South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 500 on Wednesday as health authorities ramp up the country's vaccination drive with a quarter of the population receiving one jab. The country reported 545 more virus cases, including 522 local infections, raising the total caseload to 149,191, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is sharply up from 399 on Monday and 374 cases on Tuesday. The country added one more death, raising the death t

Social Affairs June 16, 2021

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Wednesday it has partnered with US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. to supply its electric vehicles in Europe. The strategic partnership is aimed at promoting the adoption of EVs and the expansion of the EV charging infrastructure in major European cities, Kia said in a statement. Kia will provide the Niro and other electrified models to Uber drivers at discounted prices in 20 European countries, the statement said. The partner

Industry June 16, 2021

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon has stressed the importance of a human rights-based approach to new digital technologies, citing privacy concerns and other side effects, during an international human rights meeting, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Choi made the remarks during Tuesday's virtual panel discussion that South Korea, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Morocco, Singapore and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) co-organized ahead of the 47th regular

Foreign Affairs June 16, 2021

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday after closing at a record-high level for two consecutive days through the previous session on the back of gains from technology and automobile shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 8.52 points, or 0.26 percent, to 3,267.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday, the index reached an intraday-record of 3,269.42. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved down 0.27 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

Market June 16, 2021

South Korean and Japanese businesspeople urged their governments Wednesday to issue special entry permits for fully vaccinated entrepreneurs in an effort to promote bilateral economic cooperation. The call was made at a meeting between Japanese Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi and South Korean and Japanese businessmen, which was hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for South Korea's family-controlled conglomerates. Citing bilateral travel restrictions as the biggest hurdle, busine

Industry June 16, 2021

MADRID -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in received a "golden key" from Spain on Tuesday, as he expressed hope that it would bring big luck to the Korean Peninsula. He also said that he would open the door of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic with the key. The president was given the gift by the mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Mart?nez-Almeida, during a visit to City Hall in accordance with a longtime tradition for a foreign state guest in Spain. The mayor said the key means that the do

Politics June 16, 2021

Sales of South Korean large firms' Chinese units have tumbled nearly 28 percent over the past four years due to a bilateral row over the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system here and other reasons, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. According to CEO Score, 320 Chinese production units of 113 large corporations posted 103.98 trillion won ($93 billion) in combined sales in 2020, down 27.5 percent from four years earlier. The plunge resulted from the spat between Seoul and Beijing

Industry June 16, 2021

WASHINGTON -- Strict and continued enforcement of sanctions on North Korea while also seeking to engage with the reclusive state diplomatically are important to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the nominee for US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said Tuesday. Daniel Kritenbrink also said he would try to find ways to further strengthen sanctions on the North if confirmed. "As I noted at the outset, the Biden-Harris administration is committed to

Foreign Affairs June 16, 2021

With a goal in each half, South Korea beat Ghana 2-1 on Tuesday in a crucial men‘s football prep match for the Tokyo Olympics. SC Freiburg midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong opened the scoring for the hosts in the 41st minute at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, with second-half substitute Lee Dong-jun netting the go-ahead goal in the 65th. South Korea won the first game over Ghana 3-1 last Saturday. This was the last match before head coach Kim Hak-bum finalizes his 18-man rost

Soccer June 15, 2021

A former South Korean top prosecutor plans to officially announce his presidential bid later this month, his spokesman said Tuesday. Yoon Seok-youl, who has been a front-runner in opinion polls, will publicly “show the result” of his contemplation later in June or early July, Yoon‘s spokesman Lee Dong-hoon told Yonhap News Agency. Lee said Yoon will decide whether to join the main opposition People Power Party after meeting various officials. In the latest poll conducted by

Politics June 15, 2021

Financially troubled SsangYong Motor Co. said Tuesday it will launch its first electric vehicle (EV) in Europe later this year as it seeks to speed up its sales process and survive in the changing business environment. SsangYong said it named the EV variant of the Korando EV the Korando Emotion and has begun domestic production to first target the European market in October. SsangYong said it has also been developing an all-electric SUV with a goal of launching it next year to join the global

Mobility June 15, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Tuesday it will seek to pass legislation this month to expand alternative statutory holidays. The legislative initiative, if approved, will enable the designation of official alternative holidays for a broader range of national holidays that fall on weekends, according to party officials. Currently, alternative statutory holidays are allowed only for Chuseok, Korea's autumn harvest celebration, Lunar New Year's Day and Children's Day in May in the case th

Politics June 15, 2021

Japan committed a "discourtesy" by canceling agreed-upon talks between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during the recent Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Britain, the head of South Korea's state diplomatic academy said Tuesday. Kim Joon-hyung, chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, also said on a local radio station that it is "diplomatically impolite" for Japan to press the South to accept its demands in a row over wartime forced

Foreign Affairs June 15, 2021

South Korea plans to deploy moving robots on guard missions and establish an artificial intelligence (AI)-based surveillance system in border areas to beef up border security, the arms procurement agency said Tuesday. Under the "rapid acquisition" project worth 2.8 billion won ($2.5 million), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) decided to introduce the two items this year that employ state-of-the-art technologies. The robot is designed to move along a rail at a spee

Defense June 15, 2021

SEJONG -- Teachers punished for sexual misconduct will be banned from becoming homeroom teachers for a maximum of 10 years, the education ministry said Tuesday. According to the ministry, the Cabinet approved revised enforcement decrees of the Educational Officials Act and the Private School Act to enhance students' safety and prevent secondary damage from sex-related crimes at school. Under the revision, teachers who have been dismissed or expelled from their posts due to sex offenses, inclu

Social Affairs June 15, 2021