South Korea's exports will continue to grow this year on a global economic recovery with outbound shipments of most key export items expected to rise, the government said Monday."The global economic recovery based on improvements in advanced countries, including the United States, is expected to be a positive element for the country's own economic recovery while helping to expand the country's exports and imports," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.The ministry,

South Korean baseball club Nexen Heroes announced on Monday they've reached a strategic partnership agreement with the reigning World Series champion Boston Red Sox.The Seoul-based Korea Baseball Organization team said its president, Lee Jang-seok, met with Allard Baird, vice president of player personnel for the Red Sox, in the South Korean capital on Sunday to ink their deal.The Heroes noted that this is Boston's first strategic partnership with an Asian pro club.Under the partnership, the Red

As the clock ticks down on the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian resort town of Sochi, South Korea is hoping to duplicate the historic success it enjoyed in Vancouver four years ago, represented by what should be the country's largest-ever Winter Games delegation.The countdown will hit 30 days on Wednesday for the Feb. 7-23 Sochi Winter Olympics, where South Korea will aim for another strong performance.At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, South Korea won an all-time high of 14 med

Analysts from home and abroad are divided over the fourth-quarter earnings outlook of Samsung Electronics Co. for 2013, data showed Monday, with local brokerage houses suggesting relatively rosier estimates.Samsung is expected to post an operating profit below the psychologically significant 10 trillion won ($9.47 billion) for the October-December period, due to multiple factors such as weak sales of smartphones and other one-off expenditures.Market data showed while foreign analysts mostly esti

Debt held by the self-employed grew about 9 percent last year as their income declined amid the economic slowdown, spawning concerns about their capacity to service debt, data showed Monday.Bank loans extended to the self-employed amounted to 105.6 trillion won ($100 billion) as of end-2012, up 8.5 percent from the previous year, according to data provided by four major local banks.Local banks have increased loans to the self-employed as the financial regulator is seeking to curb the growth of h

삼성전자가 지난 2013년에 임직원에게 지급한 상여금이 3조원을 넘는 것으로 추정된다. 특히 삼성전자의 지난해 4분기 실적이 예년보다 다소 부진할 것으로 예상되는 가운데, 주요 원인 중 하나가 상여금으로 꼽혀 향후 삼성전자의 대응이 주목된다. 삼성전자가 6일 금융감독원에 제출한 2013년 3분기 연결검토보고서에 따르면, 상여충당부채 누적 순전입액은 2조 4649억 4700만원에 이른다. 또한 한 분기에 평균 8216억4900만원을 상여충당부채로 계상한 만큼 지난해 지급한 상여금은 3조2865억9600만원을 넘어섰을 것으로 추정된다고 헤럴드경제신문이 6일 밝혔다. 분기별로 놓고 보면, 1분기 7565억6700만원, 2분기 7985억7100만원, 3분기 9098억900만원을 상여충당부채 순전입액으로 계상했다. 특히 지난해에는 삼성 이건희 회장의 신경영 선포 20주년을 맞아 지급하는 특별 격려금이 있었던 만큼, 실제 상여금 규모는 이보다 더 클 것이라는 전망도

Leading business groups such as Hyundai are pushing forward self-help measures in the new year that involve selling of assets totaling trillions of won, industry sources said Monday.Sources said conglomerates have set up special companies whose sole purpose is to sell assets and are beginning to conduct due diligence and trying to arrange block deals to liquidate nonessential holdings in order to generate cash reserves.Hyundai Group is planning a paid-in capital increase for Hyundai Elevator Co.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se began a three-day trip to Washington Sunday aimed at discussing North Korea, and history and territorial tensions in Northeast Asia.Some of Japan's domestic issues such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine have "become a matter of worries not only on a bilateral level between South Korea and Japan but also in the international community," Yun said.He was speaking to reporters shortly after laying flowers at the Korean War Vetera

Chinese media over the weekend blasted South Korea's plans to build an ocean research station in the Yellow Sea, claiming it is a thinly disguised move to extend its exclusive economic zone.Huanqiu Shibao, a Chinese tabloid that is a sister company to People's Daily newspaper, said in an article carried on Saturday that Seoul is trying to build another so-called oceanographic station to secure exclusive rights in contested waters.The paper that generally focuses on international issues said Sout

South Korean stocks declined to a four-month low Friday, extending the fall for a second day since the new year started as uncertainties about local equity market prompted foreigners to unload their holdings, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 21.05 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 1,946.14, the lowest level since Sept. 3, 2013. Trading volume was light at 186.1 million shares worth 3.94 trillion won

The nation's top court on Friday confirmed a 10-year prison term for a 44-year-old man for raping his own teenage daughter and coercing her to provide false testimony.The father, only identified as his surname Kim, was found guilty of raping and brutally assaulting his underage daughter on multiple occasions in 2012 in his house.The Supreme Court also found Kim guilty of fabricating a key piece of evidence during the course of the trials by forcing the daughter to recant earlier testimony. Kim o

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 1 maker of smartphones, is expected to post relatively dull earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 on one-off factors such as massive employee bonuses, analysts said Friday.Analysts here predicted the South Korean tech giant's operating profit to reach around 9 trillion won ($8.5 billion) for the October-December period, below the psychologically significant 10 trillion won.South Korea's 25 brokerage houses, gauged earlier by market researcher FnG

South Korean football club FC Seoul said Friday it has agreed to ship captain Ha Dae-sung to China.FC Seoul said it has reached terms with Beijing Guoan to deal its veteran midfielder to the Chinese Super League side.FC Seoul said Ha, 28, asked the team to grant him an opportunity to play in a new environment. FC Seoul added that it didn't want to lose one of the team's pillars in midfield but respected Ha's wish to challenge himself in a different league.According to FC Seoul, the hard-nosed ho