National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug has met with the leaders of Egypt's parliament and requested their support for Seoul's push for an end-of-war declaration with North Korea, his office said Tuesday. Park, who is on an official visit to Italy and Egypt, met separately with Egypt's President of the Senate Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razeq and Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafy Ali El Gebali in Cairo on Monday. In the meetings, Park explained Seoul's wish to build peace and co-prosperity

Politics Oct. 12, 2021

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday called on foreign residents to actively participate in the country's vaccination program amid virus resurgence concerns. Kim stressed that South Korea does not discriminate against foreigners when it comes to the virus fight and that health authorities are willing to help foreigners get vaccinated. "Although cases from foreign residents in South Korea have been rising recently, their vaccination rate is relatively low," Kim said during a Central D

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2021

North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker said Monday that South Korea should step up efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea, along with its proposal to declare the formal end to the Korean War. Rep. Tae Young-ho of the main opposition People Power Party made the remark during an interview with Yonhap News Agency while in New York for a parliamentary audit of the South Korean Embassy to the United Nations. "We shouldn't lean toward the left or the right for the North Korea

North Korea Oct. 12, 2021

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party said Tuesday there will be no change in the party's nomination of Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung as its presidential candidate, despite an appeal from the runner-up over whether votes cast for dropouts from the primary should be counted. On Sunday, Gov. Lee Jae-myung was named the DP's standard-bearer for the March presidential election after he won 50.29 percent of the vote in a primary, followed by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon with 39.14 percent. Lee

Politics Oct. 12, 2021

South Korea's tax revenue rose for the eighth straight month in August amid an economic recovery and a boom in asset markets, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The country collected 24.6 trillion won in taxes in August, up 600 billion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government said tax revenue has increased so far this year as corporate tax income has risen in line with the economic recovery, while a boom in the stock and property markets jacked

Economy Oct. 12, 2021

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases hovered around the 1,000s for a fourth straight day on Tuesday due to fewer tests over an extended weekend. The country added 1,347 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,334 local infections, raising the total caseload to 334,163, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily number of COVID-19 cases has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7. Health authorities are worried about a possible surge in confirmed cases as more c

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, with tech shares weighing on the main index. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 29.89 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,926.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.7 percent to 34,496 as a global energy crunch increased concerns about inflation. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.6 percent to 14,486. The Korean stock market closed Monda

Market Oct. 12, 2021

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. said Tuesday that it has sought European approval for the sale of its anticancer biosimilar candidate. The European Medicines Agency will review Celltrion's application to sell CT-P16, which references Switzerland-based Roche Holding's blockbuster pill Avastin. Avastin, which kills cancer cells by removing blood vessels, is approved to treat numerous cancers, including metastatic colorectal cancer. Avastin raked in sales of 7.7 trillion won (

Industry Oct. 12, 2021

South Korea's exports jumped 63.5 percent on-year in the first 10 days of October on the back of robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Tuesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.2 billion in the Oct. 1-10 period, compared with $9.28 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 58.6 percent on-year to $17.6 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.46 billion during the cited period, the data s

Economy Oct. 12, 2021

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for boosting the country's military capabilities to counter what he called "hostile forces" against Pyongyang but said the move is not aimed at a war against South Korea or the United States. Kim made the remarks Monday in a speech at a defense development exhibition to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party, criticizing Seoul and Washington over their combined military exercises and weapons development. "The Un

North Korea Oct. 12, 2021

A top South Korean national security official said Monday that he plans to discuss President Moon Jae-in's recent proposal for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War and other issues with senior US officials in Washington this week. Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, made the remarks upon arrival in the US, as Seoul strives to bring North Korea back to dialogue and pave the way for the resumption of nuclear talks between the United States and the North,

Diplomatic Circuit Oct. 12, 2021

South Korea's exports of kimchi climbed nearly 14 percent in the first eight months of 2021 on growing overseas demand for healthier food amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of kimchi reached $111.5 million in the January-August period, up 13.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the food industry. In contrast, imports of kimchi shrank 9.7 percent on-year to $86.1 million over the cited period, resulting i

Economy Oct. 12, 2021

South Korea will face their biggest challenge yet in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, when they visit Iran in their first away match of the ongoing phase. With Iran being the highest-ranked Asian team at No. 22, 14 spots above South Korea, this may call for some adjustments for the Taeguk Warriors. But South Korea head coach Paulo Bento isn‘t about to change the team’s overall approach. “What we know is that it will be a different gam

Soccer Oct. 11, 2021

South Korean Olympic short track speed skating champion Shim Suk-hee has been dropped from the national team, the sport’s national federation said Monday, over controversial text messages suggesting a possible race fixing during the 2018 Winter Games on home ice. The Korea Skating Union (KSU) said Shim has been “separated from” the rest of the national team at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, after the athletes, including Shim h

More Sports Oct. 11, 2021

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), an international organization on fighting climate change, has approved $1.2 billion in funding for 13 new green energy projects, South Korea's finance ministry said Monday. The board of the GCF, headquartered in Songdo of Incheon, west of Seoul, endorsed the funding plan for projects to help 44 emerging nations fight climate change, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The UN climate fund also approved a plan to increase the number of its staff member

Economy Oct. 11, 2021