South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A fire destroyed about 60 makeshift homes in a densely packed neighborhood surrounded by some of the wealthiest streets of South Korea’s ultramodern capital Friday.

Firefighters extinguished the flames in Seoul’s Guryong village within about five hours, and no injuries or deaths were reported.

Shin Yong-ho, an official at the fire department of Seoul’s Gangnam district, said rescue workers have searched areas affected by the fire but all residents were believed to have safely evacuated.

SEOUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense has asked its forces stationed in South Korea to provide equipment to help Ukraine in the war against Russia, the U.S. military said on Thursday, adding the move has "zero impact" on its operations in the Asian country.

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), which has some 28,500 troops in South Korea, said the move is part of U.S. efforts to help Ukraine with its inventories.

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korean police said Friday that it referred 23 government officials to the prosecution on professional negligence and other charges after wrapping up a 74-day investigation into the deadly crowd crush that occurred in late October at the Itaewon district of Seoul during Halloween celebrations.

The special police investigation team concluded that relevant authorities failed to take preventive measures against possible incidents that could have been predicted ahead of the scheduled event.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean police are seeking criminal charges including involuntary manslaughter and negligence against 23 officials, about half of them law enforcement officers, for a lack of safety measures they said were responsible for a crowd surge that killed nearly 160 people.

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Korean finance minister on Thursday warned of economic difficulties this year due to the so-called three-high phenomenon, including high inflation, high interest rates and high debts.

"This year will likely be very challenging for the entire world as well as for (South) Korea as the effect of monetary tightening in major economies spreads in full swing amid the prolongation of high inflation, high interest rates and high debts," Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho told a press conference with foreign media in Seoul.

SEOUL, Jan 7 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s tech firm, LG Electronics, saw its operating profit tumble in the fourth quarter of last year, the company said yesterday.

Preliminary operating profit came to 65.5 billion won (51.9 million U.S. dollars) during the Oct-Dec quarter, down 91.2 percent from a year earlier.

It missed market expectations of about 319 billion won (252.8 million dollars).

Preliminary revenue grew 5.2 percent over the year, to hit a record high of 21.86 trillion won (17.3 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter.

SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday he would consider suspending a 2018 inter-Korean military pact if the North violates its airspace again, his office said, amid tension over a recent intrusion by North Korean drones.

Yoon made the comment after being briefed on countermeasures to North Korean drones that crossed into the South last week, calling for building an "overwhelming response capability that goes beyond proportional levels," according to his press secretary, Kim Eun-hye.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea maintained that Seoul and Washington are discussing its involvement in U.S. nuclear weapons management in the face of intensifying North Korean threats, after President Joe Biden denied that the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises.

The purported difference came as South Korea is seeking a greater U.S. security commitment after North Korea’s record number of missile tests and escalating nuclear doctrine last year caused security jitters among many people in the South.

SEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korea's antitrust regulator said it would impose a 2.85 billion won ($2.2 million) fine on Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) for failing to tell its customers about the shorter driving range of its electric vehicles (EVs) in low temperatures.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said that Tesla had exaggerated the "driving ranges of its cars on a single charge, their fuel cost-effectiveness compared to gasoline vehicles as well as the performance of its Superchargers" on its official local website since August 2019 until recently.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea confirmed Tuesday that Seoul and Washington are discussing its involvement in U.S. nuclear weapons management in the face of intensifying North Korean nuclear threats, after President Joe Biden denied that the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises.