Koreans are enjoying the second-lowest electricity rates among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries, a report said Wednesday. Prices of electricity for industrial and residential use in Korea stood at 5.8 cents per kilowatt-hour and 7.7 cent kilowatt-hour in 2009, making them lower than in all OECD nations except for Canada, according to the Korean Social Trends report by Statistics Korea. “The cost of electricity for residential purposes here is about 1.5 times

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S., Japan and South Korea say ``a path is open" to North Korea toward the resumption of talks on its nuclear program and improved relations through dialogue.Senior diplomats from the three allies held talks Tuesday in Washington on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues including recent developments in Myanmar.It comes a month after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Before that, the U.S. appeared close to deal in which Pyongyang would get food

Korea’s major chemical makers are expected to report weaker than previously forecast earnings for the fourth quarter of last year as reduced demand from Europe and China hurt their bottom lines, industry sources said Wednesday.LG Chem Ltd., the country’s top chemical maker, is estimated to have racked up an operating income of 532 billion won ($465 million) in the fourth quarter, down 25.7 percent from the previous quarter. Its fourth-quarter sales are projected to have declined 3.6 percent to 5

More Koreans are preparing for life after retirement as they wish to live independently, a survey report said Wednesday.The report by Statistics Korea showed that 65.7 percent of those surveyed said that they are preparing for their elderly life in 2011, much higher than 32.9 percent in a similar survey conducted in 1998. The ratio for male respondents stood at 73.2 percent in 2011, up from 43.4 percent, while for women it grew to 58.5 percent from 23 percent over the same period.The increase is

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Woongjin Coway Co., Korea’s biggest water purifier maker, will focus on the high-end cosmetics market in China this year, in a bid to tap into the world’s fastest growing cosmetics market, company officials said Wednesday. Woongjin Coway’s wholly owned unit in China is currently engaged in the cosmetics and home appliance businesses. Its cosmetic sales in China were estimated at 240 million yuan ($38 million) last year, up 16 percent from a year earlier.Revenues from Wo

Seoul City plans to dismiss teachers who are caught physically or verbally abusing people with disabilities in any of its rehabilitation homes. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, they plan to protect the human rights of people with disabilities and prevent incidents with thorough surveys by experts and constant monitoring.The capital prepared the guidelines after a recent box-office hit that sparked widespread public outrage against sex crimes and light punishment for offenders.Acco

The United Arab Emirates will give Korea priority in supplying crude oil under circumstances that destabilize Korea’s oil supply.According to sources, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik that the UAE will give Korea priority in its oil exports if Korea experiences oil supply problems during a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.Kim met the crown prince on the last leg of his 7-day trip of the Middle East, and requested UAE’s cooperation in dealing with the possible

Some doubt his intentions behind those media interviewsRecently revealed remarks by Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il, have drawn keen attention here as he painted a grim outlook for the leadership of his brother Jong-un.Through the remarks, he has disparaged the third-generation power succession, doubted Jong-un’s untested leadership and asserted the need for an openness policy to shore up the moribund economy of the North.Jong-nam apparently fell out of his fa

The Thai Attorney General has requested the Korean Prosecutor General’s cooperation in investigating the death of the Thai ambassador’s wife in a Korean hospital, the Thai Embassy in Seoul said Tuesday. Dean of the diplomatic corps in Korea Vitali V. Fen has requested an independent enquiry into the death of Thitinart Satjipanon, the wife of Thai ambassador Chaiyong Satjipanon. She died at Soonchunhyang Hospital in Seoul on Sept. 19 last year, after being admitted on Sept. 16 with abdominal pain