The global air purifier market is forecast to expand 17.5 percent this year, fueled by burgeoning demand for the anti-contaminant home appliances, a report showed Friday.The market is expected to be valued at $6.7 billion by the end of this year, based on the growth estimates, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.  (Yonhap)The global air cleaner market has been growing at an annual rate of 12.4 percent over the past three years, the report said, adding that it is likely to p

President Moon Jae-in visited dementia patients Friday in his third onsite inspection since taking office, declaring comprehensive support for those affected.Moon visited a nursing home in Segok-dong, southern Seoul, where he met with patients, their families and caregivers to listen to their concerns. President Moon Jae-in makes pots of flowers with senior citizens at a state-operated nursing home in Seoul on June 2, 2017. (Yonhap)The president had stressed during the election campaign that the

BEIJING -- The Chinese government on Friday called a bus fire last month that killed 10 South Korean children in China an act of arson, the South Korean Embassy in Beijing said.The Chinese foreign ministry notified the South Korean Embassy of the outcome of an investigation into the cause of the incident on May 9, when a school bus carrying 11 kindergarten students and a teacher caught fire inside the Taojiakuang Tunnel in Weihai, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.Along with the

MOKPO -- A set of bones found intact in the wreck of the Sewol ferry last month was confirmed to be those of a student who went missing in the 2014 disaster through a DNA test, officials said Friday. The remains, first identified as those of Heo Da-yoon based on dental records last month, have been officially confirmed to be hers by a DNA test, they said.  In this photo taken on May 19, 2017, the father of Sewol ferry victim Heo Da-yoon talks on the phone in front of his daughter`s photo in Mokp

President Moon Jae-in's policy advisory panel said Friday that it is mulling reversing its earlier position to put the foreign ministry back in charge of trade issues, though it has yet to make any decision.Park Kwang-on, the spokesman for the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, said that it is expected to make the decision early next week on whether the trade function will be transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This photo, taken

Five car models made by South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. have been named the safest cars in a US crash test, the companies said.  In a test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to determine the safety of vehicles in crashes, Hyundai's Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle and independent brand Genesis G80 and G90 sedans, as well as Kia's Optima (or K5) and Cadenza (or K7) sedans earned the highest rating - the 2017 Top Safety Pick+.  Kia's Optim

South Korean stocks extended gains late Friday morning as foreign investors scooped up large-cap stocks.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 22.02 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,366.63 as of 11:20 a.m.On Friday, foreigners turned net buyers of domestic stocks worth 239 billion won ($213 million) after shedding local shares in the past three sessions. Their net buying appears to be affected by two factors, analysts said. A rally in US stocks and expectations of an economic recove

South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday it is "regrettable" that the United States has withdrawn from a landmark global agreement aimed at curbing climate change. On Thursday (local time), US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, saying that it disadvantages the US to the exclusive benefit of other countries. (Yonhap)"It is regrettable in that the global solidarity and efforts for (a better) response to climate change has been undermined due to the US

The sales growth of South Korean cosmetics products slowed in April from a year earlier, due largely to a decline in Chinese tourists who are the main customers for local beauty items, data showed Friday. The index gauging the retail sale of cosmetics products grew 2.2 percent in April from the previous year, the lowest growth since the figure marked negative 7.1 percent in August 2015, according to the data by Statistics Korea.That month the country suffered from the aftermath of the Middle Eas

South Korea's government on Friday approved an additional eight requests by local aid providers and religious groups to have contact with North Koreans over inter-Korean exchanges.The Ministry of Unification said that it gave the green light to plans by two humanitarian aid providers and six religious groups to come in contact with North Korea as the government decided to revive civilian exchanges with the North."The approval came as the government will flexibly review civilian exchanges between

FC Augsburg's South Korean forward Ji Dong-won will tie the knot with his longtime girlfriend later this month, a local wedding planning service said Friday.Ji will marry an older sister of Kang Ji-young, a former member of K-pop girl group Kara, after dating her for about two years, iwedding said. The wedding will take place at Hotel Shilla in Seoul on June 16, but only family members and close friends will be invited to attend.  In this photo provided by iwedding on June 2, 2017, South Korean

More than 80 percent of the public approve of President Moon Jae-in's job performance so far, a survey showed Friday, less than a month after the liberal took office.In the survey conducted on 1,004 adults from Tuesday to Thursday, 84 percent of respondents said they think Moon is "doing a good job," while 7 percent said he is "not doing a good job," according to Gallup Korea.President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with his senior secretaries at his office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on June 1,

Oh Seung-hwan of the St. Louis Cardinals has saved his 13th game of the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Oh threw a scoreless ninth inning against the Dodgers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Thursday (local time), preserving the Cards' 2-0 victory. The right-hander gave up a hit but collected two strikeouts to pick up a save for the second straight day.  St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Oh Seung-hwan and catcher Yadier Molina celebrate a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium in

POHANG -- A fishing boat with two people aboard capsized off the southeastern coast of South Korea on Friday, leaving one of them dead, local Coast Guard authorities said. (Yonhap)In the 6:23 a.m. accident 100 meters off Cape Homi in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, a 70-year-old fisherman went missing and his wife, 69, managed to swim ashore.The Coast Guard, which mobilized five patrol ships and a helicopter, found and rescued the missing fisherman about one hour following the accident, but h

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo arrived in Singapore on Friday to attend a regional forum on North Korea's threats and other security challenges.The 16th Asia Security Summit also involves US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and two dozen other ministerial-level officials from around the world.The three-day forum, better known as the Shanggri-La Dialogue, will open Friday night, coming on the heels of a series of North Korea's ballistic missile launches. South Korean Defense Minister Ha

The UN World Food Program provided 1,900 tons of food aid to North Korea's vulnerable people in April, Voice of America reported Friday.Silke Buhr, spokeswoman of WFP's Regional Bureau for Asia told VOA's Korean Service that the UN food aid agency delivered the food to 760,400 vulnerable people in the North, including young children and pregnant and nursing women. North Koreans rest at the Central Zoo in Pyongyang on April 16, 2017, in this photo released by Europe's news photo agency EPA. (Yonh

The head of South Korea's central bank on Friday called for efforts to make certain senior citizens are not left behind as the country moves to update its financial sector.South Korean banks have expanded financial technology, or fintech, in recent years as a growing number of people do their banking on their computers or smartphones without visiting bank branches. (Yonhap)The number of smartphone-based banking service users rose 3.6 percent from three months earlier to 77.3 million as of end-Ma

Nearly half of South Korea's top 30 family-controlled conglomerates slashed their workforces in 2016 from a year earlier, data showed Friday, amid unfavorable market conditions at home and abroad.The combined workforce of the 30 leading business groups came to 1,305,939 as of the end of last year, down 1.1 percent, or 15,069, from a year earlier, according to the data from market tracker Chaebul.com.Of the total conglomerates known as chaebol here, Samsung, Hyundai Heavy Industries, POSCO, LG an

LG Electronics Inc. on Friday announced the official release of its own mobile payment tool in South Korea comparable to Samsung Electronics Co.'s Samsung Pay.LG Electronics said LG Pay, based on the Wireless Magnetic Communication technology, allows users to make payments by touching their smartphones to regular credit card devices.  A model demonstrates LG Electronics Inc.`s mobile payment tool, LG Pay, in this photo released by the company on June 2, 2017. (Yonhap)Samsung Pay provides the sam

South Korea's stock market was white-hot on massive foreign buying in May, emerging as the top performer among bourses in major advanced and emerging countries, data showed Friday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,347.38 Wednesday, up 6.4 percent from a month earlier, according to the data by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Center for International Finance.The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index came next with a 4.2 percent increase, followed by India's Mumbai Index with 4.1 per