Almost all members of K-pop girl group Lovelyz will leave their management agency Woollim Entertainment this month when their contracts with the company expire, the agency said. "Exclusive contracts between our company and Lovelyz members are set to expire on Nov. 16," it said in a statement Monday. "After a long in-depth discussion, seven members -- Yoo Ji-ae, Seo Ji-soo, Lee Mi-joo, Kei, Jin, Ryu Su-jeong and Jung Ye-in -- have decided to prepare for another start." But t

K-pop Nov. 2, 2021

Senior officials from South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington on Monday on ways to restart dialogue with North Korea, the State Department said. US Deputy Special Representative for the DPRK Jung Pak hosted a "deputy-level consultation meeting" with her South Korean counterpart, Rim Kap-soo, according to the department. "The two sides discussed the current situation on the Korean Peninsula; prospects for humanitarian cooperation; and the potential for dialogue

North Korea Nov. 2, 2021

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest clip in almost a decade in October due to last year's low base effect and surging oil prices, data showed Tuesday, raising expectations that the central bank will hike its key rate this month. The consumer prices rose 3.2 percent in October from a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.5 percent on-year gain in September, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a month earlier, consumer inflation inched up 0.1 percent. I

Economy Nov. 2, 2021

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, said Tuesday its annual sales of eco-friendly vehicles will likely exceed 100,000 units this month amid their growing popularity here. It would mark the first time that Hyundai's annual sales of green vehicles have surpassed the 100,000-unit level. The projection comes as domestic sales of Hyundai's hybrids, electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles have spiked nearly 40 percent in the first 10 months of this year from a year earlier. In

Industry Nov. 2, 2021

New home permits in South Korea jumped nearly 23 percent in the first nine months of the year amid high housing prices, government data showed Tuesday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 358,990 units in the January-September period, up 22.5 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 62.2 percent to 62,516 over the cited period. New home permits issu

Economy Nov. 2, 2021

President Moon Jae-in plans to report South Korea’s raised goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at U.N. climate talks on Monday, as the COP26 talks opened with a sense of urgency regarding the need to limit global warming.  More than 100 heads of state, including Moon, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, gathered in Glasgow, Scotland‘s biggest city, for the U.N. climate summit, which came a day after leaders of G-20 major economies stopped s

Foreign Affairs Nov. 1, 2021

Kakao Pay, the mobile payment service arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea‘s top messenger app, will make its market debut on Wednesday, the country’s bourse operator said Monday. Kakao Pay has set the IPO price at 90,000 won (US$76.50) per share, which will enable the company to raise 1.53 trillion won through the initial public offering. Kakao Pay‘s market capitalization is expected to reach 11.7 trillion won after its market debut, which would rank the fintech firm among the to

Market Nov. 1, 2021

South Korea approved a plan Monday to develop homegrown lightweight torpedoes by 2028 to enhance the Navy's anti-submarine capabilities, the state arms procurement agency said. Presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, the Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the project worth 160 billion won ($135 million), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. The move came after North Korea test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile last month, in a development tha

Defense Nov. 1, 2021

South Korea plans to gradually lift restrictions on arrivals of migrant workers prompted by the pandemic starting later this month as the country has begun to take steps to return to normalcy, the labor minister said Monday. "In light of the shift to 'living with COVID-19' scheme, we're going to push for a measure to gradually ease entry restrictions on foreign workers," labor minister An Kyung-duk said during a visit to a workplace that employs migrant workers. All foreign workers w

Social Affairs Nov. 1, 2021

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Monday its sales fell 19 percent last month from a year earlier as extended global chip shortages weighed on its production. Kia sold a total of 217,872 vehicles in October, down from 268,729 units a year ago, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales dropped 21 percent on-year to 37,837 units last month from 48,009, while exports fell 18 percent to 180,035 from 220,720 during the cited period, it said. Kia said the continued chip

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

South Korean stocks advanced Monday after a three-day loss, largely on investors' move to cash in the recent gains and strong exports in October. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 8.26 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 2,978.94 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 469 million shares worth some 9.3 trillion won ($7.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 496 to 358. Foreigners sold a net 358 billion won, whil

Market Nov. 1, 2021

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Monday its sales fell 21 percent last month from a year earlier due mainly to global chip shortages. Hyundai Motor sold 307,039 vehicles in October, down from 387,197 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales declined 12 percent to 57,813 units from 65,669, as the lack of semiconductor parts continued to weigh on vehicle production and sales, it said. Overseas sales dropped 23 percent to 249,226 from 321,528 a

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

The justice ministry acknowledged Monday that human rights violations occurred at a detention center for illegal immigrants in June after an investigation into allegations that an inmate suffered torture-like treatment. The investigation came after the inmate from Morocco in his 30s filed a petition with the national human rights watchdog, claiming he was maltreated while being detained in June at an immigration processing center in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul. He accused offi

Politics Nov. 1, 2021

Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of Renault S.A., said Monday its sales jumped 54 percent last month from a year earlier on strong exports. Renault Samsung sold 11,627 vehicles in October, up from 7,533 units a year earlier amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales fell 30 percent on-year to 5,002 units from 7,141, while exports soared to 6,625 units from 392 on robust sales of its SUV models, it said. Strong overseas demand for th

Industry Nov. 1, 2021

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and China held a videoconference Monday to discuss measures for an early resumption of the Korean peace process, including the proposed declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Noh Kyu-duk, the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, held the virtual talks with his Chinese counterpart Liu Xiaoming to explain Seoul's efforts to revive stalled dialogue with North Korea and requested

Foreign Affairs Nov. 1, 2021