The iPhone 7, the flagship smartphone of US tech giant Apple Inc., was the most sold handset around the globe in the first quarter, data showed Thursday, while Samsung Electronics Co. mostly shipped budget models over the cited period.According to the data compiled by industry tracker Strategy Analytics, Apple sold 21.5 million units of the iPhone 7 in the January-March period. The figure accounts for 6.1 percent of the combined shipment of 353 million units posted by smartphone makers around th

South Korean smartphone users mostly used the WiFi network to enjoy video-streaming content rather than to use the long-term evolution services, data showed Thursday, apparently due to the burdensome price of the high-speed mobile network.According to the survey compiled by Nielsen Korea on South Korean users of Android smartphones in March, the WiFi network accounted for 90.7 percent of their time spent on video streaming services. Only 9.3 percent used the LTE networks to watch video content.

WASHINGTON -- A US Army commander, who previously served in US Forces Korea, has been tapped to be a deputy national security adviser, a report said Wednesday.Maj. Gen. Ricky Waddell, commander of the 76th Operational Response Command, will replace K.T. McFarland, set to be nominated as ambassador to Singapore, Politico reported, citing unidentified NSC officials.(Yonhap)Waddell will be second in command to National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and run day-to-day operations and meetings while

WASHINGTON -- US sanctions alone cannot force China to get tough with North Korea, a former top US sanctions official said Tuesday.Adam Szubin, who served as assistant treasury secretary in charge of sanctions until February, made the remark during a Senate hearing, stressing that the US should have serious talks with China to map out a broader way forward, including potential leadership change in the North.(Yonhap)"China will not be strong-armed into a course of action that it believes imperils

WASHINGTON -- The United States will use "all the means at our disposal," while keeping military options on the table, to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, the nominee to be America's No. 2 diplomat said.John Sullivan, named to be deputy secretary of state, also said during his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that the US will turn up pressure on China.John Sullivan, nominee for deputy secretary of state, speaks during his Senate confirmation hearing. (AP-Yonhap)"Our goal is to have a

Shares of Netmarble Games Corp, South Korea's largest mobile games maker, will begin on the Korea Exchange later this week, the bourse operator said Wednesday. The value of the initial public offering is expected to stand at about $2.4 billion when Netmarble stocks are listed on the main bourse on Friday.(Yonhap)Netmarble sold 20 percent of the company's outstanding stock.Analysts said the price of the stock could be at the top of an indicative range, or 157,000 won ($138) apiece, given bright p

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, said Wednesday it added more safety features to the upgraded K9 flagship sedan to reflect the latest demands by consumers. Kia Motors has adopted a blind-spot warning system as standard for its K9 models and an "around-the-view" monitoring system as an option, the company said in a statement. Kia K9 flagship sedan (Kia Motors)Three versions of the upgraded K9 are available in the domestic market. They come with 3.3, 3.8 and 5.0-li

Doosan Heavy Industries Co., South Korea's top power equipment maker, said Wednesday its first-quarter profit shrank 58 percent from a year earlier largely due to a one-off factor.Net profit reached 37.5 billion won ($51.3 million) on a consolidated basis in the January-March period, compared with a profit of 89.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)The company posted an operating income of 237 billion won in the first quarter compared with an operating i

South Korea's main stock index fell on Wednesday as a pre-election rally ran out of steam and investors try to digest the policies of new President Moon Jae-in. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 22.64 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 2,270.12. Trade volume reached 418 million shares changing hands worth 9.2 trillion won ($8.1 billion). The Kospi index jumped more than 2 percent on Monday to set its highest-ever close

Asiana Airlines Inc. said Wednesday its net profit more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier on currency gains. Net profit for the three months ended March 31 jumped to 96 billion won ($85 million) from 44 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.  (Yonhap)"The won's strength against the dollar sharply reduced the value of dollar-denominated debts in the first quarter, giving a boost to the quarterly bottom line," a company spokesman said. But rising oil price

South Korea's professional football league will introduce a video review system earlier than scheduled following a series of missed calls by referees, officials said Wednesday.The K League, the operator of pro football competitions, originally planned to adopt the video assistant referees system for the first division K League Classic on July 22, but it decided to implement the system three weeks ahead of schedule. (Yonhap)"Since the controversy regarding missed calls has worsened, we decided to

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 12 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Japanese and European models, industry data showed Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign cars climbed to 20,051 in April from 17,845 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said in a statement.  (Yonhap)Sales of Japanese vehicles jumped 15 percent last month compared to a year earlier, with European car sales up 10 percent over the cited peri

Samsung Electronics will exhibit its lifestyle TV "The Frame" at the 57th Venice Biennale opening this weekend in Italy, the tech firm said Wednesday."The Frame" copies art with a bezel that looks like picture frames, a design concept targeting European consumers who work television sets into home decor. It offers UHD picture quality when turned on and shows a work of art when turned off.   Artist Lee Wan poses in front of "The Frame" TVs from Samsung Electronics that display his video work "Mad

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe said Wednesday he wants to make the sport well represented in school curriculum so that running can be recognized as a daily exercise for young people.Coe, who has been leading the International Association of Athletics Federations since 2015, landed in South Korea on Tuesday for the 80th Congress of the International Sports Press Association, which will run until Saturday in Seoul and PyeongChang, the host city for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Sebastian Coe

South Korea's total supply of manufacturing goods both locally produced and imported gained ground at the fastest-ever pace in the first three months of the year on the back of brisk chips industry and a sharp rise in imports, government data showed Wednesday.The manufacturing domestic supply index advanced a record 7.1 percent to stand at 112.4 from a year earlier during the January-March period, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.  (Yonhap)That of South Korean-made goods added

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Wednesday it imposed a total of 803.6 billion won $707.8 million) in fines last year to punish unfair trade practices such as price rigging.The Fair Trade Commission said it handled 3,885 cases in 2016, down 11 percent from 4,367 a year earlier, with 3,802 new cases reported to the agency. (Yonhap)Out of the total, 111 cases were slapped with financial penalties, nearly halving from the previous year's 202 cases, with the amount of fines jumping 36.5 percent

Lotte Chemical Corp., a major chemicals firm here, said Wednesday that it plans to spend 370 billion won ($326 million) in expanding facilities in the country, to better meet demand and strengthen its product portfolio.Lotte Chemical decided to expand the output at its domestic plant that produces meta xylene, a material for purified isophthalic acid, which is a substance that stiffens PET in the production of bottles.(Yonhap)Lotte Chemical, the No. 1 PIA producer in the world, has been sufferin

South Korea's main stock index swung between gains and losses late Wednesday morning as investors try to digest the policies of new President Moon Jae-in. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.98 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,295.74 as of 11:20 a.m. It hit a new intra-day record of 2,323.32 points at one point, but backtracked to 2,290.08 at another point. Large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.15 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix up

Hancom Inc., a South Korean software maker, said Wednesday that its sales for the first quarter came to a record-high of 26.7 billion won ($23.5 million).The homegrown software firm said its quarterly sales jumped 5.9 percent on-year during the January-March period. Operating profit also surged 22.7 percent on-year to 9.4 billion won.(Yonhap)Hancom, well-known among South Koreans for its mainstay word processing software based on the Korean language, has steadily improved its operating performan

After winning yet another start on Tuesday, Kia Tigers' left-hander Yang Hyeon-jong is in hot pursuit of multiple pitching records in South Korean baseball.Yang improved to 7-0 in the 2017 Korea Baseball Organization season after holding the KT Wiz to three runs over six innings of work in the Tigers' 9-4 victory. Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers throws a pitch against the Nexen Heroes in their Korea Baseball Organization game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on May 3, 2017. (Yonhap)Yang, 29, is le