President Moon Jae-in on Thursday expressed hope for South Korean and Spain to form closer and more active ties in the tourism sector going forward, with the countries having decided to extend a bilateral travel exchange campaign that was canceled due to the pandemic. Moon, travelled to Spain for a three-day state visit, attended a South Korea-Spain tourism industry roundtable event held at the mountain-side monastery of Montserrat in Catalonia, north of Barcelona. At the event, the two govern

Foreign Affairs June 17, 2021

South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed back to Seoul on Thursday after a weeklong trip to Europe, during which he focused on making clear Seoul's commitment to playing a bigger role in global issues and improving strategic ties with Austria and Spain. He joined a Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, Britain, last weekend as a guest. Moon received an invitation to take part in last year's G-7 summit, scheduled to be hosted by the U.S., as well but it was called off due to the pandemic. Cheong

Politics June 17, 2021

A state corruption probe agency has not fully started an investigation into Yoon Seok-youl, a former prosecutor general and a leading presidential hopeful, over abuse of power allegations, the agency's chief said Thursday. Kim Jin-wook, the head of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), said at a press conference that while the CIO has started working on the case, it has yet to launch a full-fledged investigation because of various circumstances. Over concerns th

Social Affairs June 17, 2021

South Korea's global competitiveness ranking remained unchanged this year after rising by five notches in the previous year on the back of its efforts to contain the pandemic, a report showed Thursday. The country ranked 23rd in terms of global competitiveness among 64 countries surveyed, according to the 2021 report by the International Institute for Management Development. IMD, a Swiss-based international institution, has been releasing the report every year since 1989 based on a country's e

Economy June 17, 2021

South Korean stocks ended a five-session winning streak Thursday as investor sentiment for risky assets weakened over the Federal Reserve's comments about an earlier-than-expected timeline for a rate hike. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.72 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 3,264.96 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.8 billion shares worth some 14.4 trillion won ($12.7 billion), with losers outnum

Market June 17, 2021

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia next week for talks with his counterparts over public health, economic recovery from COVID-19 and other regional issues, the foreign ministry said Thursday. It will mark Chung's first trip to Southeast Asia since his inauguration in February. The trip, set to begin Monday, comes amid Seoul's efforts to cement its New Southern Policy aimed at deepening cooperation with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Foreign Affairs June 17, 2021

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday announced his intention to run for president next year, promising to become a leader to build a strong economy and stamp out inequality. Chung launched his bid for the nomination of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) under the slogan of "Strong Korea, Economic President." "I will be an economic president of a strong Republic of Korea, who fights all inequalities," he said during an event in Seoul to kick off his candidacy. &qu

Politics June 17, 2021

South Korea plans to administer COVID-19 vaccines to 22 million people of the general public aged between 18 and 59 starting next month as part of its inoculation campaign, health authorities said Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced the list of third-quarter vaccine recipients to achieve its goal of vaccinating 36 million people in the country of 51.3 million by September. The country's vaccination campaign started on Feb. 26 with some virus-vulnerable gr

Social Affairs June 17, 2021

Military investigators on Thursday raided the offices of an Air Force unit over allegations its members leaked details of a sexual harassment case that led to a noncommissioned officer taking her own life last month, the defense ministry said Thursday. The raid at the 15th Special Missions Wing in Seongnam, south of Seoul, is part of an ongoing investigation into the death of the master sergeant, surnamed Lee, who allegedly suffered groping and other abuse by her colleague during a car ride bac

Social Affairs June 17, 2021

South Korea's state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) said Thursday it has sold 200 billion won ($177 million) in environment, social and governance (ESG) bonds to help support pandemic-hit households and companies. The five-year bonds, which mark KAMCO's first ESG debt sale in line with standards set by the International Capital Market Association, carry an annual interest rate of 1.884 percent. The state asset manager said the proceeds will be used in helping the vulnerable by purchas

Industry June 17, 2021

South Korean companies saw their profitability continue their growth in the first quarter, with their sales rebounding from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The ratio of operating profit to sales of firms in the country reached 6.4 percent in the first quarter, up from 4.2 percent tallied a year ago, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). At the same time, the pretax net profit margin of South Korean companies rose on-year to 7.9 percent from

Economy June 17, 2021

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Thursday it will invest a total of 23.6 billion won ($20.9 million) in three companies under the fintech-focused Webcash Group in a move to strengthen its foothold in financial services. A KT spokesperson said the company will invest 14.4 billion won in Webcash, which operates Kyungrinara, a bookkeeping solution for small businesses, and a combined 9.2 billion won in bizplay, a business expense management platform operator, and Roumit, also

Technology June 17, 2021

More than 65 percent of teachers, parents and students were positive about more in-person learning in the second half, a survey showed Thursday, as the Ministry of Education gears up for bringing all children back to their classrooms full time. The survey conducted by the ministry on 1.65 million of them nationwide from June 3-9 showed that 39.8 percent of the respondents considered wider school reopening to be "very positive" and 25.9 percent "positive." Among parents, 77.

Social Affairs June 17, 2021

Labor and management representatives met this week to negotiate the details of next year's minimum wage but came away with little progress after clashing on whether the rate should be hourly or monthly. The Minimum Wage Commission, a trilateral panel composed of nine representatives each from labor, management and the general public, held its third meeting this year Tuesday to begin negotiations in earnest. The commission holds plenary meetings around this time each year to set the following y

Social Affairs June 17, 2021

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Thursday pledged efforts to realize the United Nations' values of peace and liberty on the Korean Peninsula during a forum marking nearly three decades since the country joined the international body. Chung also reaffirmed the Moon Jae-in administration's "unwavering" efforts for lasting peace on the divided peninsula, as Seoul and Washington seek a diplomatic strategy to resume nuclear diplomacy with a recalcitrant Pyongyang. "The Moon adminis

Foreign Affairs June 17, 2021