South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said Friday the country’s alliance with the United States is more firm than ever to help deter any “provocation” from North Korea, amid concerns over stability in the North after the death of Kim Jong-il.Kim made the remarks as he visited the U.S. military’s 2nd Infantry Division located in the city of Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, to offer American soldiers encouragement and New Year greetings.“The ROK-U.S. alliance stands more firmly tha

National Election Commission to push for amendment of relevant lawThe nation’s election watchdog on Friday decided to allow all election campaigns using social networking services and other online tools without time restriction, opening a new era in electioneering. People will be able to post their pictures at the voting booth and encourage others to cast their votes for certain candidates even on voting day or before the official campaigning period on their Twitter or Facebook pages, the Nation

Korea’s per-capita income for last year is expected to be lower than the government’s earlier estimate due to faster population growth, a senior Finance Ministry official said Friday.The government earlier predicted that the per-capita gross national income would range from $23,500 to $24,000 at the end of last year. It was based on the nation’s economic growth and inflation, which was projected to grow 3.8 percent and 4 percent last year.“The per-capita GNI is expected to decline to $22,500-$24

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, said Friday that it is targeting to sell 700,000 vehicles in the domestic market this year, up 2.4 percent from 2011.Hyundai Motor, which sold 683,570 units locally last year, said competition in the domestic market is expected to be fierce this year and a free trade deal with the U.S., expected to go into effect in the next few months, could make foreign-made cars more competitive.“Imported cars are expected to compete more aggressively for dom

The nation’s 30 largest conglomerates said on Friday they will increase investment by 12.3 percent to 151.4 trillion won ($131.5 billion) this year.They also said they will hire 123,000 new people this year, up 2.2 percent from last year, during a meeting with Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo. Executives of the top business groups by asset value told Hong they will raise recruitment of high school graduates by 6.9 percent to 37,261 people. Large-scale investments include development of ne

 Prosecutors on Friday asked the court to issue arrest warrant for An Byung-yong, chief of a district-level GNP council, for his suspected involvement in a bribery scheme in the Grand National Party’s leadership election in 2008. National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae won the 2008 race to become the GNP leader. An, who was a member of Park’s campaign team, is suspected of handing 20 million won ($17,400) to five members of district councils with instructions to bribe 30 GNP officials.The investi