A growing number of South Koreans used Internet banking services last year due mainly to the widespread use of smartphones, a survey showed Wednesday.The ratio of South Koreans aged above 12 who used Internet banking services stood at 57.5 percent in 2016, up 5.0 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the survey.(Yonhap)The 2016 figure represents a substantial hike from 2004, when 31.6 percent of South Koreans used Internet banking service.The number of Internet banking service user

The tax burden for South Korean households hit a record high in 2016, data showed Wednesday, further worsening their financial situation amid a prolonged economic slowdown.Households spent more than 1.9 million won ($1,670) in taxes on average in 2016, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. (Yonhap)It marked the highest amount since 2003, when the statistics office started collecting data on the tax burden.The increased tax burden has led to a hike of

South Korea's state financial watchdog said Wednesday the number of people using its financial information portal service has exceeded 1.3 million just half a year after its opening.The Financial Supervisory Service opened the Financial Information Network, http://fine.fss.or.kr, on Sept. 1, 2016. (Yonhap)It is designed to offer information on financial transactions here, especially via major search engines, such as Naver and Daum."It has the ultimate purpose of resolving the information divide

Daily credit card spending in South Korea hit a record high in 2016, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign that credit cards are one of the most convenient payment tools.Credit card holders in South Korea spent an average of 1.68 trillion won ($1.4 billion) a day in 2016, up 10.9 percent from 1.51 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The 2016 figure is the highest since 2003 when the central bank started collecting data.Meanwhile, debit ca

South Korea's exports jumped 20.2 percent last month from a year earlier expanding at the fastest clip in five years on rising oil prices and recovering world trade, government data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments came to $43.2 billion in February, up from $35.9 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)The February rate of increase was the largest on-year gain since February 2012 when it posted a 20.4 percent monthly jump.It is the firs

South Korea will play a bigger role in Asia's investment in sustainable infrastructure through its experience of economic development and constant investment in basic facilities, a senior official at an international institution said."I would say that Korea is a very important member of our bank," Danny Alexander, vice president of the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul Monday. "Korea's experience of the last 50 years of rapid eco

South Korea's spy agency sent a safety warning last year to the North Korean leader's half brother who was killed earlier this month, lawmakers said Tuesday.The logo of the National Intelligence Service (Yonhap)An official from the National Intelligence Service was quoted as telling the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee Monday that it sent a message to Kim Jong-nam that he was the target of a possible attack. It was delivered through a third party in the second half of 2016, he added.Th

The South Korean government said Tuesday it recouped 2.24 trillion won ($2 billion) of bailout funds, mostly used to help financial companies reeling from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, in the fourth quarter of last year.The retrieval of taxpayers' money came mostly from the sale of Woori Bank, a major lender here, according to the Financial Services Commission. The headquarters of Woori Bank in central Seoul. (Yonhap)The state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.  sold its 29.7-percent stake

(사진=Martin Azua)주머니 속에 휴대할 수 있는 집이 있다. 스페인의 디자이너 마틴 아주아는 ‘더 베이직 하우스’(The Basic House)라는 이름의 간편한 휴대용 주거 공간을 발명했다. ‘더 베이직 하우스’는 특수 물질로 만들어져 밖이 더울 때 안을 시원하게, 밖이 추울 때는 안을 따뜻하게 유지할 수 있다고 한다. 설치도 매우 간단하다. 사용자는 공기가 안에 찰 때까지 집을 흔들어 주기만 하면 된다.코리아헤럴드 심우현 기자 (ws@heraldcorp.com)

  @siliconvalleybroker 인스타그램스페인 바르셀로나의 세계 1차 대전 당시 지어진 시멘트 공장이 멋진 집으로 탈바꿈했다. 1973년 리카르도 보필은 바르셀로나 외곽에서 오래된 시멘트 공장을 발견했다. 가동조차 하고 있지 않은 낡은 공장이었다. 그러나 리카르도는 건물의 잠재성을 보고 바로 건물을 사들였다. 리카르도와 그의 팀원은 바로 작업에 착수했고, 45년 동안의 작업 끝에 완전히 다른 주거 공간으로 변신시켰다.  (@darawaxman 인스타그램) (@atemporaltrends 인스타그램)리카르도 보필은 스페인의 저명한 건축가다. 바르셀로나에서 태어나 건축 학교에서 수학한 뒤 후에 제네바에서 공부를 마쳤다. 보필은 포스트모더니즘을 대표하는 세계적 건축가로 꼽히기도 한다.코리아헤럴드 심우현 기자 (ws@heraldcorp.com)　

A former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday amid an escalating diplomatic row over the death of the half brother of the North's leader Kim Jong-un.Ri Tong-il told reporters that he would request that Malaysia hand over the body of a North Korean citizen who died earlier this month in Malaysia, referring to Kim Jong-nam. Ri Tong-il, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations (Yonhap)Kim was killed on Feb. 13 at an airport in Kula

South Korea reiterated on Tuesday that the planned installment of an advanced US missile defense system on its oil is a "self-defense" measure against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.The government pledged to take necessary steps to protect its companies from any unfair treatment in China amid growing concerns that Beijing will ramp up what appears to be retaliatory action against the planned installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. Foreign Ministry spoke

South Korea's state-run railway operator has decided to fire 89 workers for leading its longest-ever strike last year, its labor union said Tuesday.Thousands of workers of the Korea Railroad Corp. staged a 74-day walkout from late September to early December to protest the government's implementation of a performance-based pay system. (Yonhap)On Monday, the company informed the Korean Railway Workers' Union of its decision to dismiss 89 senior union officials and take other disciplinary actions,

A group of progressive lawyers began legal action against the defense minister on Tuesday, arguing that the defense ministry has failed to fulfill its obligations in relation to its planned deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in South Korea.In a rally in front of the ministry building earlier in the day, members of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society, or Minbyun, said it will file an administrative suit with the Seoul Administrative Court against Defense Minister Han Min-koo on