The military will enhance its own measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in line with government plans to impose tougher controls on the greater Seoul area to fight a new wave of infections, officials said Saturday.    The defense ministry issued new social distancing guidelines to military units Friday, under which vacations, off-installation activities and outsiders' visits will be further restricted Monday for two weeks.    Under the new measures, only 10 percent o

Defense July 10, 2021

Early this week, two young bears escaped from their cramped cages at a breeding farm in Yongin, south of Seoul. One was shot to death hours after the escape, and the other is still on the loose.    Similar incidents have occurred in the past in a country where bears -- mostly moon bears, or Asiatic Black Bears, on the endangered species list -- are kept captive for life for their bile and other body parts that are used in alternative medicinal treatments.    The owner of t

Social Affairs July 10, 2021

Supergroup BTS has swept more than 90 regional iTunes charts with its new release "Permission to Dance," the act's agency said Saturday.    The upbeat number, released at 1 p.m. the previous day, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes top songs charts in 92 regions, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, according to Big Hit Music.    The music video for the song, also released at 1 p.m. on Friday, has proven to be a hit, breaking 10 million views on

K-pop July 10, 2021

Top economic policymakers of South Korea and the United States have held talks over bilateral economic cooperation and global issues, the finance ministry said Saturday.    Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held the meeting in Venice, Italy, on Friday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G-20) meeting of top finance and economic officials, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.    They shared the need for efforts to sw

Economy July 10, 2021

South Korea on Saturday posted the highest-ever daily COVID-19 cases for the third straight day, as the country is set to impose the highest level of virus curbs on the greater Seoul area next week. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 1,378 COVID-19 cases were confirmed the previous day, including 1,320 local infections, raising the total caseload to 166,722. It marked the highest figure since the country reported its first confirmed infection on Jan. 20 last year. It

Social Affairs July 10, 2021

South Korean stocks are likely to face increased volatility next week as hopes for strong corporate earnings square off against escalating virus woes.    The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,217.95 points on Friday, down 1.94 percent from a week ago.    The key stock index started this week with gains, thanks to upbeat outlook for corporate earnings in the April-June period.    But stock prices plunged in the last three sessions,

Market July 10, 2021

The watchdog's review looked into an array of safety issues, including the plant's passive autocatalytic recombiner (PAR), which is designed to prevent hydrogen explosions by reducing hydrogen concentration levels from the reactor's containment building during natural disasters. South Korea has required the system to strengthen safety after multiple hydrogen explosions during Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in 2011. The Shin-Hanul plant's PAR system received intense scrutiny aft

National July 9, 2021

Belgian Ambassador to South Korea Peter Lescouhier and his wife returned home Friday, a foreign ministry official said, amid public criticism over the wife's involvement in two alleged assault cases. The wife, Xiang Xueqiu, was questioned by police for allegedly assaulting two employees at a clothing store in Seoul in early April. Police dropped the case on grounds of diplomatic immunity and because that victims did not want her punished. The wife also got into an altercation with a street swe

National July 9, 2021

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke by phone with his Czech counterpart on Friday and discussed bilateral issues, including ways to boost cooperation in the nuclear power plant business, his office said.  In the phone talks with Jakub Kulhanek, Chung stressed that South Korea is the best partner for the Czech Republic's new nuclear power plant project under way in the southern region of Dukovany, citing the technologies and price competitiveness proven through various projects Korean com

Diplomatic Circuit July 9, 2021

South Korea's spy agency has told lawmakers that North Korea could return to nuclear dialogue with the United States as it is intent on ending hostile relations with the country, a source said Friday.  The National Intelligence Service made the comment Thursday while debriefing the National Assembly's intelligence committee on the recent remarks from Pyongyang, the source with knowledge of the matter said.  "North Korea's consistent position is to end its hostile relations with

North Korea July 9, 2021

Following several days of downpours in the southern South Korean regions over the past week, a heat wave advisory was issued for many parts of the country Friday, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said it issued the heat wave advisory for almost all parts of the southern provinces of Gyeongsang and Jeolla, the central provinces of Chungcheong, and parts of the Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces as of 10 a.m. Seoul was excluded from the advisory, which is

Politics July 9, 2021

South Korean stocks slumped for the third day in a row Friday as the country decided to impose a semi-lockdown in the greater Seoul area, a hotbed for the recent spike in the new coronavirus, to rein in the fast spreading COVID-19. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 34.73 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 3,217.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.2 trillion won ($14.1 billion

Market July 9, 2021

South Korean firms are tightening their virus prevention measures, including allowing more workers to work from home, as the country has decided to enforce the toughest social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area, the hotbed of the recent spike in new infections. South Korea's daily virus infections hit a new high with 1,316 cases, forcing the government to apply the strongest Level 4 distancing measures from Monday for two weeks. Under the Level 4 rules, private gatherings of three or m

Economy July 9, 2021

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it will suspend one of its seven domestic plants for four weeks to prepare for the production of an electric vehicle. Hyundai plans to halt the Asan plant from Tuesday until Aug. 6 to upgrade the facilities before it begins production of the IONIQ 6 midsize sedan later this year, a company spokesman said over the phone. The 300,000-unit-a-year Asan plant produces the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe SUV. In February, the maker of the Sonata sedan and the Palisade SU

Industry July 9, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed gratitude for the support the US Congress has provided in the advancement of the decades-old Seoul-Washington alliance during a meeting with a group of visiting US lawmakers at Cheong Wa Dae. Moon hosted a reception for the visiting members of the US Congressional Study Group on Korea (CSGK), a bipartisan study group on South Korea, at the presidential office. The CSGK, consisting of about 54 US lawmakers, was launched in 2018 as part of diplomatic effo

Politics July 9, 2021