Korean-made light-emitting diode lamps will illuminate Vancouver next year, as the Canadian city seeks street lights that are brighter and more durable, as well as energy-efficient, officials said Monday.Yuyang DNU, a Korean LED producer, will supply 20 units of 50-watt and 80-watt lights without charge to Vancouver and nearby Langley in southwestern Canada for a test operation, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. The deal is to be signed Wednesday.The two cities plan to in

South Korean banks’ loan delinquency rate rose at the fastest clip in 15 months in October due mainly to increased defaults by construction firms and shipbuilders, the financial watchdog said Monday.The overall delinquency rate of bank loans to companies and households reached 1.28 percent as of the end of October, up 0.24 percentage points from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The rate is measured based on loans that are overdue for more than one day.The rise

South Korean listed firms’ ability to cover their interest costs with earnings slipped in the third quarter of this year from a year ago due to lackluster performances, a report showed Monday. The average interest coverage ratio of 612 firms listed on the local main bourse came to 5.11 times in the July-September period, compared with 6.01 times posted a year earlier, according to the report by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association. The ratio measures a firm’s operating p

Cardif Korea, a local insurance unit of French banking giant BNP Paribas, on Monday launched a variable life insurance product with higher returns than industry norms after cancellation, even within a year of contract.“We’re launching i plus VUL through nationwide branches of Shinhan Bank today. The strong point of the product is that it guarantees more flexibility and value to customers by increasing the cash surrender value even if policyholders cancel at an early stage of contract,” the compa

Concerns rise over greater volatility generated by high frequency trading in KoreaForeign investors dominate high frequency trading in the Korean stock market, data showed on Monday, a practice regulators say fuels volatility. According to the report by the Korea Capital Market Institute, which tracked trading patterns of KOSPI 200 futures and options products that matured in December 2010, foreign investors made up 75.6 percent of high frequency traders in the local options market and 98 percen

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― North Korea dispatched dozens of pilots to the Vietnam War decades ago, with its communist ally short of specialists to operate MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighter jets in battles against the United States, according to a recently released dossier.“On 21 September 1966 an official North Korean request to be allowed to send a North Korean Air Force regiment to help defend North Vietnam against U.S air attacks was officially reviewed and approved by the Vietnamese Communist Party’

Four out of every 10 Korean workers and self-employed residents did not pay taxes on their income last year as a result of increased tax credits and reductions, data showed on Monday.Of the 20.39 million people subject to taxation on their earnings in 2010, 8.39 million, or 41.1 percent, paid no income tax to the government, the National Tax Service said in a report.The figure marked an increase of 270,000 people who are exempt from income taxes from 2009, raising the issue of whether the Korean

Korea’s Internet industry has surpassed automotives and electric and electronic manufacturing in size, an industry report found Monday. According to the Korea Internet Corporations Association, the Internet economy amounted to 63 trillion won ($55 billion), or 5.94 percent of the gross domestic product, in 2009.The GDP figure puts the industry ahead of electric and electronic equipment manufacturing and automobiles at 5.71 percent and 4.23 percent, respectively, according to the industry lobby r

South Korean stocks inched up 0.36 percent on Monday as investors were optimistic about Europe’s efforts to control eurozone budgets, analysts said. The local currency climbed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 6.86 points, to 1,922.9. Trading volume was moderate at 324.9 million shares worth 4.1 trillion won ($3.6 billion) with gainers leading losers 485 to 338.“The index got off to a strong start but the gain was limited as investors remained cautiou

Asylum seekers here will be able to avail of accommodation and other support at a new shelter, a support group said Monday.Nancen said it has begun running a shelter which will offer refuge during office hours and provide temporary housing through contracted low-income apartments.Situated at a leased former precinct station building in Garibong-dong, Guro-gu, the shelter offers a kitchen, bathroom and counseling room. Those who have filed for refugee status may use the facility’s computers throu

Seoul will hold a foreign investment forum Tuesday to promote the city’s foreign investment policies and its efforts to improve regulations that limit foreign businesses and further investment here. The forum, to be held at 11 a.m. at the foreign press room of the Korea Press Center, will be conducted in English and the question-and-answer session will be assisted with interpretation, a city official said. The city will promote foreign investment policies and strategies as well as current projec