A growing number of food companies at home and abroad are displaying a growing interest in South Korea’s food cluster, Foodpolis. More than 100 companies have already signed deals with the Agriculture Ministry here to operate in Foodpolis, which is set to be completed by 2016 in Iksan, North Jeolla Province. The firms, according to the local government, apparently view Foodpolis as an ideal investment source due to its proximity to China and Japan, and also because of the advantages offered by K

British American Tobacco Korea and its labor union have decided to put their differences aside over the next three years to work together for a sustainable future, BAT Korea said Monday.“We understand the difficulties the tobacco industry faces today as the demand for cigarettes is declining while competition is intensifying,” said Goo Seong-il, the head of BAT Korea’s labor union. “Both the union and management will work to overcome these difficulties and together contribute to the development

China’s takeover appetite for Korean companies will continue to rise, targeting technology firms and consumer goods makers, a market researcher forecast.In the latest deal, Chinese apparel company Lancy Group acquired a 15.3 percent stake in Agabang, Korea’s oldest baby wear brand. Several Chinese companies reportedly have expressed interest in buying out Pantech, the nation’s third-largest smartphone maker.According to Merger Market, a global deal news provider, China’s takeovers of Korean comp

Two members of a Chinese cult group were sentenced to death and another to life imprisonment for beating a woman to death in a McDonald's outlet after they unsuccessfully tried to recruit her into their ``all-powerful spirit'' cult.The Yantai Intermediate People's Court in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong announced the verdicts against Zhang Fan, 29; her father Zhang Lidong, 55; Lu Yingchun, 39, and two others, weeks after holding the trial. The other two _ a younger sister of Zhang Fan

베이비붐 세대의 은퇴 등으로 숙박•음식업 등 생계형 창업이 늘고 있지만 창업 5년 후 생존율은 17%대에 그치는 것으로 나타났다.국회 산업통상자원위 부좌현 의원(새정치민주연합)이 10일 중소기업청으로부터 제출받은 자료에 따르면, 신생 기업의 5년 후 생존율은 29.6%였다. 창업한 지 1년 후에는 4곳이 문을 닫고, 2년 뒤엔 절반 정도가, 5년이 되면 7곳이 망한다는 얘기다. 특히 퇴직자들의 대표적인 생계형 창업으로 꼽히는 여관•치킨집 등 숙박•음식점업의 5년 후 생존율은 17.7%로 업종 중 최저 수준을 기록했다. 숙박•음식점업의 생존율은 창업 1년 뒤 55.3%였고, 3년이 지나면 그 비율은 28.9%, 5년 뒤 17.7%로 줄었다. 제품을 직접 만들지 않고 중개 판매하는 도•소매업도 창업 1년 후에 56.7%, 3년 후엔 35.8%, 5년 후에는 26.7%만 살아남았다. 창업자 10명 중 채 3명도 사업을 유지하지 못한 것이다.가장 생존율이 높은 업종은 자신의 원룸•상가 등을

A Korean and an Iranian film exploring family and relationships shared the top award at Asia's largest film festival Saturday, with jury members praising both for expressing "what it means to be a human being"."End of Winter" from Kim Daehwan and "13" from Hooman Seyedi will be officially handed the two $30,000 prizes given for the New Currents award forfirst- or second-time Asian filmmakers when the 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) draws to a close later Saturday.At the event's clo

MBC 무한도전MBC예능 프로그램 ‘무한도전’이 지난 4년간 27억원을 기부한 것으로 나타났다. 국회 미래창조과학방송통신위원회 소속 전병헌 의원(새정치민주연합)이 11일 방송문화진흥회로부터 제출받은 ‘최근 4년(2010~2014.9월현재)간 MBC 기부금 현황’자료에 따르면 MBC의 인기예능프로그램 ‘무한도전’이 달력판매 수익금 등으로 지난 4년간 기부한 금액은 27억 3577만원에 달했다. 이는 지난 4년간 MBC 전체기부금 45억 8830만원의 60%에 상당하는 금액이다.연도별 기부금 현황을 보면, 2010년 4억 9330만 6000원, 2011년 4억 202만 4718원, 2012년 7억 7044만 1877원, 2013년 8억 7000만원, 2014년 9월 현재 2억 원으로 확인됐다.‘무한도전’은 연말 ‘무한도전 달력’을 판매하면서부터 수익금 전액을 기부하고 있고, 2013년의 경우 사상최다 달력판매와 함께 8억7000만원이란 최고금액을 기부했다. 올해의 경우 ‘레이싱특집’을

북한의 대남선전용 웹사이트 '우리민족끼리'는 11일 대북전단 살포로 인해 전날 발생한 남북 간 총격전을 언급하며 남북이 합의한 제2차 고위급접촉이 "물 건너간 것이나 다름없게 됐다"고 밝혔다.'우리민족끼리'는 북한이 대남선전용으로 운영하는 웹사이트로 실제로 그동안 북한의 대남 메시지를 전달해 온 것을 감안하면 어느 정도 북한 정권의 의중이 실렸다고 볼 수 있다. 이 매체는 이날 '절대로 용납하지 않을 것이다'란 제목의 개인 필명 글에서 탈북자단체들이 "우리의 존엄과 체제를 중상모독하는 모략적인 전단 살포를 감행"함으로써 "북남 간에 총탄이 오고 가는 엄중한 사태까지 발생했다"고 지적했다.그러면서 "괴뢰패당의 무책임하고 도전적인 처사로 하여 북남관계가 파국의 원점으로 되돌아가고 북남 사이에 예정된 제2차 고위급접촉은 물 건너간 것이나 다름없게 됐다"고 말해 이달 말부터 내달 초로 예정돼 있는 2차 고위급접촉이 무산될 수 있음을 시사했다.이어 "남조선 당국이 진실로 대화와 북남관계 개선

Kim Jong Un hasn’t been seen in public for five weeks with his absence potentially unnerving the North Korean elite whose loyalty he needs to stay in power, and making an erratic regime even more unpredictable. North and South Korean forces exchanged fire yesterday across one of the world’s most-fortified borders for the second time in less than a week. The firefight came hours after Kim skipped an annual visit to a family mausoleum for the first time since coming to power in late 2011, further

North Korea's state media said Saturday high-level talks with the South were now all but scrapped due to the launch of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets from the South a day earlier.The two Koreas traded heavy machine-gun fire across their border Friday, triggered by the North Korean military trying to shoot down balloons carrying the leaflets, launched by activists in the South.Some rounds fell on the Southern side, which then responded with high-calibre machine gun fire. No casualties were re

The eldest daughter of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee is going through divorce proceedings, the company said Saturday.Ending a 15-year marriage, Lee Bu-jin, 44, filed for divorce mediation with her 46-year-old husband, Im Woo-jae, at the Seongnam branch of Suwon District Court on Wednesday, according to the company. Meditation during divorce is a way of finding solutions to issues such as child custody and spousal support without a formal trial. When an agreement is not reached amicably, a divorce

South Korea and Japan agreed Friday to hold a finance ministers' meeting in Tokyo at an early date, resuming a consultation mechanism that has been stalled for nearly two years amid badly frayed relations.South Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso reached the agreement during a one-on-one meeting held on the sidelines of a series of international meetings that the top economic policymakers were attending."The finance ministers of the two countries exchang

A senior Chinese diplomat has held an "emergency meeting" with South Korea's ambassador to China and lodged a protest after the captain of a Chinese fishing boat died during a violent clash with the South Korean Coast Guard during a crackdown on illegal fishing. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao met with the South Korean ambassador to China, Kwon Young-se, on Friday night and made "solemn representations" over the incident, which happened144 kilometers off South Korea's western coa

Global companies doing business in South Korea are stepping up engagement in the local film industry as part of their social responsibility activities. JTI Korea, the Japanese tobacco company’s local unit, is no stranger to the film scene.The firm has been offering support for film festivals here since 2011, and this year it has set up a smoking lounge with portable ashtrays at the Busan International Film Festival. During the festival period, it is also conducting campaigns to promote proper sm

Top global food companies are eyeing South Korea’s food cluster Foodpolis with keen interest as it is expected to serve as a stepping stone for expanding into China, Asia’s largest food market. Up to 48 foreign companies, including Italy’s Forno d’Asolo, the Netherlands’ NIZO food, America’s Hampton Grains and France’s SEB, have signed pacts with the local Agriculture Ministry to set up shop in Foodpolis when it is completed by 2016 in Iksan, North Jeolla Province. “A growing number of global co

A growing reliance on capital from China may soon become a major concern for South Korea’s financial market, according to industry watchers on Monday. China’s foreign direct investment into the nation reached $1 billion in the January-September period, a 230 percent rise from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade. The nation’s investment in Korea’s stock and bond markets was 23 trillion won ($21 billion) in August ― more than 50 times the 470 billion won recorded in Decem

A U.S. envoy called on North Korea Tuesday to release three detained American citizens, saying that the issue poses a "serious impediment" to better ties with Washington.Glyn Davies, the top U.S. nuclear envoy, was in Seoul as part of his three-nation Asian tour that already took him to China. The tour, which also includes a stop in Tokyo, is for discussions on ways to reopen the long-stalled six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea. During his one-day stay in Beijing, Davies made a similar

South Korea grabbed four sailing golds and one bronze medal at the Incheon Asian Games Tuesday, after surprise victories in the sport that remains largely a niche in the country. With 13 medals decided in sailing at Wangsan Sailing Marina in this port city, Park Sung-bin won gold in the men's optimist dinghy race after earning 27 net points and discarding 16 penalized points.The 14-year-old skipper became the youngest gold medalist in the host country's 831-member delegation.After 12 races in se

South Korea is pushing ahead with building Asia’s first food cluster, Foodpolis, to tap into the global food industry, which is expected to be worth up to $6 trillion by 2020. The nation plans to invest 553 billion won ($524 million) in setting up the cluster by 2016. It is currently in talks with up to 160 domestic and foreign companies, colleges and research centers that are vying for a spot at Foodpolis. It has been roughly modeled after Napa Valley, California’s famous wine country, but Food

Ending months of bitter political confrontation, South Korea's rival parties on Tuesday reached a compromise on a controversial bill aimed at parsing the truth behind April's deadly ferry sinking.South Korea's parliament has been stuck in limbo as the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Political Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) remained locked in a bitter dispute over the terms of the proposed bill that, among other things, would set the boundaries of an independent counsel probe of t