Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, is tied with his rival Yoon Seok-youl of the main opposition People Power Party at 36 percent support, a survey showed Friday. Lee gained 5 percentage points from two weeks ago, while Yoon lost 6 points, in the survey of 1,000 adults conducted Tuesday to Thursday by Gallup Korea. The other two mainstream candidates -- Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's P

Politics Dec. 3, 2021

A Coast Guard rescue operation was under way Friday to evacuate Chinese sailors from a fishing boat sinking in South Korea's southern waters, officials said. The 1,000-ton Chinese vessel started sinking at 10:59 a.m. after colliding with a rock in waters 22 kilometers southeast of Ganyeo Rock near the southern coastal city of Yeosu, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, according to officials. So far 13 people have been rescued, and nine others are also being evacuated. Coast Guards officials were d

Foreign Affairs Dec. 3, 2021

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook on Friday invited officials from 14 major charities to the presidential office, joining them in promoting year-end donations. Moon and Kim delivered charitable donations to them and complimented their hard work in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the presidential office said in a statement. During the meeting, Moon asked for more people to participate in the culture of donating and sharing. Moon also asked people to pay more attention to t

Politics Dec. 3, 2021

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl is unlikely to face indictment over allegations the prosecution colluded with the opposition party to attempt to investigate pro-government figures when he was prosecutor-general, observers said Friday. The investigation into the alleged collusion floundered after the Seoul Central District Court rejected an arrest warrant for Son Jun-sung, a prosecutor accused of conspiring with the People Power Party, for the second time Thursday. Son's a

Politics Dec. 3, 2021

The unification ministry's next year budget for inter-Korean cooperation slightly increased despite chilled cross-border exchanges in the face of deadlocked nuclear negotiations and the North's prolonged border lockdown, according to officials. Under the budget plan approved by the National Assembly earlier in the day, the 2022 budget for the ministry handling inter-Korean relations was set at 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion), up from this year's 1.48 trillion won. Of the total, 1.27 trillion w

North Korea Dec. 3, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Friday it has signed a 383 billion-won ($325 million) deal to build a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). Under the deal with Monaco's Eneti Inc., the vessel will be delivered by the first half of 2023, DSME said. The latest deal was made in accordance with the 370 billion-won contract with Eneti in May, under which it has an option to place an order for an additional WTIV. The two WTIVs, which are 148 meters long and 56 meters wi

Industry Dec. 3, 2021

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in October on the back of solid demand for food delivery services and electronic goods amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Friday, in the latest sign that a growing number of people are using computers and mobile devices to buy things, ranging from clothes to electronic goods. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.9 trillion won ($14.35 billion) in October, up 21.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statis

Economy Dec. 3, 2021

A top Chinese official in charge of foreign affairs said Beijing supports Seoul's push for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korea's embassy Friday. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, delivered the message during a meeting with Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae who serves as President Moon Jae-in's national security adviser, in China's eastern city of Tianjin the previous day, the embassy in B

Foreign Affairs Dec. 3, 2021

South Korea's Navy looks set to embark on a long-cherished project next year to secure a light aircraft carrier, as the National Assembly passed a 7.2 billion won ($6.1 million) budget for the project Friday in a reversal of an earlier move to slash it. The legislature passed the budget in a plenary vote, reversing a committee-level decision last month to reduce it to 500 million won -- a drastic cut that threatened to derail the Navy's push to acquire the coveted vessel by 2033. With the budg

Defense Dec. 3, 2021

K-pop superband BTS has topped nine of Billboard's year-end charts for 2021, including the year's top duo/group category. According to Billboard on Friday, BTS ranked No. 1 on the lists of Top Artists - Duo/Group, Hot 100 Artists - Duo/Group, Billboard 200 Artists - Duo/Group, Billboard Global Excl. US Artists, Digital Song Sales Artists and World Albums Artists. The band's 2020 hit song "Dynamite" led the year-end Billboard Global Excl. US chart, while "Butter" stood atop

K-pop Dec. 3, 2021

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 on Friday, but the number of critically ill patients hit yet another record high as the country prepares to limit private gatherings amid growing concerns over the new omicron variant. The country reported 4,944 new COVID-19 cases, including 4,923 local infections, raising the total caseload to 462,555, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of critically ill patients came to 736, up from the previo

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2021

The National Assembly passed the 2022 government budget Friday, a record high amount of 607.7 trillion won ($516.3 billion) to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and other expenses. The bill's passage came a day after the legal deadline, as last-minute negotiations between the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and main opposition People Power Party (PPP) caused a delay in the finance ministry's computation work. The final package is an increase of 3.3 trillion won from the gove

Politics Dec. 3, 2021

A long drought is over for Son Heung-min. The South Korean star for Tottenham Hotspur netted his fifth goal of the Premier League season against Brentford at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Thursday (local time), helping the club to a 2-0 victory. Son was also involved in a first-half own goal by Brentford midfielder Sergi Canos. Son's 65th-minute marker was his first goal in the Premier League since Oct. 17 against Newcastle United. He now has five goals in 13 league matches. Across a

Soccer Dec. 3, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as health authorities strengthened virus curbs amid spiking cases and the potential spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) had fallen 15.16 points, or 0.51 percent, to trade at 2,930.11 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks got off to a lackluster start, as the government has decided to limit private gatherings to six people in the capital area and eight in other regions for fou

Market Dec. 3, 2021

South Korea's foreign reserves shrank for the first time in five months in November due to a decline in the dollar-converted value of assets denominated in other foreign currencies, central bank data showed Friday. The country's foreign reserves came to $463.91 billion as of end-November, down $5.3 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first time in five months that the foreign reserves have shrunk. The decline stemmed part

Economy Dec. 3, 2021