Households comprised of one or two people will account for over 60 percent of Seoul's total population by 2040, a report showed Monday.Byeon Mi-ri, chief of the Global Future Research Center under the Seoul Institute, said 30 percent of homes in the capital city will be made up of just one person among some 4.1 million households. Another 32 percent will be made up of two-member households, she predicted.The increase in such households can be attributed to the growth in women's economic activiti

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party on Monday cast doubt on the neutrality of National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun after he made controversial remarks during last week's parliamentary session to sack the agricultural minister.Last week, South Korea's opposition parties passed a motion to dismiss the Cabinet minister over alleged ethical lapses, while the ruling party boycotted the vote and walked out of the session. The Saenuri and the presidential office have argued the dismissal motion was

South Korea's National Assembly started its regular audit on Monday, with the schedule set to face bumpy roads ahead as the ruling party vowed to stage a boycott questioning the political neutrality of the parliamentary speaker.During the 20-day audit, lawmakers are set to pose various questions to the government, including about the safety of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery as well as countermeasures against natural disasters like earthquakes.Political pundits, however, said the

A flea market opened in downtown Seoul on Sunday with foreign residents as vendors, as part of the city government's efforts to provide them opportunities to integrate with citizens here.About a hundred foreigners from some 40 teams selected by the Seoul Global Center gathered at Gwanghwamun Plaza early in the morning and sold various goods, ranging from used items to traditional handcrafts.For graduate student Alex Gubo from Slovakia, the flea market was a platform to introduce his country's cu

China has begun reducing its tariffs on a range of technology goods imported from World Trade Organization members, South Korea's customs authorities confirmed Sunday. On Sept. 15, China started reducing import tariffs on 201 technology goods under the Information Technology Agreement of the WTO, according to the Korea Customs Service. China will eliminate import duties on the goods over the next three to seven years. The technology goods included TV cameras and set-top boxes for satellite TVs,