South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the key index's recent plunge. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 12.03 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 2,975.03 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 396 million shares worth some 8.6 trillion won ($7.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 428 to 415. Institutions bought a net 601 billion won and foreigners purchased 3

Market Dec. 21, 2021

The labor union of South Korea's biggest carrier Korean Air Lines Co. on Tuesday lodged a complaint against a female YouTuber who appears in underwear in a lookbook video before putting on flight attendant uniforms, alleging that she defamed the reputation of flight attendants. The complaint was filed with Seoul's Gangnam Police Station against the YouTuber who recently triggered a sexual commodification controversy by uploading an 8-minute video in which she appears only in underwear and chang

Social Affairs Dec. 21, 2021

Owners of restaurants, cafes and other small businesses plan to hold a rally in Seoul this week to protest the government's implementation of toughened gathering restrictions and business curfews, according an association of small merchants Tuesday. The so-called national emergency association of small business against COVID-19 said it plans to hold the rally Wednesday afternoon near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. The number of participants was set at 299 in line with the latest gathering

Social Affairs Dec. 21, 2021

Families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War in South Korea have produced more than 24,000 video messages for their long-lost relatives in the North, but almost all of them have yet to be delivered, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday. Of the 24,077 video letters produced since 2005, including 1,004 created this year, only 20 of them were sent to North Korea in 2008 following inter-Korean Red Cross talks the previous year, according to the ministry. South Korea has been pushing to hold r

North Korea Dec. 21, 2021

South Korea's chief financial regulator said Tuesday that his agency will take "necessary" action if the spread between interest rates on loans and deposits widens beyond "reasonable" levels. Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks during an online press conference amid criticism that banks and other financial firms are quicker to increase their loan rates than raise rates on deposits. The rate hikes are in line with the central bank

Economy Dec. 21, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. began a two-day companywide global strategy meeting, industry sources said Tuesday, the first since it appointed new CEOs in its first major reshuffle in three years and streamlined its structure after 10 years earlier this month. The biannual meeting used to take place in-person with attendance of hundreds of senior executives from at-home and abroad to discuss the company's global strategy and other core business issues. But it has moved online since last year amid the

Industry Dec. 21, 2021

More than half of South Koreans aged between 40 and 64 held debt last year as more people took out loans to buy homes amid skyrocketing housing prices, data showed Tuesday. The data by Statistics Korea showed that 56.5 percent of people in the age group borrowed money from banks or other financial institutes last year, up 0.2 percentage point from the previous year. The amount of their median debt reached 52 million won ($43,600) last year, up 7.1 percent from a year earlier. Median debt is a

Social Affairs Dec. 21, 2021

Protracted global supply disruptions could send expected inflation higher and add larger-than-expected upward pressure on inflation in South Korea, a central bank report said Tuesday. The report by the Bank of Korea also said that the global "carbon neutral" initiative could rather exert pressure on inflation by causing imbalances in the supply of and demand for materials needed to produce clean energy. "The global supply bottlenecks have been impacting upward inflationary pres

Economy Dec. 21, 2021

The number of South Korean workers who took time off to take care of their children rose 3.7 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid more government support for parental leave, government data showed Tuesday. A total of 169,345 workers took parental leave to take care of their children last year, up 6,089 from the previous year, according to the preliminary data from Statistics Korea. Last year's figure was approximately 2.3 times the number 10 years earlier. Women accounted for 77.3 percent

Social Affairs Dec. 21, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday said it is seeking to establish a secondary presidential office in the central administrative city of Sejong following a pledge from its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. The DP said its plan to set up a secondary presidential office in Sejong, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, will be introduced as a party policy at its general meeting Wednesday. Lee promised in a Facebook post in September that he will establish a secondary presidential offic

Politics Dec. 21, 2021

The NC Dinos filled their foreign player quota for the 2022 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season Tuesday, signing a new outfielder while retaining two starting pitchers. The Dinos announced they have acquired former major league outfielder Nick Martini on a one-year deal worth up to $800,000. Martini, who will replace Aaron Altherr in the lineup, will make $440,000 in salary, $110,000 in signing bonus and up to $250,000 in incentives. Martini, 31, has 112 big league games to his credit, mo

Baseball Dec. 21, 2021

The romance series "Snowdrop" has sparked criticism that it distorted the history of South Korea's pro-democracy movement of the late 1980s, prompting calls for the show's cancellation and withdrawals of corporate sponsorship. The weekend primetime drama on JTBC is about a romantic relationship between Young-ro, a female South Korean university student, and Su-ho, a North Korean spy, before the 1987 presidential election. Fierce criticism arose after the first two episodes this weeke

Television Dec. 21, 2021

North Korea's military is conducting a wintertime exercise, as South Korea and the United States are closely monitoring related moves, Seoul's defense authorities said Tuesday. "We believe that wintertime drills by North Korea's military are under way," Col. Kim Jun-rak, the spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told reporters. The North usually kicks off a regular military training in December, which continues through early spring often involving artillery firing drills.

North Korea Dec. 21, 2021

Ivan Nova, a former 16-game winner for the New York Yankees, is coming to South Korea. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on Tuesday they signed Nova to a one-year deal at up to US$1 million, the maximum amount of money allowed for new foreign players. The 34-year-old right-hander will make $750,000 in guaranteed salary and $150,000 in signing bonus, and he can pick up an additional $100,000 in incentives. The Dominican Republic-native was signed by the Yankees

Baseball Dec. 21, 2021

South Korea on Tuesday suspended quarantine inspections of Canadian beef following the discovery of a mad cow case in the North American country. The agriculture ministry said the move effectively banning imports went into effect four days after Canada confirmed a cow in Alberta was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease. The ministry said the latest BSE case was the "atypical" type and less risky than "typical" cases as it doesn

Economy Dec. 21, 2021