Samsung SDI Co., a South Korean battery maker, said Tuesday its third-quarter net profit jumped 74.7 percent from a year earlier backed by robust sales in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Net income reached 420.4 billion won ($357.6 million) in the July-September period, compared with 240.6 billion won from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit hit a record high of 373.5 billion won, up 39.7 percent from a year earlier. Sales also hit a record high of 3.43

Industry Nov. 2, 2021

A total of 299 people were caught drunk driving on the first night after business hour restrictions were lifted and gathering size limits were raised Monday under the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme, police said. Of them, 89 were caught with blood alcohol levels high enough to have their license suspended and another 200 with levels warranting license revocation, according to the National Police Agency. The remaining 10 were caught for refusing to take a breathalyzer test.

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2021

Construction machinery maker Hyundai Construction Equipment Co. said Tuesday that it has sold 42 large-scale excavators in Russia and Indonesia on the back of growing demand in the two countries. Hyundai Construction Equipment has signed a deal with two Russian mining companies to provide two 85-ton excavators and 19 125-ton excavators specialized in developing mines, respectively, by June next year, the company said in an emailed statement. Under another deal with an Indonesian mining compa

Industry Nov. 2, 2021

The leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) met with a victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery on Tuesday and discussed her calls for bringing the issue to a United Nations committee. Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the DP, said he met with Lee Yong-soo, one of the 13 registered surviving South Korean victims of sexual slavery, and discussed ways to bring Japan's wartime sexual slavery case to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT). The UN body, comprising 10 experts, monitors

Politics Nov. 2, 2021

Two TV series about the lives and struggles of K-pop singers will hit small screens in South Korea next week, their broadcasters said Tuesday. "Let Me Be Your Knight" will premier this Sunday on SBS, depicting a romance between a popular idol singer suffering from sleepwalking and a live-in doctor who has to cure his condition secretly. Former and active K-pop singers take part in the 12-episode drama, with Lee Jun-young, a former member of boy band U-Kiss, playing Yoon Tae-in who is

Television Nov. 2, 2021

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, said Tuesday it has recently begun supplying tires for Nissan Motor Corp.'s Frontier pickup truck.  Hankook Tire has provided the high-performance Dynapro HT and Dynapro AT2 SUV tires in the form of original equipment (OE) products for the pickup truck since July, the company said in a statement.    To enhance its global brand image, the tiremaker has provided its OE tire products for 320 kin

Industry Nov. 2, 2021

LONDON/SEOUL -- South Korea plans to again push to win developed market status from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), the finance minister has said, amid expectations that a possible upgrade could help dispel the undervaluation of the Korean stock market. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks Monday (local time) in London at an investor relations session with global investors to explain his country's economic situations. Hong said the government will make efforts to win the

Economy Nov. 2, 2021

Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to the country has surged more than 5,000 times in 60 years, which helped play a key pillar of now Asia's fourth-largest economy, the industry ministry said Tuesday. In 1962, a local carmaker reported receiving $3 million in foreign investment, the first of its kind for the country, and the total FDI amount that year stood at $4 million, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The foreign investment then spiked drastically to come to $20

Economy Nov. 2, 2021

A sitting prosecutor was questioned Tuesday over allegations of conspiring with the main opposition party to investigate key ruling camp officials last year when Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. Prosecutor Son Jun-sung appeared for questioning at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) for allegedly asking Kim Woong, a prosecutor-turned-lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), to lodg

Politics Nov. 2, 2021

Unification Minister Lee In-young has held talks with the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva and agreed to strengthen cooperation on North Korea's public health issues, his office said Tuesday. Lee's meeting with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took place Monday (local time) after the minister accompanied President Moon Jae-in on his latest Vatican visit. "(The two sides) exchanged opinions on North Korea's COVID-19 situation and ways to cooperate in its

North Korea Nov. 2, 2021

"Dynamite," a megahit single by K-pop superstars BTS, has received triple platinum certification in the United States. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) revealed the certification on its website Monday (US time), recognizing the song for achieving more than 3 million certified units in sales and streams. The awards range from gold certification (500,000 units) to platinum (1 million units), multi-platinum (2 million units) and diamond (10 million units). The certi

K-pop Nov. 2, 2021

The chief diplomats of South Korea and Britain discussed bolstering bilateral cooperation in various areas, such as tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, as they met on the sidelines of a major UN climate conference, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong sat down for talks with his British counterpart, Liz Truss, in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday (local time) on visits there for the 26th Conference of the Parties, according to the ministry. During their meeting, the tw

Foreign Affairs Nov. 2, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 for the second day in a row on Tuesday amid its "living with COVID-19" scheme meant to bring the country gradually back to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 1,589 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 367,974, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload fell below the 2,000 level on Monday after reporting more than 2,000 cases for four days in a row. Of the total, 1,578 wer

Social Affairs Nov. 2, 2021

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was uplifted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 38.03 points, or 1.28 percent, to 3,016.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.26 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.63 percent. The local stock market got a boost from gains in tech and auto shares. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. added 2.29

Market Nov. 2, 2021

Following multiple stints on the injured list (IL) in 2021, Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man can't wait for a fresh, not to mention healthy, start to a new season. Choi returned home early Tuesday after completing his sixth major league campaign, and his third full season with the Rays. He was limited to 83 out of 162 games in the regular season. Choi was sidelined at the start of the campaign after knee surgery, and landed on the IL on two separate occasions with groin a

Baseball Nov. 2, 2021