, stock trading via

Since 2007, 15 immigrant women were killed as a result of domestic violence and abuses in South Korea, according to Korean Women’s Human Rights Center.Domestic violence encompasses a wide range of abuses, including physical assault, sexual assault, and intimidation. It is widespread and often goes under the radar, a center representative said to local media.Protestors marching against domestic violence and abuses. (Yonhap)But the government does very little to provide assistance to victims or he

A man in his 60s was arrested for assaulting a flight attendant on a plane, police said Thursday.　The suspect boarded a flight to Jeju Island from Daegu on Thursday morning. He reportedly confronted a flight attendant over his seat number and then assaulted her in rage.　The man is currently being investigated for violating aviation security laws.　“We have yet to speak with the victim to gain context on what happened,” a representative from the police said.　By Paige Shin / Intern reporter (paiges

Failing companies that were given a second chance through government assistance showed a better survival rate than startups, with many growing bigger in size and sales, a report said Thursday.The Small and Medium Business Administration surveyed 965 firms that received state support in 2014 to resuscitate their ailing businesses and found that 83.9 percent of them were still in operation two years later. These companies include restarts, which were helped in reopening new businesses or in R&D, a

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key rate steady for July to support the country's growth. In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent, extending its wait-and-see approach for the 13th consecutive month.In June last year, South Korea's central bank made a surprise rate cut, citing a need to stimulate the lackluster economy amid a prolonged economic slowdown. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday introduced the world's first LED theater solution, which boasts far improved display resolution compared to traditional movie screens.Under cooperation with Lotte Cinema, a major movie chain in South Korea, Samsung said it successfully installed its cinema LED screen."Based on Samsung's display technology, we commercialized the cinema LED screen that does away with the need projectors," said Kim Hyun-suk, who heads Samsung's display business. He stressed this