South Korea said Monday it plans to import 200 tons of urea from Vietnam next week in the latest move to help ease a supply shortage of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions. The amount is part of 10,000 tons of urea that South Korea hopes to import from Vietnam and other nations to make urea water solution, according to the finance ministry. Separately, South Korea is set to import 27,000 liters of urea water solution from Australia, including 20,000

Foreign Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, will meet with the top US diplomat for East Asia in Seoul this week, his party said Monday. Lee is scheduled to meet Thursday with US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, Rep. Kim Han-jung, chief of the DP international committee, told reporters. Kritenbrink is set to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday on his first visit to the country since taking office in September. He is expecte

Foreign Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people's cross-border movements, data showed Monday. The number of multicultural marriages came to 16,177 last year, down 34.6 percent, or 8,544, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest reading since 2008 when the statistics agency started to compile related data. The number of international marriages sharply fell la

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has been booked on additional charges connected to the prosecution's documenting of judges' traits in the past, an activist group said Monday. The group of self-claimed "judicial justice" activists said it received notification from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on Oct. 22 that Yoon has been booked by the office in connection with its complaint. The group f

Politics Nov. 8, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Monday instructed aides to mobilize all possible measures to stabilize a supply of urea water solution amid growing public concerns about a worsening shortage of the key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions due to tightened imports. Moon also ordered aides to "make utmost diplomatic efforts to secure" urea water solution from foreign countries, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters. The government will take stern actions agai

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

Police will minimize the use of diesel vehicles to prepare for the prolonged shortage of urea water solution across the country, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Monday. The NPA said it has instructed all police organizations nationwide to deprioritize the use of diesel vehicles to cope with the worsening urea water crisis. South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions, after China tightened exports of the

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

Major South Korean brokerage house Meritz Securities Co. said Monday its third-quarter earnings rose nearly 18 percent from a year ago on increased fee income. Net profit stood at 191.2 billion won ($161.3 million) in the July-September period, up 17.7 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating income expanded 15.4 percent on-year to 240.2 billion won in the quarter, and revenue soared 81.4 percent to 6.14 trillion won. Meritz Securities said its third

Industry Nov. 8, 2021

South Korea has invited 19 foreign Korean War veterans ahead of the upcoming annual ceremony commemorating the sacrifices of UN troops in the 1950-53 conflict, the veterans affairs ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said that the veterans from seven countries, including the United States, Britain and Canada, and their family members are set to arrive here on Monday for a six-day visit. The veterans are scheduled to attend the "Turn Toward Busan" event

Defense Nov. 8, 2021

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party, is leading his opponent Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party by nearly 12 percentage points in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Monday. Yoon garnered 43 percent support against Lee's 31.2 percent in the survey conducted on 1,009 adults nationwide on Friday and Saturday, according to the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI). Yoon's rating jumped 10.6 percentage points from the previo

Politics Nov. 8, 2021

Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Monday it has received a US$360 million repair and maintenance deal for trainer jets in Iraq. In the three-year deal signed with the Iraqi defense ministry, KAI will provide repair and maintenance services for the T-50IQ advanced trainer jets operated by the Iraqi air force as well as training programs for pilots and engineers, the company said in a statement. KAI exported 24 T-50IQ trainer jets to Iraq in 201

Industry Nov. 8, 2021

The government on Monday launched an inter-agency team to monitor illegal market activities surrounding urea water solution amid a dire shortage of the key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions due to tightened imports, officials said. The launch of the special inspection team, comprising 31 sub-teams and 108 personnel, came as South Korea has been grappling with a shortage of urea water solution, known as diesel exhaust fluid, and its surging prices in recent weeks, since China

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

South Korea's military reported three additional COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,081, the defense ministry said. A Navy officer stationed in Jinhae, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive before participating in an educational program. A civilian worker of a unit under the direct wing of the defense ministry based in Seongnam, south of Seoul, contracted the virus after a family member tested positive. A civilian employee of the Army, station

Defense Nov. 8, 2021

Two old rivals in South Korean baseball will reacquaint themselves with each other in the penultimate stage of the postseason starting Tuesday. The Samsung Lions will host the Doosan Bears in Game 1 of the best-of-three second round at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The second game will be at the Bears' home in Seoul, Jamsil Baseball Stadium, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. If the series goes the distance, Game 3 will be back in Daegu at

Baseball Nov. 8, 2021

The government is considering using the military reserve of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions, to help address supply shortages in the civilian sector, sources said Monday. The defense ministry and other relevant ministries are in talks over the idea of temporarily lending part of the military stockpile to the civilian sector, they said, amid fears that a protracted shortage of the fluid could cause serious disruptions in the country's logistical in

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest airline, said Monday it will increase the number of flights to Singapore starting this month as the two countries recently signed a travel bubble agreement. A travel bubble refers to a quarantine-free travel partnership between two or more cities or countries with similar levels of COVID-19 cases. Asiana has been operating three flights a week -- on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays -- on the Singapore route, and passengers are required to unde

Industry Nov. 8, 2021