A Seoul court issued a warrant to detain the chief of public broadcaster MBC for a week for an investigation into alleged unfair labor practices, prosecutors said Friday. Kim Jang-kyom, the company‘s embattled CEO and president, has refused several times to answer the summons by the Seoul regional office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor for questioning, the Seoul Western District Prosecu...

South Korea's five carmakers said Friday their combined sales fell 1.6 percent on-year last month due mainly to weak demand from overseas markets. The five automakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- sold a total of 631,870 vehicles in August, down from 642,170 units a year earlier, according to the companies' sales dat...

South Korean third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun has been designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants, a report claimed Friday. The San Francisco Chronicle said the Giants removed Hwang, their Triple-A third baseman at Sacramento, from their 40-man roster to clear a spot for catcher Tim Federowicz. Major league rosters expand from 25 men to 40 on Sept. 1 every year. Hwang must now wait and s...

INCHEON -- South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong on Friday vowed to return home with a World Cup spot as the national team departed for Uzbekistan for its last qualifying match. South Korea could have clinched their ninth consecutive World Cup appearance on Thursday at Seoul World Cup Stadium if they defeated 10-man Iran, but instead they settled for a scoreless draw. With the latest result, ...

Major parties agreed Thursday to set up a long-delayed parliamentary vote on Constitutional Court President-nominee Kim Yi-su next week, after the withdrawal of another disputed judicial nominee earlier in the day set the mood for cooperation. The ruling Democratic Party, main opposition Liberty Korea Party, People's Party and Bareun Party reached an "implicit" understanding to vote on Kim durin...

US Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris has vowed to seek close consultation with South Korea to review military options in response to North Korea's threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday. Harris made the remark during his meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo on Thursday at the headquarters of the command in Hawaii. It is part of Song's five-day visit to the US wh...

BUSAN -- South Korea and five Southeast Asian countries surrounding the Mekong River agreed on Friday to strengthen diplomatic and economic cooperation during an annual high-level meeting in the southern port city of Busan. The 7th Mekong-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting adopted a second action plan outlining the long-term vision and priority projects for their cooperation until 2020...

The number of South Koreans traveling to China continued to drop in August, with more people opting to fly to Japan or Southeast Asia instead, industry data showed Friday, as the ongoing diplomatic spat between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a US missile defense system does not show signs of letting up. According to the data by Hana Tour, the country's No. 1 travel agency, 320,000 peop...

Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said Friday he will reinforce the manpower and conduct a reorganization of the Office of International Trade and Investment to effectively cope with possible revisions to the trade deal with the United States. Kim held a video conference with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last month to exchange views on Washington's request for revisions to the South Kor...

South Korean stocks finished lower Friday, as investors continued to remain cautious in betting on risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 5.5 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,357.69. Trade volume was a moderate 277 million shares worth 4.67 trillion won ($4.16 billion), with gainers slightly outnumbering losers 405 to ...

Kia Motors Corp. said Friday its vehicle sales rose 1 percent in August from a year earlier as higher domestic demand offset weak numbers in China. The country's second-biggest carmaker by sales sold 222,740 vehicles in August, up slightly from 220,529 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Sharp sales declines in China continued to affect monthly results, the company said in a ...

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday its sales fell 6 percent in August from a year earlier on weak overseas demand, particularly in the Chinese market. The country's biggest carmaker by sales sold 336,625 vehicles in August, down from 358,252 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Declining demand from China triggered by the diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment...

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Friday proposed forming a permanent consultation body involving ruling and opposition parties to discuss national issues and ways to manage state affairs. "The people are demanding productive politics. And there are many issues the government, ruling and opposition parties must put their heads together to address, especially during the regular parliamenta...

South Korea's central bank said Friday that it has picked four more companies for its coinless society project in the latest move aimed at enhancing convenience for ordinary people. Under the project that began in April, consumers can deposit small change left from purchases of goods into prepaid mobile cards that can be used at convenience stores, discount stores and department stores, accordin...

Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault S.A., said Friday its August sales jumped 28 percent from a year earlier on increased exports. Renault Samsung sold 19,469 vehicles in August, up from 15,240 units the previous year, helped by strong overseas demand for its QM6 SUV, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales fell 9.2 percent on-year to 7,001 car...