South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 2,000s for a third straight day Friday, following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,176 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,145 local infections, raising the total caseload to 327,976, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections rebounded to over 2,000 on Wednesday after falling below the 2,000 mark Monday and Tuesday

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2021

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on easing concerns of the debt ceiling impasse in the United States and hopes of robust third-quarter earnings by local companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 9.33 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,968.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index got off to a strong start after overnight Wall Street gains, as a temporary resolution of the debt-ceiling tussle is due for a vote in Washington. Overnight, the

Market Oct. 8, 2021

South Korea plans to take active actions to stabilize inflation as the country's consumer prices are expected to grow at a faster pace in October than the previous month, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the consumer prices are forecast to grow at a higher rate than 2.5 percent in October due largely to last year's low base effect. The government offered one-off state subsidies for mobile phone bills to specific age groups in October last ye

Economy Oct. 8, 2021

South Korea on Friday drastically raised the level of its greenhouse gas reduction goal from 26.3 percent to 40 percent by 2030, as part of its broader aim to slowly phase out conventional resources and go carbon neutral by 2050. The revised aim in national greenhouse gas reduction, or nationally determined contribution (NDC), by 2030 was reached in a meeting of the presidential committee on carbon neutrality and related government ministries. The goal calls for the reduction in greenhouse gas e

Social Affairs Oct. 8, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it expected to post record sales in the third quarter of the year, apparently buoyed by its semiconductor business. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant estimated its sales at 73 trillion won ($61.2 billion) for the July-September period, up 9 percent from a year ago. Samsung also projected third-quarter operating profit at 15.8 trillion won, up 27.9 percent from a year earlier. Should the preliminary earnings results stand, its sales will be

Industry Oct. 8, 2021

Real estate rental businesses in South Korea have been on a roll over the past five years amid a booming property market, data showed Friday.Property leasing companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy registered 453.3 trillion won ($381 billion) in combined revenue between 2016-20, according to the data that the Korea Customs Office submitted to the parliament for an annual audit. Their revenue had been on a steady rise till 2019 before edging down in 2020 amid the economic fallout from the cor

Industry Oct. 8, 2021

The United States supports efforts to alleviate the suffering of North Korean people and is engaged in efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to such people in the reclusive North, a State Department spokesman said Thursday. Ned Price also noted the US would support humanitarian assistance for the North even if its efforts to denuclearize the country do not move forward. "Even when we disagree with a particular regime, we believe that we must work to the best of our ability to do all we

Diplomatic Circuit Oct. 8, 2021

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this week for talks on bilateral relations and cooperation, his ministry said Thursday. Chung is scheduled to begin a four-day trip to the Middle Eastern nation Friday, during which he will hold talks with his UAE counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, it said. He also plans to pay a courtesy call on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Chung is expected to have discussions on efforts to boost two-way c

Foreign Affairs Oct. 7, 2021

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the leading presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), saw his lead over opposition rival Yoon Seok-youl narrow slightly amid a swirling development corruption scandal, a poll showed Thursday. Lee was leading Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) 26 percent to 17 percent, according to the joint poll by four pollsters -- Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research. In the same poll last week, Lee was leading Yoon 29

Politics Oct. 7, 2021

The value of property assets owned by Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) was estimated at 8.6 trillion won ($7.2 billion) as of 2020, data showed Thursday, as lawmakers urged the state-run utility firm to promptly sell idle assets to improve its profitability. The amount marked a 9.5 percent increase from 7.8 trillion won in 2016, according to the data released by Rep. Eom Tae-young of the main opposition People Power Party during a parliamentary audit. The value of property assets that are not

Economy Oct. 7, 2021

Thirteen people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including six service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here, the US military said Thursday. Three service members, three family members and a civilian employee arrived here on commercial flights via Incheon international airport, west of Seoul, while three other troops arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital, on US government chartered flights, according to USFK. T

Defense Oct. 7, 2021

A major umbrella labor union on Thursday renewed its threat to go on a general strike later this month in an effort to put a spotlight on labor issues ahead of next year's presidential election. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, said it will stage a strike and a massive rally on Oct. 20 as "the first step to break the solid system of exploitation." The KCTU aims to launch a walkout involving all its 1.1 million me

Social Affairs Oct. 7, 2021

President Moon Jae-in called Thursday for greater efforts to curb global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, saying the Earth is getting warmer at a much faster speed than expected. Moon made the remark in a video message to a forum of environment ministers from Asia-Pacific countries held in Suwon, 46 kilometers south of Seoul, saying the Asia-Pacific is an environmentally vulnerable region where 40 percent of all natural disasters, such as typhoons and drought, took place in 2019. "Pl

Politics Oct. 7, 2021

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and the US special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, held phone talks Thursday to discuss cooperation over negotiations to restore the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the foreign ministry said. Multilateral negotiations in Vienna to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program have remained stalled since June, though Iran has shown its readiness to return to dialogue soon. Choi reiterated South Korea's commit

Foreign Affairs Oct. 7, 2021

The South Korean economy is facing increasing downside risks as the uptick in COVID-19 cases is delaying the recovery of private spending amid heightened uncertainty about the global economic recovery, a state-run think tank said Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a recovery track driven by solid exports, but slumps in the face-to-face service sector are deteriorating during the current spike in coroanvirus cases, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Developm

Economy Oct. 7, 2021