Seoul, June 28 (IANS) Monthly spending by foreign tourists in South Korea reached a record high of over 1.4 trillion won ($911 billion) in May, marking the third consecutive month foreign spending surpassed 1 trillion won, data showed on Sunday.Credit card spending by inbound travellers came to 1.41 trillion won last month, up 73.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), reports Yonhap news agency.Spending by foreign travellers surpassed 1 tr…
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Washington, June 25 (IANS) The United States is focused on ensuring that necessary conditions for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to South Korea will be met “as soon as possible,” a senior US diplomat said Thursday, noting it “understands” Seoul’s desire to retake OPCON quickly.Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre made the remarks during a hearing of the Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs under the House Foreign Affairs C…
Washington, June 24 (IANS) Two Korean American lawmakers have highlighted their commitment to strengthening economic and other partnerships with South Korea, as Seoul and Washington seek to deepen cooperation on shipbuilding, trade and security, to name a few. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) participated in an event hosted by the Korean American Grassroots Conference, a network of Korean American voters, in Washington on Tuesday (Local time) to honour prominent members of the Kore…
Seoul, June 24 (IANS) The number of South Koreans relocating to new regions fell 1.5 per cent in May from a year earlier to the lowest level in 52 years, data showed Wednesday, amid a recent decline in housing supply. Around 466,000 people changed residences in May, down 7,000 from a year earlier, according to data from South Korea’s Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marked the lowest figure for any May month since 415,000 tallied in 1974.The population mobility rate — which refers to the num…
Seoul, June 24 (IANS) South Korean stocks extended their gains on Wednesday morning as individual investors went bargain hunting following the previous session’s massive sell-off in technology stocks.After opening 1.86 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 272.43 points, or 3.32 percent, to 8,476.27 as of 11:20 am, reports Yonhap news agency.Overnight, Wall Street closed lower as sharp declines in memory chip and semiconductor stocks weighed on investor se…
Seoul, June 23 (IANS) A parliamentary special committee on Tuesday conducted its first inquiry into the National Election Commission (NEC) over an unprecedented shortage of ballots during the recent local elections in South Korea. Last week, the National Assembly launched a special 18-member committee to investigate the cause of the shortage of ballots at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul during the June 3 local elections.”As the chairperson, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for t…
Seoul, June 22 (IANS) The Seoul government has established a task force to identify country-specific cooperation needs across the Middle East to support South Korean companies’ participation in post-conflict reconstruction efforts, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Monday.”To facilitate South Korean companies’ participation in reconstruction efforts in the Middle East and to develop broader economic cooperation with the region, the ministry established a dedicated task force and has actively identi…
Seoul, June 21 (IANS) Protests demanding a rerun of the June 3 local elections marred by ballot paper shortages entered the 17th day Sunday at a ballot counting site in southern Seoul.Protesters continued to chant slogans and hold pickets claiming election fraud outside SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul’s southern ward of Songpa, which was used as a ballot counting site for the elections.As many as 34,000 people were gathered at the venue as of 3:30 pm, with those in their 20s and 30s accou…
Seoul, June 19 (IANS) Seoul stocks traded sharply higher on Friday, buoyed by chips and other tech heavyweights, after topping the historic 9,000 landmark the previous session.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 200.67 points, or 2.21 percent, to 9,264.51, as of 11:20 a.m., after peaking above 9,300 at one point, reports Yonhap news agency.The index followed gains on Wall Street overnight, lead by major chipmakers, including Intel. The U.S. semiconductor company jumped a…
Seoul, June 14 (IANS) A joint team of police investigators and prosecutors will soon question election watchdog officials over shortages of ballot papers during the June 3 local elections in South Korea, legal sources said Sunday. The expected move comes as the National Election Commission (NEC) has taken flak for the shortages that temporarily suspended voting at 26 polling stations, mostly in Seoul, during the elections earlier this month.The team completed a search and seizure on NEC’s server…