Attorneys for former and current executives of Volkswagen's South Korean unit implicated in an emissions cheating scandal denied their involvement during the first court hearing on Thursday.After a year-long investigation, prosecutors indicted Johannes Thammer, who led Audi Volkswagen Korea (AVK) from late 2012, on charges of violating the Clean Air Conservation Act to win sales approval from local authorities. This file photo taken on Feb. 19, 2016, shows the Seoul headquarters of Audi Volkswag

US Vice President Mike Pence will send a clear message on stepping up joint efforts to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions and provocations when he visits South Korea this weekend, the foreign ministry here said Thursday.Pence is to arrive in Seoul on Sunday for a three-day visit aimed to reaffirm the Donald Trump administration's continued commitment to the US-South Korea alliance. Following South Korea, he will also travel to Japan, Indonesia, Australia and Hawaii. US Vice President Mike Penc

North Korea on Thursday opened a new high-end residential area in Pyongyang ahead of a key national anniversary, a Japanese media report said.Its leader Kim Jong-un and other officials attended the ceremony to mark the completion of the construction of Ryomyong Street lined by skyscrapers. according to Japan's broadcaster NHK.A construction site for Ryomyong Street, a new skyscraper-lined residential area in Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)Kim had or

The new commander of South Korea's Marine Corps took office on Thursday calling on his 30,000 troops to be ready to "mercilessly retaliate" against North Korea's provocations.In a change-of-commander ceremony, Lt. Gen. Jun Jin-goo pointed out that the elite forces have played a key role in the front-line defense of the country. Lt. Gen. Jun Jin-goo, new commander of South Korea's Marine Corps, in a photo provided by his office. (Yonhap)"The Marine Corps has protected places most difficult to def

SEJONG -- South Korean rice will be sent to Southeast Asian developing countries through an international food aid program for the first time in history, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a panel of the ASEAN+3 Emergency Rice Reserve approved South Korea's plan earlier this week to offer 750 tons of rice to the food aid program.(Yonhap)Launched in 2013 by 10 countries of the ASEAN, South Korea, Japan and China, APTERR is aime

South Korea's tourism sector, which has been hit hard by a dearth of Chinese visitors after Beijing banned its travel agencies from offering travel packages to the neighboring country, is moving quickly to reshape itself to move forward, industry watchers said Thursday.Nearly a month into the ban, local tourism and hospitality businesses that had overly relied on Chinese visitors are scrambling to reassess developments and reprioritize their long-term strategies. The shift necessitated by the ch

South Korean Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn urged Japan Thursday to squarely face history and show sincere remorse over its past occupation of the Korean Peninsula.Hwang made the call in an address marking the 98th anniversary of the establishment of Korea's provisional government in Shanghai, China, in 1919. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45. Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn delivers an address to mark the 98th anniversary of the establishment of Korea's provisional government i

A civic group accused the Army chief Thursday of ordering the military to hunt out homosexual soldiers in violation of their human rights. The Center for Military Human Rights Korea said they started receiving multiple reports from victims early this year that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu ordered them punished for violating the Military Criminal Act.Army Chief of Staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu clapping during a farewell ceremony in Incheon, west of Seoul, before dispatching soldiers to Lebanon

The state-run main creditor of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Thursday it is willing to negotiate with the state pension fund on the ailing shipbuilder's debt rescheduling measures. The remarks by Korea Development Bank (KDB) CEO Lee Dong-geol came as the National Pension Service (NPS) is set to hold a meeting later this week to decide whether to accept a debt-for-equity swap plan, seen as a crucial test for Daewoo Shipbuilding to receive fresh funds to repay its debts.  (Yonh

South Korea's two presidential front-runners have pledged to raise property tax and strengthen restrictions on extending home loans in a repudiation of the incumbent conservative administration's policy to prop up the country's housing market.The government eased the loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios in 2014 to allow home buyers to borrow up to 70 percent of their property value and 60 percent of their income for mortgage payments.The easing of the home loan regulations resulted in a sharp

One-member households are projected to increase sharply over the next few decades as rapid demographic changes speed up a trend toward smaller family units, a government report showed Thursday.Households consisting of a single member will reach 8.1 million in 2045, accounting for 36.3 percent of the total families in 2045, up from 27.2 percent tallied in 2015, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The forecast is based on the 2015 census, added the statistics agency. (Yonhap)Two-member fa

South Korean students outperformed on mathematics and science tests conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in recent years, but still lack interest in the subjects due to the cramming method of teaching, a report said Thursday.South Korean students came in fifth on the science test in the Program for International Student Assessment 2015, following Japan, Estonia, Finland and Canada, according to the report released by the Korea Economic Research Institute.(Yonhap

The conservative Liberty Korea Party unveiled a set of welfare pledges Thursday that focus on expanding subsidies for childbirths and child care.The former ruling party announced the pledges ahead of the May 9 presidential election during which it will be represented by prosecutor-turned-politician Hong Joon-pyo. (Yonhap)Citing the country's fertility rate of 1.17 last year, which was the lowest among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the party said it

Small sample size alert: but Oh Seung-hwan, the usually reliable South Korean reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals, has been hit hard so far in the 2017 season because, as analytics shows, his slider hasn't been nearly as effective as last year.Oh recorded 19 saves and posted a 1.92 ERA last season, after replacing Trevor Rosenthal as the Cards' closer in July. The all-time saves leader in the Korea Baseball Organization struck out 103 batters in 79 2/3 innings, and the opponents batted .190 aga

 South Korean boy band Winner will drop its Japanese debuting single next month, the group's management agency said Thursday. (Yonhap)The group will release the album with the same title as its latest Korean EP "Fate Number For" and have an event for local fans on May 31, the YG Entertainment said.The album will have the Korean and Japanese versions of "Really Really" and "Fool" from the EP released on April 4.Last year, Winner had a concert tour of four Japanese cities, drawing about 36,000 loc