Hanwha Life Insurance Co., a major South Korean insurer, decided Friday to pay all overdue insurance claims on suicide.Hanwha plans to pay around 91 billion won ($78.8 million) on 637 unsettled cases in the decision made at a board meeting.It's apparently aimed at reversing the state financial watchdog's tough punishment against the firm.Last month, the Financial Supervisory Service issued a two-month suspension of partial business operations for its refusal to pay most of unpaid benefits for su

Supporters of former late President Roh Moo-hyun on Friday demanded South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo apologize and step down for making disparaging remarks about the symbolic figure of the liberal bloc. South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo (Yonhap)Hong, a potential presidential candidate for the ruling Liberty Korea Party, said recently that Roh "killed himself after receiving bribes." "We are angered at the absurd remark by Hong, and we plan to take strong action against it," the Roh Moo-hyun

Incheon, South Korea's major port of call for cruise ships, is on alert as the Chinese government is known to have ordered its travel agencies to stop selling South Korean tour programs to its locals in retaliation for Seoul's unwavering push for the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system on its soil.China harshly criticizes Seoul's decision to introduce the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which it claims poses threats to its security, and vows every kind of retaliatory ste

South Korea's trade minister will meet with his US counterpart next week to discuss pending issues between the two countries, the ministry here said Friday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan will visit Washington on March 5-8 and have talks with new US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and other officials. South Korea's Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan (Yonhap)Ross was confirmed by the Senate on Monday and took the helm of the Department of Commerce the fo

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday its new flagship smartphone, G6, has won a total of 31 awards from foreign technology magazines at a wireless industry fair in Spain. LG unveiled the G6 smartphone earlier this week at the annual Mobile World Congress fair with the aim of reviving its loss-making smartphone business. (Yonhap)Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. did not release their new flagship smartphones at the fair. According to LG, foreign technology media organizations, including Wired, Di

North Korea on Friday threatened to conduct more missile firings in protest of the ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States. The Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party's official newspaper, said in a commentary that "new types of strategic weapons will soar" if Seoul and Washington continue their annual war drills, which the North claims to be a preparation for a war against it. (Yonhap)"The (planned) test-firing of our new strategic weapons is a given right of a sovere

Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a potential presidential candidate from the conservative Bareun Party, said Friday that President Park Geun-hye should announce that she will accept any results before the Constitutional Court delivers the final ruling on her ouster or reinstatement."Although President Park may be facing hardships, I believe (the announcement) can help prevent division of the public and reduce social confusion," Yoo said.Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party (Yonhap)Park was impeached by par

Malaysia on Friday released a North Korean man detained over the killing of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, citing lack of sufficient evidence, foreign media reported.Ri Jong-chol, 46, was the only one taken into custody out of eight North Korean suspects in connection to the murder of Kim Jong-nam at a Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. Four were said to have fled Malaysia to Pyongyang on the day of the killing. He was released from a police station where he was questioned.(Yo

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier will arrive in South Korean waters in mid-March to take part in an annual joint military exercise, the US Forces Korea said Friday. "The USS Carl Vinson is expected to arrive in Busan around March 15 to participate in the Foal Eagle exercise," a USFK spokesman told reporters.  This file photo shows the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during military drills in the South China Sea in May 2015. (Yonhap)The South Korean and US militaries on Wednesday kicked off

A North Korean man who had been under investigation for his possible involvement in the killing of the North Korean leader's half brother in Malaysia will be released and deported on Friday as local authorities failed to find sufficient evidence to back up their suspicions, foreign media reports showed.Ri Jong-chol, 46, was the only one taken into custody out of eight North Korean suspects in connection to the murder of Kim Jong-nam at a Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. Four were said to have fl

South Korea should reduce its reliance on the US economy and push to galvanize domestic demand as the world's No. 1 economy is expected to continue its slow growth down the road, a state think tank said Friday.In a report on the future of the US economy, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy forecast its annualized average growth rate to hover below 2 percent until 2060 due mainly to its population aging and the slowing pace of technological innovation."Since the early 2000s, Ame

The head of South Korea's central bank asked heads of major banks on Friday to strengthen efforts to reduce possible risks in embracing innovation in digital finance.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said innovation in digital finance could offer various benefits, but it could also pose risks to the financial industry.South Korean banks "should pay attention to risk management as they develop a new business territory for digital technologies,"Lee said in a meeting with heads of major banks in Seoul

Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, a law firm that has represented the de facto chief of Samsung Group, will take a bigger role in the upcoming trial of Lee Jae-yong after the group dismantled its key office, a group official said Friday. Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., was arrested on Feb. 17 over his alleged role in a presidential influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. (Yonhap)Special prosecutors investigating the scandal accused Lee of paying bribes

한국에 관광온 대만인 여행객 2명이 연락 두절인 상태다. 3일 두 여성 관광객이 실종되었다는 게시물이 페이스북을 통해 한국인들과 대만인들 사이에 확산되고 있다.(사진=페이스북)게시된 글에는 한국에 여행온 98년생 대만인 여성 J씨 등 2명을 찾는다는 글과 포스터가 포함되어있다. 글에 따르면 "한국에 간 대만인 친구 2명이 연락두절 됐다"며 1명은 2월 13일, 다른 1명은 2월 17일부터 현재까지 연락 두절 상태라고 밝혔다.한 여성은 2월 13일 대림역에 있는 한 대만식 국수집에서 찍은 사진을 페이스북에 올린 이후 연락이 두절되었고 다른 여성은 2월 17일 여성의 어머니와 연락한 이후 소식이 없는 상태라고 전했다.   포스터에는 두번째 실종된 J씨에 대한 사진과 인적사항 및 어머니의 연락처가 포함되어 있다.코리아헤럴드 지예은 인턴기자 (yeeunjie@heraldcorp.com)

Prosecutors questioned former Finance Minister Choi Kyoung-hwan Friday over suspicions of influence-peddling to get one of his former interns a job at a public corporation. The four-term lawmaker of the ruling Liberty Korea Party appeared at the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in the morning. Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan of the ruling Liberty Korea Party touches a computer at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 10, 2017. (Yonhap)Choi is suspected of pressuring the chief of th