South Korea's vice foreign minister will embark on a nine-day trip to three African nations this weekend to strengthen ties and draw their support for Seoul's greater role in international organizations, his ministry said Friday. Choi Jong-moon, second vice minister of foreign affairs, will travel to Uganda, Rwanda and Cameron from Nov. 6-14, which will mark the first trip in a decade by a Korean diplomat in the rank, according to the ministry. During the trip, Choi will meet with the foreign

Foreign Affairs Nov. 5, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,300 for the third consecutive day Friday, four days after the country relaxed its virus restrictions nationwide in line with its "living with COVID-19" scheme. The country reported 2,344 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 375,464, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. New cases slipped a bit from the previous day's 2,482, but a jump from 2,124 recorded last Friday, the KDCA said. Of the total,

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2021

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the 17th straight month in September thanks to solid exports amid the rebounding global economy from the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank said Friday.  The current account surplus totaled $10.07 billion in September, up from $7.51 billion a month earlier, according to data by the Bank of Korea. The amount was slightly smaller than the previous year's surplus of $10.34 billion. The September figure marked the 17th straight month that

Economy Nov. 5, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, largely amid losses in the financial and bio stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KospiI) fell 10.23 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,972.99 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 0.57 percent to 71,000 won, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.42 percent to 107,500 won, and Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, moved up 0.7 percent to 215,500 won. Among losers, pharmaceutical

Market Nov. 5, 2021

South Korea and Indonesia will hold what could be the final round of negotiations in the Southeast Asian country next week to address the latter's overdue payments for a joint fighter development project, informed sources said Friday. Officials from Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, will meet with negotiators from Indonesia's defense ministry, the sources said, as Seoul seeks to squelch lingering concerns over Indonesia's commitment to the 8.8 trillion-wo

Defense Nov. 5, 2021

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was set to pick its presidential nominee Friday as the two leading contenders appeared locked in a tight race. The nominee will be announced at a national convention at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul following a four-day poll of party members and the general public on who is best prepared to take on Lee Jae-myung, the nominee of the ruling Democratic Party. The four candidates in the PPP primary are former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl,

Politics Nov. 5, 2021

Son Heung-min has scored in his new head coach's Tottenham Hotspur debut, helping the English club to a continental win in the process. Son opened the scoring for Spurs in the 15th minute of their 3-2 victory over Vitesse in a Group G match of the UEFA Europa Conference League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Thursday (local time). This was Tottenham's first game since the arrival of their new Italian boss Antonio Conte on Tuesday. Conte, who won the Italian league title with Inter Mi

Soccer Nov. 5, 2021

The United States remains committed to implementing UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price said the United States also urges all other UN members to do the same to prevent North Korea from further advancing its nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities. "We do remain committed to the sanctions regime. We call on all UN members to fulfill their sanctions obligations under existing UN Security Council resolutio

Foreign Affairs Nov. 5, 2021

The head of KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, was indicted Thursday along with more than a dozen of company officials for allegedly making illegal political donations in the past, prosecutors said. KT CEO Ku Hyeon-mo and 13 other company executives and managers were charged with violations of political fund laws and embezzlement. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office also indicted the company. Ku and the company officials are suspected of having purchased commercial gift certific

Industry Nov. 4, 2021

South Korea's top power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Thursday that it has built an 18-megawatt wind farm in the southern tip of the country. The six 3-megawatt wind turbines built in Jangheung, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, could generate enough electricity to power about 12,000 four-member households per year. Doosan Heavy has 3-megawatt and 5.5-megawatt wind turbines and is developing 8-megawatt wind turbines with the aim of commercial production

Industry Nov. 4, 2021

A former world champion boxer was sentenced to six months in prison Thursday on charges of sexually harassing a woman at a Seoul restaurant earlier this year. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to the 58-year-old man, surnamed Moon, and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual offender treatment program. Moon was indicted on charges of inappropriately touching a body part of a woman who was dining at a table beside his at a restaurant in southern Seoul in June. Moon

Social Affairs Nov. 4, 2021

South Korean stocks advanced Thursday, as the US Federal Reserve signaled "patience" in raising interest rates. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.51 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,983.22 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 759 million shares worth some 14.4 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 580 to 295. Foreigners bought a net 326 billion won, while retail investors s

Market Nov. 4, 2021

Six municipalities, including Seoul, called upon the central government on Thursday to provide support to make up for their losses incurred by the free subway ride policy for the elderly and other people. The Seoul city government said the capital and five other cities -- Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju and Daejeon -- issued a joint statement calling for state compensation for financial losses caused by the free subway use policy for seniors, the disabled and those who have received national mer

North Korea Nov. 4, 2021

Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday released a teaser for the electric SUV concept "Seven" ahead of its unveiling in the United States this month. The large-size SUV concept built on Hyundai Motor Group's dedicated EV platform, called E-GMP, comes with the group's IONIQ battery EV brand's signature design elements, the company said in a statement. The IONIQ brand's design elements include Parametric Pixels, the smallest unit of digital imaging. Hyundai plans to unveil the concept car at

Industry Nov. 4, 2021

KT&G Corp., South Korea's dominant tobacco company, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit jumped 29 percent from a year earlier on foreign-exchange-tied gains. Net profit for the three months ended in September rose to 359.2 billion won ($300 million) from a profit of 277.7 billion won in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. "The won's weakness against the dollar drove up the value of the company's dollar-denominated assets and helped the quarterly bottomline,&qu

Industry Nov. 4, 2021