The three-year-old free trade agreement with Vietnam will allow South Korean companies to further increase their auto, steel and petrochemical exports on tax removal or cuts, customs experts said Thursday. In a seminar held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, customs experts called on Korean companies to aggressively take advantage of tariff benefits in the third year of the bilateral free trade pact with Vietnam and afterwards."Exports to South Korea's major mar

CJ Cheiljedang Corp., South Korea's leading maker of processed foods, said Thursday sales of its flagship precooked dumplings soared this year from a year earlier on the back of the growing one-person household and eat-alone trends that have spurred demand for instant foods. The company has sold more than 50 billion won ($44.3 million) worth of its Bibigo Dumplings in the first four months of this year ending April 26, up 31.5 percent from the previous year, it said in a release.(Yonhap)The on-y

Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers has gone deep for the second time in his first three-hit game of the 2017 season. Choo went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run in the Rangers' 14-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday (local time). The 34-year-old also collected his first triple of the season, but came up short to complete the cycle as he failed to hit a double.  In this Associated Press photo, Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers hits a triple aga

A massive amount of South Korean foods and cosmetics were denied import approval in China last month, sources said Thursday, as diplomatic tensions between the two countries deepened over the ongoing deployment of a high-tech US missile defense system in South Korea. China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine refused to give import licenses to a total of 466 items in March and 83 of them were those from South Korea, the industry sources said, quoting the min

A ceremony was held here Thursday for the construction of liquefied natural gas storage facilities and distribution pipelines that aim to provide the southern resort island with a cleaner source of power by mid-2019.The work involves building two storage tanks and pipelines capable of distributing 120 tons of LNG per hour on 74,786 square meters of reclaimed land in Aewol Port, northwest of Jeju Island, by August 2019, officials at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.(Yonhap)The mini

The South Korean baseball league champions Doosan Bears have signed a contract with a pitcher who had been investigated by local prosecutors for illegal gambling last year. The Bears, the winners of the 2016 Korean Series in the Korea Baseball Organization, said Thursday they inked a contract with Jin Ya-gob for the 2017 season on April 17. The KBO said it has already notified the Bears' signing to nine other clubs last week.In this file photo taken on May 19, 2016, Doosan Bears pitcher Jin Ya-g

Farming industry in South Korea is undergoing a big change, as more urbanites choose to venture into agricultural businesses by moving to the countryside and bringing with them growth potential and cutting-edge IT expertise, observers said Thursday. With a history of having pulled off rapid industrialization in the second half of the 20th century following a devastating war, the farming business here has often been marginalized as something that is outdated with little chance of future success.

Hyundai Motor Co., the country's largest carmaker by sales, has cut the prices for its i40 models to boost sales amid a prolonged economic slowdown, the company said Thursday. For this year's models, Hyundai Motor said in a statement that the prices of the i40 wagon and i40 sedan have been slashed by up to 1 million won ($880) starting Thursday. Hyundai i40 wagon (Yonhap file photo)After the price cuts, the 2.0-liter gasoline-powered i40 wagon and sedan are selling at 24.2 million won to 26.6 mi

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday ruled out speculation that Galaxy S8 smartphones have faulty displays, claiming the controversial red tint on some devices can be changed by users.During a conference call held after the company released its first-quarter earnings report, Samsung Electronics claimed that the company has conducted a thorough inspection of the Galaxy S8 to ensure product quality. (Yonhap)"Due to the nature of Super AMOLED displays, there can be natural differences in color," Sam

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major construction firm here, said Thursday that it suffered a 50 percent on-year slump in first-quarter net profit due to currency losses. Net profit for the three months ended March 31 plunged to 43.9 billion won ($39 million) from 86.9 billion won a year earlier, the builder said in a statement.  (Hyundai E&C)The won's ascent to the US dollar cut into the quarterly bottom line, but its drastic cost-cutting efforts helped the company post an increased

The number of unemployed people aged 65 or older hit a record high in recent months, government data showed Thursday, amid the lack of proper job openings for senior citizens,m whose number has been growing rapidly in recent years. The number of jobless people aged 65 or older rose to 123,000 for the first quarter this year, up 31,000 from a year earlier, according to the Statistics Korea data.The figure is the highest since Statistics Korea began compiling related numbers in 1999. The comparabl

Korean Air Lines Inc. on Thursday received its second B787-9 aircraft that will allow it to strengthen its customer service starting next month.Korean Air, South Korea's biggest carrier by sales, will put the 269-seat dreamliner jet initially on its Gimpo-Jeju Island route from May 2 and then international routes from June, the company said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The national flag carrier plans to operate three flights a day on the Gimpo-Jeju route and then begin service on long-range routes t

South Korean stocks traded lower early Thursday morning, slipping from their six-year highs, with top market cap Samsung Electronics hitting a fresh record high.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) shed 3.85 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,203.99 as of 11:15 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 1.73 percent up after reporting the biggest quarterly earnings in three years aided by robust chip sales.The world's largest manufacturer of smartphones also said it would buy back

South Korea's industrial electricity consumption rose for five straight quarters in the first three months of the year on a sharp upturn in the chipmaking and chemical sectors, the government said Thursday.The amount of electricity consumed by the country's industrial sector reached 71.06 billion kilowatt-hours in the January-March period, up 2.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The quarterly figure has been on a steady rise since th

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings almost doubled from a year earlier on cost-cutting efforts and the delivery of high-priced ships.Net profit reached 462 billion won ($409 million) in the January-March period, compared with a profit of 245 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)Operating income also surged 90 percent on-year to reach 619 billion won, while sales dipped 1.9 percent to 10.08 tril

K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank, has achieved more than half of its full-year target of attracting deposits just 24 days after launching operations, the nation's financial regulator said Thursday. The pace of growth in K-Bank's deposits is much faster than expected and the Internet-only bank is fueling increased competition with traditional banks, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. K-Bank, formed by a consortium of KT Corp., Woori Bank and 19 other compani

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker by sales, posted a 19 percent on-year drop in its first-quarter net profit due to weak demand in China and the United States, the company said Thursday.Net profit for the three months that ended on March 31 plunged to 765.4 billion won ($678 million) from 944.5 billion won a year earlier, Kia said in a regulatory filing.(Yonhap)"Vehicle sales in China fell sharply due to worsening consumer sentiment in the wake of Seoul's decision to deploy

South Korean companies operating overseas have low domestic dividend payment rates compared to other international firms, and one way to fix the problem is to change the taxation rule, a think tank said Thursday.South Korea's foreign direct investment increased 3.7-fold over the past decade, and net profits at its offshore companies have been above $10 billion since 2010, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute. Their domestic dividend payment rate over the five past years, however, a

Sales of air conditioners and electric fans rose sharply this month from a year earlier, industry sources said Thursday, amid above-average temperatures that can be a sign of a hot summer to come.Lotte HiMart, a consumer electronics retailer, witnessed a whopping 180 percent increase in the sales of air conditioners for the first 25 days in April from the same period last year. (Yonhap)Sales of electric fans also jumped 40 percent during the time span.E-Mart, South Korea's largest discount store

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Thursday, led by losses in Samsung Electronics and its affiliates and automakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 4.74 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,203.10 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Wednesday, the Kospi closed at a fresh six-year high, driven by continued foreign buying.Investors also seem to be tempted to cash in gains.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 0.47 percent down and Samsung C&T, the de facto holding