Sales of the Soul EV by Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, ranked first in Germany‘s electric vehicle market last month, industry data showed Monday.　Kia Motors sold 360 units of the Soul EV last month in Germany, outperforming the A3 3-tron at 177 units and Tesla Model S with 130 units, according to the data.　The Soul EV’s market share in the German electric vehicle market stood at 25 percent last month.　Kia Motors has sold a cumulative 1,099 units of the Soul EV in Germa

South Korea’s mandatory spending will likely exceed 50 percent of fiscal spending in 2018, raising concerns that the government‘s capacity to counter the economic slump could weaken down the road, a report showed Monday.　According to the report submitted by the government to the National Assembly, the government’s mandatory spending will rise from 172.6 trillion won (US$144.5 billion) in 2015 to 183.4 trillion won in 2016, 195 trillion won in 2017 and 206.5 trillion won in 2018.　This represents

South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Sunday, Cheong Wa Dae said, in a sign of a thaw between the two countries ahead of a trilateral summit also involving China.　Abe told Park that he was looking forward to the trilateral summit, which may take place in late October in Seoul, Japan‘s Kyodo news agency said, citing Katsunobu Kato, Japanese deputy chief cabinet secretary.　Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters that Japanese media reports “w