South Korea's producer prices gained 0.9 percent on-month in March due to a modest rise in oil prices, extending their monthly gains for the fifth straight month, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 106.85 in March, compared with 105.91 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index advanced 3.9 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods fell 2.1 percent on

Economy April 21, 2021

The South Korean Embassy in Indonesia has shut down temporarily after the ambassador tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday.  The embassy said it will halt operations through Thursday after reporting virus patients, including the South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Park Tae-sung.  Workers at the embassy, as well as those at the South Korean mission to ASEAN in Jakarta, are currently being tested for the novel coronavirus, officials said. According to World Health Orga

Foreign Affairs April 20, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's largest automotive conglomerate, is mulling the sale of its railway business affiliate, industry sources said Tuesday. The group is considering selling Hyundai Rotem's loss-making railway business, according to the sources. Hyundai Motor, the group's crown jewel, is the largest shareholder in Hyundai Rotem, having held a 33.77 percent stake as of last year, which is estimated to value around 1 trillion won ($897 million) with the management premium.  Hy

Mobility April 20, 2021

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun has relayed South Korea's concerns over Japan's plan to release radioactive water into the sea during his visit to Colombia early this week, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.  He explained Seoul's position on Tokyo's planned discharge of the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, when he met with his Colombian counterpart, Francisco Echeverri, the ministry said in a release.  Choi also mentioned t

Foreign Affairs April 20, 2021

A "vaccine swap" agreement that South Korea is looking at with the United States could be a loan deal in which the country receives surplus COVID-19 vaccines from the US and gives the same amount back later, sources said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said during a parliamentary session earlier in the day that the country is discussing a "vaccine swap" arrangement with the US "fairly seriously" and the issue was a key focus in his talks with US Special Pr

Foreign Affairs April 20, 2021

The city of Seoul is introducing a new rule under which officials involved in sexual crimes will be expelled immediately, Mayor Oh Se-hoon said on Tuesday. Oh made the announcement during a press briefing arranged to formally apologize to the victim of alleged sexual harassment by his predecessor Park Won-soon. Park was found dead last July in an apparent suicide amid allegations that he harassed a female secretary. "I declare the immediate introduction of a 'one-strike-and-you're-out' ru

Politics April 20, 2021

South Korea has identified a total of 321 cases of "emerging" variants of the novel coronavirus since December, health authorities said Tuesday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said these variants are different from the three most-known mutations from Britain, South Africa and Brazil that are known to be more transmissible. There is no indication yet whether these new strains are more deadly than current circulating variants of the virus, the KDCA said. Of the

Social Affairs April 20, 2021

Dividends paid to the chiefs of South Korea's top 50 business groups jumped 37.1 percent last year from a year earlier as major companies delivered more returns to shareholders, industry data showed Tuesday. A total of 39 heads of the nation's 50 conglomerates received a combined 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in 2020, according to the data by the local research firm Korea CXO Institute. Dividends to late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee amounted to 862.6 billion won last year, which acco

Market April 20, 2021

K-pop girl group TWICE is set to appear on the US TV series "The Kelly Clarkson Show" next week, its management agency said Tuesday. The K-pop act will perform "Cry For Me," its latest single released in December, on the popular American daytime show on April 27 (US time), according to JYP Entertainment. The up-tempo dance number has topped iTunes charts in 20 countries and regions, including Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand, and peaked at No. 2 on the worldwide iTunes song c

K-pop April 20, 2021

South Korea is "earnestly discussing" forging a swap deal with the United States to secure COVID-19 vaccines, the South Korean foreign minister said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong revealed the bilateral consultation under way between Seoul and Washington, during a parliamentary session. "Currently, (South Korea) is discussing (the potential swap deal) with the US side quite earnestly," the foreign minister said, responding to a query by Rep. Park Jin of the main o

Foreign Affairs April 20, 2021

The defense ministry said Tuesday any change in the country's military system, such as the introduction of volunteer or female conscription systems, should be decided based on social consensus. Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan made the remark during a regular press briefing after an online petition demanding female conscription earned more than 100,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning. Under the current law, all able-bodied South Korean men must carry out compulsory military service for ab

Defense April 20, 2021

The chief of a presidential committee offered to resign on Tuesday, holding himself responsible for the committee's now-retracted decision to reinvestigate the deadly 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship by North Korea. Earlier this month, the Presidential Truth Commission on Deaths in the Military retracted the decision made in December to launch a fresh probe into the case in which the warship Cheonan went down near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two

Politics April 20, 2021

South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed Tuesday that Asian countries strengthen multilateral cooperation with inclusiveness enhanced against the spread of protectionism and unilateralism. He was delivering a video message to the 2021 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held in the Chinese province of Hainan. The conference, themed "A World in Change," has brought together Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of several other Asian nations both online and offline. Participants included s

Politics April 20, 2021

Doosan Group said Tuesday that it has been gearing up to tap the global hydrogen market by forming a task force to conduct market research. Doosan Group formed a task force under its holding company Doosan Corp. to conduct the project that will review the markets of production, distribution and utilization of hydrogen, the group said. Doosan has affiliates under its wing such as power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., fuel cell manufacturer Doosan Fuel Cell Co. and

Industry April 20, 2021

A group of South Korean nuclear researchers on Tuesday called on Japan to withdraw its decision to release contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, urging for more information over the plan. South Korea has expressed concerns over Japan's announcement last week to release about 1.3 million tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the plant, citing potential health risks. A group of experts at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute said J

Social Affairs April 20, 2021