SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea‘s government said Monday that there were a total of 91 failures in operations of nuclear reactors in the country over the past 10 years due to mechanical glitches and other problems. In a report to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the Gori-1 reactor, South Korea’s oldest nuclear reactor, went offline due to an electrical malfun...

LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest handset maker, said Sunday that it will launch a new smartphone model here in South Korea next week that targets young consumers who prefer computer-like QWERTY keyboards. The Optimus Q2 is equipped with a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, 4-inch display, 500 mega pixel built-in camera and wider QWERTY keyboard, as well as being thinner and lighter than ...

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. on Sunday denied reports that it will be building a shipyard in Nigeria. On Friday, Reuters reported that Hyundai Heavy will be investing $7 billion to build a shipyard in the African country, quoting the company’s chief executive Lee Jai-seong. The company, however, said that while Lee was in Nigeria over the Chuseok holidays, he did not mention any plans for a shi...

European fashion brands are enjoying increased demand here after a free trade pact between Korea and the EU took effect on July 1, industry sources said Friday. French brand Louis Vuitton logged 91.2 billion won ($82.6 million) between July 1 and Sept. 14, up 16.9 percent from 78 billion won a year earlier. Chanel sales increased 14.6 percent to 44 billion won during the same period, while Herm...

TOKYO ― Sony Corp. on Thursday said it will be releasing in November a new range of headphones, predicting that sales will soar over the next few years on the back of the smartphone craze. “With this tiny headphone driver, Sony will make a big splash this autumn,” said Katsuya Nakagawa, senior general manager and head of Sony’s Personal Entertainment Division at a press conference. He told The ...

European fashion brands are enjoying increased demand here after a free trade pact between Korea and the EU took effect on July 1, industry sources said Friday. French brand Louis Vuitton logged 91.2 billion won ($82.6 million) between July 1 and Sept. 14, up 16.9 percent from 78 billion won a year earlier. Chanel sales increased 14.6 percent to 44 billion won during the same period, while Herm...

Independent gas stations could start operating under a common brand as early as next year, the association of independent gas stations said Thursday. Independent gas stations can sell fuel produced by any of the country’s refiners, as opposed to being tied to a refiner such as GS Caltex or S-Oil. As such establishments are able to sell at lower prices, the government has been drawing up support...

The number of countries confirmed to take part in next year’s international exposition in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, has reached the target of 100, the event’s organizers announced Thursday. According to the Organizing Committee for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea, the Philippines recently confirmed its participation, pushing up the number of countries taking part in the event to 100. The event will be...

Korean Air announced Thursday that it will provide flights to deliver United Nations aid to famine-stricken regions in Africa. The carrier said that the flights are being operated as part of the U.N. World Food Program, in which it is taking part in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Under the plans, the company will operate four cargo flights to Mombasa, Kenya to del...

Koreans are choosing to get married later than any other Asians, statistics said. The average age of first marriage for men and women in Korea is 31.8 and 28.9, beating that of the Japanese, 28.90 and 28.8, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. “More women are choosing to get married later, or not getting married at all. The trend is common in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong but Korea recently overto...