The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Friday it has injected a smaller amount of bank notes into circulation this year than a year earlier ahead of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday as private consumption has slumped amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The BOK provided a net 4.8 trillion won ($4.08 billion) worth of bills to financial institutions during the 10 working days before the holiday, down 4.8 percent compared with the same period last year. This year's Chuseok holiday, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiv

Market Sept. 17, 2021

Four Army soldiers and four airmen have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,681, the defense ministry said Friday. Three airmen in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after a virus case was reported at their base, while an Air Force officer in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, was found to have been infected after a business trip, according to the ministry. In the west

Defense Sept. 17, 2021

South Korea plans to start to compensate pandemic-hit small merchants from late October for their losses incurred by anti-virus restrictions, a senior government official said Friday. The government set aside 1.03 trillion won ($873 million) to operate a state scheme to compensate small merchants for losses that have been generated since July due to state orders to shut down or suspend business over the pandemic. "The government is making seamless preparation to provide compensation to the

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2021

Stock transactions in South Korea spiked more than 70 percent in 2020 amid an investment craze among retail investors, data showed Friday. The value of stock trading in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 35,397.3 trillion won ($30.2 trillion) last year, up 70.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The on-year growth rate is much higher than the 6 percent increase recorded the previous year. In the first six months of the year alone, stock

Market Sept. 17, 2021

More than 110 trade secrets from South Korean businesses and institutions have been leaked to overseas rivals over the past five years, data showed Friday, with the semiconductor and display industries being the primary targets. The number of trade secrets stolen from South Korean firms from January 2016 to August this year came to 112, according to the data released by Rep. Kim Kyung-man of the ruling Democratic Party, compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. By sector, those lin

Industry Sept. 17, 2021

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group said Friday it has launched a pilot project to deploy a robot to inspect safety at its factory, the first collaboration with US-based startup Boston Dynamics. The automotive group said the factory safety service robot based on Boston Dynamic's four-legged robot Spot went into pilot operation at its subsidiary Kia Corp.'s plant in Gwangmyeong, southwest of Seoul. It is the first project launched between the two companies after the automotive group in Jun

Industry Sept. 17, 2021

The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sectors, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry said the country's exports have extended solid growth momentum and the job market has improved despite the fourth wave of the pandemic. "But uncertainty over domestic demand has continued, centering on face-to-face service

Economy Sept. 17, 2021

As Typhoon Chanthu passed near Jeju, it brought drenching rain and high winds, flooding low-lying neighborhoods, striking trees and a streetlight, and grounding flights. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the typhoon came the nearest to the island at around 7 a.m. Friday, passing 60 kilometers south-southeast of the city of Seogwipo. It moved eastward along the Korea Strait, a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, at the speed of 21 kph. The season's 14th typhoon has already soake

Latest News Sept. 17, 2021

Health authorities remain on heightened alert over the potential spread of COVID-19 during the Chuseok fall harvest holiday due to increased travel, the prime minister said Friday while asking the public to maintain vigilance against the pandemic. "As the greater Seoul area accounts for nearly 80 percent of new cases as of late, we are highly concerned that the non-capital regions may experience a balloon effect due to increased travel," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during an inter

Latest News Sept. 17, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday ahead of the holiday as investors weigh the pace of an economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 14.08 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,116.01 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated as investors took to the sidelines to digest mixed US economic indicators, such as weak price and strong retail sales in August, and their impact on the global economy. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial

Market Sept. 17, 2021

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases exceeded 2,000 on Friday again amid concerns a major holiday may stoke further upticks in virus cases. The country added 2,008 COVID-19 cases, including 1,973 local infections, raising the total caseload to 281,938 according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload remained in the 2,000s on Tuesday and Wednesday before falling to 1,943 on Thursday. Daily cases have stayed above the 1,000 threshold for more than 70 days am

Social Affairs Sept. 17, 2021

Diplomats of South Korea and Japan held talks in Tokyo on Thursday to discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and historical issues between the two countries, the foreign ministry said, after tensions flared anew with North Korea's recent missile launches. The talks between Lee Sang-ryol, the ministry's director general for Asian and Pacific affairs, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came after the North fired off two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday fo

Diplomatic Circuit Sept. 16, 2021

South Korea and Vietnam agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation in defense affairs and the arms industry during annual vice-ministerial talks, Seoul officials said. South Korean Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min and his Vietnamese counterpart, Hoang Xuan Chien, held the Defense Strategy Dialogue in the Southeast Asian nation and discussed regional security issues and ways to strengthen their defense ties, according to Seoul's defense ministry. "The two sides agreed to boost cooperatio

Diplomatic Circuit Sept. 16, 2021

Jeju made preparations for the impact of Typhoon Chanthu on Thursday as the storm moved toward the resort island from the south, packing strong winds and heavy precipitation, the weather agency said. As of 6 p.m., the typhoon was travelling north-northeastward at a speed of 19 kilometers per hour over waters about 220 km south-southwest of Jeju, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. The slow-moving typhoon was forecast to begin picking up speed later in the day and move the close

Social Affairs Sept. 16, 2021

South Korean civic groups called on the government Thursday to come up with "drastic" measures to help lessen the hardship of self-employed workers and small business owners, many of them in deep financial trouble caused by the protracted coronavirus pandemic.  "We are in an emergency situation that is driving small business owners and the self-employed to make fatal decisions," they said in a joint statement during a press conference held at the office of People's So

Social Affairs Sept. 16, 2021