The financial health of life insurers in South Korea showed a marked polarization in the first half of the year as foreign players fared far better than local rivals thanks to stepped-up preparations for a new accounting rule, data showed Tuesday.Four foreign-controlled insurance companies made the list of the top five players with the best financial soundness in the January-June period, with smaller domestic firms languishing at the bottom of the standings.As of end-June, ING Life Insurance rep

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a military unit near the tense inter-Korean border earlier this month when he was absent from public appearances for 15 days, government sources said Tuesday.In early August, Kim made an inspection not covered by the state media at the front-line unit, some 1 kilometer away from South Korea's general outpost in the central section of the border, the sources added.It is not known what activity the North's leader made there, but South Korea's military is vie

The Seoul Central District Court prepared to hold a drawing Tuesday for tickets to the upcoming sentencing hearing for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is accused of bribery in a massive corruption scandal involving ousted former President Park Geun-hye.The courtroom where Friday's hearing is set to take place has about 150 seats. Some of the seats will be reserved for those involved in the case and reporters while the rest will be distributed by lottery to ordinary citizens w

Beer was atop the list of South Korea's alcohol imports in the first seven months of this year, outpacing wine and hard liquor for the first time amid a change in the country's drinking culture, data showed Tuesday.Imports of beer in the January-July period came to $143.9 million, up 50.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association. By country of origin, Japanese beer took up the largest share at $39.7 million, followed by Chi

North Korea's military threatened Tuesday that it is ready to stage "ruthless" retaliation against South Korea and the United States over their ongoing joint military exercises.North Korea's military stationed at the truce village of Panmunjom said that the US has ignored its warning to make the right choice, warranting Pyongyang's merciless punishment, according to the Korean Central News Agency.The US will be wholly held accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by such reck

South Korean President Moon Jae-in again urged the United States Monday to refrain from taking any action against North Korea that could start an armed conflict on the peninsula, saying even the slightest conflict here may cost the lives of many South Koreans and US troops."President Moon said he understands why the United States has traditionally said all options were on the table to push North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. But he said even the slightest military action will lead to a

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday stressed the need to improve relations between his country and Japan to jointly deal with North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile capabilities, but still noted the need to address their history issues more fairly and squarely."The North Korean nuclear and missile issues are a matter of life or death for South Korea, but I do understand they are also a source of great concern for Japan," the South Korean leader was quoted as saying while meeting wit

PAJU, South Korea -- After returning to the national football team for the first in nearly three years, South Korean striker Lee Dong-gook said Monday the players need to sacrifice themselves for the team in the World Cup qualifying campaign.Lee, 38, will become the second-oldest player to appear in an international match for South Korea if he takes the field either against Iran on Aug. 31 or Uzbekistan on Sept. 5 in World Cup qualifiers.Lee, who last appeared on the national team in October 201

YEONCHEON, South Korea -- North Korea released water from a border dam without giving prior notice to South Korea on Monday, causing the water levels of a cross-border river downstream to rise dangerously, officials said.The North opened the floodgates of Hwanggang Dam on the western inter-Korean border, sending water into the Imjin River flowing to the South and causing water levels under the river's northernmost Pilseung Bridge to rise to 5.97 meters as of 5 p.m. (Yonhap)It's considered a cris

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. will stage a partial strike to demand higher wages, the carmaker's union said Monday. The walkout planned for Tuesday comes as Kia's management and its 28,240-strong union failed to narrow a gap over wages and other benefits in this year's collective bargaining negotiations.  "After weeks of talks with the management, Kia workers have decided to carry out the strike in line with planned strikes by (its umbrella labor group) the Korean Metal Workers' Union,"

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday that it will roll out its new pen-equipped laptop the Notebook 9 Pen that will include Intel's latest eighth generation processor in South Korea next month.Bringing its S Pen technology to the company's notebook lineup, the new model will offer an up to 40-percent speed boost over the previous seventh generation chips, the company said. (Yonhap)The new chips are also designed to operate video clips with 4K Ultra High Definition and other recent innovations suc

PAJU, South Korea -- South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong said Monday the national team's primary focus will be on organizing defense in practices ahead of two crucial World Cup qualifiers.Shin's side began training with 16 players at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul, for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Iran on Aug. 31 and Uzbekistan on Sept. 5. For this early call-up, which is one week ahead of the usual schedule, Shin will work with players based in the Asian

The Mexican Embassy in Seoul said Monday its diplomat accused of sexual assault will cooperate with the police investigation.The military attache allegedly sexually harassed a female employee at the embassy on three occasions between June last year and January.  Jongno Police Station (Yonhap)He had defied two previous police orders to show up for questioning and returned to his country.  The embassy said he is currently in Seoul. "The involved officer is in Korea with the willingness to cooperat

PAJU, South Korea -- South Korean footballer Kwon Kyung-won said Monday he is ready to build up a solid national team career after joining the senior squad for the first time.Kwon is one of 26 players selected for South Korea's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Iran and Uzbekistan. South Korea will host Iran on Aug. 31 and take on Uzbekistan five days later in Tashkent for the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.Kwon, 25, became the second most expensive South Korean foo

The prospects of two Constitutional Court nominees remained uncertain Monday as opposition parties ramped up their offensive over the duo's alleged ideological bias.Major parties agreed to hold a parliamentary confirmation hearing for justice nominee Lee You-jung next Monday and decided tentatively to set up a vote on Constitutional Court President-designate Kim Yi-su four days later. But opposition lawmakers heaped pressure on President Moon Jae-in to withdraw Lee's nomination, which they argue