Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin has inspected the military's combat readiness posture along the inter-Korean maritime border, aboard an Aegis-equipped destroyer.   "If the enemy provokes, retaliate severely with speed and accuracy," Lee instructed a commander of an Air Force flight team during a combat simulation performed inside the Sejong the Great destroyer in the Yellow Sea near the Northern Limit Line. South Korean Air Force performs an air drill across the coastal city of Pyeong

Defense Jan. 1, 2016

(123RF)Korea Life Insurance Association, the country’s leading representative of the life insurance industry, called for stronger punishment for insurance fraud crimes. 　“Insurance fraud is a grave crime that undermines public interest, but its relatively weak penalties are fueling moral hazards among a wide range of ordinary people,” KLIA said in a press release. 　In 2014, authorities caught insurance fraud cases worth 600 billion won ($512 million), up 15.6 percent from a year ago. Yet that nu

Dec. 30, 2015

Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong attends his year-end press meeting in central Seoul, Tuesday. (FSC)Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong pinpointed household debt and corporate debt as the biggest potential problems for the Korean economy, calling for “fierce reform” to guard against it. 　“The debt problem, (particularly) household debt and corporate debt, is the biggest risk in our economy,” the chief financial regulator said in his year-end press meeting in

Dec. 29, 2015

Erik Stoel (BAT Korea)Erik Stoel, marketing director of British American Tobacco Korea, has been appointed its new chief executive, the company announced Tuesday.　Stoel will take office on Jan. 1, replacing the incumbent CEO Guy Meldrum who has been transferred as head of BAT Australasia. 　“Over the past 3 years, in his role as marketing director of BAT Korea, Mr. Stoel has made a substantial contribution to the company by strengthening the company’s flagship brand Dunhill to establish BAT Korea

Industry Dec. 29, 2015

Korea has resumed exporting kimchi to mainland China after five years, South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry said Thursday. The first 890-kilogram batch of “Jongga” kimchi, a kimchi brand of Daesang FNF, left Korean waters on Dec. 6 and passed the Chinese customs on Dec. 18, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Upon obtaining the sanitary certificate, the Korean-made kimchi is now on sale at eight branches of Lotte Mart in China. The Korean-made kimchi is packaged in sm

Industry Dec. 24, 2015

The state-run Korea Development Bank on Thursday picked the Mirae Asset consortium as the preferred bidder for KDB Daewoo Securities, the country’s second-largest brokerage by capital. The Mirae Asset consortium -- comprising Mirae Asset Securities and Mirae Asset Global Investments -- offered the highest 2.4 trillion won ($2.06 billion) for a 43 percent stake in the brokerage house and 100 percent of KDB’s asset management operation.  (Yonhap)Mirae’s offer price was far higher than the market v

Dec. 24, 2015

The aging population could trigger new financial risks in the property market as an increasing number of retirees are expected to sell homes to repay debt, the Bank of Korea said Tuesday.　The senior householders’ sell move could trigger oversupply of properties, pulling down property prices, eventually adding to household debt and decreasing the gross domestic product and economic growth rate.　“The senior householders can pose new risks in the property market in their moves to deleverage their h

Dec. 22, 2015

The One Gold Label (KT&G)KT&G, the country’s largest tobacco-maker by market share, on Monday launched the premium edition of its The One brand with micro charcoal filters. 　Dubbed “The One Gold Label,” the new edition applies triple-layered micro charcoal filters that maximize the clean finish, in addition to premium quality tobacco leaves, the tobacco-maker said in a press release. 　The gold label came after three years of research and development, targeting demand for premium cigarettes, KT&G

Industry Dec. 21, 2015

KDB’S QINGDAO BRANCH -- Korea Development Bank chairman Hong Ky-ttack (seventh from left) poses with Shandong Province Vice Gov. Xia Geng (sixth from left), South Korean Consul General in Qingdao Lee Soo-john, and bank officials of both countries at the launching ceremony of KDB’s Qingdao branch in Shandong province on Friday. (KDB)　　

Dec. 20, 2015

INVESTMENT TIES WITH INDONESIA -- Woori Bank president Lee Kwang-goo (left) poses with Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board chairman Franky Sibarani after signing a mutual cooperative agreement for strategic partnership in downtown Seoul on Friday. (Woori Bank)

Dec. 20, 2015

(123RF)Korean housing market transactions for speculation turned bearish in December, amid toughened household debt control policies, housing oversupply and uncertainties from the U.S. rate hike, municipal government data showed on Sunday. 　As of Dec. 18, the apartment market transactions stood at 5,470 deals, accounting for only 55 percent of the monthly transactions in November, according to Seoul Property Information Plaza, a housing market information provider operated by the municipality of

Dec. 20, 2015

South Korea‘s economy must firmly be led by the private sector if it wants to achieve sustainable growth, a public committee dedicated to formulating the country’s long-term growth strategy said Thursday.Korea International Trade Association CEO Kim In-ho attends a public committee dedicated to formulating the country’s long-term growth strategy in central Seoul, Thursday. The meeting was cochaired by Kim and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan.(Yonhap)　The committee, made up of economists from loc

Dec. 17, 2015