Chinese tire maker Qingdao Doublestar Co. has demanded creditors cut its bid price for a controlling stake in Kumho Tire Co., an official at one of the creditors said Thursday, adding a new twist to the Chinese firm's bid to acquire Kumho Tire.Qingdao Doublestar signed a deal with the creditors, led by state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), in March to buy a 42.01 percent stake in Kumho Tire for 955 billion won (US$838.5 million).(Yonhap)After months of a bitter dispute over the use of Kumho Ti

The new chief of South Korea's Red Cross society is expected to propose talks with its North Korean counterpart to resume humanitarian projects across the border during his inauguration ceremony this week, the organization said Thursday.Park Kyung-seo, a human rights expert, was elected as the organization's new head on Aug. 8 and got a final nod from President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday. His inauguration is scheduled for Friday.  Park Kyung-seo (Yonhap)"In his inauguration speech, he will emphasi

A state commission formed to gauge public opinion on the construction of two nuclear power reactors in southern South Korea will conduct its first survey next week, officials said Thursday.The survey will be conducted on 20,000 people on Aug. 25 by a polling agency to be determined next week, the commission said. The commission is charged with coming up with a recommendation on whether the construction of the Shingori-5 and Shingori-6 reactors in the city of Ulsan should continue or be scrapped.

Hyundai Card Co. on Thursday apologized for what is being criticized as a "disrespectful" concert performance by American pop singer Ariana Grande in South Korea.Grande has been bombarded with negative feedback from South Korean fans over her concert held Tuesday at the Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, part of her "2017 Dangerous Woman" world tour. Criticism centers on Grande's supposed indifferent attitude towards Korean fans. The singer arrived in the country just three hours before the conc

PYEONGCHANG -- The towns hosting the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, set to open next February, offer a stunning array of tourist attractions and delicacies, with visitors to be spoilt for choices available.South Korea is scheduled to host the sports event in the three towns -- the mountainous area of PyeongChang in the country's northeast province of Gangwon, and its nearby sub-host cities of Gangneung and Jeongseon.This file photo shows the Alpensia ski jump tower under the sunset in PyeongC

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said Thursday that it has suffered an estimated 300 billion won ($264 million) in lost production due to three rounds of partial strikes at its main plant in the country.Unionized workers at the carmaker staged four-hour strikes last week, demanding higher wages and bonuses.They plan to walk out again on Friday and Monday as the company's sweetened offerings fell short of their demands. (Yonhap)Hyundai Motor's approximately 50,000-member union dema

South Korean retail giant Lotte said Thursday its four affiliates will more than double their dividend payout ratios as the group pushes for a governance shakeup in the face of a string of troubles.In their regulatory filings, the affiliates -- Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., Lotte Confectionery Co., Lotte Food Co., and Lotte Shopping Co. -- said they will increase the dividend payout ratio, or the percentage of earnings paid to shareholders, to 30 percent from the current average of 12 to 13 perce

All government ministries and agencies have completed inspections into whether or not senior officials mistreat staff at official residences, diplomatic missions and secretaries' offices, the Prime Minister's Office said Thursday.Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon ordered the inspection earlier this month amid public outrage in the wake of revelations that a top military general and his wife treated soldiers taking care of their residence like slaves.The agencies were required to report the outcomes of

South Korean stocks marked the third day of gains Thursday, helped by foreign and retail buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 13.41 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 2,361.67. Trade volume was moderate at 226 million shares worth 4.42 trillion won ($3.88 billion). The local stock market opened higher, tracking gains on Wall Street overnight. Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, projected the local stock market

Former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik has agreed to chair a government-civilian committee aimed at nominating two Austrian nurses who spent 40 years as voluntary nurses for South Korean leprosy patients on a remote island for the Nobel Peace Prize, a Catholic priest said Thursday.Rev. Franciscus Kim Yeon-jun, who has been working to promote the awareness of the selfless service of the two nurses, Marianne Stoeger, 82, and Margareta Pissar, 81, told reporters that the former prime minister "gladly

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that the government can afford his costly social welfare policy packages without a further tax hike, but he did not rule out the possibility of an additional increase in taxes in the future.The tax issue has been a hot potato for months in South Korea in line with Moon's slogan of "income-led growth," which calls for increasing household income and spending with the help of various policy tools to fuel sustainable economic growth.On the policy road map release

South Korean football icon Park Ji-sung said Thursday that the national team players should overcome World Cup qualifying pressure to earn good results in upcoming matches.South Korea, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, will host Iran on Aug. 31 and take on Uzbekistan five days later on the road in their final World Cup qualifying campaign. Both are considered must-win matches for the Taeguk Warriors, who are barely holding on to the last automatic qualification spot in Group A in the final Asian

The state-run Korea Depository Insurance Corp. said Thursday it sold a 2.75 percent stake in Hanwha Life Insurance Co. as part of efforts to recoup taxpayer money injected into the insurer.The stake, or 23.9 million shares, was offloaded to domestic and foreign institutional investors through a block sale in after-hours trading for 173.9 billion won ($153 million), or 7,280 won per share.The state deposit insurer said the stake sale has raised the recovery ratio of public funds pumped into the i

Tickets for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics will go on sale next week to coincide with the 200-day countdown, the organizers said Thursday.The organizing committee for the Paralympic Winter Games said tickets will be available for purchase online at its website (https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/paralympics/index) starting at 2 p.m. next Monday. The Paralympics will run from March 9 to 18.There will be 280,000 tickets available for para alpine skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country s

The top diplomats of South Korea and Canada discussed the recent release of a Canadian detainee in North Korea and their countries' joint efforts to achieve the peaceful resolution of North Korea's nuclear problems during a phone conversation on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland informed Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha of the details of the Canadian national security adviser's trip to North Korea last week. The trip led to the freeing of K