Regulators scramble to draw up measures to control high-risk tradesKorea’s financial derivates market is expected to surpass 30 quadrillion won ($26.6 trillion) this year, data showed on Tuesday, amid growing concerns about huge losses inflicted on retail investors. The strong appetite for high-risk trades of futures, options and equity-linked warrants is now set to boost the total trading volume of derivates to reach 30.35 quadrillion won by the end of the year, according to the Financial Super

The Iranian Embassy in Seoul claimed Tehran has indigenous technology for a peaceful nuclear program, saying it is opposed to the development of nuclear weapons. “Iran’s nuclear technology is completely domestically made, thus no foreign experts are needed,” the embassy said in an e-mail statement. The statement came one day after Yonhap news agency reported that hundreds of North Korean nuclear and missile experts have been collaborating with Iranian counterparts in more than 10 locations acros

Seoul sends hepatitis B vaccines to Pyongyang, halts flying propaganda leafletsThe South Korean government has been taking a more “flexible” approach to North Korea since Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik took office in September. The Unification Ministry said Tuesday it had finished sending 1 million hepatitis B vaccines for North Korean children with the help of international aid group Caritas Germany and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare. The vaccinations are worth 1.06 billion w

The capital will revamp its homepage for tourists, improving its search ability to better suit foreigners that visit the city each year, said officials on Tuesday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city’s homepage will be upgraded to offer an easier way for tourists to search for and access information through various multimedia devices, which will be launched on Wednesday.The revamp will also streamline information so that users may access all of Seoul’s seven separate tourist

The Defense Ministry said Tuesday it will make a donation to victims of recent earthquakes in Turkey, a close military partner for South Korea.The ministry said its employees and those working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other branches of the service collected about 26 million won ($23,090) in relief aid for Turkey. On Oct. 23 and again last Thursday, Van province in the eastern part of the country was ravaged by huge earthquakes that killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless.A

The Cabinet passed a bill that would force those convicted of cheating on their physical to avoid military duty into mandatory service.Under the revised enforcement ordinance for the military service law, those who receive prison terms for injuring themselves or cheating at physical tests to avoid their mandatory military duty will no longer be eligible for military exemption.The bill also would also end military exemption for those who did not finish middle school.In South Korea, all able-bodie

South Korea’s first alternative elementary school for children from multicultural families will open in Seoul next year with flexible programs centered on cultural and language courses, the local education office said Tuesday.The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it has approved the license for the School of Global Sarang, founded by Rev. Kim Hae-sung, who has worked with migrant workers in South Korea over the last two decades. “Sarang” means love in Korean.The school, set to open in

South Korea’s health watchdog said Tuesday it has certified a new stem cell research institute to help the country expand its knowhow in the cutting-edge scientific field.The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Stem Cell Research Center at Jeju National University has been authorized to conduct tests on somatic embryos.Headed by bioengineering professor and renowned stem cell researcher Park Se-pill, the center is the sixth institute to be given permission to carry out crit

Korea had to wait until after the military-backed authoritarian regime collapsed in the late 1980s to see nongovernmental organizations in full bloom.Under three decades of dictatorial rule, it was not expected for a civil society independent of the government’s sway to come into existence.The Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice set up in 1989 was the first major nongovernmental organization in the country. In the 1990s, more civic groups with influential voices, including the Korean Federa

A delay in the parliamentary ratification of the pending free trade deal with the United States could inflict a huge economic loss on South Korea along with policy uncertainties, a ranking trade official said Tuesday.The free trade accord, known as the KORUS FTA, was signed in June 2007 and supplemented in late December of last year with minor modifications that mostly deal with the auto industry. The agreement was ratified by the U.S. Congress last month and Seoul is under mounting pressure to

Four South Korean companies have been named among the world’s 100 most innovative companies, Thomson Reuters said Tuesday. The four companies are Cheil Industries Inc., LG Electronics Inc., LS Industrial Systems and Samsung Electronics Co. Only two countries in Asia, Korea and Japan, made the top 100.“Innovation is a means of growth and prosperity for companies and nations seeking to overcome sluggish economies and achieve competitive advantage,” said David Brown, president of the IP Solutions b