South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors continued to take a breather amid the latest growth rally on the main bourse.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 8.24 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,360.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers traded bearish, with Hyundai Motor falling 1.55 percent and its auto parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis decreasing 3.45 percent. Kia Motors shed 0.39 percent.Chemical shares were also among losers, with Amore Pacific decreasing 1.

Global tech giants are set to engage in another round of competition in the second half of 2017 as major smartphone brands will release high-end models armed with top-notch technologies, industry watchers said Wednesday.Samsung Electronics Co., Apple Inc. and LG Electronics Inc. are expected to release the tentatively named Galaxy Note 8, iPhone 8 and V30, respectively, in the second half of this year, which are expected to come with smaller bezels and dual cameras. (Yonhap)Tech giants have been

The Korean Sharing Movement, a Seoul-based aid group, brimmed with fresh vigor last week as its staff prepared for pesticides and medical supplies to send as aid to North Korea. New President Moon Jae-in has vowed to engage Pyongyang and resume humanitarian assistance for the impoverished northern neighbor, long suspended by his conservative predecessors amid political tensions. But its budding hopes ran into a hurdle again. The North suddenly rejected the group's offer on Monday, taking issue w

South Korea's chipmakers are expanding their foundry businesses in line with rising global demand amid the fourth industrial revolution that centers on the information and communication technologies, industry watchers said Wednesday.The foundry business refers to making chip designs for other companies that do not have a semiconductor fabrication plant. (Yonhap)Last month, Samsung opened a new department under its chip division focusing on the foundry business, as part of its efforts to expand i

Different verdicts on two murders have created a public uproar in South Korea since last week, with many raising doubts over whether the sentences on the accused were fair enough to get justice for the victims and their families. While the two cases may look similar, legal experts here said the perpetrator's intent to kill was what led to the contrasting ruling, which is never to be condoned in a law-abiding society.  A murder suspect (center) accused of killing his girlfriend and burying the bo

PARIS/INCHEON -- The daughter of a late businessman blamed for the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster has been arrested, as France extradited her three years after she fled to avoid arrest on embezzlement charges, officials said Wednesday.The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said they apprehended Yoo Sum-na, the daughter of Yoo Byung-eun, aboard a Korean Airlines plane bound for Incheon at Charles de Gaulle Airport at around 3:30 a.m.She arrived in Incheon at around 3:00 p.m. wearing white pants and

The National Assembly was set to hold confirmation hearings for President Moon Jae-in's picks for his finance and foreign ministers and Constitutional Court president on Wednesday.The separate hearings are expected to be another political battleground, as opposition lawmakers warned of rigorous vetting for the designates, some of whom they call unfit amid allegations of irregularities. This photo, taken on June 1, 2017, shows Foreign Minister-nominee Kang Kyung-wha moving to visit a development

LOS ANGELES -- Polls opened Tuesday in a California by-election that could produce the first Korean-American member of the House of Representatives in more than 18 years.The run-off vote in California's 34th district pits Robert Ahn, a Los Angeles city planning commissioner, against California Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez. Should Ahn win the election, he would be the first Korean-American to serve in the House since Jay Kim served in the House from 1993 to 1999.(Yonhap)The election was set up after X

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that countries with any type of ties to North Korea should join the US in putting pressure on Pyongyang so as to bring the regime to the negotiating table for denuclearization.Tillerson made the remark at a joint news conference in Wellington with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English, stressing that the communist nation should be made to rethink its future because its nuclear and missile programs won't bring what it wants.(Yonhap)

President Moon Jae-in named five new vice ministers Tuesday while telling an incumbent vice foreign minister to remain in the latest move to form what will truly be his first administration.Lim Sung-nam, the incumbent first vice minister at the foreign ministry, has been asked to continue serving in the post, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. (Yonhap)Kim Yong-soo, a vice ministerial-level official at the Korea Communications Commission, has been appointed the second vice minister for s

The new presidential committee on job creation is set to hold a series of meetings this week with business lobbies representing small and medium-sized enterprises, partly to learn their views on raising the minimum wage, the committee said Tuesday.Starting Thursday, committee officials will meet with representatives from the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, Korea Federation of SMEs and many others. The meetings are largely aimed at listening to possible difficulties that small businesses ma

South Korea's exports of dried laver surged 57.6 percent in the first five months of 2017 from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.Outbound shipments of dried laver came to $218 million in the January-May period, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. (Yonhap)Dried laver, called "gim" in Korean, is usually roasted with sesame oil and fine salt to be served as a side dish in Korean dining. Snacks made of gim have gained popularity among foreigners in recent years.

Quarantine officials began slaughtering about 120,000 poultry Tuesday on the country's southern resort island of Jeju as South Korea raised the bird flu alert to the highest level."The culling could continue well into the night, though it remains unclear when it will end," Park Sung-soon, an official handling the issue at the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, told Yonhap News Agency via telephone. (Yonhap)Quarantine officials have already killed 38,000 chickens and ducks across the country,

A Seoul court has ruled against dozens of South Koreans who sued the local unit of German carmaker Volkswagen for infringing on their right to health by rigging emissions data, officials said Tuesday.The Seoul Central District Court said that there is not sufficient evidence to corroborate the plaintiffs' claim that the cars that Audi Volkswagen Korea imported here caused more air pollution affecting their health than other cars. This file photo, taken on Aug. 28, 2016, shows a car with the Volk

South Korea's defense ministry began preparations for a full-blown environmental impact assessment on the ongoing deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system Tuesday, a ministry official said, a move that will inevitably delay its operation.The move came one day after President Moon Jae-in personally ordered a thorough study on the environmental impact of the advanced missile shield, which, when fully deployed, will consist of at least six rocket launchers with 48 rockets designed to inter

A US nuclear-powered attack submarine arrived in the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday in what appears to be another show of Washington's military might amid North Korea's continued saber-rattling.The 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne whose home port is Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, entered the ROK (Republic of Korea) Fleet Command in the city, some 450 kilometers south of Seoul, in the morning. The USS Cheyenne, a US nuclear-powered attack submarine, enters the ROK Fleet Command in Busan, some 450 kilometers

North Korea on Tuesday urged Seoul to enforce inter-Korean summit declarations signed in 2000 and 2007 to promote bilateral cooperation and reconciliation, a day after it spurned offers by South Korean civic groups to resume exchanges.The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers Party, also said that the new Seoul government's stance on the agreements will be a touchstone to judge whether it sincerely hopes to enhance cross-border ties. (Yonhap)On Monday, the North rej

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday promised to re-evaluate the past to find forgotten and unknown heroes who helped make the nation great.In a speech marking Memorial Day, he also promised to enhance benefits for patriots, including independence fighters under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule. (Yonhap)"Today, here at the National Cemetery, I think of patriotism.Without our people's patriotism, Korea as it is today would not have existed," the president said.The president said it was numerous indepe

South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group appears unlikely to hold any high-profile events this week to mark the anniversary of a landmark declaration of reform as its leader has been in jail over a corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye.On June 7, 1993, Samsung Group's de facto head Lee Kun-hee pressed his employees to "change everything but your wife and kids," as he sought to spearhead a new management strategy.(Yonhap)The announcement, dubbed the "New

Former US nuclear negotiator Robert Gallucci has been appointed chief of a Washington-based think tank specializing in Korean issues.Gallucci, who served as chief nuclear negotiator with North Korea during the first nuclear crisis in the early 1990s, has taken office as chairman of the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the institute announced. (Yonhap)The website 38 North, known for its expertise on North Korea issues, is also run by the institute.