Seoul City has started showing Korean movies with foreign language subtitles, including Japanese for the first time, officials said Tuesday. In cooperation with CGV Theater, one of the country’s largest cinema chains, the city has offered the foreign language service at five theaters since 2009.This month the Japanese language subtitle service began first at a CGV branch in Myeong-dong, a popular

The financial health of provincial governments is getting worse due to stagnant local tax revenues and increasing welfare demand, the home affairs ministry said Tuesday.The average ratio for measuring their financial independence from the state was 51.9 percent as of this year, 5.3 percentage points lower than seven years ago, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security said in a statement.

Two rockets fell inside an Afghanistan base where South Korean aid workers and troops were stationed on Monday night, but there were no injuries, Foreign Ministry officials said Tuesday.The attack is the 10th this year, apparently targeting the base in Charikar City in the northern Afghan province of Parwan. In a previous attack on May 30, one rocket fell just outside the base.The rockets fell nea

Oh and city council clash over school meals during first meeting in six monthsCity council members Tuesday fired questions at Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who appeared at the council’s plenary meeting after a six-month hiatus. The political path of Oh, who is considered a potential presidential candidate for the Grand National Party, in particular drew keen interest. “Your political future can affect y

A majority of Korean retailers are optimistic about business conditions in the third quarter of the year on hopes of a rise in their sales during the summer holiday season, a poll showed Tuesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its retail business index fell slightly to 119 for the July-September period from 125 for the second quarter, but it was well above the benchmark level. A r

The number of air passengers taking international flights in and out of South Korea grew about 2 percent in May from a year earlier as more holidays bolstered overseas travel, the Transportation Ministry said Tuesday.Air passengers on international flights totaled 3.32 million last month, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affa

Conglomerate denies reports on selling SK Securities to SK C&CSK Group remains undecided despite the fast-approaching deadline for complying with fair trade laws dictating that the group divest itself of stakes in SK Securities Co.On Tuesday, the group denied a Yonhap News Agency report that it had decided to sell SK Securities shares to the IT services provider SK C&C if the revised bill is not p

LG Electronics said on Tuesday it would roll out the world’s fastest A4 color desktop printer, able to print up to 60 pages per minute, this month.In a press conference held in downtown Seoul, the global electronics giant said it joined hands with global player Memjet to release the product “Machjet LPP6010N” in the local market.The event comes as LG Electronics is putting more weight on the print

Samsung Everland Inc. on Tuesday said its theme park “Everland” was ranked among the global top 10 of such facilities for a fifth straight year in 2010. Everland stood at 10th place, with 6.88 million visitors according to recent figures from the Themed Entertainment Association. Everland has been included in the list of top 10 theme parks since 2006, the Seoul-based company said. In the category

Hyundai Motor is enjoying rapid sales growth in India, capturing nearly 20 percent of the emerging market in May. The automaker sold 31,123 vehicles last month, up 14.6 percent from a year ago. Its market in India has reached 19.5 percent, raising the possibility of sales growth for 13 consecutive years.The figure is the highest monthly market share for this year, rising 0.2 percentage points from

Korea and Japan’s bourse operators are considering cross-trading as part of efforts to strengthen their footing amid rising competition among global exchanges, an official said Tuesday.The Korea Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange held the first round of working-level talks on the issue late last month, according to a ranking official at the Korea Exchange.“No concrete plan has materialized yet,