The market value of firms affiliated with South Korea's top 10 conglomerates has tumbled more than 5 percent over the past 10 days due to the escalating standoff between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, data showed Sunday. The combined market capitalization of listed companies belonging to the 10 leading groups came to 884.6 trillion won ($772 bill...

South Korean carmakers posted lackluster profitability over the first half of 2017, industry data showed Sunday, falling far behind major overseas rivals. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co.'s first-half operating margin was 5.4 percent, down 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier, industry data showed. Its sister company Kia Motors Inc. also posted a margin of 3 percent, down 2.2 percentage point...

Escalating geopolitical risks surrounding North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs have caused gold prices to soar in South Korea and led to a surge in trade in the precious metal, the local exchange said Sunday. According to the Korea Exchange, a gram of gold changed hands at 47,210 won ($41.20) on Friday, the highest level since April 20, when speculation of a crisis on the peninsu...

Sales of ice cream products in South Korea fell sharply over the past years, industry data showed Sunday, apparently as a rising number of consumers opted for other desserts, including coffee. According to the data compiled by Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., the South Korean market for ice cream was estimated at 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) in 2016, down 39.2 percent from 1.9 trillion ...

South Korea's low-cost carriers enjoyed improved earnings over the first half of 2017, data showed Sunday, as the firms successfully diversified routes amid the diplomatic row with China. The country's six LCCs saw their sales reach 1.6 trillion won ($1.39 billion) in the January-June period, up 39 percent from a year earlier, industry data showed. The combined operating profit also doubled to r...

South Korean securities companies have cut their estimates of third-quarter earnings for major listed companies amid investor sentiment battered by growing geopolitical risks on the Korean Peninsula, a market tracker said Sunday. The market consensus of the combined operating profit of 207 listed companies stands at 48.56 trillion won ($42.4 billion) for the July-September period, down 486 trill...

South Korean companies, led by Doosan Infracore Co., are witnessing better-than-expected sales in China's excavator market as the world's No. 2 economy increased spending on infrastructure, industry sources said Sunday. According to the data provided by Daishin Securities Co., a total of 6,997 excavators were sold in China in July, more than doubling from a year earlier. In the case of Doosan I...

Sales of gold bars, regarded as a safe haven for investors, are increasing in South Korea amid escalating tension with North Korea, industry sources said Saturday. The Korea Gold Exchange, a local trader, said the average daily sales of 100-gram gold bars reached 250 units since Wednesday, rising sharply from 50 units on average. Industry watchers said the demand for smaller gold bars is increa...

GOYANG (Yonhap) -- Former South Korean national figure skating champion Lee June-hyoung said Saturday he's trying to maintain a positive attitude ahead of the final Olympic qualifying event next month. Lee, a three-time South Korean champion, won the men's singles title at the Figure Skating Korea Challenge last month in Seoul and earned the right to compete at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in...

SEONGJU -- The Ministry of Defense said Saturday the advanced US missile defense system deployed in a southern town won't cause any adverse effects to the local environment. Earlier in the day, the defense and environment ministries conducted their joint environmental survey of electromagnetic radiation and noise from the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in Seongju, some 300 kilometers...

Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo on Saturday ordered the military to fight back “resolutely and confidently” against any North Korean provocation, the ministry said. Song made the remark during his visit to Yeonpyeong Island, a Yellow Sea island close to the inter-Korean border. The minister visited military units and paid his respects at monuments in memory of South Korean soldiers k...

BRUSSELS -- The European Union has said that it will convene an extraordinary session next week to discuss the escalating tension with North Korea. EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini will chair the meeting of the Political and Security Committee slated for Monday, to discuss a variety of issues over the North, the EU said in a statement issued on Friday. Earlier this week, the Council o...

BEIJING/WASHINGTON -- The leaders of the US and China once again called on North Korea, Saturday, to stop its provocative actions which recently have sparked high tensions on the Korean peninsular, while vowing to cooperate on a peaceful resolution to the North’s nuclear issue. After the phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the White House ...

North Korea said Saturday that nearly 3.5 million youths and retired soldiers have filed a request to enlist or reenlist in the military to retaliate against the United States over the latest economic sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council. The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North’s Workers’ Party, said a total of 3.475 million people, including students, young workers and retired sol...

The US’ travel ban to North Korea is causing the communist state’s only international college to struggle to find replacement faculty for the upcoming fall semester and cancel a planned international forum, a report said Saturday. According to the Voice of America, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, has decided not to open medical school-related classes during the fall term as it is...