South Korea's exports of kimchi hit an all-time high last year thanks to its growing popularity, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of the spicy Korean traditional side dish came to a record $159.9 million in 2021, resulting in a trade surplus of $19.2 million in the sector, according to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It is the first time in 12 years that South Korea registered a surplus in the kimchi trade. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish norm

Economy Jan. 9, 2022

The South Korean economy faces heightened downside risks, as the country has tightened antivirus measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 cases and the global economic recovery has slowed down, a state-run think tank said Sunday. Since December, the recovery of private spending has been constrained by tighter social distancing measures to tackle the spike in COVID-19 infections, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment report. "On the external side, globa

Economy Jan. 9, 2022

South Korea's bourse operator said Sunday that it will launch a domestic capital market information portal in English this week to provide more information to foreign investors. The service, dubbed Market Data System, will be provided through the website (http://global.krx.co.kr) starting Monday, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said. The KRX said the website will improve information accessibility and convenience for foreign investors whose influence in the domestic capital market has continuously inc

Economy Jan. 9, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group is expected to achieve 3 million units in accumulated environment-friendly vehicle sales in the first half, driven by new models, industry sources said Sunday. The South Korean automotive group, which has Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. under its wing, sold a cumulative 2.53 million eco-friendly vehicles as of November last year, according to industry people. From January to November, the two carmakers sold a combined 656,479 eco-friendly models in global markets, higher th

Industry Jan. 9, 2022

South Korean conglomerate GS Holdings said Sunday that it has set up a corporate venture capital (CVC) firm to invest in promising startups. GS Ventures plans to invest in local startups that focus on the new growth industries, such as bio, climate change, resource recycling, retail and renewable energy, GS Holdings said. Heo Jun-nyeong, vice president at GS Holdings who is a merger and acquisition expert, was named the first chief executive officer of GS Ventures. GS Holdings holds a 100 per

Industry Jan. 9, 2022

Bae Eun-sim, the mother of a late student activist whose death became a symbol of South Korea's pro-democracy movement in 1987, died Sunday. She was 82. Bae had been hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction last Monday, and was discharged Saturday. She died at Chosun University Hospital in the southwestern city of Gwangju after collapsing on Sunday. Bae's surviving family members decided against an autopsy and they will proceed with her funeral in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seou

Social Affairs Jan. 9, 2022

The Kia Tigers signed former major league pitcher Sean Nolin on Sunday, filling up their foreign player quota for 2022 with three new faces. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said Nolin has agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $900,000. He will make $350,000 in guaranteed salary and $250,000 in signing bonus, with up to $300,000 also available in incentives. Nolin, 32, appeared in 18 major league games for three clubs: two with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013 and 2014, six with the Oak

Baseball Jan. 9, 2022

South Korean alpine snowboarder Lee Sang-ho has collected his fourth medal in the ongoing World Cup season, further brightening hope of a second straight Olympic podium finish in Beijing next month. Lee earned bronze in the men's parallel giant slalom race at the latest International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup event in Scuol, Switzerland, on Saturday (local time). Lee defeated Mirko Felicetti of Italy by 0.44 second in the "small final," or the race for third place. Dmitrii Login

More Sports Jan. 9, 2022

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the third straight day Sunday as the country maintained tightened distancing curbs amid concerns over the spread of the omicron virus variant. The country added 3,376 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,140 local infections, raising the total caseload to 664,391, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload fell from 3,510 the previous day and 3,716 on Friday. South Korea reported 51 more

Social Affairs Jan. 9, 2022

President Moon Jae-in on Saturday attended the send-off ceremony for three firefighters killed in a warehouse blaze earlier this week, expressing his sympathy to the bereaved families. On Wednesday, the fire broke out at a seven-story warehouse in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. The victims were unaccounted for on Thursday morning, and their bodies were recovered later. "Moon expressed condolences to each member of the bereaved families, saying he wishes to deliver consolation o

Politics Jan. 8, 2022

US Forces Korea (USFK) said Saturday it has decided to toughen social distancing rules for its service members amid the growing number of infections among its troops. The USFK had confirmed a weekly record high of 682 additional COVID-19 cases among its personnel from Dec. 28 to Tuesday. It did not offer more details, including the number of breakthrough cases or locations of the infected members. "Due to the continued presence of COVID-19 within United States Forces Korea and South Korea

Defense Jan. 8, 2022

South Korea's military on Saturday reported 22 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,425. Of the new cases, 13 are from the Army, six from the Air Force, one from the Navy, and one from an officer of the defense ministry. A unit under the direct control of the ministry also reported one case. The military said 1,612 are breakthrough cases out of the total military caseload. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2022

South Korean stocks are likely to come under downward pressure next week amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve's tapering policy may be harsher than expected, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,954.89 points Friday, down 0.76 percent from last Thursday, the final session of last year. Stocks traded bearish this week, as investors are worried that the Fed's latest minutes supported aggressive rate hikes and a contraction of its balan

Market Jan. 8, 2022

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the second day Saturday as the country maintained tightened distancing curbs amid persistent worries over a resurgence in infections and the spread of the omicron variant. The country added 3,510 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,300 local infections, raising the total caseload to 661,015, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked a slight drop from 3,717 posted on the previous day and 4,443 t

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2022

The ruling and main opposition presidential candidates shared an understanding Friday that they should have more TV debates than the minimum three rounds required under law before the March 9 election. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) told reporters that he welcomes a proposal from Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) who earlier called for holding presidential debates more than three times. Under the election law, televised presidential debates orga

Politics Jan. 7, 2022