Defense Minister Suh Wook on Friday apologized over the apparent suicide of a female Navy noncommissioned officer amid a probe into allegations a senior colleague sexually harassed her. The chief petty officer, whose identity was withheld, was found dead at her residence on Thursday, after reporting days earlier that she had suffered sexual harassment in May. "I am sorry to the bereaved family and to the people that what should not have happened has happened," Suh was quoted as sayin

Defense Aug. 13, 2021

South Korea and the United States on Friday agreed to join forces in reinforcing multilateralism and resolving other pending global trade issues. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held a virtual meeting with his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, to discuss ways to cope with the changing global trade environment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the meeting, the two officials vowed to make efforts to restore the multilateral trade regime by normalizing the function of the G

Foreign Affairs Aug. 13, 2021

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday accumulated vehicle production at its US plant has exceeded 5 million units since it began operations in May 2005. Hyundai Motor has produced 2.56 million units of the Sonata sedan, 1.48 million Avante compacts, 900,000 Santa Fe SUVs, 37,000 Tucson SUVs and 1,800 Santa Cruz compact pickup trucks at the Alabama plant, the company said in a statement. The 5 millionth vehicle produced in the 370,000-unit-a-year plant was Hyundai's first-ever pickup, the

Industry Aug. 13, 2021

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, extending their selling spree for a third consecutive month, data showed Friday. Foreigners sold a net 3.77 trillion won ($3.26 billion) worth of local stocks in July, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). British investors sold a net 2.3 trillion won of stocks last month, while investors from Middle Eastern nations net purchased 500 billion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of

Economy Aug. 13, 2021

South Korea's export prices rose in July, marking the eighth straight monthly gain amid a strong recovery in exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 3.5 percent in July from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the eighth consecutive month of an on-month rise. In June, the index rose 0.7 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index jumped 16.9 percent

Economy Aug. 13, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus infections stayed at around 2,000 for the third day in a row Friday amid worries that the daily caseload may stay above the threshold due to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant and a potential increase in activities over the weekend. The country added 1,990 COVID-19 cases, including 1,913 local infections, raising the total caseload to 220,182, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily cases on Friday were up thre

Social Affairs Aug. 13, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as giant chipmakers suffered an extended slump amid concerns of a price fall of DRAM. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 11.9 points, or 0.37 percent, to 3,196.48 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks declined below the 3,200-point mark, largely on chip heavyweights' weeklong losses Foreigners continued to sell shares of large chip companies, following brokerage reports tat said demand for chips may decrease after t

Market Aug. 13, 2021

Both volume and face value of damaged banknotes found in South Korea dipped in the first half of this year as people used cash less amid a non-contact consumption trend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank said Friday. In the January-June period, the face value of damaged banknotes discarded by the Bank of Korea came to 1.03 trillion won ($890 million), compared with 2.69 trillion won for the same period last year, according to the BOK. The volume of damaged banknotes also plunged 36

Economy Aug. 13, 2021

South Korea on Thursday raised the travel alert for two areas in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region amid escalating armed clashes in the country, recommending citizens cancel or delay plans to travel there. The foreign ministry issued the Level 3 travel alert for South Wollo and East Gojjam -- the second highest in the four-tier system, which asks citizens to cancel their travel plans and those already in the areas to move to safe places. The ministry said that it would continue to review whet

Foreign Affairs Aug. 12, 2021

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Eun Sung-soo, head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), went into self-quarantine Thursday after having come into contact with government employees infected with COVID-19, officials said. Hong, who has come into contact with a ministry employee infected with the delta variant, will self-isolate until Thursday next week in line with health authorities' antivirus guidelines, although he has been fully vaccinated and tested negative recently. Due to his s

Business Aug. 12, 2021

  South Korean volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung finalized her retirement from international play on Thursday, following a meeting with the head of the sport's national governing body. The Korea Volleyball Association (KVA) announced that Kim reaffirmed her decision to leave the national team in a meeting with KVA President Oh Han-nam earlier Thursday. Kim had first revealed her plans to retire from international play on Sunday, moments after South Korea's loss to Serbia in the bronze meda

Olympic Games Aug. 12, 2021

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it plans to add more chartered shipping services for exporters as the global freight costs hit yet another record high level amid strong demand. Under the plan, the country will begin operating at least six new shipping services monthly in September, rising sharply from around two to three ships operated prior to June, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. A record high number of 18 ships will be added in August as well. "It i

Economy Aug. 12, 2021

Unionized Korean workers for US Forces Korea (USFK) protested Thursday that the American military has been reducing the size of the regular Korean workforce and hiring more irregular workers instead. The union held a press conference outside the National Assembly to demand a series of improvements to the workers' employment conditions, including job security and the direct hiring of subcontracted workers. "USFK's reduction of regular Korean workers and hiring of irregular subcontracted wo

Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2021

South Korea and Turkey have signed their first currency swap agreement, in a move to boost trade between the two nations, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday. The three-year agreement, signed by the BOK and the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, allows for the exchange of local currencies between the two countries of 2.3 trillion won ($2 billion), the BOK said in a statement. "This agreement is designed to promote bilateral trade through a swap-financed trade settlement facility an

Economy Aug. 12, 2021

BUSAN/SEOUL -- A British nuclear-powered submarine accompanying the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier has arrived in the southern port city of Busan, the South Korean Navy said Thursday. The HMS Artful submarine docked at the port of the Naval Operations Command in Busan early Wednesday ahead of the aircraft carrier's port call later this month, naval officials said. The submarine plans to examine its equipment and load munitions. Its crew members are taking COVID-19 tests, they said. &quo

Defense Aug. 12, 2021