A Seoul court on Tuesday began the historic trial of former President Park Geun-hye over a string of corruption allegations involving her longtime friend and former aides.Park, handcuffed and in a navy suit, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court escorted by correctional officials. It was her first public appearance since she was put into custody on March 31.The former president, ousted by the March 10 Constitutional Court ruling, was indicted last month for bribery, abuse of power, coerci

South Korea has trumped other Asian Pacific countries in terms of mobile financial service usage, a report showed Monday.Users in South Korea had over 7 billion sessions in banking apps in 2016, which was nearly four times as many compared to Australians, according to the latest report by online-based global mobile app tracker App Annie. The report was based on the screening carried out in 13 Asian Pacific countries. The report analyzed how mobile devices are transforming banking and financial s

South Korean shares ended sharply higher Monday to breach the 2,300 point mark for the first time ever on renewed hopes for improved economic recovery following the launch of the new Moon Jae-in administration, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 15.55 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,304.03. The Kospi had previously hit intra-day highs exceeding the 2,300 mark three times this year, but backtracked before the end of trading. "Consumer sentiment has improve

The controversy surrounding the uniform for the national speed skating teams boiled over into court Monday.At loggerheads over the uniform selection process are the South Korean firm FILA Korea and the Dutch apparels company Hunter.The Korea Skating Union recently chose Hunter as its new supplier, after its contract with FILA expired at the end of April.These photos provided by FILA Korea on May 17, 2017, show speed skating uniforms by FILA Korea (four images on the left) being compared with pro

South Korean shares breached the 2,300-point mark for the first time ever as foreign investors scooped up major tech stocks amid sound corporate earnings, bucking overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 15.55 points, or 0.68 percent, to an all-time high of 2,304.03.Trade volume was slim at 334.55 million shares worth 5.74 trillion won ($5.04 billion), with advancers outnumbering losers

South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will continue to seek mergers and acquisitions to provide distinctive experiences to its customers.During its investors' forum held in Hong Kong, Samsung said the company is open to finding partners that line up with its strategies. (Yonhap)Samsung has been actively seeking to buy competitive companies, taking over US-based electronics brand Dacor and VIV Labs Inc., a developer of artificial intelligence platforms in 2016.The co

South Korean football club Jeju United will face Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League this week as they aim to leave a strong impression in their knockout stage debut. Jeju, making only their second appearance to the AFC Champions League, will host Urawa in the first leg of their round of 16 action on Wednesday, before traveling to Saitama, Japan, on May 31, for their second leg.Jeju United attacking midfielder Hwang Il-su (center) celebrates with teamm

South Korea should aggressively woo the global halal market to diversify its export destinations, a local trade organization said Monday.The Institute for International Trade under the Korea International Trade Association called halal the world's biggest blue ocean and niche market.Halal is a widely applied Islamic dietary practice dictating what is permissible to eat and drink. A 2014 estimate said some 1.7 billion people around the world follow it. The market was sized at some $1.73 trillion

Kim Hong-bin, who lost all of his fingers to frostbite during a climb of the West Buttress of Mount McKinley in 1991, has succeeded in reaching the summit of the world's fourth-highest spot, Mount Lhotse in the Himalayas, his expedition team said Monday. "Kim reached the top of Mount Lhoste on Friday after he arrived in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on March 24," the team said.   South Korean climber Kim Hong-bin (Yonhap)  The successful climb to the 8,516-meter mountain ended his long journ

Renowned South Korean soprano Sumi Jo on Monday was named an honorary ambassador for the first Winter Olympics to be held in the country next year.The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics appointed Jo as its goodwill spokesperson in a ceremony in Seoul. She joins the string ensemble Sejong Soloists as classical musicians to become honorary ambassadors for PyeongChang 2018.Soprano Sumi Jo (right) poses with Lee Hee-beom, president of the organizing committee for the 2018

South Korea has climbed two spots in the men's hockey world rankings, weeks after earning a promotion to the top-tier world championship.The International Ice Hockey Federation on Monday unveiled the latest world rankings, and South Korea reached No. 21, its all-time high.South Korea ranked 33rd in April 2010. It had stayed at No. 23 since 2014 before taking another step forward less than a year before its Olympic debut on home ice at PyeongChang 2018.South Korean players pose for pictures after

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korea shipyard, said Monday that it has clinched a $100 million deal to build two LNG carriers. (Yonhap)Under the deal with South Korean shipper Korea Line Corp., Samsung Heavy will build the ships by December 2019, the company said.The ships, which can carry up to 7,500 cubic meters of LNG each, will be deployed to transport liquefied natural gas between local ports, it added.With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy has clinched deals valued at a combined

South Korea's small and medium-sized enterprises are chronically short of workers, but the unemployment rate among the young is at a record high, indicative of a serious labor market mismatch in the country, economic analysts said Monday.Foreign workers have long been filling jobs shunned by South Koreans as being too hard and underpaid. Even after being hired, many do not stay for long, increasing personnel management costs for businesses that have to repeat new hirings and job training. Job se

Taekwondo demonstration teams from the two Koreas will be reunited south of the border next month.The World Taekwondo Federation said Monday that the International Taekwondo Federation has agreed to send its demonstration team to the June 24-30 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, North Jeolla Province, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul.Demonstration teams of the WTF and the North Korea-led International Taekwondo Federation perform during the opening ceremony of the WTF World Championshi

South Korean shares traded higher late Monday morning as foreigners scooped up shares of large tech companies, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 12.12 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,300.6 as of 11:20 a.m.The broad index opened higher but soon paired earlier gains as institutional buyers turned to a selling mode.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 0.76 percent, with smaller rival LG Electronics adding 0.61 percent to hit a record high. SK hynix advanced 2.