Retails sales in 15 provinces and major cities in South Korea increased in the third quarter as people increased outdoor activity amid the vaccine rollout and the economic recovery, data showed Thursday. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, rose in nine provinces and six cities in the third quarter, except for the southeastern city of Ulsan, according to the data from Statistics Korea. "The vaccine rollout helped improve consumer sentiment, and the government's provision of emergenc

Consumer Nov. 11, 2021

Hanwha Q Cells, the solar solutions unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Thursday it is developing an energy storage system (ESS) facility in the US state of Texas, expanding its foothold in the American renewable energy market. The Sputnik ESS facility, to be located in Hunt county, will work as an emergency generator to help the state maintain a stable power supply and ease the power system burden, the company said. It will be installed with batteries of 380 megawatt-hours, e

Industry Nov. 11, 2021

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl said Thursday he will improve the deeply frayed relations between South Korea and Japan as soon as he takes office if he is elected on March 9. Yoon made the promise on his Facebook page, saying he was in the southwestern city of Mokpo to visit a museum dedicated to late former President Kim Dae-jung and happened to see the news of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's reelection Wednesday. "The issues between the two countries are n

Politics Nov. 11, 2021

South Korea's top life insurer Samsung Life Insurance Co. said Thursday its third-quarter net profit plunged more than 50 percent from a year ago, but its bottom line rose 30 percent in the first nine months of the year. Consolidated net profit stood at 159.1 billion won ($134.7 million) in the July-September period, down 54 percent from a year earlier, Samsung Life Insurance said in a regulatory filing. Revenue increased 12.9 percent on-year to 9.09 trillion won in the three-month period, whi

Industry Nov. 11, 2021

President Moon Jae-in plans to send a pot of orchids to the main opposition People Power Party's presidential candidate, Yoon Seok-youl, early next week to congratulate him on his nomination, a presidential spokesperson said Thursday. The orchids will be delivered by Lee Cheol-hee, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, during a meeting between Lee and Yoon on Monday, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. Also on Monday, Moon will send orchids of congratulations to Kim

Politics Nov. 11, 2021

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products reached a second monthly high in October on the back of solid global demand for chips and displays, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $19.92 billion last month, up 21.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The October tally marked the second-largest amount for the month on record and the 17th consecutive month of on-year ga

Industry Nov. 11, 2021

The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized prison sentences of 34 years and 15 years, respectively, for two people convicted in a notorious online sex abuse ring case. The court confirmed the 34-year sentence for Moon Hyung-wook, 24, for coercing 21 women and girls into sharing nearly 3,800 sexually explicit videos of themselves for distribution on a sexual exploitation chat room called Nth Room on Telegram. It also confirmed the 15-year sentence for Kang Hun, 20, for coercing 18 women and girls

Politics Nov. 11, 2021

South Korea's military reported 10 additional COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,105, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases were three draftees of a unit under the direct wing of the defense ministry in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, who tested positive following their recent vacation. A Marine Corps officer and a civilian worker of the Army also contracted the virus from their family members. An Army officer stationed in Iksan, about 180 kil

Defense Nov. 11, 2021

A former Cheong Wa Dae spokesman has been indicted for allegedly assaulting a firefighter while drunk, according to legal sources Thursday. Jeong Yeon-guk, who served as the presidential office spokesman under former President Park Geun-hye, was indicted without physical detention on Oct. 20 by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office for alleged violation of the basic fire service act. The 60-year-old is suspected of slapping the firefighter in the face while under the influence of alcoh

Politics Nov. 11, 2021

NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean online and mobile game developer, said Thursday that its net profit fell 34.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier due partly to poor performance of its new titles. Net profit stood at 99.5 billion won ($84.3 million) during the July-September period, compared with 152.5 billion won a year earlier, NCSOFT said in a regulatory filing. Sales fell 14.4 percent on-year to 500.6 billion won over the cited period, and operating income came to 96.3 billi

Industry Nov. 11, 2021

South Korea's military is rolling up its sleeves to help address supply shortages of urea solution, a material used to reduce emissions in diesel vehicles, by mobilizing a transport plane for emergency imports and unleashing part of its reserves. This week, the military has mobilized the Air Force's KC-330 tanker transport aircraft to import 27,000 liters of urea solution from Australia, and decided to lend 200,000 liters of the fluid from its stockpile to the civilian sector. The military's s

Defense Nov. 11, 2021

South Korea will spare no efforts to help the agricultural industry become more competitive as farms were affected by climate change and a crunch of the global supply chain, President Moon Jae-in said Thursday. "Although climate change and a supply chain crisis have affected the farming industry, the government will make its utmost efforts to further increase competitiveness of our farming industry," Moon said in a message marking the 26th Farmers' Day. To cope with a drive for car

Politics Nov. 11, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,400 for the second consecutive day Thursday as the country relaxed its virus restrictions last week in line with the "living with COVID-19" scheme. The country reported 2,520 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 388,351, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's tally marked a slight hike from the previous day's 2,425, which marked the first time in six days that daily infections exceeded 2

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2021

A group of Korean Americans was set to unveil a new monument in the United States this week to commemorate the sacrifices of US troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. The Korean War Memorial Monument Committee plans to hold a ceremony unveiling the structure, bearing the names of 36,591 fallen US troops, in Fullerton City, Orange County, California on Thursday (US time), the ministry said. The dedication event was timed to coincide with South

Defense Nov. 11, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, taking a cue from the estimate-beating inflation data in the United States that fanned concerns about faster than expected rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) decreased 15.85 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,914.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index retreated as US consumer prices grew at the fastest pace since 1990. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite plunged 1.66 percent, and the Dow Jones In

Market Nov. 11, 2021