The chief of the International Labor Organization said Wednesday that there is a need to "quickly" address the legal status of South Korea's outlawed teachers and public servants unions, urging the government to work hard to resolve the issue.In a meeting with labor union leaders, Guy Ryder, director-general of the ILO, said South Korea should resolve the legal spat over the progressive unions regardless of the ratification of the ILO's key rights convention by the country.In 2013, the

The national football federation on Wednesday rejected a media report that former men's head coach Guus Hiddink could be back at the helm, saying it will stick to the current boss Shin Tae-yong through next year's FIFA World Cup.Citing a source close to Hiddink, a South Korean news channel reported earlier that the Dutchman, who guided South Korea to the semifinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, is willing to return to his old job "as long as the Korean people wanted him back."The report came out o

The US military will deploy additional missile interceptor launchers to its base in a southern town early Thursday despite strong opposition from residents and activists, according to local villagers. The residents' group in Seongju said Wednesday they have confirmed the information through various channels about the planned deployment of four launchers of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system at 2 a.m. on Thursday, in addition to two that are already installed."We think the authorities

South Korean swimming stars Park Tae-hwan and An Se-hyeon were named honorary ambassadors for the 2019 world championships Wednesday.The organizing committee for the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, which take place in Gwangju, 350 kilometers south of Seoul, unveiled Park and An as their goodwill ambassadors.Park is the only South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal.He captured the 400-meter freestyle gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver in the 200m freestyle. Four years later

The opinions of residents around the construction site of two nuclear power reactors will be counted with the same weight as those of other citizens when deciding whether to continue or scrap the project, officials said Wednesday.Residents have demanded that their opinions be given added weight in the survey to determine the fate of the Shingori-5 and Shingori-6 reactors under construction in the southeastern city of Ulsan, stressing that they are the ones directly affected by the project.But a

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has picked up a no-decision against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the same club that knocked him around just a week ago.Ryu held the Diamondbacks to just one earned run on three hits in six innings at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Tuesday (local time). He left the game with the score tied at 1-1 and remained at 5-7 for the season.Ryu lowered his ERA from 3.71 to 3.59. In this Associated Press photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws a pitch aga

South Korea plans to give rice to developing nations after it joins an international food assistance convention as part of its ambition to stabilize the local rice supply and help the needy around the world, the farm ministry said Wednesday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it is preparing steps to join the Food Assistance Convention, expecting parliamentary approval for the membership by the end of this year. If approved, the ministry plans to ship about 50,000 tons

South Korean and Japanese military chiefs on Wednesday affirmed close bilateral cooperation against North Korea in phone talks.South Korea's Defense Minister Song Young-moo and his counterpart Itsunori Onodera shared the view that the North's sixth nuclear test is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a grave challenge to the international community, according to Song's ministry.  South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo holds phone talks with his Japanese counterpart Itsu

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea jumped 10 percent last month compared to a year earlier on robust demand for German and Japanese vehicles, industry data showed Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles rose to 17,547 in August from 15,932 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said in a statement. The three best-selling models were the BMW 520d, Lexus ES300h and Mercedes-Benz E 220d 4MATIC sedans, the statement said.  BMW`s 10 milli

Samsung Electronics Co. saw its share of China's cellphone market drop in the second quarter as more Chinese customers preferred cheaper local brands over its high-end devices, a report said Wednesday.According to the report by the Korea International Trade Association, Chinese customers owned 48 million Samsung cellphones as of end-June, making the company the sixth-largest player in the world's No. 2 economy. It was down two notches from its standing in the first quarter of last year.US rival

Police said Wednesday they arrested three South Koreans and one Korean-Chinese national for making illegal transactions using personal data allegedly taken from ATMs by a North Korean hacker. The National Police Agency said it has detained the four suspects, including a 29-year-old man, only identified by his last name Cho, and sent the case to the prosecution. They are suspected of buying some 238,000 pieces of private information from a broker, selling them here and abroad, and making transact

The chief of Kumho Asiana Group said Wednesday the airline-to-construction conglomerate will consider asset sales in China to help turn around its tiremaking affiliate after the deal to sell it collapsed. In March, China's Qingdao Doublestar signed a 955 billion-won ($844 million) contract with the creditors led by the state-run Korea Development Bank to buy a 42.01-percent stake in South Korea's No. 2 tiremaker. The deal fell through Monday when the creditors rejected Doublestar's demand to cut

VLADIVOSTOK -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin called for efforts to stop North Korea from making any further provocations Wednesday, calling it the most urgent challenge facing their countries and the rest of the world."President Putin and I agreed that resolving the North Korean nuclear issue at the earliest date possible is the most important task," the South Korean leader said of his bilateral talks with the Russian president in the Russian far eastern

South Korea's economic recovery pace remains weak and feeble due mainly to the prolonged slump in private consumption, a state-run think tank said Wednesday."Signs of a slowdown have stabilized on the production side, but the overall economy is not showing hints of a steady recovery,"the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. "The improvement trend in domestic demand appears to be unsteady."Concerns have been rising as

South Korea and Thailand have agreed to double the number of designated airlines on their bilateral routes as Seoul tackles declining travel demand from China, the transport ministry said Wednesday. At the aviation talks held in Busan, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, Koo Bon-hwan, director general of the Aviation Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, and his Thai counterpart, Chula Sukmanop, agreed to increase the number of airlines on Korea-Thailand routes fro