South Korea's state financial watchdog on Friday announced a shift to an "emergency response mode" to the household debt problem dogging the key Asian economy.Outstanding household credit here jumped to 1,344.3 trillion won ($1.15 trillion) in the final quarter of 2016, up 11.7 percent from a year earlier, despite the government's aggressive efforts to curb the growth.Zhin Woong-seop, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, in a file photo (Yonhap)The authorities admittedy to growing risk

South Korea's vehicle production hit a seven-year low in the first two months of the year due to flagging demand in emerging markets, data showed Friday, sparking concerns over the industry's performance for 2017.The country's vehicle output reached 634,073 units in the January-February period, down 3 percent from the previous year and the lowest level since 2010, according to the data by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.This photo, taken on Jan. 2, 2017, shows cars waiting to be l

A majority of investment advisory companies in South Korea suffered losses in the third quarter of their fiscal 2016, hit by a decrease in contract amount, data showed Friday.A total of 159 full-time investment advisory firms were registered with the Financial Supervisory Service last year.The logo of the Financial Supervisory Service (Yonhap)They posted a combined loss of 2.1 billion won ($1.8 million) during the September-December period, versus a net profit of 14.6 billion won in the previous

The free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States has brought about increases in overall US exports to the Asian country as well as better paying jobs to American workers, the head of the Korea Economic Institute of America said.Donald Manzullo, a former congressman who served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, made the point in an op-ed piece to the Hill, after the US trade representative released its trade policy report that highlighted

Top diplomats of South Korea and the United States will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in dealing with North Korea and its nuclear program when they meet next week in Seoul, the foreign ministry here said Thursday. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (L) meets U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Germany on Feb. 16, 2017. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will stay in South Korea for two days starting from March 17 during which he will meet with

China has disallowed a South Korean content agency to set up facilities to promote Korean-made titles during an upcoming annual international animation festival, the agency said Thursday, the latest in a spate of retaliations against the deployment of a US missile defense shield in Korea.This shows that the Chinese government's ban on Korean culture has been expanded to affect animations from previously popular TV dramas and variety shows. (Yonhap)The Korea Creative Content Agency, which oversee

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday called on public corporations to keep pursuing flexibility, creativity and innovation to stay ahead in the global industrial competition.During a meeting with the heads of public firms, Hwang also instructed them to remain unperturbed by the national leadership crisis and continue to carry out their reform measures such as a merit-based salary system. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a meeting with the h

Police tightened security around government offices in Seoul on Thursday amid growing tension one day before the Constitutional Court's ruling on the president's impeachment. Supporters of Park began rallies early in the morning chanting for the reinstatement of scandal-hit President Park Geun-hye as justices appeared at the court in central Seoul to prepare for the ruling slated for Friday 11 a.m. Police officers stand guard at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on March 9, 2017, as protests int

A closed-circuit television has been installed to monitor any damage to a girl statue, symbolizing Korean women victimized by the Japanese army as sex slaves during World War II, located in front of the Japanese consulate here, a ward office said Thursday. A CCTV is seen over a girl statue symbolizing sex slaves in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan on March 9, 2017. (Yonhap)"We've set up the CCTV about 30 meters distant from the statue, and will watch it around the clock from Friday," an

Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong denied bribery and other criminal charges filed by special prosecutors in the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye at his first court hearing in Seoul on Thursday.The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics claimed innocence through his lawyers at the hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court.Lee didn't show up at the hearing, as the inaugural session mostly dealt with trial proceedings and other procedural issues.Lee was indicted on Feb. 28 on

South Korea's trade minister met with his US counterpart to increase understanding on economic cooperation between the two countries, his office here said Thursday.In a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in Washington, Joo Hyung-hwan said the South Korea-US free trade agreement has contributed to expanding bilateral trade and investment and creating jobs in both countries since its implementation in 2012, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea's Trade

A meeting of major universities in Asia will be held in University of Ulsan in the namesake city next week to discuss ways to strengthen university-industry collaboration, a university official said Thursday.  University of Ulsan in the namesake city, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)"The Asia Universities Summit will open Tuesday for a three-day run under the title of 'Forging the future -- building stronger alliances between universities and industry,'" the official said, adding that

Samsung Electronics Co. was the biggest seller of smartphones in 2016, followed by Apple Inc. and China's Huawei, industry data showed Thursday.Samsung sold 308.5 million units of Galaxy series smartphones last year, according to the statistics by industry tracker Strategy Analytics. Samsung remains world's no.1 smartphone seller of 2016. (Yonhap)The comparable figure for Apple Inc.'s iPhone smartphones was 215.5 million and those for Huawei's Honor and Ascend series 72.2 million and 65.7 millio

The Netherlands' Embassy in South Korea declined to comment Thursday on its alleged involvement in helping the son of the slain half brother of the North Korean leader escape from the North's threat. Kim Han-sol, the 22-year-old son of Kim Jong-nam, appeared in a recently posted YouTube clip in which he said he is with his sister and mother but didn't mention where. This image captured from a video posted on YouTube on March 8, 2017 shows a man believed to be the son of Kim Jong-nam, the murdere

Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Qiu Guohong on Thursday urged South Korea to suspend the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in the country."The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery must be scrapped immediately. If that is impossible, it should at least be suspended to leave room open for Seoul and Beijing to negotiate," the envoy was quoted as saying by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling Liberty Korea Party. (Yonhap)Yoon said he held a private meeting with th