YEOSU, South Jeolla Province -- Visitors began to swarm in from 8 a.m. on the first day of Expo 2012 Yeosu on Saturday at the waterfront expo site in the southern coastal town. The Expo organizing committee expected about 100,000 visitors on the first day.The 93-day Expo’s first visitor was a 39-year-old Japanese man named Futakami Atsushi.“Mr. Futakami is a self-proclaimed Expo enthusiast who has

South Korea will maintain its tightened quarantine inspections regime on U.S. beef but take no steps to halt imports despite the recent discovery of a mad cow case in the United States, the farm ministry said Friday.The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said a nine-person inspection team that checked various cattle and meat packing facilities in the United States concluded the

Korea’s business community is coming forward to help those affected by the heavy rains that wreaked havoc across the country this week.On Friday, some of the country’s largest conglomerates said they would provide money, goods and repair services for those affected by the rains. Chung Eui-sun (left), vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, poses with Han Joong-gwang, chairman of Korea Disaster Relie

An Asiana Airlines cargo flight bound for Shanghai Pudong International Airport crashed off the coast of Jeju early Thursday while diverting to the island due to a fire in the cargo hold.“The cargo plane said in its last communication with the control center in Shanghai that there was a fire in the cargo hold,” Kim Han-young, Director General of Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs’ Of

Hanwha Group, one of the nation’s top conglomerates, will focus its resources on solar power and biosimilar business over the remainder of the year, the group said Wednesday.According to the plans, the conglomerate will direct much of its investment budget for the period into polysilicon production facilities, expanding solar cell and module production lines, biosimilars and other new business are

The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement is unlikely to be passed by the U.S. Congress in August, Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said Monday.Kim said that the negotiations for raising the U.S. government debt-ceiling, and difficulties surrounding the process, have taken center stage making it unlikely that the trade pact with Korea will be processed within the next month. Korean Trade Minister Kim

Electronics giant signs with SMEs to finance innovative technologiesSamsung Electronics has pledged 100 billion won ($95 million) to support smaller companies’ research and development efforts.On Monday, the electronics giant signed an agreement with the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and members of a group of small and medium-sized enterprises launching a program for providing financial support fo