South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment will slightly worsen next month as they expect a decline in domestic demand and exports, central bank data showed Friday.The business survey index of manufacturing firms came to 72 in November, down from 75 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the benchmark means the opposite.An index measuring local firms' sentiments toward exports came to 82 for November, do

Trade ministers of South Korea, China and Japan will have a meeting later this week to exchange views on ways to expand trade and investment between the Northeast Asian neighbors, including efforts on a three-way free trade deal, the Seoul government said Friday.The trilateral economic and trade ministers' meeting will take place in Tokyo on Saturday, led by South Korea's Joo Hyung-hwan and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Hiroshige Seko and Gao Hucheng, respectively, according to the Minis

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher on Friday as investors responded to a mixed batch of third-quarter earnings reports. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 1.11 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,025.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading.  Most large caps traded mixed.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 2.03 percent after its shareholders on Thursday approved the nomination of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to the electronics giant's board of directors. Its third-quarter

South Korea's financial authorities requested foreign insurers here Friday to take "pre-emptive" measures to embrace new accounting standards.Zhin Woong-Seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, delivered the message in a breakfast meeting in Seoul with the CEOs of 13 foreign insurance firms operating in the country.He noted that the International Financial Reporting Standards 4 Phase II will be applied to insurers here starting in 2021.Under the rule, their liabilities will be assess

The number of foreign students studying in South Korea topped the 120,000-mark for the first time last month, the justice ministry said Friday.It was tallied at 122,082 as of the end of September, up 3.8 percent from the previous month and up 19.6 percent from a year earlier.China topped the list of native countries from which foreign students had come with 70,508 or 58 percent, trailed by Vietnam with 13,004, Mongolia with 5,814, Japan with 2,773, Uzbekistan with 2,232 and the United States wit

The price of natural gas will be raised an average 6.1 percent from next month to reflect a recent hike in import prices, the government said Friday.The price of gas for heating and cooking at households will be lifted by 5.6 percent, with that of natural gas consumed by the industrial sector to be hiked by 6.9 percent, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The price increase will be effective on Nov. 1. The ministry said it raised the gas rate for the first time in 14 months a

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party on Friday announced that the discussion on carrying out a special probe into the Choi Soon-sil scandal will temporarily be suspended until the ruling party also agrees to the plan to sack presidential aides linked to wrongdoing.On Thursday, South Korea's three major parties kicked off discussions on nominating a special prosecutor to look into the allegation that Park's confidante exercised influence on state affairs, along with other illegal acts i

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a leading South Korean shipbuilder, said Friday it has clinched a 200 billion-won ($170 million) deal to build three tankers.Under the agreement with Nordic American Tankers Ltd., a Norwegian shipper, it will construct three Suezmax oil tankers of about 157,000 deadweight tons (DWTs) to be delivered in 2018.It's expected to give another boost to the shipyard striving to weather the yearslong industrywide slump.Samsung secured a contract to build two LNG carriers in

US fast food giant McDonald's is having difficulties finding a buyer of its Korean unit as Maeil Dairies Industry Co., the last remaining bidder, has dropped its bid, according to industry officials Friday. McDonald's, which directly manages about 400 stores in South Korea, has been looking for local partners to run them as franchise stores that pay annual commissions instead. The deal initially drew interests from several investors, including CJ and NHN Entertainment, but they have nixed their

The United States will keep adding pressure on North Korea to get the communist regime to meet its international obligations, the White House said Thursday.White House press secretary Josh Earnest spoke in response to a question about the suggestion from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that the best possible solution to the North Korean nuclear issue may be a cap on the regime's nuclear capabilities, not denuclearization."Just my understanding is that Director Clapper was making

The chairman of a local arms dealer was found guilty of embezzlement and bribery on Thursday but was acquitted of fraud and a string of other corruption allegations. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee Kyu-tae of Ilgwang Group to three years and four months in prison on charges of giving some 15 million won ($13,000) in bribes to government officials and embezzling over 10 billion won of company assets. Still, Lee was found not guilty of allegations that he exaggerated the price of an

Whisky makers are competing against each other in low-alcohol whiskies amid a new trend in liquor consumption among South Koreans.Golden Blue, a homegrown whisky released in 2009 by a fledgling Korean distiller based in the southeastern port city of Busan, said it plans to release Phantom The Original, a whisky with 35 percent alcohol, on Friday.Low-alcohol whiskies have gained ground in South Korea since late 2009, when the local distiller released Golden Blue with 36.5 percent alcohol content.