South Korea's special forces troops in the United Arab Emirates will cheer for the national football team against Iraq in a friendly match here on Wednesday.South Korea, led by head coach Uli Stielike, will take on Iraq at the 5,200-capacity Emirates Club Stadium in Ras Al Khaimah at 9 p.m. Wednesday (local time), or 2 a.m. Thursday in Seoul. This match is a tune-up for South Korea's upcoming World Cup qualifier against Qatar in Doha next Tuesday. South Korea's national football team coaching st

South Korean stocks closed lower Wednesday as investors were taking a wait-and-see approach over global events, including the general election in Britain, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 8.48 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,360.14. Trade volume was moderate at 370 million shares worth 6 trillion won ($5.33 billion), with losers slightly outnumbering gainers 406 to 405.Analysts said the sluggish trading came as investors

Kia Motors Corp. on Wednesday unveiled rendered images of its new subcompact sport-utility vehicle "Stonic" before its launch next month.  Kia Motors, the country's second-largest carmaker by sales after Hyundai Motor Co., plans to launch the compact SUV in the domestic market in July to absorb a growing demand for small-sized recreational vehicles, the company said in a statement.   A rendered image of the front of Kia's Stonic SUV (Kia Motors)The maker of the K5, K7 and K9 sedans aims to beef

South Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will work with Chinese technology giant Baidu, Inc. to develop a navigation system for its vehicles that will be sold in the world's biggest auto market. Hyundai and Baidu will jointly develop "Baidu MapAuto" and a voice recognition system called "Duer OS Auto" so the two systems can be incorporated in the carmaker's two new models to be launched in China later this year, the company said in a statement. In this photo taken on June 7

The organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games on Wednesday announced the ticket prices for the multisport competition for disabled athletes, with the average price reaching 30,000 won ($26). The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games said a total of 280,000 tickets will be on sale. The organizers expect to generate 4.2 billion won from ticket sales, with 70 percent of them sold in South Korea. (Yonhap)The POCOG said tickets for snow sport

Hyundai Asan Corp. said Wednesday it will offer a new cruise package from the southern port city of Busan starting next month. The 75,000-ton Costa Victoria, which can carry up to 3,000 people, will make the first departure from a port in Busan, some 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 27 for a five-day round trip to Japan, the tourism company said.  (Yonhap)The ship is equipped with various entertainment facilities, including an outdoor swimming pool, a duty-free shop, restaurants and a

Foreign investors purchased a net 530 billion won ($474 million) worth of stocks on South Korea's tech-heavy Kosdaq market in May, the most in 13 years, local data showed Wednesday.The amount is the third-largest monthly net buying by offshore investors in the secondary Kosdaq market after 1.01 trillion won tallied in February 2000 and 723.4 billion won in April 2004, the Korea Exchange said. Foreign investors concentrated on buying IT and semiconductor shares.  Foreign investors bought 1.0

South Korean stocks traded nearly flat late Wednesday morning as major blue chip shares traded mixed amid profit-taking.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.93 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,366.69 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech giants traded mixed, with top cap Samsung Electronics falling 0.9 percent, while flat panel maker LG Display shot up 2.36 percent.Logistics shares gained ground, with Hyundai Glovis moving up 0.97 percent and flag carrier Korean Air advancing 3.05 percent.The loca

Jamie Romak, a midseason acquisition for the SK Wyverns in the Korea Baseball Organization, likes it in South Korea so much that he is hoping for a long stay here.In just 23 games after replacing Danny Worth, Romak has smacked 11 home runs and knocked in 23 runs. He's a key cog of the home run-hitting machine that is the Wyverns, who are leading the KBO with 99 home runs, a whopping 40 more than anyone else.Romak might have had a chance to join the big leagues this year, but he chose the KBO bec

A South Korean defender will visit a Japanese football club later this week to apologize for his violent actions during the Asian Football Confederation Champions League match last month, his club said Wednesday.Jeju United said Baek Dong-gyu will visit Urawa Red Diamonds to personally apologize to Yuki Abe, whom he elbowed during a melee in the AFC Champions Leagued round of 16 second leg at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, last Wednesday. (Yonhap)"Baek wanted to meet Abe in person to apologi

The growth of real income of South Koreans has risen at a slower pace than that of economic growth over the past five years, government data showed Wednesday.The average real income of local businesses with at least five employees was 3.39 million ($3,000) per month last year, up 2.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It is on par with the country's real gross domestic product growth that stood at 2

Unfair intra-affiliate transactions by business conglomerates rose by 23.1 percent last year, despite the government's efforts to clamp down on such business practices that are considered unfair ways to help such companies, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data by corporate tracker CEO Score, the value of unfair in-house transactions by 91 affiliates of conglomerates rose by 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) from two years ago to 7.9 trillion won last year. (Yonhap)The total value o

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 0.5 percent last month from a year earlier on lower demand for diesel models, industry data showed Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign cars fell to 19,380 in May from 19,470 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said in a statement.  (Yonhap)Sales of diesel-powered vehicles fell 19 percent to 9,952 units last month from 12,238 units a year earlier, it said. "South Korean customers bought fewer dies

Kia Motors Corp.'s Soul multipurpose car has ranked as the third best vehicle for seniors among 25 models checked, a US product evaluation publication said Wednesday.The Soul trailed Subaru's Forester and Outback in the Consumer Reports' "Top 25 New Cars for Senior Drivers," which were picked after an assessment of such senior-friendly features as front-seat access, visibility, control and headlights. A file photo of Kia's Soul EV multipurpose vehicle (Yonhap)"There is more to the boxy Soul than

RAS AL KHAIMAH, United Arab Emirates -- South Korea football coach Uli Stielike will try to get a boost of confidence and find the best combination for a crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier next week when his team faces Iraq in a friendly in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.South Korea will take on Iraq at the 5,200-capacity Emirates Club Stadium in Ras Al Khaimah at 9 p.m. Wednesday (local time), or 2 a.m. Thursday in Seoul. This match is a tune-up for South Korea's upcoming World Cup qualifi