South Korea's antitrust watchdog has seen a large amount of corporate penalties revoked over the past five years as it loses lawsuits with companies or voluntarily reverses penalty impositions, a report showed Tuesday.In the report submitted to Rep. Park Yong-jin of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea for an annual parliamentary audit of its affairs, the Fair Trade Commission said the amount of canceled corporate penalties stood at 995.5 billion won ($903 million) between 2012 and this yea

South Korea's National Assembly audit, which has been disrupted by the ruling Saenuri Party's boycott in the standoff over the political neutrality of the parliamentary speaker, resumed normal proceedings Tuesday.Saenuri decided to take full part in the audit sessions that kicked off last Monday after it walked out, protesting that National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun took the side of the opposition bloc ahead of a vote to sack a Cabinet minister last month.Saenuri chief Rep. Lee Jung-hyun also stag

The labor force participation rate for South Koreans in their 20s reached a 10-year high in the second quarter, government data showed Tuesday, due mainly to a surge in the number of jobless 20-somethings.According to the data by Statistics Korea, 65.7 percent of people aged 20 to 29 were inside the labor force during the April-June period. It was up 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier and the highest since 65.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005.In particular, the labor force participa

A policy bank has offered a refund guarantee for a new order won by Samsung Heavy Industries Co., helping one of the country's major shipyards proceed with the new shipbuilding order.Late last month, the shipyard secured a 420 billion-won ($380 million) deal to build two LNG carriers, marking its first contract in almost one year.The deal with a European customer came as local shipyards are suffering from a sharp decline in new orders amid a protracted industry-wide slump.Samsung Heavy is also s

South Korea's current account surplus hit the lowest in four months in August due to slowing exports and increased imports, central bank data showed Tuesday.The current account surplus reached $5.51 billion in August, compared with $8.67 billion in July, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The August figure represents a drop from an $8.54 billion surplus from a year earlier and also marks the lowest in four months. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border t

South Korea's air passenger traffic surged to a record monthly high in August with international passengers to and from the country also reaching a new all-time high, the government said Tuesday.Overall air passenger traffic came to 9.86 million in August, up 20.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The increase was largely attributed to a surge in international passengers to and from South Korea, which spiked 26.5 percent on-yea

The United States does not oppose the Philippines seeking better relations with China just as it encouraged other Asian allies South Korea and Japan to improve their ties with Beijing, the White House said Monday.White House press secretary Josh Earnest was reacting to comments reportedly made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for his combative rhetoric against the US, that he is willing to build closer relations with China and Russia."I've been asked this question both in th

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp. saw their combined sales in the United States rise slightly in September, thanks in large part to strong SUV sales, industry data showed Monday.The two South Korean auto giants sold a combined 115,830 units in the US last month, up 1.7 percent from 113,835 units sold in the same period last year, the data showed. Hyundai's sales rose 4 percent to 66,610 units, which marks the best September ever."Strong performances by our Santa Fe an

The US House of Representatives has adopted a resolution urging the government to look into the possibility of North Korea's involvement in the unexplained disappearance of an American citizen from China more than a decade ago.David Sneddon, a college student from Utah, disappeared in China in 2004. Recent media reports have alleged that he is living in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang after being kidnapped to teach English to current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.But the State Department

Rep. Lee Hae-chan, a seven-term lawmaker, officially returned to the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea on Friday, vowing to make full-fledged efforts to help the party win next year's presidential election.Lee left the Minjoo earlier this year after failing to win the party ticket for the April 13 polls. Although his return had been delayed due to the policy that a seceder cannot come back within a year, newly-elected party head Choo Mi-ae decided to make an exception in his case.The lawmake

South Korean stocks fell Friday as investors were spooked by the financial stability of German banking giant Deutsche Bank. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index declined 25.09 points, or 1.21 percent, to close at 2,043.63. Trade volume was moderate at 317 million shares worth 5.6 trillion won ($5.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 654 to 169.The local stock market opened lower following a sharp decline on Wall Street. Worries mounted