Nearly half of all South Koreans enjoyed music content through streaming instead of downloading last year, a survey showed Monday, apparently helped by reasonable prices offered by local services.According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, 41 percent of South Koreans subscribed to music streaming services, hovering far above other countries.(Yonhap)Sweden followed with 40 percent, trailed by Mexico and Brazil with 39 percent and 26 percent, respectively. The United St

Industry April 17, 2017

South Korea's major shipyards such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. are widely expected to have swung back into the black in the first quarter of the year from a year earlier, largely thanks to cost-cutting measures, industry sources said Monday.According to the sources, Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major shipyard here, is expected to have racked up an operating income of 38 billion won ($3.3 million) in the first quarter on sales of 2.1 trillion won. Last year, Samsung Heavy suffered a loss o

Industry April 17, 2017

The South Korean government on Monday said it will earmark an additional 2 billion won ($1.75 million) to fund athletes' training and help their preparations for next year's Winter Olympics at home.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the latest financial support is a supplement for this year's budget of 33.7 billion won earmarked for supporting national team athletes for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The ministry added the supplement will help seven local winter sports

More Sports April 17, 2017

The official electioneering period for the country's upcoming presidential election began Monday with 15 hopefuls vying for the top elected office.The 22-day campaign period will end one day before the May 9 election, according to the National Election Commission.(Yonhap)A total of 15 candidates registered to run for the election over the weekend, matching the record number of presidential candidates in a presidential election set in 2007.They include front-runner Moon Jae-in of the liberal Demo

Politics April 17, 2017

Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers has gone deep for the first time in the new season.Choo hit a three-run home run off Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners in the top of the second inning at Safeco Field in Seattle on Sunday (local time), erasing the Rangers' 1-0 deficit.Batting seventh as the designated hitter, Choo added a two-run double in the three-run third inning for a five-RBI day and drew a walk in the eighth inning before getting lifted for pinch runner Delino DeShields.In this Asso

Baseball April 17, 2017

The main bondholder of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. on Monday agreed to the debt rescheduling measures proposed by the state-run Korea Development Bank led creditors, paving the way for the troubled shipyard's other bondholders to support the plan.After a weeks-long tussle over the debt rescheduling proposal, the National Pension Service said earlier in the day that it has accepted the plan to keep the troubled shipbuilder afloat.(Yonhap)The NPS, which owns some 30 percent of the

Industry April 17, 2017

Prosecutors on Friday raided a local polling agency over allegations a lawmaker collaborated with it to carry out a biased survey on the upcoming presidential election.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it raided two locations, including the pollster’s office, and confiscated relevant materials, including computer hard disks. Rep. Yeom Dong-yeol of the conservative Liberty Korea Party. (Yonhap)The National Election Commission on Thursday filed a petition with the prosecution see

Politics April 14, 2017

Conservative candidate Hong Joon-pyo vowed Friday to push for the redeployment of US tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea to fend off Pyongyang's growing military threats. National security topped the list of 10 priority election pledges the nominee of the pro-government Liberty Korea Party submitted to the National Election Commission, according to the party.To beef up defense against the North, he will consult with Washington to bring back the US nuclear arsenal that was withdrawn from the

Politics April 14, 2017

South Korea will spend 38.4 trillion won ($33.7 billion) this year on tackling the low birthrate and aging population as such trends can hurt Asia's fourth-largest economy by reducing its workforce and driving up welfare costs, the health ministry said Friday.      The Ministry of Welfare and Health said the budget for 2017, finalized during a meeting of a government evaluation committee, is set to increase 8.8 percent on-year.(Yonhap)A large portion of the money will be spent on creating more j

Social Affairs April 14, 2017

Prosecutors on Friday questioned an executive at retail giant Lotte in connection with a corruption scandal that removed former President Park Geun-hye from office.So Jin-sei, the chief of the group's committee for social contribution, was summoned to appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to bear witness to possible bribery related to its duty-free business.So Jin-sei, chief of Lotte Group's committee for social contribution, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in the

Industry April 14, 2017

Jin Air will increase flight service to Japan and Southeast Asia to offset a drop in passenger traffic from China due to the diplomatic row over the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system on South Korean soil, the budget carrier said Friday. The number of Chinese travelers fell dramatically as the neighboring country has banned the sale of tour packages since mid-March. The move is apparently in retaliation against the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.A Ji

Industry April 14, 2017

Top diplomats of South Korea and Angola will have talks next week to discuss cooperation in a wide range of areas, including the economy and security, the foreign ministry in Seoul said Friday.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with his Angolan counterpart Georges Chikoti on Tuesday, according to the ministry.  South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (Yonhap)They will exchange views on regional and global issues and discuss cooperation in economy, security and other areas, t

Foreign Affairs April 14, 2017

South Korea's defense ministry said Friday it will earmark 246.5 billion won ($218 million) to enhance its cybersecurity over five years to fend off growing threats from North Korean hackers. The ministry's plan to develop technology and train manpower for cyberwarfare was included in its midterm defense plan for 2018 to 2022.   An image of North Korea's cyberattacks in a photo provided by Yonhap News TV (Yonhap)The North has continued to improve its cyberwarfare capabilities. Most recently, its

Defense April 14, 2017

Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, on Friday strove to head off his image as an anti-business interventionist, promising transparent regulations and a market-friendly government. "Do there still remain any concerns among our businesspeople that I, Moon Jae-in, might be business unfriendly? I will tell you for sure. That is the farthest from the truth," he said in a special meeting with members of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Moon Jae-in, the p

Politics April 14, 2017

Korean Air said Friday it will not raise airfare on domestic routes to and from the southern resort island of Jeju to buttress the local tourism industry hit hard by China's decision to discourage its people from visiting South Korea."We've decided not to increase airfare to prop up domestic consumption that can help the tourism industry here," the country's biggest flag carrier said in a statement. (Yonhap)There has been a sharp drop in Chinese visitors from mid-March after Beijing banned the s

Industry April 14, 2017