The government will boost next year’s spending on gender-responsive policies by 68 percent as part of its efforts to promote public awareness of gender equality and boost women’s status and economic participation, officials said Monday.According to a budget draft submitted by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to the parliament, the government plans to spend 22.4 trillion won on a range of policies related to gender equality, a 68 percent increase from 13.3 trillion won set aside this year.The

The presence of South Korea's top 10 conglomerates on the local stock market decreased through October this year, though their total market capitalization gathered ground, data showed Monday.The combined market cap of the top 10 conglomerates reached 750.68 trillion won ($707.3 billion) as of Wednesday, up 1.63 percent from end-2012, according to the data compiled by the bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX).The figure represents some 57.08 percent of the aggregate market capitalization of the fi

Luxembourg's veteran Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker took a clear lead at snap elections Sunday, but after 18 years in office Europe's longest-serving leader lost ground, official figures showed.Despite the slide, Juncker immediately announced he would try to form a workable coalition government.His conservative Christian Social People's Party (CSV) led the field with 33.6 percent of the vote -- against 38 percent four years ago -- meaning it looked set to lose three of 26 seats in the 60-mem

The European Union and Canada signed Friday a free trade accord after more than four years of sometimes difficult talks, a huge deal that both said will boost growth."We have taken a crucial step forward in strengthening relations between the European Union and Canada," the European Commission said while Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper hailed "the biggest (trade) deal our country has ever made.""This is a highly ambitious and far-reaching trade agreement of great importance for the EU's e

Major League Baseball (MLB) has tendered a status check on the South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min, baseball officials here said Friday, a formal administrative step before a big league club can sign any professional player from here.According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), MLB on Friday asked for Yoon's status in the top domestic league. The KBO said it informed MLB that Yoon, 27, is currently under contract with the Kia Tigers and will be eligible for free agency after the end of the

Former world No. 1 Rory McIlroy moved into contention at the Kolon Korea Open golf tournament here on Friday, despite committing five bogeys in an up-and-down round.McIlroy fired a 2-under 69 at the par-71 Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, south of Seoul, to reach 3-under for the tournament, good for a tie for fifth. He is sitting two shots behind the leader, Hong Soon-sang of South Korea, who shot a bogey-free round of 68.McIlroy, currently ranked sixth, is seeking his first win of 2013,

Foreign and information technology ministers from around the world agreed to cooperate in securing online safety and freedom as an international conference on cyberspace finished its two-day run in Seoul on Friday.Wrapping up the conference, called the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace 2013, participating foreign and information technology ministers made commitments that were laid out in the chair's summary, released under the name of South Korean Minister Yun Byung-se, along with two annexed docum

LG Chem Ltd., the world's largest lithium-ion battery maker, said Friday its net profit fell 23.3 percent in the third quarter of this year from a year ago on sluggish performance in the rubber sector. Net profit came to 352 billion won ($332 million) in the July-September period, compared with 459 billion won a year ago, LG Chem said in a regulatory filing. Sales rose a mere 0.5 percent to 5.87 trillion won in the same period, while operating profit fell 14 percent to 516 billion won.LG Chem sa

Saudi Arabia on Friday rejected its freshly-acquired seat on the U.N. Security Council, saying the 15-member body is incapable of resolving world conflicts such as the Syrian civil war. The move came just hours after the kingdom was elected as one of the Council's 10 nonpermanent members.In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the Foreign Ministry said the Council has failed in its duties toward Syria.This, the ministry said, enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime to p

South Korea's No. 3 banking group Hana Financial Group Inc. said Friday its third-quarter earnings jumped 63 percent from a year earlier on lending growth and smaller loan-loss reserves.Net profit amounted to 377.5 billion won (US$356 million) in the July-September period, compared with 231.6 billion won the previous year, the group, which bought Korea Exchange Bank early last year, said in a regulatory filing.Compared with three months earlier, net income jumped 62.9 percent in the third quarte