Seoul - Shares surged more than 2 per cent Friday on the Seoul stock exchange on s

Seoul - In the face of the global financial crisis South Korean currency reserves have fallen to their lowest level in almost four years, the country's central bank reported on Wednesday.

The Bank of Korea said its foreign reserves, gold and other currency shrank between October and November by 11.7 billion dollars, to 200.5 billion dollars, for the eighth consecutive monthly drop.

The depletion was mainly a result of using foreign reserves to shore up domestic banks during the current market turbulence and lack of interbank liquidity.

SEOUL, Nov. 30 -- Thousands of people rallied Saturday to protest a South Korean plan to double the time irregular employees must work before they must be made full-time workers.

Under current law, employers are required to offer full-time employment to part-time and temporary workers after two years on the payroll. The proposed change would increase the period to four years.

About 33,000 demonstrators turned out for the rally in a Seoul park, the Yonhap news agency reported. About 2,500 riot police were deployed, but there were no reports of violence.

"The government and employers are forcing laborers to stand on the edge of a cliff," the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which organized the rally, said in a statement.

Seoul - A South Korean train headed to North Korea Friday for its last r

Seoul- South Korea on Thursday reported a record current account surplus of 4.9 billion dollars for October as imports shrank faster than exports, thanks to falling prices for oil and raw materials.

The surplus came after the central bank reported a deficit of 1.4 billion dollars in September. The Bank of Korea expected another surplus of 1 billion dollars for November.

The current account is the broadest measure of a country's trade with measures of its goods, services and investment income.

Seoul - Shares surged 3.3 per cent Thursday on the Seoul s