South Korea's foreign minister has renewed calls for North Korea to return to dialogue during a regional security forum, his office said Saturday, as Seoul seeks to resume nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang following the recent restoration of inter-Korean communication lines. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong made the call during Friday’s virtual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF), a rare multilateral forum involving North Korea. North Korea‘s Ambassador to In

North Korea Aug. 7, 2021

The American economy is likely to bounce back quickly once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, former US President Barack Obama has said during an interview with a Korean media outlet. “As soon as the public health situation improves ... I think the possibility of bouncing back more quickly rather than a long path toward economic recovery is more promising,” Obama said, appearing virtually on the local talk show “Monthly Connect” by cable channel tvN Friday night. Comparin

Economy Aug. 7, 2021

South Korea‘s daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 1,800 on Saturday, though the country tightened its vigilance with the extension of stringent virus curbs amid few signs of the situation improving. The country added 1,823 COVID-19 cases, including 1,762 local infections, raising the total caseload to 209,228, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload is up from 1,776 cases reported Thursday and 1,704 on Friday. The country add

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korea's Cinderella run through the Tokyo Olympic women's volleyball tournament hit a speed bump on Friday, with a straight-set loss to Brazil. World No. 2 Brazil easily handled the 11th-ranked South Korea 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) at Ariaka Arena in Tokyo. The loss sends South Korea to the bronze medal match against the sixth-ranked Serbia at 9 a.m. Sunday, the last day of the Olympics. Serbia defeated South Korea in three sets on Monday in the preliminary round. (Yonhap)

Sports Aug. 6, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korean Kim Se-hee finished 11th in the women's modern pentathlon at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday. She scored a total of 1,330 points to rank 11th after fencing, swimming, horse riding and a combined event of shooting and running, or laser run, at Tokyo Stadium. Her teammate Kim Sun-woo finished 17th. It tied the country's best Olympic performance with Jung Jin-hwa and Kim Mi-seop in the men's event in 2012 and 1996, respectively. And it is the highest Olympic ranking notched by

Sports Aug. 6, 2021

TOKYO -- Park Hee-jun just missed out on South Korea's first Olympic medal in karate on Friday, losing to a Turkish foe in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Summer Games. Park earned 26.14 points, 1.12 points behind Ali Sofuoglu of Turkey in the bronze medal bout for the men's kata event at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. In kata, contestants perform moves from a predefined list, and they're evaluated by seven judges. Technical and athletic performances are assessed separately. The two highest and

Sports Aug. 6, 2021

Police on Friday sought an arrest warrant for the leader of a labor umbrella group on charges of holding a mass rally last month in violation of COVID-19 rules. Yang Kyung-soo, chief of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, has been booked on charges of holding the rally in downtown Seoul on July 3 in defiance of a COVID-19 ban by the city government and the police. Around 8,000 people attended the event, according to the KCTU, to demand improvements to labor conditions. Sources told Yonh

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2021

South Korean stocks retreated Friday for a second straight session as investor sentiment weakened over concerns about the spreading new coronavirus. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 5.77 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 3,270.36 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 931 million shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($13.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 355. Foreigners bought a net 55.6 billion w

Market Aug. 6, 2021

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung outstripped ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to seize the lead among presidential hopefuls, an opinion poll showed Friday. Lee garnered 25 percent of support in the survey conducted on 1,001 voters across the nation from Tuesday-Thursday by Gallup Korea for the most favored next leader of the country. The governor was ahead of Yoon, who had 19 percent, by a margin of six percentage points, which is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.1

Politics Aug. 6, 2021

Four South Korean activists have been charged with espionage for allegedly taking orders from Pyongyang and staging a series of protests opposing Seoul's plan to procure US-built stealth fighter jets, sources said Friday. According to the sources, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the National Police Agency (NPA) recently requested a local court to issue warrants to arrest the activists who allegedly violated multiple articles of the National Security Act, including the so-called espi

Politics Aug. 6, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korea lost to Japan in the bronze medal match of the men's table tennis team event at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, frittering away its final opportunity to salvage a ping pong medal in the Japanese capital. Japan prevailed over South Korea by 3-1 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Japan won the opening doubles match and also claimed the next singles match. South Korea won the second singles match, before Japan finished things off with a victory in the third singles contest. Sout

Olympic Games Aug. 6, 2021

SAITAMA -- A dozen shots off the lead by the time her third round was complete, LPGA Hall of Famer Park In-bee will be hard pressed to defend her Olympic gold medal this weekend in Japan. Park, a veteran known for her stoicism on and off the course, didn't mince words in assessing her own play Friday at the Tokyo Olympics. "I was really disappointed with myself today," Park said after shooting an even 71 at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, north of Tokyo. She is three-under for

Olympic Games Aug. 6, 2021

An Air Force warrant officer on Friday denied allegations he pressured the victim of a sexual abuse case not to pursue punishment of the perpetrator in the infliction of "secondary harm" blamed for her suicide. During a preparatory hearing at a military court in Seoul, the warrant officer, surnamed Noh, claimed through his lawyer Kim Sang-ho that he did not blackmail the victim nor had an intention to obstruct the investigation into the case. The victim, a master sergeant surnamed Le

Defense Aug. 6, 2021

SEOUL/WASHINGTON -- Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed to make continued efforts to engage with North Korea and foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula during their phone talks Friday, the foreign ministry said. The talks came after last week's restoration of inter-Korean communication channels fueled hopes for the resumption of nuclear diplomacy with North Korea, though growing optimism for dialogue was tempered by the North's warning that the

Foreign Affairs Aug. 6, 2021

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Friday its second-quarter net profit grew 40 percent thanks to the continued growth of 5G mobile subscriptions and its business infrastructure division. Net profit in the April-June period stood at 210.5 billion won ($184.2 million) on a consolidated basis, compared with 150.6 billion won the previous year, according to a company statement. Operating profit rose 12 percent on-year to 268.4 billion won in the second quarter, while sales

Industry Aug. 6, 2021