South Korean retailers saw their sales fall in the first two months of this year, weighed by sluggish consumption, industry data showed Friday. The sales of Lotte Department Store, the country's leading retail chain, dropped 1.2 percent in the January-February period from a year earlier, according to company data. Its rival Hyundai Department Store also saw its combined revenue slip 0.7 percent on-year in the cited period, the company said.Shinsegae posted double-digit sales growth over the two

Moon Jae-in, former head of the Democratic Party, extended his lead in approval rating over the governor of South Chungcheong Province from the same party, among potential presidential candidates, a poll showed Friday.According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea, Moon posted an approval rating of 34 percent this week, up 2 percentage points on-week. The survey was conducted on 1,010 South Koreans with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Moon Jae-in, former head of the De

North Korea has stopped the shipments of its rare earth metals to China in retaliation of China's recent ban on the imports of the North's key export item, coal, a US broadcaster reported Friday. On Feb. 19, China introduced the step pertinent to the latest UN Security Council's Resolution 2321 to punish the North's fifth nuclear test in September. The Chinese punitive step was declared to be effective through the end of the year.(Yonhap)Adopted on Nov. 30, the resolution is aimed at significant

South Korea's ruling party on Friday promised to work together with the government to minimize the damage from China's retaliation against the planned installation of an advanced US missile defense system in the country."The party and government will work hard to ensure our people do not sustain damage," In Myung-jin, the Liberty Korea Party's interim head, said during a high-level policy consultation meeting with the government. Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn attended the ses

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, which has been seen siding with China over the US missile defense system deployment, on Friday expressed concern over Beijing's economic retaliation."We request China to withdraw the retaliatory action in the tourism sector," said Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the Democratic Party. He expressed concerns that Beijing has "gone too far" with the latest actions. Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the Democratic Party (Yonhap)China ordered i

lllicit drugs' production and consumption is widespread in North Korea, a US government report said Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter."Methamphetamine production and consumption appears to be relatively widespread within North Korea, supplied primarily by independent criminal entrepreneurs," the US Department of State said in the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released this month.(123RF)The best available information on the subject continues to come from North Kore

South Korea will push forward with the installation of an advanced US missile defense system despite objections raised by China, Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Friday"The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery is a vital defense measure to meet national security needs and protect people's lives from North Korea's nuke and missile threats. I reiterate that it will not affect any other third country," Hwang said. "As China's protest against the deploy

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, traded at a 52-week high on Friday on simmering expectations that the shipbuilding sector is on a recovery track and its plan to spin off non-shipbuilding businesses may boost its competitiveness.Hyundai Heavy closed at 167,500 won ($146) on the Seoul bourse, up 1.21 percent from the previous session's close, while the broader index, the KOSPI, dropped 1.14 percent.For the past month, the combined market capitalization of Hyundai Heavy and its

The National Assembly has passed a law requiring those who run "pet dog factories" to get business licenses from provincial governments, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Friday.The assembly passed the legislation Thursday to enhance hygiene and prevent ill treatment of dogs at the factories, where puppies are produced and raised for weeks before being sold as pet dogs, the ministry said.(Yonhap)Thousands of pet dog factories are operating around the country without any co

South Korea and the South American trade block MERCOSUR will launch their official negotiations on a trade pact before the first half of this year, the trade ministry here said Friday, amid the country's efforts to tap deeper into the region.South Korea's Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan and Susana Malcorra, the foreign minister of Argentina, the chair country of MERCOSUR, signed a joint statement to open the trade talks in Buenos Aires on Thursday (local time), according to the Ministry of Trade,

South Korea's tourism industry is on alert as China has set out to prevent its people from traveling to Korea in protest against Seoul's deployment of a high-tech US anti-missile battery, industry sources said Friday. On Thursday, Beijing told major travel agencies in the country to stop selling tours to Korea in what is seen as its latest retaliatory act against Seoul pushing ahead with stationing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.China has expressed strong hostility toward the dec

South Korea's Bareun Party on Friday criticized the Chinese government for rolling out economic retaliations against Seoul in an apparent response to the scheduled deployment of an advanced US missile defense system.The remark came after China ordered its travel firms to suspend tours to South Korea after Seoul signed a land acquisition deal to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery last month. Rep. Choung Byoung-gug, the head of the Bareun Party (Yonhap)South Korea has been seekin

Foreign investors remain picky about what they buy in South Korea's stock market amid their strong presence here, data showed Friday.Foreigners owned more than 500 trillion won ($434 billion) worth of local shares as of January, 32 percent of the total market capitalization of all companies listed on the nation's bourse.But their possession is concentrated in a small bucket of shares. (Yonhap)Among a total of 2,249 companies listed on the local stock market, only 466, or 20.7 percent, boasted 10

South Korea's tax authorities have been investigating the local importer of Toyota and luxury Lexus vehicles over suspected tax evasions since late 2016, industry sources said Friday.In November, the Seoul office of the National Tax Service launched a tax audit into Toyota Korea over suspicions that it paid less income tax by fabricating transfer prices of goods and services in transactions with its parent and underreporting taxable income, according to the sources.Models pose with the Lexus new

Samsung Electronics Co.'s share of the Indian refrigerator market rose to a record high of more than 30 percent last year, according to the Korea International Trade Association on Friday. Samsung's share of the Indian market stood at 30.7 percent at the end of 2016, marking double-digit growth for the second consecutive year.  This photo shows Samsung's new Chef Collection refrigerator. (Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics Co.) (Yonhap)Last month, Samsung's Indian unit began selling a new lin