South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,400 on Tuesday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but health authorities are facing hurdles in flattening the curve ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The country added 1,372 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,333 local infections, raising the total caseload to 251,421, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for 56 consecutive days. Tuesday's tally marked a drop from 1,619 on Sun

Social Affairs Aug. 31, 2021

Talks about the Federal Reserve's tapering of asset purchases have had limited impacts on South Korea's financial market, but the country will monitor the situation with "extra" vigilance, a senior government official said Tuesday. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a Jackson Hole speech Friday (U.S. time) that the Fed may begin to taper bond purchases this year, but he took a cautious stance about an early tapering of asset buying or a hike in interest rates. First Vice Finance Mini

Economy Aug. 31, 2021

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook has met with Egypt's Military Production Minister Mohamed Ahmed Morsi during a visit to the country and agreed to expand defense industry cooperation between the two sides, his office said Tuesday. The meeting took place Monday after Suh arrived in Egypt for a two-day visit at the invitation of the country's defense chief Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed. He is South Korea's first defense minister to visit the Middle Eastern nation. During the talks, Suh said S

Diplomatic Circuit Aug. 31, 2021

Moving from one Spanish club to another, South Korea international Lee Kang-in has joined RCD Mallorca. RCD Mallorca announced Monday (local time) that Lee, 20, has agreed to a four-year contract that will keep him on the club's namesake island through 2025. Lee spent the past 10 years with Valencia CF, all the way from their youth academy to their first team. The midfielder had been rumored to be on his way out of Valencia for days, if not weeks. Spanish media reported earlier that Valencia

Soccer Aug. 31, 2021

The United States continues to seek negotiations with North Korea to discuss a range of issues related to denuclearization, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki affirmed Monday. Her remark comes after the UN nuclear watchdog said the North appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. "We continue to seek dialogue with the DPRK so we can address this reported activity and the full range of issues related to denuclearization," Psaki said at a daily pr

Foreign Affairs Aug. 31, 2021

Home transactions in South Korea tumbled 37 percent in July amid government efforts to rein in soaring housing prices, government data showed Tuesday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 88,937 last month, down 37.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The July reading was little changed from the 88,922 deals registered in the prior month. The number of home transactions in the South Korean capital of S

Economy Aug. 31, 2021

South Korea's industrial output decreased in July from the previous month in the latest sign that the country's economic recovery momentum slowed amid the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Industrial output fell 0.5 percent in July from the previous month, a turnaround from a 1.6 percent on-month gain in June, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. From a year earlier, it increased 4.7 percent. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, declined 0.6 percent in July

Economy Aug. 31, 2021

South Korean government agencies agreed Monday on the need to extend its peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and South Sudan, the foreign ministry said. Officials from the foreign, defense, finance and interior ministries as well as the military and police participated in a virtual consultative meeting to discuss extending the presence of the Dongmyeong Unit in Lebanon and the Hanbit Unit in South Sudan, the ministry said.  In the meeting led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon,

Defense Aug. 30, 2021

A panel of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on Monday issued an opinion in favor of indicting the chief educational official of Seoul over his suspected abuse of power in the reinstatement of fired teachers. Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, has been under investigation by the government's independent corruption investigative body on suspicion of illegally influencing the process of reinstating five dismissed teachers, incl

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2021

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that South Korea's successful operation to evacuate Afghan people last week is expected to serve as a chance to further enhance its global stature. In the emergency move, codenamed Operation Miracle, South Korea brought nearly 400 Afghans fleeing the Taliban-controlled nation to its territory on its military aircraft. They have been allowed to stay here with legal status on par with that of a refugee. It is unprecedented in South Korea's diplomatic history to

Politics Aug. 30, 2021

South Korean stocks gained for a second consecutive session Monday as investors remained optimistic about the US Federal Reserve's cautious stance on withdrawing its ultra-easing monetary policy. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) advanced 10.29 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 3,144.19 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 595 million shares worth some 11.6 trillion won ($9.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers

Market Aug. 30, 2021

Kia Corp. and its labor union on Monday signed a wage agreement for 2021 without an industrial action occurring for the first time in a decade. On Friday, 68 percent of 26,945 Kia workers voted in favor of wage offers that include an increase of 75,000 won ($64.30) in basic monthly pay, two months of wages in performance-based pay and cash bonuses worth 5.8 million won. More than 1,600 out of the 28,604-member union abstained. But the company rejected the union's demand to extend the retiremen

Industry Aug. 30, 2021

DAEJEON -- Public outrage has been boiling in South Korea over a man who allegedly abused and murdered a baby girl in June, with some people planning to stage rallies calling for the death penalty. The 29-year-old man, surnamed Yang, was recently indicted on charges of sexually assaulting and abusing the 20-month-old toddler to death at his home in Daejeon, about 165 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 15. A little past midnight on that day, Yang, who was drunk at the time, allegedly covered t

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2021

The number of newly established companies in South Korea declined nearly 10 percent in the first half of the year due to a one-off factor, government data showed Monday. A total of 730,260 new businesses were set up in the January-June period, down 9.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups. The ministry attributed the drop to a base effect. A year earlier, there was a sharp increase in the number of real e

Industry Aug. 30, 2021

South Korea's trade ministry on Monday launched a new task force that will establish a long-term strategy to help Asia's No. 4 economy emerge as a global vaccine production hub amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic. "Based on South Korea's various free-trade networks with 57 countries, the country will bolster ties with major partners in terms of the global vaccine supply chain," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said in a statement during a meeting with related organizations. During the me

Politics Aug. 30, 2021