GYEONGJU -- South Korea's nuclear power operator failed to hold a board meeting on Thursday to touch on the issue of suspending the construction of two planned nuclear power plants due to stiff opposition from union members.The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. board had to call off the planned meeting as seven of the 13 board members were unable to enter the headquarters building in Gyeongju, 371 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Unionized workers of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.. stop board m

Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co. will vote on whether to stage a walkout as they press for more wages and benefits, the company and its union said Thursday.The two-day vote comes as the country's largest carmaker by sales struggles with slowing sales in major markets such as China and the United States. Members of Hyundai's 51,000-strong union will cast their votes by 1 p.m. Friday, with the results to be made available at 8-9 p.m. "We will stage a strike if ongoing negotiations with manag

The government's move to ban identification photos on all public sector resumes is facing angry backlash from local photo studio owners worried about a dive in sales.Members of an association of private photo studio owners held a rally Thursday in front of the office of President Moon Jae-in's power transition team in downtown Seoul, insisting that the ongoing push for the resume photo ban in the public sector will threaten the livelihoods of about 300,000 photo studios nationwide.The protest ra

South Korean stocks closed at a record-high level on Thursday as investors' sentiment was boosted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The Korean won gained against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared 17.72 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at a fresh record high of 2,409.49. Trade volume was low at 284 million shares worth 6.05 trillion won ($5.32 billion), with gainers slightly outnumbering losers 397 to 396.The index reached an all-time intraday high of 2.422.26

DANDONG -- Buses in the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong bordering North Korea, have introduced a Korean-language service for the first time, a local Internet news organ reported Thursday, drawing attention to the reason behind the step. "Dandong began Korean-language service in buses Nos. 101, 102, 103 and 106 for South and North Korean residents and Chinese-Koreans in the city, starting this month," Dangdong News Network said. In addition, some bus stops set up bus route signs in Korean, t

South Korea's electricity demand is expected to increase at a slower pace than in the past, local experts said Thursday.The electricity usage for the 2017-2031 period is forecast to be smaller than the previous forecast that covers 2015 through 2029, the experts said. (Yonhap)The forecast was made by the group of civilian experts, including energy university professors, designated by the government. The government maps out a long-term energy plan for the time span of 15 years biennially so as to

Hundreds of employees of Kumho Tire Co. on Thursday held a rally against plans by creditors to sell the company to China's Qingdao Doublestar.About 750 workers held separate rallies at the company headquarters in Seoul and an R&D center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, demanding creditors led by the state-run Korea Development Bank stop the sales process. (Yonhap)"The creditors are trying to sell our company to Doublestar, which is inferior in every aspect, including size, technology and marketing,

South Korea's state-run Korea Development Bank said Thursday it plans to invest $130 million into a Chinese project for the expansion of the Haikou Meilan International Airport.KDB will set up a private equity fund to make the investment, the bank said. China's central economic planner approved the project in 2015 to expand the airport in the southern island province of Hainan. (Yonhap)The project is a part of China's massive "One Belt, One Road" infrastructure drive that aims to increase its ec

South Korea's exports of petroleum products and refined oils rose sharply in the first six months of the year on rising crude prices, customs data showed Thursday.A total of $16.69 billion worth of petroleum products were shipped overseas during the January-June period, up 36.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. The volume of such exported goods also rose 1.7 percent to 32.93 million tons over the cited period.Asia's fourth-largest economy saw its en

South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it will require fintech firms to come up with measures to deal with terrorist financing, in line with an agreement reached at the recent Group of 20 summit. About 40 fintech firms in South Korea are expected to launch international money transfer services for small funds on Aug. 15. During the G-20 summit in Germany, leaders of the world's top economies agreed to step up efforts to tackle the financing of terrorist groups.  G-20 summit in Germany.

A ranking South Korea official said Thursday there is no evidence that money generated from a now suspended joint inter-Korean industrial complex bankrolled North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.In February 2016, Seoul shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in response to the North's nuclear and missile tests, saying the move is aimed at preventing the money from being funneled into North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile development."For now, there is no evidence to support views that

Sales of variable insurance policies more than doubled in the first quarter of this year as local stock markets reported robust gains, industry data showed Thursday. The first premium for variable insurance policies, which invest part of the funds they control in stocks and bonds, rose to 545.5 billion won ($477.2 million) during the January-March quarter, compared with 215.2 billion won for the same three-month period last year, according to the data by the Korea Life Insurance Association.&nbs

South Korea has prodded Japan to acknowledge the country's forced mobilization of Koreans at several UNESCO-listed world heritage sites in Japan, including Hashima Island, in the latest session of the United Nations body for culture and education, the foreign ministry said Thursday.In the 41st session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee held in Krakow, Poland from July 2-12, South Korea's Amb. to UNESCO Lee Byong-hyun issued a call on Japan to implement its pledge that the country made before U

The minor opposition People's Party has proposed a bill for an independent counsel probe into allegations around President Moon Jae-in's son's employment and a related fake tip-off involving party members, its floor leader said Thursday.Kim Dong-cheol said that the bill was submitted electronically Wednesday to propose a special investigation into both issues as the embattled party is struggling to shore up public trust in the wake of the scandal.Some of the liberal party's officials are under i

South Korean prosecutors said Thursday they've indicted two brokers for attempting to fix a bout at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 2015.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the two, only identified by their last names Kim and Yang, were indicted on charges of bribing South Korean UFC fighter Bang Tae-hyun to deliberately throw a fight at the UFC Fight Night 79 in 2015, the first UFC event held in South Korea.According to the prosecutors, the two brokers gave Bang 100 m