The presidential race is picking up pace with one of the two front-runners declaring his bid and another set to follow suit this week, less than nine months before the election. The launch of the top two contenders -- former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung -- is expected to quicken the pace of other hopefuls who are testing the water for their potential bids. On Tuesday, Yoon, who has topped opinion polls for most favored presidential hopefuls since late last

Politics June 30, 2021

Two Air Force warrant officers and one senior master sergeant were indicted in an investigation into the suicide death of a sexually harassed noncommissioned officer on charges of pressuring the victim to drop her complaint or sexually abusing her previously, officials said Wednesday. One of the warrant officers and the senior master sergeant, both surnamed Noh, were charged with inflicting "secondary harm" on the victim by pressuring her to forgive a colleague of the same rank accuse

Defense June 30, 2021

A South Korean parliamentary committee on Wednesday passed a resolution denouncing Japan's renewed claim to sovereignty of Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on the Tokyo Olympics website. Dokdo, located in the East Sea, has appeared on the map of the route of the torch relay, posted on the Tokyo Olympics website, in an apparent territorial claim to the South Korean islets by the Japanese government. The National Assembly's culture committee held a plenary session and passed the resolution co

Politics June 30, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday announced that its kiosk machine is now available in more countries as the tech giant eyes to bolster its self-service machine business amid the pandemic-induced contactless trend. Samsung Kiosk is now launched in 12 countries worldwide, including the United States, Britain, Spain, Australia and Singapore. Its kiosk machine was first unveiled in February in South Korea. The kiosk with a 24-inch touch-screen display is powered by Samsung's system on chip (So

Industry June 30, 2021

A majority of South Korean manufacturers expect their business conditions to improve in the third quarter from three months earlier on a global economic recovery, a poll showed Wednesday. A survey of about 2,400 manufacturing firms put the business sentiment index (BSI) at 103 for the July-September period, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said. The figure is up 4 points from the current quarter and marks the first time in about seven years that the reading has stayed above th

Economy June 30, 2021

QLED and OLED TV shipments are projected to reach record highs this year, a report showed Wednesday, boding well for the South Korean TV makers that lead the premium TV market. The annual shipment of QLED TVs for 2021 is expected to reach 11.02 million units, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, while that of OLED TVs is estimated to be 7.1 million units, up 80 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher TrendForce. "Continued price hikes of TV panels, as well as a simultaneou

Industry June 30, 2021

Three South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery makers accounted for a third of the global market in the first five months of the year, but their share has slightly slipped since last year in the face of toughening competition with Chinese rivals, a market research firm said Wednesday. The trio -- LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK Innovation Co. -- supplied a combined 88.4 gigawatt-hour (GWh) equivalents of EV batteries in the January-May period, up from 33.6 GWh a year earlier,

Industry June 30, 2021

INCHEON -- An international ocean forum opened in the western port city of Incheon on Wednesday to seek ways to further promote the maritime industry down the road. The two-day Incheon International Ocean Forum (IIOF) 2021 kicked off at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, under the theme of "The World Calls, The Ocean Waves," bringing together maritime industry experts and businessmen from across the world. The forum is hosted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fishe

Social Affairs June 30, 2021

Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong have made a career out of beating Japanese rivals in international women's badminton doubles competitions. And they'd love to have another shot at beating a Japanese tandem for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Kim and Kong are ranked fifth in the world in women's doubles. South Korea also boasts the No. 4-ranked women's doubles team in Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan. Of all badminton disciplines at the Olympics, South Korea should have its best chance o

Olympic Games June 30, 2021

South Korea has been enjoying robust exports of automobiles and chemical products to the European Union over the past 10 years on the back of its free trade agreement (FTA) with the world's single largest economic bloc, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles came to $8.4 billion in 2019, which doubled from $3.3 billion tallied in 2010, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association. South Korea became the first Asian country to implement an FTA wi

Economy June 30, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. has signed a partnership with Germany's telecom giant Deutsche Telekom AG to develop an environment-friendly 5G smartphone, company officials said Wednesday. Their strategic partnership for sustainability was signed during the Mobile World Congress 2021, according to officials. The deal includes collaboration in developing a "green smartphone" that is easy to repair and equipped with a removable battery. It is expected to be released by end-2022. The two sides

Industry June 30, 2021

The Bank of Korea (BOK) and state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) will extend their purchasing of corporate bonds, including low-rated debts, and commercial papers to further stabilize bond markets until the end of this year, the central bank said Wednesday. In May last year, the BOK approved an 8 trillion-won ($6.64 billion) loan to a special purpose vehicle, which was set up by the KDB, to buy subprime corporate bonds and commercial papers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The vehicle had been sc

Economy June 30, 2021

A slew of homegrown horror and thriller films are ready to make audiences feel a shiver cascading down their spines and forget the oppressive summer heat outside in the coming months. The action thriller "Midnight," scheduled to be released simultaneously in theaters and via streaming platform Tving on Wednesday, will open the prime months of July and August for scary movies. The film, a directorial debut of Kwon Oh-seung, follows a deaf girl who is stalked by a serial killer after w

Film June 30, 2021

In line with eased social distancing rules, a mass K-pop concert will be held in person here next month for the first time since the new coronavirus pandemic broke out early last year, organizers said Wednesday. "Together Again, K-pop Concert" will kick off at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in the Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul at 5 p.m. July 17, according to the Korea Management Federation (KMF). The long-awaited offline concert will be co-hosted by the KMF and Arirang TV, th

K-pop June 30, 2021

North Korea's state-run radio called Wednesday for greater efforts to minimize damage from flooding and heavy rains as the country braces for the summer monsoon season that wrought havoc on major farming areas last year. "All sectors in all areas must come up with preemptive measures to cope with the upcoming rainy season to prevent even the slightest damage," the state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) said. This year's monsoon season is expected to start affecting Nort

North Korea June 30, 2021