SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), a battery materials subsidiary of refinery and battery firm SK Innovation Co., is slated to debut on South Korea's main stock market Tuesday, with its post-debut price movement a focal point. Mirroring huge investor interest, SKIET drew a record 80.9 trillion won ($72.2 billion) in deposits from retail investors during the two-day subscription period that ended on April 29. The amount surpassed the previous record set by SK Bioscience Co., which drew 63.6 trillion

Market May 10, 2021

South Korea's minor bourse saw its turnover recently plunge below the 10 trillion-won ($8.98 billion) mark following a partial resumption of short selling, data showed Monday. The daily turnover of the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market averaged about 8.8 trillion won over the last five sessions, far lower than the April figure of the 12 trillion-won range, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The daily turnover began to dwindle on April 30, one day before the country's financial regulator all

Market May 10, 2021

A man in his 30s was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of abusing his 2-year-old adopted daughter to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain, police said. According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency, the girl was already unconscious when her adoptive father brought her to a hospital near Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday evening. After determining she was in a serious state, hospital workers sent her to a larger hospital in Incheon, 40 km west of Se

Social Affairs May 9, 2021

The proportion of stock short selling in South Korea accounted for 3.4 percent of total transactions in the first week of the practice's conditional resumption last week, down from 5.5 percent when the trading technique was banned last year, the bourse operator said Sunday. The combined amount of short selling transactions stood at 3.3 trillion won ($2.9 billion), an average of 841.3 billion won per day during the four-session week and 3.4 percent of the total daily transactions, according to t

Market May 9, 2021

Park Yong-jin, a two-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, announced Sunday he will run for president in next year's election, becoming the first person to officially declare his candidacy. "I will achieve a change of era in the Republic of Korea through a generational change in politics," the 50-year-old said during a press conference held on the National Assembly compounds. "I will create a happy nation and become a courageous and young president who stands up against

Politics May 9, 2021

Nearly 70 percent of South Koreans believe that the use of a vaccination passport, which proves that a person has been fully vaccinated against the virus, will help the economy, a poll showed Sunday. The poll from the Federation of Korean Industries, a major business lobbying group here, showed 67.4 percent expect the adoption of the passport will vitalize the economy. With the passport, 36.4 percent said they would like to take trips overseas, with 41.2 percent of them pointing to Europe as t

Social Affairs May 9, 2021

Debris from a Chinese space rocket fell into the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the science ministry said. Remnants of the Long March 5B rocket landed in waters southeast of India around 11:30 a.m., the ministry said, citing data from the US-based Combined Space Operations Center. The rocket was launched last week carrying a module of China's first permanent space station into orbit. But a large piece of debris plunged back in an uncontrolled reentry. (Yonhap)

Defense May 9, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. is mulling multiple new smartphone launches in August, industry sources said Sunday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand its leadership in the mobile market. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor, is in talks with local mobile carriers over releasing its new smartphone models, including the Galaxy S21 FE, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip2, in late August, according to the sources. If confirmed, the new smartphones will be launched earlier th

Industry May 9, 2021

From K-pop dynamo BTS to boy band brand NCT's subunit NCT Dream, some of the scene's biggest acts as well as rookie groups are getting ready to come back with new music this month. At the forefront is BTS. The seven-piece group, which released Japanese single "Film Out" in April, is set to drop new song "Butter" on May 21. The English single, which the group's agency Big Hit Music described as a "fun and upbeat summer song," will first be released globally in a d

K-pop May 9, 2021

A third plane carrying South Koreans arrived from India on Sunday, transporting 164 business officials out of the virus-ravaged country. The special flight operated by Asiana Airlines arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from New Delhi, mostly carrying officials who had been sent to oversee the construction of a new Samsung Display plant. South Korea has flown two special flights out of India in recent days -- one from Chennai carrying 172 Korean residents and another from

Social Affairs May 9, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 600 on Sunday mainly due to fewer tests as health authorities try to boost the nationwide vaccination drive to contain the spread. The country reported 564 more COVID-19 cases, including 522 local infections, raising the total caseload to 127,309, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Sunday's figure was sharply down from 701 from the previous day. The daily caseload usually spikes after weekends as more people g

Social Affairs May 9, 2021

South Korea said Sunday it will strengthen its monitoring system against cryptocurrency-related phishing websites by working with the National Police Agency amid recent surges in prices of virtual money. The ICT ministry said there have recently been increasing reports of phishing attempts via text messages that lead cryptocurrency users to enter their exchange IDs and passwords on fake websites to steal them and access their accounts. The ministry said it found and blocked 32 such phishing we

Market May 9, 2021

Presidential hopefuls of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) are competing to woo support from young voters in the run-up to next year's election, as the party tries to recover lost confidence from 20- and 30-something voters as seen in its crushing defeat in last month's by-elections. Rep. Lee Nak-yon, former prime minister and the DP's previous chairman, on Thursday proposed funneling state tax money procured from owners of high-priced homes, commonly referred to as the comprehensive real estate

Politics May 9, 2021

Former Prime Minister Lee Han-dong died of a chronic disease Saturday at the age of 87, his close aide said. "The former prime minister died at his home at around noon," the aide told Yonhap News Agency. Lee served six terms as a lawmaker from 1981-2000 and as the prime minister from 2000-2002 under then President Kim Dae-jung. In 2002, he made an unsuccessful presidential bid with a pledge to eradicate regionalism and corruption. In 2004, he was indicted without detention on charg

Social Affairs May 8, 2021

Youn Yuh-jung made a triumphant return to South Korea on Saturday, nearly two weeks after winning an Oscar for her role in the immigrant film "Minari." The South Korean actress, wearing a green bomber jacket, jeans and a white mask, waved to reporters as she arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from the United States earlier in the day. She did not hold a news conference at the airport -- something that celebrities usually do as part of a hero's welcome -- due to

Film May 8, 2021