Hyundai Motor Co.s' i30N hot hatches completed a 24-hour endurance race in Germany last weekend, performing better than last year, the company said Monday. Hyundai sent two i30N hatchback models to the 2017 24 Hours Nurburgring to test components that will eventually make it into production cars. They completed the 25-kilometer-long "Green Hell" circuit in Nurburgring, with one of them ranking 50th this year.  In this photo taken during a 24-hour endurance race in Nurburgring, Hyundai's i30N hat

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. said Monday they will continue to help their contractors hire talented employees to ensure mutual growth. In the past five years, Hyundai and Kia have arranged job fairs to help their subcontractors hire a total of 80,000 workers, an average of 16,000 a year. They have also operated an online recruiting program for subcontractors, Hyundai said in a statement. In this photo taken on May 29, 2017, jobseekers wait their turn for interviews with subcontractors

The 2017 All-Star Game for the top South Korean professional football league will take place in Vietnam, officials said Monday.The K League, operator of the national pro competition, said the annual All-Star Game will be held at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on July 29. (Yonhap)A team of All-Stars from the top-flight K League Classic will take on the Vietnamese national team set to compete at the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur in August.The Vietnamese squad will include Luong Xua

South Korean stocks ended slightly lower Monday on increased selling by institutions. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.33 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,352.97.Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at KB Securities Co., said institutions offloaded stocks in apparent profit-taking, which is to blame for losses on the main bourse.Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, also said Samsung Electronics and other major large-

Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said Monday the number of passengers it served has exceeded 30 million nearly nine years after it started operating.Jin Air, launched in July 2008, became the second low-cost carrier to reach the milestone after Jeju Air Co., which reported the achievement in January 2016.  In this photo, taken on May 29, 2017, an executive at Jin Air (left) holds an event to deliver free two-way tickets on an international route to Lee Si-jin, who is

The South Korean government said Monday that it will take immediate action against any turbulence in the local financial market and the national economy sparked by North Korea's latest missile launch.Around 5:39 a.m., North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile, presumed to be a Scud type, from its eastern coast. It marked the communist nation's ninth missile test this year and the third since the new Moon Jae-in administration took office May 10.The liberal government had been seeking to

New home permits in South Korea plunged nearly 30 percent in April from a year earlier, the government said Monday, amid its move to limit housing sales as a way of curing household debt and rising interest rates.Construction permits issued for new homes came to 43,568 last month, down 27 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. April marked the fifth consecutive month of decline. In the first four months of the year, new home p

A Seoul court on Monday rejected an application for an injunction to stop the national skating federation from selecting its new corporate sponsor.South Korean sports apparel brand FILA Korea last week filed an injunction against the Korea Skating Union to halt its sponsor selection process on the grounds that the KSU had violated the spirit of fair play.But the Seoul Eastern District Court said FILA didn't offer clear evidence that transparency and fairness had been compromised. The court added

South Korea's senior national football team players said Monday they believe the young Taeguk Warriors will make further progress at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.Hosts South Korea in the 24-team FIFA competition will play their round of 16 match against Portugal on Tuesday at the 25,814-capacity Cheonan Sports Complex in Cheonan, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul. They have qualified as Group A's runners-up behind England with two wins and one loss. South Korean senior national football team players

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean attacker Son Heung-min said Monday he feels "embarrassed" about leading the scoring at the English Football Association Cup since his goals came against inferior opponents.The FA Cup ended with Arsenal's victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. Although Tottenham were eliminated in the semifinals by Chelsea, Son scored six goals at the competition, tying Adam Morgan of Curzon Ashton. There isn't an official award given to the FA Cup's best s

Loans extended to local businesses rose slightly in the first quarter from a quarter earlier on increased operating expenses and facility investments, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding corporate loans came to 1,001.7 trillion won ($894 billion) in the January-March period, up 1.6 percent from a quarter earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea. Compared to a year earlier, the first quarter figure marked a 4.4 percent gain.In terms of where the money was spent, loans extended to

South Korea football coach Uli Stielike said Monday he isn't yet thinking about bringing in the country's young footballers to the senior national team, although they've been impressive at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup.Stielike said Lee Seung-woo and Paik Seung-ho, two FC Barcelona prospects who were pivotal for South Korea's qualification to the round of 16 of the U-20 World Cup, proved their talents in their age group, but they will have a tough time on the senior side. South Korea football

South Korean stocks extended gains late Monday on increased foreign buying.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 10.49 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,365.79 as of 11:15 a.m.The broad index didn't track Friday's losses on Wall Street.The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.01 percent.Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities, said foreign investors bought large-cap stocks, giving a boost to the main index.Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at KB Securities Co., also

A former big league catcher will likely get more action behind the home plate for his South Korean club after spending most of the season at first base.The Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization said Monday that Wilin Rosario, formerly of the Colorado Rockies, will get some starts as catcher the rest of the season. For the time being, he will be the designated catcher for his fellow Dominican starter, Alexi Ogando. In this file photo taken on May 21, 2017, Wilin Rosario of the Hanwha E

South Korea's imports of crude oil continued to rise in the first quarter of 2017 from a year earlier amid a downbeat trend in oil prices, government data showed Monday.The combined inbound purchase of crude oil reached 278.18 million barrels in the first three months, up 4.9 percent on-year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The import of petroleum products, however, fell 4.2 percent on-year to 78 million barrels in the cited period.  (Yonhap)A hike in Iranian crude impor

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday the number of accumulated visitors at its shops in South Korea where people can test the Galaxy S8 smartphones was estimated at 3 million, reflecting the public's attention on the flagship devices.On Sunday, the company also said a million units of Galaxy S8 smartphones were sold in South Korea as of the previous day, marking a rare occasion for the company to provide updates of flagship device sales. The devices were officially released April 21. Visitors tak

Hot-shot South Korean rookie Park Sung-hyun has posted her best finish of the LPGA Tour season.Park finished tied for second at the LPGA Volvik Championship at Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sunday (local time). After a bogey-free final round of six-under 66, Park ended her four-round play at 18-under 270, one stroke behind the champion, Feng Shanshan. (Yonhap)This was Park's fourth top-10 finish in nine starts this year.The 23-year-old has yet to miss a cut in 2017.Park h

More South Koreans, especially women, are voluntarily subscribing to the state pension as a means to secure stable income for their senior years, data showed Monday.As of the end of last month, 317,800 people -- 48,843 men and 268,957 women -- were voluntary subscribers to the state pension plan, according to the National Pension Service. These people are not required to have pension subscriptions, which applies to people aged 18-60 and have an income, but are mostly housewives, military personn

Sales of whiskey in South Korea have declined sharply over the last decade due largely to a shift in the country's drinking culture, industry data showed Monday. The domestic sales of the spirit hit 1.67 million boxes, or some 30 million bottles, in 2016, down 41 percent from 2.84 million boxes tallied in 2008, according to industry data.   (Yonhap)The decline in whiskey sales came amid a change in the patterns of the country's drinking culture with people opting to have drinks alone or with fam

Cautious optimism is spreading that South Korean shipbuilders may be able to pull out of a drawn-out slump on the back of rising new orders, industry sources said Monday.According to the sources, Samsung Heavy Industries Co., one of the country's top three shipbuilders, has recently clinched a $100 million deal to build two LNG carriers from a local shipping firm, raising this year's total orders to $2.3 billion, to build 12 ships in total. (Yonhap)Samsung Heavy is also expected to bag a $2.5 bi