South Korea's state-run pension fund actively exercised its voting rights this year opposing one out of 10 proposals at shareholders meeting, data showed Wednesday.The National Pension Service (NPS), the operator of the fund, voted against 320, or 9.6 percent, out of 3,344 resolutions made this year at shareholders meetings of the companies it has invested in, according to the data compiled by industry tracker CEO Score.The tally was based on the votes the NPS took part in at 654 shareholders me

South Korea's corporate bond sales have contracted sharply in 2016 from last year due to large firms' sluggish capital spending and rising interest rates, data showed Wednesday.Local companies floated 35.1 trillion won ($30.1 billion) worth of bonds between Jan. 1 and Tuesday, while issuing only 264 billion won this month, according to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association.Given the current pace, corporate debt sales for all of 2016 are unlikely to surpass the 40 trillion won ma

South Korea's jobless rate remained unchanged in November from a year earlier, with a protracted economic slowdown weighing heavily on the unemployment for young people, a government report showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 3.1 percent last month, staying flat from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of employed people stood at 26.59 million in November, up 339,000 from a year earlier, with the monthly gai

South Korea's export prices increased 4.1 percent in November from a month earlier due to a weaker local currency and strong demand for electric and electronic products, central bank data showed Wednesday.The won fell 3.2 percent against the dollar on average in November compared to a month earlier. In local currency terms, export prices rose 3.8 percent last month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.Export prices of industrial goods gained 3.7 percent year-

Syrian rebels reached a cease-fire deal to evacuate from eastern Aleppo in an effective surrender on Tuesday, as Russia declared all military action had stopped and the Syrian government had assumed control of the former rebel enclave. The dramatic developments, which appeared to restore the remainder of what was once Syria’s largest city to President Bashar Assad’s forces after months of heavy fighting and a crippling siege, followed reports of mass killings by government forces closing in on t

The number of foreign visitors to South Korea through incentive programs has topped 280,000 this year, with the figure expected to surpass 300,000 for the full year, the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Tuesday.According to the KTO, a total of 281,000 employees of foreign companies came to the country on incentive tours as of Friday, up 58 percent from a year earlier.The number has already topped the previous record annual high of 211,540 in 2014, it said.The KTO said group incent

After eight years as first lady, what Michelle Obama does next will be one of the most talked-about questions when the Obamas leave the White House.She’ll have a variety of options after being a high-profile advocate against childhood obesity, a sought-after talk-show guest, a Democratic power player and a fashion maven. Just as the first lady’s role is undefined, with each woman molding it to her personality, interests and comfort level, there is no script for what comes after the first lady fi

Spanish football star David Villa launched his football academy in South Korea on Tuesday.Villa announced the inauguration of his DV7 Soccer Academy, which aims to help young children develop personal values through football. The prolific goal scorer, now with New York City FC in Major League Soccer (MLS), said that he is willing to support kids who are looking to maximize their abilities and planning a professional football career."My life has been all about football," Villa said at a press con

South Korea, China and Japan have decided to postpone their trilateral summit until next year, which had been slated for this month in Tokyo, a Japanese media organization reported Tuesday amid political turmoil in Korea.Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the three countries had planned to hold it by the end of this month, but due to "various circumstances," the summit will be arranged to be held in Japan at a suitable time next year, according to Japan's Kyodo News.The

South Korea's trade ministry will spend 3 percent less on research and development (R&D) in 2017, officials said Tuesday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the R&D budget allocated for the ministry for next year is set at 3.33 trillion won ($2.86 billion), down from 3.44 trillion won in 2016.The ministry's R&D budget has been on a downward trend, taking 18.3 percent of the total spending in 2015 compared to 17.2 percent in 2017.South Korea's combined budget for R&D will reach 19.5 t

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea dropped in November from a month earlier due mainly to a decline in US dollar deposits by exporters and individuals, central bank data showed Tuesday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local residents came to $61.05 billion as of end-November, down $770 million from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).Foreign deposits include those held by foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than s