Presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in on Monday vowed to spend 10 trillion won ($8.8 billion) in the first year of his presidency alone to create new jobs in the public sector and encourage the private sector to follow.The presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party said the money will be spent in just about seven months left in the year following his election.The five-year term of the new president will begin the day after the May 9 presidential election.Moon Jae-in (R), the candidat

Politics April 17, 2017

North Korea has formed special operation forces for the first time in an apparent show of military strength, an analysis on North Korea's media reports showed Monday, amid tensions over its nuclear and missile program.The country unveiled the existence of the Korean People's Army special forces for the first time at a military parade Saturday to mark the 105th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung, according to an analysis on the reports by Yonhap News Agency. This photo unveiled by the North Kor

North Korea April 17, 2017

South Korean football club Suwon Samsung Bluewings have lost only once since the new season started last month, but some angry supporters are already calling for the head coach's resignation.Suwon, the 2016 Korea Football Association Cup winners, are currently 10th in the top-flight K League Classic with five draws and one loss. After their match against Gwangju FC on Sunday ended in a scoreless draw at home, some avid Suwon fans booed their players and lambasted head coach Seo Jung-won for the

Soccer April 17, 2017

South Korea's defense ministry affirmed Monday that there is no change in its plan to deploy an advanced US missile defense system here as early as possible.It was responding to speculation that South Korea and the US may adjust the pace of bringing a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to the peninsula for political reasons, with South Koreans set to pick their new president on May 9.(Yonhap)A White House foreign policy advisor traveling with Vice President Mike Pence was quoted as tell

Defense April 17, 2017

South Korea's fishery-related industry posted sales of 6.59 trillion won ($5.8 billion) in 2015, with the employees reaching more than a million, a government report showed Monday.The conventional fishing and seafood retail sector marked 4.99 trillion won in 2015, while sales of the related industries like fishing boat-building businesses totaled 1.6 trillion won, according to the annual report compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. (Yonhap)The ministry said the aggregated sales of fi

Industry April 17, 2017

South Korea's advertising market reached 14.7 trillion won ($12.95 billion) last year, with more than 70 percent of it dominated by the top three firms, an industry study showed Monday.Last year's market size is 8.1 percentage points bigger than the previous year's 13.7 trillion won, according to the Korea Federation of Advertising Associations (KFAA). Not only were there growing demands by local advertisers, but profits at overseas branches in emerging markets like India and Southeast Asian cou

Industry April 17, 2017

The ministers of the interior and justice on Monday vowed to ensure a fair and clean presidential vote, warning of "zero tolerance" against election crimes such as smear campaigns, bribery and violence.In a joint statement, Interior Minister Hong Yun-sik and Acting Justice Minister Lee Chang-jae stressed the government will mobilize all of the capabilities of the prosecution and police to prevent any illegal electioneering and other violations in the lead-up to the May 9 vote. Interior Minister

Politics April 17, 2017

The torch relay for the first Winter Olympics in South Korea will begin on the day when the countdown reaches 100 days, the event's organizers said Monday.The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said the Olympic flame, as per the 80-year tradition, will be lit in Olympia, Greece, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, on Oct. 24. The flame will travel around Greece for a week and will be handed over to a PyeongChang delegation on Oct. 31 in Athens. Kim Yu-na (L), an honora

More Sports April 17, 2017

The government on Monday began the transfer to state archives of presidential records, officials said, which may hold key evidence regarding the corruption probe involving ousted President Park Geun-hye.The Presidential Archives under the National Archives of Korea said the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and other agencies that created the records during the Park administration began the transfer. The state archives earlier said it plans to complete the work by the May 9 presidential election

Social Affairs April 17, 2017

The state tourism organization said Monday it has secured over 1,000 inbound travelers from Taiwan and Hong Kong this year as part of efforts to diversify incoming foreigners amid a sharp decline in Chinese tourists. The expected tally, consisting mainly of students from the two neighboring countries slated to visit on school trips, has far outpaced some 400 recorded in the same period ending April 13, 2016, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. Last year's total for excursion groups from

Social Affairs April 17, 2017

Claimed supporters of Ban Ki-moon, the former South Korean secretary-general of the United Nations, on Monday declared their support for the presidential candidate of the center-left People's Party.The group, claiming to have 70,000 members, said its members will support Ahn Cheol-soo in the May 9 presidential election.Ahn Cheol-soo (Yonhap)In a press conference, the group said Ahn was the only person willing and able to change, not just politicians, but politics itself as once stressed by the f

Politics April 17, 2017

The number of workers at South Korea's five complete carmakers has risen 8.6 percent in the past five years, a report showed Monday. The overall workforce at the five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., SsangYong Motor Co. and Renault Samsung Motors Corp. -- reached 126,723 employees at the end of 2016, up from 116,714 at end-2011, according to the companies' annual business reports. (Yonhap)Workers at Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and SsangYong Motor increased in the fiv

Industry April 17, 2017

Around 1,000 US airmen and fighter jets have teamed up with South Korea's Air Force in a joint combat training to ensure their readiness against North Korea's provocations, the Pacific Command announced Monday.The two-week Max Thunder exercise, one of the largest military flying exercises held annually in South Korea, is scheduled to run though April 28 at Kunsan Air Base in the southwest of the peninsula.South Korean and US fighter jets fly together in the 2016 Max Thunder exercise in this file

Defense April 17, 2017

The National Police Agency opened its election security headquarters in Seoul and supporting offices at police stations across the country Monday as the official campaign period for the upcoming presidential election kicked off. Lee Cheol-seong (2nd from R), chief of the National Police Agency, claps with senior police officers during a signboard hanging ceremony for the election security headquarters at the police agency in Seoul on April 17, 2017. (Yonhap)The offices will operate 24 hours a da

Social Affairs April 17, 2017

Prosecutors will indict ousted President Park Geun-hye on Monday on bribery and other charges related to 13 criminal allegations, and conclude their probe into the influence-peddling scandal that brought her down, prosecution sources said.Prosecutors have sought to wrap up their monthslong investigation and Park's indictment before this week's launch of the official campaign for the May 9 presidential election. The official campaign period kicked off earlier in the day, with 15 hopefuls vying fo

Social Affairs April 17, 2017