Seoul Plaza Skating Rink will include a curling rink this year to celebrate Korea’s successful bid for the Winter Olympics.The rink, one of the city’s most sought-out winter holiday attractions and an eight-year tradition, will open Dec. 16, city officials said.Running till Feb. 12, Seoul will charge 1,000 won ($0.89) per hour, unchanged since the ice skating rink first opened in 2004.This year the plaza will be home to three separate rinks, which will be used for ice skating and curling lessons

The Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea has selected Samsung C&T for Investment of the Year for its role in the Victorian Desalination Project in Australia, which aims to produce 150 billion liters of drinking water a year by the end of 2012.In its second annual Business Awards ceremony on Thursday, AustCham announced six winners for their contribution to strengthening commercial ties. AustCham awarded the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. the Chairman’s Award for its role as a major impo

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Joint efforts by South Korea and China to stop desertification in the Inner Mongolian desert have made headway, creating a large artificial forest, a local government said Monday. The Forestry Department at China’s autonomous region of Inner Mongolia said an 8.7-square-kilometer forest in the Ulan Buh Desert was completed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, a central development aid agency under the authority of the South Korean foreign ministry, and the Baya

Despite a severe slump in prices, global makers of liquid crystal display panels are expected to increase their output in the fourth quarter, a market researcher said Monday.According to DisplaySearch LLC, global LCD panel makers operated their production lines at 75 percent of their full capacity in October, up 7 percentage points from the previous month.The research firm predicted that LCD panel makers will operate manufacturing lines at around the same level for the next two months at about 7

Victims said they used disinfectants throughout winter or while sleeping in enclosed spacesPatients believed to have fallen ill because of humidifier-sterilizers had used the agents excessively over a long period of time, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. According to its latest report, 18 patients who have been treated for lung inflammation at Asan Medical Center said they used an average of 820 milliliters of sterilizers every month. The amount is equivalent to

South Korea will continue its efforts to keep its fiscal health in good shape amid growing global economic uncertainties and worries over rising demand for welfare spending, a senior Finance Ministry official said Monday.“As the economy keeps recovering, our fiscal status is improving fast and it also seems it is remaining in better shape than other advanced nations,” Vice Finance Minister Yoo Sung-kull told a fiscal policy conference jointly hosted by the World Bank and the state-run Korea Deve

A local court denied an arrest warrant for Kim Jin-suk, a female labor activist who staged a 309-day sit-in atop a tower crane at a shipyard in Busan, court officials said Monday.Judge Nam Sung-woo of the Busan District Court rejected the police’s request for warrants to arrest Kim and three others who staged the crane-top rally to protest layoffs at Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Police had sought to arrest them on charges of trespassing and obstruction of business. “The decision (n

The Korean government said it has established an eminent persons’ group to provide advice to President Lee Myung-bak when South Korea hosts the Nuclear Security Summit in March.The 15-member group will include India’s former President Abdul Kalam, Singapore’s Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry, former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and former South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo, according to

South Korean firms are increasing their efforts to solidify their footholds in Vietnam as the populous Southeast Asian region has emerged as a key investment destination, industry sources said Monday.Vietnam is one of the most attractive places for investment, as it is pushing ahead with rapid economic growth, attracting overseas investors with favorable business conditions such as cheaper labor costs and tax benefits, they said.According to data compiled by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Ind

The main opposition Democratic Party seeks a conference this Sunday with all liberal parties and civic groups to create a united left-wing party.DP chairman Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu met Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman Moon Jae-in, former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Sunday. They agreed to set up a joint liberal council to consolidate their forces into a single political party. They also urged minority liberal groups to join the DP initiative.“Such integration and cooper

Air Force in-house programmers to set up second line of missile defenseThe Air Force will independently upgrade core software for its guided missile system against North Korea in efforts to save money and prevent a possible technology leak, the state arms acquisition agency said Monday.It and Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration have been in talks with the U.S. government over the software upgrade, for which Washington offered a price of some 15 billion won ($13.3 million), officia

Bank deposit rates in South Korea, when adjusted for inflation and taxes, declined to a record low in the third quarter, spurring concern they may further weigh on weak household savings, data compiled by the central bank showed Monday. The average real deposit rate at local banks, which exclude the inflation rate and taxes levied on interest income, stood at negative 1.63 percent in the third quarter, the lowest since the Bank of Korea began compiling the related data in 1996, according to the

BRIEFIndian visa center reopens Applying for a visa to visit India has been made easier with the reopening of the Indian Visa Application Center.From now on, the center will handle all visa related matters, types and categories for Korean and foreign nationals wishing to visit India.The Center is located at the Hyundai Liberty House, 258 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu. The office of the Indian Visa Application Center will operate from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on all working days with a lunch break from 1-2