Former German Olympic bobsleigh champion Andre Lange was named a coach for the South Korean national luge team Sunday.The Korea Luge Federation said Lange, 44, will join the team in October in preparations for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at home.Lange is one of the most decorated bobsleigh pilots in history, having won four gold and one silver medals at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. In this EPA file photo taken on Feb. 21, 2010, Andre Lange of Germany celebrates after winning

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff this week to discuss the bilateral defense alliance, and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, the presidential office said Sunday. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford is set to arrive in Seoul on Sunday amid growing tensions following the North's intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month and an escalating war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.  US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Sunday that it will introduce a punitive damages system to the local distribution industry as part of its efforts to root out unfair business practices and strengthen consumer protection.The Fair Trade Commission said it will revise related laws to impose punitive damages of up to three times the actual damage from business practices such as an unfair payment cutback of supplied goods and returns that occur between large shopping mall operators and small sho

North Korea lashed out at South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday over his recent telephone talks with US President Donald Trump. Moon and Trump agreed on the need for maximum pressure on Pyongyang on Monday (Seoul time), a day after the UN Security Council imposed a set of new sanctions following its two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.  (Yonhap)"The South Korean authorities are cringing before their US boss, who said he doesn't care if thousands of people in this land die

Lotte Department Store, the country's leading retailer, said Sunday it will open prayer rooms for Muslims at its store in Seoul this week as it steps up efforts to attract more tourists from the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries.The department store operator said they will open a 49.6 square meter room, separated for men and women, at its store in Jamsil, west of Seoul, on Wednesday. The room will have copies of the Koran, the religious text of Islam, and foot baths.Lotte said it is the

South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Sunday it sold around 5,000 units of the portable edition of its artificial intelligence device NUGU on the first day of release.The mobile carrier said the sales of the NUGU Mini, which started Friday, were five times higher than the predecessor. (Yonhap)First released in September last year, NUGU focuses on providing household-related services. The mobile carrier has sold some 150,000 units of the original NUGU.SK Telecom said the NUGU Mini

The market value of firms affiliated with South Korea's top 10 conglomerates has tumbled more than 5 percent over the past 10 days due to the escalating standoff between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, data showed Sunday.The combined market capitalization of listed companies belonging to the 10 leading groups came to 884.6 trillion won ($772 billion) as of Friday, down 5.15 percent from Aug. 1, according to Chaebul.com and financial sources.It acc

South Korean carmakers posted lackluster profitability over the first half of 2017, industry data showed Sunday, falling far behind major overseas rivals.Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co.'s first-half operating margin was 5.4 percent, down 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier, industry data showed. Its sister company Kia Motors Inc. also posted a margin of 3 percent, down 2.2 percentage points on-year.In terms of the operating margin, Hyundai Motor moved down four notches over the cited period

Escalating geopolitical risks surrounding North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs have caused gold prices to soar in South Korea and led to a surge in trade in the precious metal, the local exchange said Sunday.According to the Korea Exchange, a gram of gold changed hands at 47,210 won ($41.20) on Friday, the highest level since April 20, when speculation of a crisis on the peninsula swirled.Last week alone, gold prices jumped 3.18 percent from the previous week, marking the first t

Sales of ice cream products in South Korea fell sharply over the past years, industry data showed Sunday, apparently as a rising number of consumers opted for other desserts, including coffee.According to the data compiled by Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., the South Korean market for ice cream was estimated at 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) in 2016, down 39.2 percent from 1.9 trillion won posted in 2012.Industry watchers said the decline came as more consumers are choosing alternate pro

South Korea's low-cost carriers enjoyed improved earnings over the first half of 2017, data showed Sunday, as the firms successfully diversified routes amid the diplomatic row with China.The country's six LCCs saw their sales reach 1.6 trillion won ($1.39 billion) in the January-June period, up 39 percent from a year earlier, industry data showed. The combined operating profit also doubled to reach 117.3 billion won.While the latest diplomatic tension with Beijing dealt a harsh blow to local fli

South Korean securities companies have cut their estimates of third-quarter earnings for major listed companies amid investor sentiment battered by growing geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula, a market tracker said Sunday.The market consensus of the combined operating profit of 207 listed companies stands at 48.56 trillion won ($42.4 billion) for the July-September period, down 486 trillion won from a month earlier, according to FnGuide.Hit by the government push for eco-friendly energy p

South Korean companies, led by Doosan Infracore Co., are witnessing better-than-expected sales in China's excavator market as the world's No. 2 economy increased spending on infrastructure, industry sources said Sunday.According to the data provided by Daishin Securities Co., a total of 6,997 excavators were sold in China in July, more than doubling from a year earlier.In the case of Doosan Infracore, South Korea's top construction equipment maker, the company saw its excavator sales more than d

Sales of gold bars, regarded as a safe haven for investors, are increasing in South Korea amid escalating tension with North Korea, industry sources said Saturday.The Korea Gold Exchange, a local trader, said the average daily sales of 100-gram gold bars reached 250 units since Wednesday, rising sharply from 50 units on average.  Industry watchers said the demand for smaller gold bars is increasing as they are easier to carry compared to kilo-level products. A 10-gram gold bar is currently

GOYANG (Yonhap) -- Former South Korean national figure skating champion Lee June-hyoung said Saturday he's trying to maintain a positive attitude ahead of the final Olympic qualifying event next month.Lee, a three-time South Korean champion, won the men's singles title at the Figure Skating Korea Challenge last month in Seoul and earned the right to compete at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in September. It's the last Olympic qualifying competition, where six tickets to PyeongChang will be up f