WASHINGTON -- The press secretary for the US Department of State reiterated the importance of trilateral cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan on Monday, saying the countries will be more successful when working together. The remarks from Ned Price came after Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori boycotted a joint press event with his South Korean and US counterparts -- Choi Jong-kun and Wendy Sherman -- following their three-way talks in Washington last week. "When it com

Foreign Affairs Nov. 23, 2021

The United States' recent restriction on South Korean chipmaker SK hynix's plan to bring advanced equipment to a Chinese factory was made out of "legitimate concerns," and more such moves could be possible, Washington's top trade official has said.    US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai made the remarks in her recent radio interview with CBS, a Seoul-based broadcaster, which aired on Monday. She visited South Korea for a four-day run from Thursday.    &q

Industry Nov. 22, 2021

South Korea and Japan held working-level diplomatic talks in Seoul on Monday amid a renewed spat over the former's easternmost islets of Dokdo. The talks between Lee Sang-ryol, the foreign ministry's director general for Asian and Pacific affairs, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came after tensions resurfaced following Japan's protest over the recent visit to Dokdo by South Korea's police chief.    Lee said that Seoul can never accept any Japanese claim to Dokdo, a

Foreign Affairs Nov. 22, 2021

South Korean stocks rallied by some 1.5 percent Monday as a surge in chip heavyweights, such as Samsung Electronics, led the market gain. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 42.23 points, or 1.42 percent, to close at 3,013.25 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 524 million shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($10.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 490 to 372. Foreigners bought a net 796 billion won and in

Market Nov. 22, 2021

South Korea broke ground Monday for an artificial intelligence complex in the southwestern city of Gwangju to foster the related industry, the science ministry said. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, for a major construction project to create an AI complex center, including data centers and facilities in automobiles and energy sectors. A total of 393.9 billion won ($332 million) will be spent from 2020 to 2024 for the project, according to the mini

Technology Nov. 22, 2021

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Monday its COVID-19 antibody treatment has won an emergency approval from Peruvian authorities. The drug authority in the South American country granted the approval for an emergency application of Rekirona to adult COVID-19 patients. The approval was based on recent top-line results from a global phase three clinical study of Rekirona, a pivotal part of the study to obtain more comprehensive safety and efficacy results. Rekirona is a mono

Industry Nov. 22, 2021

Jailed former President Park Geun-hye was admitted to a hospital on Monday for an unspecified illness, officials said. According to the justice ministry, Park was transferred from the Seoul Detention Center, where she is serving her 22-year prison term, to the Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul earlier in the day and was receiving treatment. It marked her third hospitalization this year. Park, 69, was previously hospitalized in January and July in connection to her left shoulder surgery

Politics Nov. 22, 2021

SK hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee said Monday that the company will respond "wisely" to the US-China trade tension that could cloud the chipmaker's plan to upgrade its Chinese plant. "The fourth-generation DRAM chips have been produced in South Korea since July and it is still a long way to go before we can apply the same technology in our Chinese plant," he told reporters on the sidelines of an annual event of Semiconductor Day. He referred to the most advanced 10nm chips produce

Industry Nov. 22, 2021

South Korea's exports are expected to touch an all-time high in 2021 on brisk overseas demand for key products amid the global economic recovery, with their growth momentum likely to continue next year, a report said Monday. The country's overseas shipments are projected to swell 24.1 percent from a year earlier to $636.2 billion this year, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Imports by Asia's fourth-largest economy are likely to amount to $605.7 bill

Economy Nov. 22, 2021

A total of 1,956 people have been apprehended in special drug crackdowns between August and October, with 406 of them formally arrested, police said Monday. Of the total, 1,404 were caught for using or distributing methamphetamine, ecstasy and other psychotropic drugs, another 417 for marijuana-related products and the remaining 135 for other types of narcotics, including opium, cocaine and fentanyl, according to the National Police Agency. Those in their teens, 20s and 30s totaled 1,365, almo

Social Affairs Nov. 22, 2021

In-person school classes fully resumed across South Korea on Monday in line with the country's "living with COVID-19" scheme. All kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools welcomed students without anyone left behind for remote-learning for the first time since schools switched to learning from home or classes being held in shifts since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. The full reopening of schools came after the country kicked off the first stage of "li

Social Affairs Nov. 22, 2021

North Korea has yet to reopen its land border with China amid indications of brisk preparations to ease lockdown measures attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Seoul's unification ministry Monday. South Korea has been closely monitoring signs of the North reopening its border, which has remained closed for nearly two years due to the virus crisis. "Signs of preparations to resume trade have been continuously detected, but it's not at a stage to say trade has resumed or the N

North Korea Nov. 22, 2021

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), and his opponent Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) are neck and neck in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Monday. Yoon garnered 40 percent support, while Lee trailed by only 0.5 percentage point at 39.5 percent, within the survey's margin of error, according to the survey of 1,007 adults conducted Friday and Saturday by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI). Yoon's r

Politics Nov. 22, 2021

Police have come under fire for their inadequate responses to violent crimes, as seen in the recent death of a stalking victim under police protection and an alleged dereliction of duty by two Incheon officers accused of sidestepping a knife attack scene. A man in his 30s was arrested Saturday for killing his ex-girlfriend with a knife at her studio apartment in central Seoul the previous day. The murder sparked public fury, as it was known that the victim was under police protection after suff

Social Affairs Nov. 22, 2021

South Korea's military reported five additional COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,193. An Army officer stationed in Paju, 30 kilometers north of Seoul, tested positive following a vacation. Another officer based at the defense ministry's compound in Seoul tested positive after developing symptoms. Three other service members contracted the virus from their family members. Of the cumulative cases in the military, 85 patients are still under treatment.

Defense Nov. 22, 2021