South Korean stocks advanced for the second straight session Friday despite the steep hike in the US price gauge, as investors believed the price pressure is still short of triggering talks of tapering by the Federal Reserve. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) increased 24.68 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,249.32 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 17.6 trillion won ($15.8 billion), w

Market June 11, 2021

Police on Friday sent a man to the prosecution on charges of filming and distributing nude photos and videos of more than 1,300 boys and men. Kim Young-jun, whose identity was disclosed by the police earlier this week, is accused of filming about 27,000 nude videos of the victims, including 39 minors, and sharing them online from 2013 until recently. On Friday morning, the 29-year-old appeared in front of reporters for the first time as police officers took him from Jongno Police Station in ce

Social Affairs June 11, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Friday congratulated Lee Jun-seok of the main opposition party on being elected as the youngest person ever to lead a major political party in modern Korean history, praising his win as a sign of transformation for the country. Lee, 36, was elected chairman of the People Power Party (PPP) earlier in the day, taking the helm of the main opposition party as the youngest-ever leader of a mainstream party in modern South Korean politics. Following the announcement of Lee's

Politics June 11, 2021

North Korea remains silent about a key Workers' Party meeting that it said it would hold early this month, raising questions about whether the meeting was held at all and if not, why it is being delayed. Last week, North Korea announced that it will hold a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in "early June" to take "additional state measures for solving pending problems urgent for the economic work and people's living." The session has been drawin

North Korea June 11, 2021

BTS, the seven-piece act that has emerged as the world's biggest boy band, is set to hold a two-day fan event in line with its eighth debut anniversary, the group's agency said Friday. BTS 2021 Muster Sowoozoo, now in its fifth round, will take place through online streaming on Sunday and Monday, according to Hybe. It marks the first mass fan event of its kind since one held in 2019. To make up for the online streaming, Hybe said the event will take place at an outdoor stage so that fans can f

K-pop June 11, 2021

Hundreds of residents on islands off the country's south coast will receive coronavirus vaccines aboard a Navy vessel this month, the military said Friday. The Navy conducted a mock drill with government authorities in the southwestern city of Mokpo ahead of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine inoculation for 638 islanders aged 30 and older slated to kick off Monday. According to the military, the Navy's 4,500-ton Hansando training ship and inflatable boats will be mobilized for the operation. Five

Defense June 11, 2021

South Korea's domestic demand is extending an improving trend as retail sales and consumer sentiment gained ground amid an economic recovery, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry presented a positive assessment of private consumption for the second straight month. Last month, the government said domestic demand is "gradually" improving. "Exports and investment have continued to maintain solid recovery momentum, and domestic de

Consumer June 11, 2021

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it has resumed operations at its four domestic plants following a half-day suspension due to the disruption of parts supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic at a key parts supplier. The carmaker restarted vehicle production at four out of its five plants in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as health authorities completed quarantine measures at a plant of Hyundai Mobis Co., a company spokesman said. Hyundai Motor suspended the four Ulsan plants on Thursday

Industry June 11, 2021

South Korea's exports jumped 40.9 percent on-year in the first 10 days of June on the back of robust shipments of chips and autos, customs data showed Friday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $17.3 billion in the June 1-10 period, compared with $12.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports rose 31 percent on-year to $17.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $612 million during the cited period, the data showed. By sector, outbound sh

Economy June 11, 2021

South Korean actor Song Kang-ho has been named a jury member of this year's Cannes Film Festival, industry sources said Friday. The "Parasite" star recently accepted an offer to join the competition jury of the 74th edition of the world's most prestigious film festival, according to the sources. The full list of the jurors led by American filmmaker Spike Lee will be announced next week. Song will be the fifth Korean to be a member of Cannes' jury, following director Shin Sang-ok in

Film June 11, 2021

Seoul's drive for co-hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics with Pyongyang has come to an end, following a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to name an Australian city as the only candidate up for a member vote next month. Following its Executive Board meeting on Thursday (local time), the IOC said the fate of Brisbane as the host of the 2032 Olympics will be "in the hands" of its members. In what's expected to be a mere formality, those members will vote on Brisbane's c

Olympic Games June 11, 2021

South Korea retail investors have traded more than $1.7 billion worth of shares in AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., one of the social media-driven meme stocks, this month, data showed Friday. Local individual investors' transactions of shares in the top US movie theater chain came to $1.76 billion in the first eight trading sessions of this month, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. AMC Entertainment became the most-bought overseas stock by South Korean retail investors

Market June 11, 2021

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell back to below 600 on Friday, but health authorities decided to extend the current social distancing rules for another three weeks before adopting revamped antivirus measures. The country reported 556 more COVID-19 cases, including 541 local infections, raising the total caseload to 146,859 the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily virus cases stayed in the 400s on Monday and Tuesday but spiked to the 600 range on Wednesday and T

Social Affairs June 11, 2021

South Korea will extend its current virus restriction measures for another three weeks and plans to adopt eased measures as part of a set of new distancing rules afterward, health authorities said Friday. Currently, the greater Seoul area, along with the southeastern city of Daegu and the resort island of Jeju, is under Level 2 distancing in the five-level scheme, while the rest of the country is under Level 1.5. The ban on gatherings of five or more people nationwide will be also in place, bu

Social Affairs June 11, 2021

A scheduled policy meeting between the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government was canceled Friday after an aide of DP Chairman Song Young-gil was confirmed to have COVID-19. "An aide of Chairman Song tested positive for COVID-19 this morning. We're aware that a member of the Seoul city council who the aide met Wednesday also tested positive," a DP official said. Following the news, the party called off its scheduled policy coordination meeting with senior government official

Politics June 11, 2021