Rival political parties faced internal criticism Wednesday over their candidate selection rules which favor fresh, young and female figures over incumbents. In the main opposition Democratic United Party, a decision by its leaders to nominate women in at least 15 percent of tconstituencies provoked uproar among male party members. “If the rule is kept unchanged, all of the female candidates who have registered their preliminary candidacy so far will be given the ticket,” said Kim Doo-soo, a form

The ratio of bank loans to smaller firms slumped to a historic low while that for large-cap companies continued to rise, data showed Wednesday, showing a widening gap between funding circumstances for smaller firms and large businesses.The portion of bank loans to smaller firms reached 78.7 percent as of the end of November, down from 88.8 percent in January 2007, according to data by the Bank of Korea. In contrast, the ratio of loans extended to large-cap firms nearly doubled to 21.3 percent fr

Department store sales drop 4.2 percent in January, the lowest in 37 monthsKorea’s private consumption is declining rapidly, data showed Wednesday, amid sluggish sentiment sparked by the eurozone fiscal debt crisis. Local consumers are tightening their belts to grapple with a slowing economy, which in turn deals a blow to manufacturers and big-ticket item sales. Sales at department stores slowed and imports of goods also dropped. Private consumption fell 0.4 percent in the October-December perio

Korea will begin its domestic procedures later this month for the start of formal negotiations with China on a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul’s trade ministry said Wednesday.The ministry said a public hearing on the launch of free trade talks with China will be held on Feb. 24 to gather opinions from experts.In early January, Korea and China agreed to start formal negotiations for a free trade agreement with the aim to launch talks before the end of June.Once Seoul smoothly completes its

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s current account surplus tumbled 43.9% to a 15-year low in 2011 as the nation logged a trade deficit due to lower exports and higher energy costs, government data showed Wednesday.The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, stood at 9.63 trillion yen ($125 billion) in 2011, the lowest level since 1996, the finance ministry said.The figure was down 43.9% from 2010, the sharpest year-on-year decline since 1985.The surplus in re

LONDON (AP) ― A critic who accused a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist of scattering literary allusions like “tin cans tied to a tricycle’’ has won a prize for the year’s most lacerating book review.Adam Mars-Jones’ review of Michael Cunningham’s novel “By Nightfall’’ was named the winner of the Hatchet Job of the Year Award.The review condemns the novel’s pretensions, saying it is “filled with thoughts about art, or (more ominously) Thoughts about Art.’’Mars-Jones, a British-born novelist, was aw

LONDON (AFP) - Beatles legend Paul McCartney will headline a large concert in front of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, organiser Gary Barlow said Tuesday.Barlow, the frontman of pop band Take That who has been tasked with putting together the June 4 tribute to mark the monarch‘s 60 years on the throne, said the London gig would “transcend multiple decades of music.”Elton John, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang will join McCartne

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it plans to collect used cooking oil from across the city to produce bio-diesel fuel as part of efforts to protect the environment and cut sewage treatment costs.Bio diesel, a liquid fuel composed from renewable substances like soybean oil, is emerging as an alternative energy source to fossil fuels. It burns cleaner than fuels derived from fossil fuels, while emitting no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.Under the envisioned plan, the city gover

TOKYO (AFP) ― Three of Japan’s biggest electronics companies are to join forces in a chip-making venture, reports said Wednesday, days after a swathe of dire results from a sector struggling to compete globally.Panasonic, which earlier said it expected to lose more than $10 billion this year, is set to hook up with Renesas Electronics and Fujitsu as they look for economies of scale in an increasingly difficult marketplace.The three companies will spin off their system chip design and development