The world’s leading authorities in nature, forest and culture will kick off the sixth International Wildland Fire Conference next month, the South Korean forest agency said Tuesday. 　With the theme “Fire of the Past, Fire in Future,” the international fire summit will run from Oct. 12-16 in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, to discuss ways to protect natural and cultural heritage from fire. 　The five-day event will also address international cooperation for a cohesive global fire management strateg

Sept. 29, 2015

Volkswagen's new boss began trying to pull the embattled carmaker out of the wreckage of a pollution test rigging scandal Saturday, as the United States and Switzerland halted the sale of the group's new diesel cars.   The 62-year-old former Porsche chief Matthias Mueller was tapped Friday to replace Martin Winterkorn, who resigned over stunning revelations by US environmental authorities that the German carmaker had fitted some of its diesel cars with software capable of cheating environmental

World Business Sept. 27, 2015

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim speaks at the fourth annual Global Citizen Festival in Central Park Manhattan on September 26, 2015 in New York. The Festival is part of the Global Poverty Project, a UN-backed campaign to end extreme poverty by 2030. (AFP)Some of the biggest names in music and politics from Beyonce to European prime ministers rallied Saturday in a concert aimed at mobilizing action to eradicate extreme poverty.   Before thousands of people in New York's Central Park and a

World News Sept. 27, 2015

Pope Francis embraces a young man in a wheelchair during the World Meeting of Families in the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo)Pope Francis addressed a festival of families attended by tens of thousands of Catholics, offering a frank assessment of the difficulties of life and a prescription for love on the penultimate day of his U.S. tour.   The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff rode through downtown Philadelphia waving to ecstatic crowds, after endearin

World News Sept. 27, 2015

(123RF)South Korea's three mobile carriers are estimated to have posted an improved ratio of operating income to total revenue in the third quarter, industry sources said Sunday, as the firms reduced marketing expenditures.   The combined sales posted by SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. are estimated to have reached 12.5 trillion won ($10.46 billion) in the July-September period, while the operating profit is expected at 1.67 trillion won, the data compiled by industry tracker FnGuide

Technology Sept. 27, 2015

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, left, talks with South Korea president Park Geun-hye during a conference on A New Rural Development Paradigm and the Inclusive Sustainable New Communities Model, Saturday, at the United Nations headquarters. (AP)President Park Geun-hye announced Saturday that South Korea will donate US$200 million in aid to poor countries as part of Seoul's efforts to boost contributions to sustainable development.   South Korea plans to launch the "Better Life for G

Sept. 27, 2015

(123RF)The number of South Koreans using wearable telecommunications devices reached nearly 240,000 at the end of July, data showed Sunday, amid the rising popularity of smartwatches in the country.   According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, the number of subscribers of wearable telecommunication devices soared 67 times to 239,042 in Julycompared with the 3,542 posted in October last year.   The number of subscribers of mobile phones, on the other hand

Technology Sept. 27, 2015

(123RF)The senior population in South Korea hit a record high in 2015, showing that Asia’s fourth-largest economy is about to become an aged society, the state-run statistics agency reported on Thursday.　According to Statistics Korea’s report on senior population in 2015, the number of senior citizens of 65 and over hit a record high of 6.62 million. This is the highest since the statistics agency started began collecting the data in 1960, when it was as low as 2.9 million.　This year’s senior po

Sept. 24, 2015

(Hyundai Card)Hyundai Card launched a special mileage point event that applies to a variety of global fashion brands, the card issuer said Thursday. 　Dubbed “50% M point Special -- Fashion,” the mileage event enables Hyundai Card users to pay up to 50 percent of the shopping expenses at assorted fashion apparel stores with “M points,” or Hyundai’s mileage points. The event runs from Sept. 24 through Oct. 11.　The participating fashion brands range from casual wear to premium jeans, including Theo

Sept. 24, 2015

Shinhan Financial Group chairman Han Dong-woo shakes hands with officials at Shinhan’s Creative Financial Plaza in April. (Shinhan Financial Group)Shinhan Financial Group has become the first Korean finance firm to be listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World for three consecutive years, the group said on Wednesday. 　As the longest-running global sustainability benchmarks worldwide, the DJSI World is the global leg of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, launched in 1999. It is used to

Sept. 23, 2015