Chiefs of South Korea's five major banks on Monday predicted the recovery of the country's economy to continue in the second half amid an uptrend in market interest rates. The heads of KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana and NH Nonghyup hinted they will tighten credit in the latter half to brace for a situation where rising market rates may lead to an increase in soured loans extended to troubl...

Cargo processed at Korean seaports edged down last month from a year earlier due to a drop in non-container shipments, government data showed Monday. Cargo handled at the country's ports came to 128.77 million tons in May, down 0.5 percent from 129.62 million tons tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. (Yonhap) Non-container cargo fell 3.3 percen...

The earnings outlook for Korean oil refiners and chemicals firms has been downgraded out of concerns that oil prices may leave a stain on their earnings, industry data showed Monday. Oil prices in New York have been sliding for weeks, hovering at the mid-US$40 level per barrel, which represents the lowest level in almost one year. (Yonhap) According to the data compiled by industry tracker FnG...

Imports of foreign beef have risen in the first five months of this year as consumers seek less expensive meat amid the sluggish pace of economic recovery and the anti-graft law which limits gifts that can be given to public officials, teachers and journalists. The law, which took effect in September, bans certain people from getting free meals over 30,000 won (US$26.4), gifts worth more than 50...

Shim Eun-ha, a Korean actress who enjoyed popularity in the 1990s, was reportedly taken to a hospital, local media reported Wednesday. The cause of her hospitalization Tuesday is reportedly linked to having taken too many sleeping pills, but details remain sketchy. (사진=연합뉴스) “It is true that Shim is hospitalized,” a hospital official said. “But the specific reason cannot be disclosed, since it...

(Yonhap) 진행자: 원호정, Paul Kerry 1. 문재인 대통령, 김상조 공정거래위원장 임명 문재인 대통령은 야당의 반대를 무릅쓰고 김상조 공정거래위원장 후보자 임명을 강행했다. 더 이상 새 정부 출발을 지체할 수 없다는 입장이지만, 야권에서는 강력하게 반발하고 있다. 아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638 Moon appoints FTC chief, nominates 4 ministers [1] President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday appointed Kim ...

WASHINGTON -- The US successfully carried out its first-ever test to shoot down an oncoming intercontinental ballistic missile, the Pentagon said, as it steps up efforts to defend better against growing missile threats from North Korea. "The US Missile Defense Agency successfully intercepted an intercontinental ballistic missile target during a test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense element ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has approved the deployment of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile for combat use as the country succeeded in test-firing it, Pyongyang's state media said Monday. North Korea's leader observed the launch of the ground-to-ground Pukguksong-2 missile, expressing satisfaction with its accuracy in hitting targets, according to the Korean Central News Agency. A...

South Korea’s newly elected President Moon Jae-in announced his picks for the prime minister and three positions in the presidential secretariat through a press briefing, within a few hours of being sworn into office. President Moon announces picks for prime minister, chief of staff (Yonhap) Moon picked South Jeolla Province Gov. Lee Nak-yon as his new prime minister. Lee, 64, is a former journ...

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump severely berated National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster for undermining his efforts to get South Korea to pay for the THAAD missile defense system deployed to the country, a news report said Tuesday. The reprimand came after McMaster called his South Korean counterpart, Kim Kwan-jin, and assured him that Trump's demand for Seoul to pay for the $1 billion ...

US congressional leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, issued a series of statements welcoming the election of South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday, expressing hope for working closely together with the new government to further strengthen the alliance. "I congratulate President-elect Moon Jae-in on this hard-fought victory. The strategic partnership between the US and South ...

North Korea said Wednesday that it has detained an American man for conducting "criminal acts of hostility" aimed at overturning the country. The man identified as Kim Sang-dok was arrested at Pyongyang's international airport on April 22, according to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (Yonhap) "He was intercepted for committing criminal acts of hostility aimed to overtu...

South Korea will be confronted with a severe shortage of medical sector workers in the coming years as demand for health care services exceeds supply, a local report said Wednesday. In the report on the long-term outlook for medical service personnel, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs estimated the country will face a shortage of 110,000 nurses by 2020 with numbers hitting 158,00...

South Korea said Wednesday that it will distribute to government agencies and post online a report compiled by private-sector experts to detail Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women. (Yonhap) The 216-page report, along with a separate data book, is based on an analysis done by 10 professors and experts seeking to shed light on the suffering of Korean women forced into front-line brothe...

A lawmaker of the conservative Bareun Party said Wednesday that he has withdrawn his earlier decision to leave the party along with a dozen of his colleagues in support of the presidential candidate of a rival party. Rep. Hwang Young-cheul told reporters that he has decided to stay in the party, an about-face from his announcement Tuesday to defect, along with 12 other party members, expressing ...