The rate of return for equity funds of Samsung Electronics Co. and other Samsung Group-related firms exceeded 30 percent this year amid the bullish market backed by solid corporate earnings and the global economic recovery, industry data showed Wednesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 20.40 percent to 2,439.90 Tuesday from 2,026.46 as of the end of last year. The stock prices of 16 companies affiliated with Samsung Group jumped 32.42 percent during the same time span. The y

South Korea will lower the maximum legal lending rate to 24 percent from next year and strengthen supervision of private lenders, in a move to help ease financial burdens for desperate borrowers, the nation's top financial regulator said Wednesday. Choi Jong-ku, the new chairman of the Financial Services Commission, also said he will encourage banks and other financial institutions to make loans to small and medium-sized firms, instead of households and the property sector. By law, private lende

The top military officers of South Korea and New Zealand agreed Wednesday to bolster bilateral cooperation against North Korea's unrelenting saber-rattling.Army Gen. Lee Sun-jin, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed Army Lt. Gen. Tim Keating, chief of the New Zealand Defense Force, on the security conditions on the peninsula during their meeting here, Lee's office said.Lee requested New Zealand's support for South Korea's policy on North Korea and its handling of the communist neighbor

S-Oil Corp., the No. 3 oil refiner in South Korea, said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit dropped 85 percent from a year earlier, as low oil prices drove up inventory losses.Net profit reached 66.9 billion won ($59.8 million) in the April-June period, compared with 444 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating income dropped 82 percent on-year to reach 117 billion won over the cited period, while sales rose 11.1 percent on-year to reach 4.67 trillion wo

South Korea has ordered carmakers, domestic and multinational, to recall more than 1.3 million vehicles so far this year, with the figure expected to set a record high in 2017, the transport ministry said Wednesday. A total of 1,308,758 vehicles have been ordered to be recalled this year through Wednesday in 172 cases, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation.In the next one to two weeks, the number of cars subject to recalls is expected to exceed the country's record

Sales of traditional Korean distilled liquor "soju" has soared steadily in recent years as more people sought the relatively cheap alcoholic beverage over more expensive offerings amid the protracted economic slump, industry sources said Wednesday.Sales of Hite Jinro's Chamisul soju exceeded the 1 trillion won ($894 million) mark last year for the first time since its debut in 1998, with a total of 1.7 billion bottles of 360 milliliter soju sold, the sources said.It is the first time any South K

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.88 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,443.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics, however, dropped 1.32 percent, and SK hynix was 2.7 percent down.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, rose 0.34 percent, and AmorePacific, the country's top cosmetics maker, gained 2.78 percent.LG Chem, the country's top chemicals firm

NAMYANGJU -- A 150-kilometer, two-and-a-half hour drive proved that Kia Motors Corp.'s Stonic subcompact sport utility vehicle is perfect for people wanting an entry-level fuel-efficient crossover that is responsive to drive.In a mix of urban and expressway driving that took place from western Seoul to Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province, the Stonic subcompact SUV achieved unrivaled mileage numbers while proving to be an excellent performer, well-suited to wooing customers in their 20s and 30s.After

Sales of smartphones through online platforms in South Korea remain sluggish compared with other countries, data showed Wednesday, due mainly to strong dominance of mobile carriers in the mobile phone market.According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, the sales of smartphones through online platforms in the country are expected to take up 17.2 percent, or 3.8 million units of the total sales estimated at 22.1 million units in South Korea this year.Of the amount, the sales of smartphone

North Korea threatened Wednesday to stage a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States upon Washington's miscalculation ahead of the 64th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.Pak Yong-sik, the minister of North Korea's armed forces, made the remark during his speech in a meeting to mark the anniversary slated for Thursday."If enemies misunderstand our strategic status and stick to options of staging a pre-emptive nuclear attack against us, we wi

The United States will tighten the screws on individuals and entities that aid North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, including those in China, a senior administration official said Tuesday.Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that the US will take further action to force the communist nation to abandon its missile and nuclear development. (Yonhap)"We will continue to fully exercise all of our st

WASHINGTON -- The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a package of sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, in a possible blow to President Donald Trump.The House voted 419-3 in support of the controversial bill that seeks to prevent Trump from unilaterally lifting sanctions on Russia. The legislation also calls for fresh sanctions on Russia for its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.Trump objected to the bill as he insists he received no help from Moscow to w

South Korea's financial regulator said Wednesday it has advised some foreign banks here to take steps to guard against money laundering activities. After an inspection of 37 branches of foreign banks in the country, the Financial Supervisory Service concluded that some small-scale branches showed a lack of awareness of money laundering. The FSS said, however, most branches had anti-money-laundering safeguards in place. It did not identify the vulnerable branches by name.The vulnerable branches d

Air traffic in South Korea rose 4.9 percent in the first half from a year earlier helped by increased demand on non-Chinese routes, government data showed Wednesday. The number of airplanes which flew on domestic and international routes to and from South Korean airports rose to 373,690 in the January-June period from 358,195 a year earlier, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation said in a statement. "An increase in travel demand on routes to Japan and Southeast Asian countries

WASHINGTON -- A top Republican congressman on Tuesday called for "forceful, swift" steps to stop North Korea's missile and nuclear development.Rep. Mac Thornberry made the call after the House Armed Services Committee held a closed-door briefing on the North's pursuit of intercontinental ballistic missiles.The session followed the communist nation's first test of an ICBM on July 4, which experts say could reach parts of the US, including Alaska. Republican Mac Thornberry (Yonhap)"The apparent su