Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol urged unionized health workers Tuesday against launching their planned strike later this week, expressing concerns that the move could strain the country's health care system and fight against the pandemic. On Friday, the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) voted to go on strike starting Sept. 2 to demand better working conditions and the expansion of public health infrastructure amid concerns of a workforce shortage at hospitals as the country battle

Social Affairs Aug. 31, 2021

Rival parties on Tuesday tentatively agreed to process a controversial media reform bill led by the ruling party in a plenary parliamentary session next month, party officials said. Reps. Yun Ho-jung and Kim Gi-hyeon, floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), respectively, made the consensus during a meeting earlier in the day to table the bill in a plenary parliamentary session set for Sept. 27. The bill, championed by the DP, is desi

Politics Aug. 31, 2021

South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities rose 5.1 percent in the second quarter as they increased their holdings of foreign stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Tuesday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $381.1 billion as of end-June, up $18.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denomi

Economy Aug. 31, 2021

Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks fell 11.5 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Tuesday. Nonperforming loans came to 12.2 trillion won ($10.5 billion) at the end of June, down 1.6 trillion won from the end of March, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Overdue corporate loans reached 10.5 trillion won at the end of June, down 1.4 trillion won from a quarter earlier, the data sho

Economy Aug. 31, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday emphasized the importance of maintaining an aggressive fiscal policy next year, as the government has proposed an 8.3 percent hike in the state budget. "(We) are facing a very important time for the nation in the midst of the world's order of upheaval and great transformation. The fiscal role is more important than ever," he said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting. Main agenda items included the budget plan for fiscal 2022. In its final annual b

Economy Aug. 31, 2021

Unionized land-based workers at HMM Co. have voted for a strike after failing to reach an agreement with the management over a pay raise, the union said Tuesday, triggering concerns over potential disruption at the country's top shipper. In a vote held Monday, 98 percent of its 755 members supported the strike if the negotiations go nowhere, according to the union. A week earlier, unionized sailors and other sea-based workers at the company also voted in favor of a strike to solve wage disput

Industry Aug. 31, 2021

South Korea plans to spend about 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) next year on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and responding to the climate crisis to pursue carbon neutrality, the government said in its 2022 budget plan released Tuesday. The plan calls for allocating 8.3 trillion won to low-carbon projects in four major sectors -- energy, industry, mobility and land -- and establishing a climate response fund worth 2.5 trillion won. The government has selected the transition to carbon neutra

Politics Aug. 31, 2021

South Korea on Tuesday proposed a record high budget of 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) for next year as it plans to maintain expansionary fiscal spending to cement the economic recovery and narrow social gaps caused by the pandemic. The proposed budget, endorsed by the Cabinet, marks an 8.3 percent on-year rise from this year's 558 trillion-won budget, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The increase is lower than the 8.9 percent increase for this year. The government plans to

Economy Aug. 31, 2021

Unification Minister Lee In-young called Tuesday for the early resumption of talks with North Korea, saying dialogue is the only way toward achieving objectives that everyone wants. Lee made the appeal in an opening speech for the Korean Global Forum for Peace, an annual forum organized by the unification ministry, also urging North Korea to come out for talks on inter-Korean cooperation in humanitarian areas. "Even without perfect conditions for dialogue, the South, the North and the Uni

North Korea Aug. 31, 2021

As teams approach the century mark in games played this season, the KT Wiz will set its sights on padding its lead atop the South Korean baseball standings. The Wiz is coming off a 4-2 week. Its most recent victory, on Sunday against the Samsung Lions, must have been particularly gratifying for the leaders of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). After allowing two runs in the top of the first inning, the Wiz put up a seven-spot in the fifth inning. It pounded out 12 hits, with every member of

Baseball Aug. 31, 2021

Thirty-six American soldiers and four affiliated individuals have tested positive for the new coronavirus, including those from a cluster infection at the Osan base, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday. Eighteen service members and one family member stationed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive Thursday and Friday, either after developing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or after coming into contact with colleagues who tested positive earlier,

Defense Aug. 31, 2021

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met and held a photo session with young ex-convicts volunteering to work in "difficult and challenging sectors," and urged them to become a "kindling spark" for national development, state media said Tuesday. Kim "held hands of each of the young people who volunteered to work at difficult and challenging sectors with high awareness and enthusiasm to glorify their youth in the van of the worthwhile era, highly estimating their deeds and me

North Korea Aug. 31, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday kicked off a 41-day nationwide voting process to choose its final candidate to run in next year's presidential election, party officials said. The primary election voting on six DP presidential contenders started off on the inaugural leg of the central city of Daejeon and surrounding South Chungcheong Province earlier in the day. It will then move to 10 additional legs across the country, including the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 25, to wrap up

Politics Aug. 31, 2021

South Korea and the United States launched a joint project Tuesday to recover the remains of troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War at a former battle site near the inter-Korean border, the defense ministry said. Around 60 South Korean military personnel and 10 from the US' Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) began the joint excavation work on Mount Baekseok in the northeastern county of Yanggu, which will continue through Sept. 16, according to the ministry. As one of the key strate

Defense Aug. 31, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines amid the country's protracted fight against its worst wave of the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.03 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 3,140.16 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea's fight with the current wave of the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment as health authorities struggle to flatten the virus curve ahead of the Chuseok holiday next month. In

Market Aug. 31, 2021