INCHEON -- Two-time PGA Tour winner Bae Sang-moon said Wednesday he is curious about how he will perform after a two-year hiatus from golf. 　Bae was discharged last month after completing his 21-month mandatory military service. The 31-year-old will make his return to competitive golf at the Shinhan Donghae Open on the Korean Tour, which starts Thursday.　“It would be a lie to say that my military service has had no impact on my golf,” Bae said during a press conference at Bear’s Best Cheongna Go

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a message of sympathy to his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro over the recent human and property damage inflicted on the country by Hurricane Irma, a North Korean newspaper reported Wednesday. "Receiving the news of the causalities and losses of many materials caused by the recent hurricane in the eastern and central areas of your country, I extend deep consolation and sympathy to you and, through you, to the Cuban government, people and residents in the aff

South Korea promoted its electronic government solutions in Kazakhstan Wednesday as part of efforts to tap into a mammoth state project to digitalize public administration in the central Asian country. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety here said Vice Minister Shim Bo-kyun attended a "Digital Kazakhstan" event in Astana at the invitation of the Kazakh government. The 1.3 trillion won ($1.15 billion) project was initiated by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to improve the country's e-go

Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said Wednesday that the government will carefully review how much it will raise the minimum wage from 2019, indicating that the government may slow the growth pace to reflect various conditions. In July, the government decided to raise the minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won ($6.67) per hour next year, marking its biggest jump in nearly two decades. President Moon Jae-in has pledged to increase the minimum wage to 10,000 won by 2020, as part of his efforts to

WASHINGTON -- A ranking American lawmaker has asked the US government to sanction 12 large Chinese banks as part of efforts to cut off North Korea's access to the international financial system, an informed source said Wednesday.The measures, if implemented, would mark a significant increase in pressure on China to rein in North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. They could also endanger US-China ties.The list, submitted by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-C

A parliamentary panel on Wednesday adopted a negative assessment of the SMEs and startups minister nominee after a grueling confirmation hearing, passing the ball of decision on his fate to President Moon Jae-in's court.The committee called engineering professor Park Seong-jin unfit in its report, citing his controversial religious and historical views and allegations of past misdeeds.The publication of the report is seen as a formality as a ministerial appointment does not require the National

Seoul prosecutors have launched a probe into a South Korean consul-general in Japan over allegations of verbal abuse and violence against a subordinate, the prosecution office said Wednesday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office last week to investigate the senior diplomat, who is suspected of having habitually used swear words when talking to her female secretary. The official, whose identity is being withheld, is also accused of physical assaults

South Korean stocks closed lower Wednesday, paring earlier gains, as individual and foreign buyers went on a selling spree, analysts said. The Korean won closed unchanged against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 5.29 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 2,360.18. Trade volume was moderate at 315 million shares worth 5.8 trillion won ($5.3 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 546 to 253.Institutional buyers purchased a net 41.2 billion won worth of shar

The sharp-tongued ruling party chief on Wednesday made a rare appeal to an opposition party for cooperation in the parliamentary confirmation process for the chief justice nominee, amid an unabated controversy over his political orientation.Choo Mi-ae asked the People's Party to join her Democratic Party to approve Supreme Court Chief designate Kim Meong-su, but the minor party responded only with criticism about her earlier remarks that blamed it for the legislature's rejection Monday of anothe

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been seeing broadcaster Bae Ji-hyun, Bae's agency confirmed Wednesday.“The two are in a romantic relationship and are considering getting married when Ryu's current season is over,” Koen Stars said in a statement. Ryu Hyun-jin (left) and Bae Ji-hyun (Yonhap)“They have been seeing and supporting each other for the past two years after meeting while working in sports,” read the statement. “Nothing about a marriage has been confirmed yet and we would like

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon met with Finland's Parliamentary Speaker Maria Lohela on Wednesday and discussed bolstering cooperation, including tackling the low birth rate problem that is facing the two countries, his office said.Lee expressed hope that the two countries will expand mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, defense and education. Lohela said her visit included events promoting cooperation in business, tourism and health care, and she will continue efforts to expand the cooperati

The average adjusted monthly wage for workers at South Korea's big businesses far exceeds those of their US and Japanese counterparts, although South Korea's per capita GDP is much lower than the two advanced economies, a report showed Wednesday.The average South Korean employee at companies with more than 500 workers earned $6,048 per month last year when adjusted by the purchasing power parity, according to the report written by the Korea Small Business Institute.The comparable figures were $4

South Korea's dependency on the information and communication technology industry for its output is nearly twice the average for major industrialized economies, a report said Wednesday.South Korea's ICT sector accounts for 10.7 percent of the country's gross value added, or the value of goods and services produced in the economy minus intermediate consumption, according to the report from accounting firm Samjong KPMG.The figure is almost two times the 5.5 percent average for 35 members of the Pa

South Korea's trade minister said Wednesday that taking China to the World Trade Organization is one option being considered in response to that country's apparent retaliatory actions against Seoul's decision to deploy a US missile shield.The Beijing government slammed the deployment of the defense system, called THAAD, on South Korean soil, claiming that the system will threaten its national security.It also seemed to have banned Chinese travel agencies from selling group tours to South Korea a

President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday the Coast Guard should revamp itself to regain public trust after mishandling the deadly 2014 ferry sinking that claimed the lives of more than 300 people.Moon made the remarks during a ceremony marking the 64th anniversary of the establishment of the Coast Guard, formerly known as the Maritime Police Agency, saying the agency should take the sinking of the ferry Sewol as an "eternal lesson" and carry out deep reforms. President Moon Jae-in delivers an addres