Samsung Group, South Korea's top family-owned conglomerate, said Wednesday that it will spend a record 43 trillion won (US$38.3 billion) in capital expenditures this year to cement its market dominance and speed up a search for new growth engines.The figure represents an 18 percent increase from the 36.5 trillion won invested in new plants and equipment last year, according to the group. (Yonhap N

South Korea confirmed seven additional foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks at beef and milk cattle farms and a pig farm in provincial areas on Sunday despite nationwide quarantine efforts to contain the spread of the highly contagious animal disease, central and provincial government officials said.The South Chungcheong provincial government said two milk cows at a farm in the central city of C

South Korea has found one dead duck infected with the virulent strain of bird flu in the southeastern part of the country, the provincial government said Saturday.The South Gyeongsang provincial government said one of five dead ducks found in the city of Sacheon was infected with the deadly strain of Avian influenza.The provincial government said it designated a 10-kilometer region around the outb