JEONJU -- South Korean midfielder Paik Seung-ho already has two goals in two matches at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, he but emphasized Wednesday he always puts the team ahead of his own personal glory.Paik is currently South Korea's co-leading scorer with Lee Seung-woo at the U-20 World Cup. He rounded off the scoring in South Korea's 3-0 win over Guinea in the tournament opener on Saturday and converted a penalty in South Korea's 2-1 win over Argentina on Tuesday. With two wins, South Korea have al

South Koreans drank a total of 377 cups of coffee per person on average last year, mirroring brisk growth of the sprawling market fueled by a flurry of various franchises, a government report showed Wednesday.The average coffee consumption, based on South Koreans aged over 20, has grown at an annual rate of 7 percent since 2012, according to the report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (Yonhap)The size of the domestic coffee ma

Starbucks Coffee Korea has been ordered to compensate a customer for providing only one free coffee after the consumer won an event that originally promised a free drink every day for a year, the plaintiff's lawyer said Wednesday.The customer, surnamed Ko, filed the case with the Seoul Central District Court in December after the local unit of the US-based coffee giant failed to keep its word, saying it mistakenly notified the customers, attorney Choi Soo-jin said. This image provided by law fir

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Wednesday it will test its i30N hot hatch in a 24-hour endurance race in Germany this weekend.Hyundai sent an 8-member driver team, composed of four research engineers and four professional drivers, to the 2017 24 Hours Nurburgring to test components that will eventually make it into production cars.In this photo, taken on April 23, 2017, four research engineers at Hyundai Motor pose after obtaining a license in a preliminary race

South Korean outfit Jeju United defeated Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 to open their round of 16 series at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League on Wednesday.Marcelo Toscano opened the scoring in the seventh minute, and substitute Jin Seong-uk rounded out the scoring in the dying moments of the opening match in the round of 16 showdown at Jeju Stadium on the southern resort island.The second leg of their showdown will be next Wednesday at Saitama Stadium 2002 in Saitama, Japan. The aggregat

JEONJU -- South Korean football coach Shin Tae-yong said Wednesday he will rest two FC Barcelona prospects in their final group stage match against England at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.Hosts South Korea will face England at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday for their last match in Group A. South Korea have already clinched a knockout stage berth after beating Guinea 3-0 and Argentina 2-1.Shin said he will not take too much risk against England and decid

South Korea's defense authorities on Wednesday approved a procurement project to improve the military's system to identify aircraft and determine whether it's an enemy or a friendly force.In a monthly meeting on pending arms-related projects, presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo, the military decided to launch the Identification Friend or Foe program next year via both the country's own R&D and overseas purchase, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.South Korean A

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest airline by sales, said Wednesday its decision to reseat a passenger with a physical disability was to protect the safety of its passengers after he took issue with the matter on Youtube.Tim Seward, a 31-year-old industrial designer, was heading to Hawaii from Beijing via Incheon. A Chinese airline staff noticed his prosthetic leg before the plane took off in Beijing on Sunday and asked him to move from an exit row seat to another seat.  "As an a

China is increasingly suspicious of North Korea trying to get in the way of China's ascent as a global power and the resulting decay in China-North Korea relations may open unprecedented opportunities to mobilize China's cooperation in denuclearizing the North, a historian said Wednesday."Great powers, particularly rising great powers ... what they cannot easily tolerate is friends and allies getting in the way of larger pictures. This is what I think has changed with regard to the relations" be

An international youth environment organization said Wednesday that it will hold a peace march and a tree-planting to call for the creation of a "peace forest" inside the Demilitarized Zone bisecting the two Koreas next month. "Some 300 youth from around the world and diplomats (stationed in South Korea) will join the Peace March set for June 23 at Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, north of Seoul, under the slogan of "Above politics. Above borders. Above ideologies," said the US-based International Coo

A South Korean military court on Wednesday sentenced an army captain to a suspended prison term for having sex with a fellow male soldier in a ruling human rights groups criticized as regressive and intimidating. A lawyer for the captain said her client was being punished for having consensual sex with his partner in a private space. She said the captain was briefly treated at a hospital for shock following his conviction. "It's a ridiculous ruling," said lawyer Kim In-sook. She said the militar

President Moon Jae-in's nominee for foreign minister is to return home this week from New York to beef up preparations for a confirmation hearing, government sources said Wednesday.On Sunday, Kang Kyung-wha was named the first foreign minister under the Moon government which was inaugurated on May 10. She has served as a special advisor on policy to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.The nominee is to return home early Thursday morning after about 10 years in New York working for the UN,

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a “madman with nuclear weapons” during a telephone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, according to a transcript of the conversation released by US media Tuesday.A White House readout of the April 29 call characterized it as a “very friendly conversation.” Days after the conversation, Trump said publicly that he would be “honored” to meet with Kim.But in the call, Trump hinted at a possible dramatic escala

The number of childbirths in South Korea sank for the 16th consecutive month in March as the country is struggling with a continuing trend of late marriage and a rapidly aging population, a government report showed Wednesday.About 33,200 babies were born in March, down 13.1 percent, or 5,000, from 38,200 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Childbirths have been on the decline since a 3.4-percent on-year gain in November 2015, along with a double-digit drop for fou

South Korea said Wednesday it will sternly respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations while flexibly considering resuming suspended civilian inter-Korean exchanges.Seoul's assurance came amid concerns that South Korea's plan to seek engagement with North Korea may weaken coordinated fronts in pressuring North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs. (Yonhap)"The United Nations Security Council's discussion on a new sanctions resolution is also part of South Korea's efforts to