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Funds in stock accounts hit record on hopes of higher returns

Apr 20, 2016

With no suitable or attractive assets to invest in amid low interest rates, the market is seeing more and more investors parking their money -- mostly savings -- into stock or mutual trust accounts offered by brokerages rather than banks’ savings accounts.Offering higher yields than deposit rates and relatively stable returns over the benchmark interest rates with flexible transactions, brokerages saw their outstanding balance of cash management accounts reach a record 52.6 trillion won ($46.3 b
N. Korea blames U.S. for its nuclear weapons development

North KoreaApr 16, 2016

North Korea claimed Saturday that its nuclear weapons development is an "inevitable self-defensive option" in response to what it called the United States' nuclear threats. The communist country has long argued that it must defend itself with nuclear weapons in the face of a possible U.S.-led invasion, citing the annual South Korea-U.S. military exercises that are currently under way. Seoul and Washington insist the drills are purely defensive in nature."The DPRK's access to nuclear weapons is n
China to double size of memorial hall for Korean independence fighter: report

Social affairsApr 16, 2016

China will double the size of a memorial hall dedicated to a revered Korean independence fighter by the end of 2018, a Chinese news report said Saturday. The hall honoring Ahn Jung-geun opened at Harbin station in the northeastern Chinese city of the same name in January 2014. Ahn is a historic figure who assassinated the Korean Peninsula's first Japanese governor-general, Hirobumi Ito, at the station in October 1909.Harbin municipal authorities and railway authorities plan to expand the hall wh
U.N. Security Council strongly condemns N. Korea's missile launch

North KoreaApr 16, 2016

The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned North Korea's failed missile launch, saying it represents "a clear violation" of a series of U.N. resolutions banning the communist nation from any ballistic activity."The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the firing of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on April 15," the council said in a press statement."Although the DPRK's ballistic missile launch was a failure, this attempt constituted a clear
Korea marks 2nd anniversary of ferry disaster

Social affairsApr 16, 2016

South Korea on Saturday marked the second anniversary of a deadly ferry disaster with official and cultural events designed to pay tribute to the victims and raise awareness of public safety issues.Exactly two years ago, the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank off South Korea's southwestern coast, leaving more than 300 people dead or missing, many of them high school students on a field trip. The tragedy left a deep scar in South Korean society and politics as many argued that more lives could have been
Hyundai, Kia's sales top 100 million units

TransportApr 16, 2016

The accumulated sales of Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have reached over 100 million units this week, company officials said Saturday, a feat achieved in less time than most other global automakers.The combined accumulated sales of the country's two leading auto companies reached over 100 million cars as of Friday, according to the officials.Together, the two automakers make up Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest producer of vehicles by sales. The achiev
No S. Korean casualties reported in Japan quakes

World NewsApr 16, 2016

No South Korean casualties have so far been reported in the series of deadly earthquakes that struck Japan this week, an official said Saturday. A 7.3-magnitude temblor hit Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu at around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, less than two days after a 6.5-magnitude quake struck the same region, leaving a total of 18 people dead and more than 1,800 injured, according to Japanese authorities."So far, we haven't received reports of any harm to South Koreans," Park Ki-
Samsung lays off largest number of workers in 2015

TechnologyApr 16, 2016

South Korea's largest conglomerate Samsung Group reduced its number of employees by the largest margin among the country's top 30 business groups last year, data showed Saturday.As of end-2015, Samsung's total workforce came to 222,821 workers, down 5.8 percent or 13,636 workers from a year earlier, according to data from CEO Score, a market research firm.Samsung was the only one among the country's 30 largest conglomerates to have laid off more than 10,000 employees in 2015. Such a large cut wa
Satellite imagery shows strong signs of N. Korea's nuclear reprocessing: 38 North

North KoreaApr 16, 2016

Recent satellite imagery shows strong indications that North Korea has already begun or is set to start reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to harvest plutonium for nuclear weapons, the website 38 North said.The April 11 imagery showed a loaded railroad flatcar at the Radiochemical Laboratory reprocessing plant, a key signature that was observed only on a few rare occasions in the early 2000s when Pyongyang reprocessed nuclear fuel to extract plutonium, 38 North said.The flatcar is loaded with what
Int'l study finds vast magma storage beneath Mt. Paektu

Social affairsApr 16, 2016

A massive magma storage region seems to exist beneath Mount Paektu along the border between North Korea and China, an international study showed.It may be related to volcanic unrest observed on the enigmatic volcano in the early 2000s, according to the results of a research project published in the Science Advances journal.The reclusive North conducted a rare joint research with western scientists on the seismic activity of the 2,750-meter-high mountain. The North Korean, British and American sc
Korea’s fundamentals remain strong: finance minister

Apr 13, 2016

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said that South Korea’s national debt in proportion to its gross domestic product is relatively low compared with other major economies. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)Its largest trading partner China, which is undergoing structural changes to focus on spurring domestic consumption rather than exports, will have a positive effect on Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Korea’s benchmark interest rate of 1.5 percent is also higher than most other economies, he noted.“Ko
N. Korea defends its nuclear capability

North KoreaApr 7, 2016

North Korea on Thursday reiterated its stance that its nuclear capability is the outcome of what it claims is nuclear blackmail from Washington, and threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. mainland.The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official news outlet, said the U.S.'s call for a "world without nuclear weapons" is a prelude to a nuclear war against the communist state."The 4th Nuclear Security Summit held in the U.S. was an extremely deceptive and provocative farce aim
Defense ministry opts not to disclose information on THAAD deployment

DefenseApr 7, 2016

The government has rejected calls to disclose information on the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system to South Korea, a civic group said Thursday.The Ministry of National Defense dismissed the information disclosure request filed by the Lawyers for a Democratic Society last month, the group said.It had asked the ministry to open the terms of reference it signed with its U.S. counterpart and clarify whether the agreement was a treaty, according to the association.In the after
Korea up one spot in FIFA rankings at No. 56

SoccerApr 7, 2016

South Korea has moved one spot up to rank No. 56 in the world, the latest FIFA ranking announced on Thursday showed.The April rankings of FIFA showed that the South Korea men's football team is ranked third best in Asia, just one notch above their archrival Japan.Iran was the top-ranked country in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) at No. 42 followed by Australia, which moved up from No. 67 to 50.Saudi Arabia was the fifth-highest-ranked Asian country at No. 60, followed by Uzbekistan (No. 6
[Newsmaker] Anbang’s Allianz buy spurs Chinese deals

Apr 7, 2016

From hotels, movies, games and financial services to energy, manufacturing and information technology, there is not one sector across industries or markets that China is not involved in.China’s growth may be losing momentum a bit, but that does not mean Chinese companies do not have the capital to remain acquisitive for businesses that can help them generate more value. And finance is one of many services where they want to get their hands on and boost global competitiveness through acquisitions