The South Korean government said Monday it recovered 709.1 billion won ($633 million) of bailout funds in the second quarter, mostly used to help financial institutions hit by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The retrieval of taxpayers' money mainly derived from dividends from stake investments, the sale of shares in Woori Bank, and interest income, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. The government has spent a total of 168.7 trillion won since November 1997 to purchase non-pe

South Korean stocks finished lower on Monday, as foreign investors cashed in recent gains due to the local currency's strength against the US dollar and a decline in Samsung affiliates, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 8.21 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 2,370.30.Trade volume was light at 224 million shares worth 3.94 trillion won ($3.53 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 438 to 361.The local stock market

The Korea International Cooperation Agency, the nation's official development assistance agency, is investigating the allegation that a head of its branch office in a Middle Eastern country sexually harassed a female subordinate."A female employee at the Middle Eastern office claimed that she was sexually harassed by the branch head in May and August and asked the KOICA headquarters to summon him. An investigation is currently underway to verify it," the KOICA said. (Yonhap)The KOICA will soon d

A North Korean woman, who fled back to the North after living in South Korea, on Monday condemned Seoul's TV programs featuring former North Koreans for fabricating false North Korean images.The woman, known as Lim Ji-hyun in South Korea, showed up in a 30-minute video uploaded by North Korea's propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri, her third such appearance since defecting back to Pyongyang in June this year.Lim, who defected to the South in 2014, became somewhat popular here after appearing in cable

The message "It's not Pyongyang but PyeongChang" has been appearing in promotional materials for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, according to officials at the state-run Korean Culture and Information Service.For the South Korean service tasked with the mission of promoting Korean culture overseas and helping to upgrade the country's national image, the message has been necessary to help some visitors to the Olympics avoid confusing the host city of PyeongChang with the North Korean capital

South Korean teen golfer Choi Hye-jin signed a lucrative endorsement deal Monday, just days after turning professional.Choi, runner-up at the US Women's Open last month, signed a two-year deal with Lotte Group. While exact financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Choi reportedly signed for the biggest contract ever handed to a rookie by a Korean conglomerate.One Lotte official said Choi will receive about 600 million won ($535,800) per year. The official said there were other companies wh

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Monday that it has found additional documents from the former administration, some of which were related to the alleged blacklist of cultural figures critical of the former conservative administration.Over 9,000 computer files have been found in shared folders on computers used by officials from the former administration, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun. (Yonhap)"Some of the files include documents related to the blacklist of cultural

South Korea's military said Monday it will push for a paradigm shift in its war concept in order to play an "aggressive" role in resolving armed conflicts on the peninsula.In a report to President Moon Jae-in for discussions on the reform and future role of the country's armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense presented its own vision. Among the key tasks is to establish the concept that if a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula, it will be aggressively staged, according to the ministry

Another South Korean woman who was forced into sexual servitude by Japan during World War II died Monday, a civic group said, reducing the total number of the country's surviving victims to 36.The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said that Ha Sang-sook died of sepsis at 9:10 a.m. at the age of 89. Her memorial altar is set up at Kyung Hee University Hospital in eastern Seoul. This photo, provided by the foreign ministry on Sept. 12, 2016, shows former For

South Korea on Monday revised its assessment of what North Korea fired on the weekend, saying they were likely short-range ballistic missiles.The North launched three projectiles into the East Sea from an eastern region on Saturday morning, a month after the firing of another intercontinental ballistic missile, according to South Korean and US defense authorities."Chances are high that they were short-range ballistic missiles," a senior official at the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporter

Tickets to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be available for purchase online starting Sept. 5.The organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Games said Monday online sales will commence at 2 p.m. Sept. 5 at its website, www.pyeongchang2018.com/en.PyeongChang will print 1.18 million tickets in total, with 70 percent of them expected to be sold in South Korea. Payments for tickets can only be made with Visa credit cards or through bank transfers. Visa is an official global sponsor of the In

The central bank said Monday it will issue 2,000 won ($1.77) denominated paper notes to commemorate South Korea's hosting of its first Winter Olympics.The Bank of Korea will issue 2.3 million notes of the bill on Nov. 17, according to officials. While big events have often been celebrated with commemorative coins, this is the first time that paper money will be issued. Officials said the PyeongChang Olympics organizing committee had requested paper bills. PyeongChang, a mountainous resort city e

ULSAN -- A state commission to decide the fate of the construction of two nuclear power reactors made a visit to the work site in southern South Korea on Monday.The visit, the first of its kind since the commission was formed nearly one month ago, is aimed at helping experts come up with a recommendation on whether the construction of the Shin-Kori 5 and 6 reactors in Ulsan city should continue or be halted. (Yonhap)Members of the commission are scheduled to hold meetings with residents to hear

Two foreign-born coaches for South Korean professional hockey clubs on Monday predicted a difficult road ahead for the host country at next year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Upstart South Korea, ranked 21st in the world, will make its Olympic debut in the men's tournament next February. It has earned a spot as the host nation and will go up against Canada, world No. 1 and two-time defending champion, No. 6 Czech Republic and No. 7 Switzerland.Under the guidance of former National Hockey League

Former National Hockey League coach Kevin Constantine was hired by a South Korean club, Daemyung Killer Whales, two months ago, and the learning process hasn't stopped for the American.And he wouldn't have it any other way."For me, the opportunity to coach the game and experience a new culture would be two of the favorite things I can do in life,"Constantine said at a preseason media conference for the Asia League Ice Hockey, whose 2017-2018 season will begin Sept. 2."I am new, so I am just tryi