South Korea's top three shipbuilders are expected to suffer from tough business conditions in 2017 with their orders likely to reach levels similar to this year, industry sources said Tuesday.In the face of a global vessel glut and fiercer competition from Chinese rivals, the three shipyards -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. -- are struggling to set their order targets for next year, according to the sources.Industry le

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he demanded a South Korean magazine apologize and retract an article that alleged Ban took money from a South Korean businessman more than a decade ago."I have written to the author of the article to tell him that Ban Ki-moon has lived his whole life, especially during his distinguished career as a public servant both in the Republic of Korea and at the United Nations, with unblemished honesty and integrity, and that the story that he

A group of 29 lawmakers formally departed from the ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday, declaring they will create a new party to lead the reform of political conservatives in tatters from a scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. They were set to register their own parliamentary negotiation group later in the day and will launch their party tentatively named the New Conservative Party for Reform, on Jan. 24. Their departure reduced the governing party to the second largest in parliament with 99

South Korea will remove import tariffs levied on 68 products including facility equipment for new industries next year as part of efforts to foster emerging industrial sectors, the finance ministry here said Tuesday.Starting from Jan. 1, the rate cut, which is part of the country's flexible tariff system, will be worth a combined 445.7 billion won ($372 million), down 8.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.The flexible tariff system refers to a governm

A declassified 1982 document shows that then-US President Reagan was briefed by top security aides that a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States could result in civilian casualties totaling about 80 million.The document, made public recently by George Washington University's National Security Archives, was used by then National Security Advisor William Clark, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman David Jones for a presidential briefing on the Soviet Union's c

South Korea's overall consumer sentiment hit the lowest in nearly eight years last month, the central bank said Tuesday, amid a prolonged economic slump.The composite consumer sentiment index came to 94.2 in December, the same recorded in April 2009, according to the Bank of Korea data.It marks a 1.6-point fall from a month earlier.A reading below the standard 100, based on related average figures between 2003 and 2015, means pessimists outnumber optimists in terms of consumer sentiment.A separa

Foreign tourists arrivals in South Korea are expected to surpass a record high of 17 million people this year on the back of a sharp increase in Chinese tourists, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday.The number of foreign tourists to South Korea fell 6.8 percent on year in 2015, hit by the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus.In the first 11 months of this year, the number of foreign tourists to South Korea jumped 31.2 percent on year, according to the ministry

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is likely to return to South Korea around Jan. 15, and may push for a board-based political coalition in preparation for next year's presidential election, a close associate said Monday. Ban, the frontrunner among presidential hopefuls, will reach out to a wide range of political forces rather than enter an existing party, namely the ruling Saenuri Party, he told reporters, asking not to be named. "Rather than joining an existing party, he will engage in activiti

South Korea will shut down 10 aging coal-fired power plants by 2025 as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb fine dust, a related ministry said Monday. The government also plans to replace environmental facilities at 43 other coal plants in the nation in the initiative expected to cost a total of 11.6 trillion won ($9.67 billion) by 2030, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The ministry has signed an accord with five local power plant operators on the p

South Korea's Constitutional Court said Monday it will start the official review of the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye next week.The National Assembly voted on Dec. 9 to oust Park from office over a corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving her and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.The top court said its preparation procedure will be complete this week after it receives the results of the prosecution's investigation into the case. The court has around six months to come up

Domino's Pizza led the local industry in sales last year, while local franchise Pizza Maru came out on top in profit, a report showed Monday.According to the report from the Fair Trade Commission, Domino's Pizza posted average sales of 748.76 million won ($624,400) per shop in 2015, followed by Pizza Alvolo with 521.45 million won and Pizza Hut with 481.74 million won.The report is based on an analysis of the top 10 pizza brands here.A local brand, Pizza School, had the largest number of franchi

South Korean lawmakers failed to hold a hearing at a detention center with key suspects in a scandal involving President Park Geun-hye on Monday.Members of a special parliamentary committee visited a detention facility on the outskirts of Seoul to question Park's confidante Choi Soon-sil, and former presidential aides Ahn Jong-beom and Jeong Ho-seong, who had refused to attend a hearing at the National Assembly this month. The three figures were summoned to a hearing at a meeting room Monday but