It wasn't the kind of personal record he wanted to break, but Kim Kwang-hyun, the South Korean left-hander for the St. Louis Cardinals, went a career-high 10 starts between victories this year. Kim earned his first win of 2021 on April 23 in his second start of the campaign. Then win No. 2 came against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday (local time), his 13th start of 2021. Kim held the Diamondbacks to a run on three hits -- all singles -- and three walks in fi

Baseball July 1, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, has won the best smartphone award at the world's largest mobile telecommunications expo. The high-end model of the Galaxy S21 series was honored at the Global Mobile Awards at Mobile World Congress 2021 in Barcelona on Wednesday (local time), the South Korean tech giant said. The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, which was launched in January, competed for the award with the Galaxy S20 FE 5G, Apple iPhone 12 Pr

Technology July 1, 2021

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Thursday the country will push for large-scale research and development (R&D) projects to foster the next-generation rechargeable battery industry. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will soon unveil the detailed plan to nurture the rechargeable battery sector with the goal of the country taking the lead in the segment. The government plans to help companies secure the stable supply chains of materials for such batteries and to fost

Economy July 1, 2021

Nine American service members and a dependent have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the latest in a series of infections reported at US military bases here, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Six of the infections were reported from Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul; two from K-16 Air Base in Seongnam, just south of the capital; and one each from Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, and Camp Carroll in the southeastern county of Chilgok, accordi

Social Affairs July 1, 2021

South Korea and the UN disarmament office held a joint forum this week involving young people from around the world to discuss and raise awareness about disarmament and nonproliferation, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The two-day forum, which ended Wednesday, marked the first of its kind that South Korea and the UN office has co-hosted on the disarmament and nonproliferation issues for younger generations. Seoul has been championing the agenda, with last year's adoption by a UN committee

Foreign Affairs July 1, 2021

The amount of short selling in South Korea plunged nearly 30 percent in June from a month earlier on a bullish stock market, data showed Thursday. The daily turnover of short selling on the country's main and minor stock markets averaged 506 billion won ($448 million) last month, down 28.3 percent from May, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The main market posted a 31.6 percent tumble, with the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market registering a 13.2 percent decline. Short selling is an inves

Market July 1, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung officially launched his high-profile presidential campaign Thursday, pledging to alleviate inequality between the powerful and the weak. The front-runner by a wide margin among the nine contenders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), Lee announced his bid to run in the March 9 presidential election through a prerecorded video, released on YouTube and other online platforms, in consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Through the politics of moderating t

Politics July 1, 2021

South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo has been knocked out in the second round of Wimbledon. Kwon, ranked 71st, lost a five-set, four-hour battle against Dominik Koepfer at the All England Club in London on Wednesday (local time). The 62nd-ranked German prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3. Kwon earned his first career victory at Wimbledon on Tuesday with a four-set victory against Daniel Masur, also from Germany. Kwon walked away with 45 ranking points and should crack the top 70 after the c

More Sports July 1, 2021

South Korea is off to a losing start in its bid to qualify for the Olympic men's basketball tournament for the first time in a quarter century. South Korea fell to Venezuela 94-80 in its first game of the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Wednesday (local time), as its spirited second-half comeback attempt fell short. Davidson forward Lee Hyun-jung led South Korea with a game-high 18 points on a 7-of-14 shooting, and naturalized starting center Ra Gu

More Sports July 1, 2021

South Korea's exports jumped 39.7 percent on-year in June to extend their gains to an eighth consecutive month on the back of a recovery in global business activities, which led to stronger demand for chips and automobiles, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments came to $54.8 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports climbed 40.7 percent to $50.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.44 billion. It marked the 14th consecut

Economy July 1, 2021

Prosecutors indicted a former industry minister and a former presidential secretary Wednesday for their alleged abuse of authority and interference with business in the process of the government's decision to close a decades-old nuclear power plant.    The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office has been looking into suspicions former minister Paik Un-gyu and former presidential aide Chae Hee-bong abused their power in the viability assessment of Wolsong-1, the nation's second-oldest nu

Social Affairs June 30, 2021

The government will allow commercial breaks for terrestrial broadcasters beginning this week as part of efforts to buttress the industry suffering from falling ad revenues, officials said Wednesday.    The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said a revised enforcement ordinance of the Broadcasting Act, aiming to allow all networks to broadcast commercials during programs, will take effect Thursday.    Terrestrial broadcasters have been prohibited from such advertising si

Industry June 30, 2021

South Korea and Saudi Arabia vowed Wednesday to expand ties in the clean energy sector under their joint vision to seek sustainable development through 2030. Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook met his Saudi counterpart, Khalid Al-Falih, virtually to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral ties under the Korea-Saudi Vision 2030 Committee platform, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries launched the committee in 2017 in line with efforts to broaden their strate

Economy June 30, 2021

The Seoul metropolitan government said Wednesday it is keeping a four-person cap on private gatherings amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, just hours before the rule was set to be relaxed. The decision was reached at an emergency virtual meeting between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the heads of all 25 local ward offices. The city of Seoul registered 375 new cases Tuesday, its biggest daily increase this year, two days before it was set to raise the cap on private gatherings from

Politics June 30, 2021

President Moon Jae-in assessed Wednesday that South Korea's relationship with the United States has evolved from a traditional military-and-security-based alliance to that of a comprehensive and global partnership. Moon shared his views on the state of the Seoul-Washington alliance in a lunch meeting with the heads of constitutional institutions -- the National Assembly speaker, the Supreme Court chief justice, the Constitutional Court chief and the prime minister -- at Cheong Wa Dae. The pres

Politics June 30, 2021