South Korea is not considering boycotting the Tokyo Olympics, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, after presidential hopefuls of the ruling Democratic Party mentioned the possibility of a boycott amid a renewed territorial spat with Japan over the East Sea islets of Dokdo. Rep. Lee Nak-yon and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun raised the need to mull boycotting the Games, slated to take place from July 23-Aug. 8, should Japan not revise the map of the Olympic torch relay route that included D

Politics June 8, 2021

SK hynix Inc., South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker, on Tuesday denied a rumor that it is facing damage worth 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) over defective DRAMs, saying that it has requested a police probe into such a cyber libel.  The rumor over SK hynix's possible loss has been circulating here from Monday night, claiming that the company is dealing with DRAM defects amounting to 240,000 wafers following its clients' complaints.  In a statement, SK hynix emphasized that the rumor is not t

Industry June 8, 2021

The prosecution sought a life sentence on Tuesday for the CEO of Optimus Asset Management, who is at the center of a massive financial fraud. At the sentencing hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, prosecutors demanded Kim Jae-hyun, head of the scandal-ridden private equity investment firm, be put behind bars for the rest of his life on charges of fraud and embezzlement. They also asked the court to assess him a fine of 4.057 trillion won ($3.6 billion) and a forfeiture of 1.43 trillion

Business June 8, 2021

South Korean stocks closed Tuesday after choppy trading, as increased valuation pressure offset hopes of a fast economic recovery. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 4.29 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,247.83 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.9 billion shares worth some 19.1 trillion won ($17.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 376. Foreigners sold a net 206 billion won, while institutions bo

Market June 8, 2021

  An Air Force pilot on Tuesday made an emergency exit from his KF-16 fighter jet during a takeoff run after detecting unspecified problems with the jet, forcing the Air Force to suspend all flights for aircraft inspection, officials said. The fighter jet was moving on the runway to take off from the 20th Fighter Wing in the western city of Seosan when the pilot spotted problems and ejected, according to the military. He sustained no injuries, but the aircraft was damaged and is currently

Defense June 8, 2021

DAEGU -- The mayor of Daegu offered an apology on Tuesday for causing a "big stir" over the southeastern city's recent bid to import a massive amount of Pfizer vaccines that turned out to be fake. Mayor Kwon Young-jin apologized to Daegu citizens and the whole nation in a news conference, saying his city's attempt to arrange for the South Korean government to buy 30 million doses of Pfizer vaccines from abroad was made out of good will. The incident dates back to May 31, when Kwon to

Politics June 8, 2021

K-pop boy band EXO has topped the iTunes top album chart in 85 regions with its latest release "Don't Fight the Feeling," its management agency said Tuesday. The album, released Monday, ranked No. 1 in regional charts in countries such as the United States, Britain, France, Canada and Germany, according to SM Entertainment. The album also sat atop digital album charts compiled by Chinese music services, like QQ Music, Kugou Music and Kuwo Music, it added. On QQ Music, it earned a tri

K-pop June 8, 2021

As attested by a convincing 5-0 victory over Turkmenistan over the weekend, there's clearly very little, if anything, wrong with South Korea in the ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign. On the eve of the next qualifier against Sri Lanka at home, South Korea head coach Paulo Bento said Tuesday he isn't about to fix anything that isn't broken. "We have not changed our style of play so far, and there's no reason why we should at this moment," Bento said in an online prematch press conf

Soccer June 8, 2021

South Korea's 11 international film festivals on Tuesday called for the release of a Myanmar filmmaker who was recently arrested in the military-controlled Southeast Asian country. "The festivals strongly condemn the ongoing violence in Myanmar and urge the release of the producer, Ma Aeint," the 11 organizations led by the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) said in a statement. "Furthermore, we ask all the related authorities to protect her safety and civil rights fairly.&

Film June 8, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party decided Tuesday to ask 12 sitting party lawmakers suspected of involvement in illegal real estate dealings to leave the party voluntarily. The decision came one day after the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced after a monthslong probe that 12 DP lawmakers are suspected of involvement in illegal real estate dealings by themselves or their families. "Having pledged to sternly respond to this issue during the previous party convention, our p

Politics June 8, 2021

The chief of a minor opposition party was fined 800,000 won ($720) Tuesday for lying about fabricating an internship document for a former justice minister's son. The Seoul Central District Court convicted Rep. Choe Kang-wook of the Open Democratic Party for violating the Public Official Election Act, saying he could have hindered voters from making a fair and reasonable decision during the general elections last year by spreading false information on a matter that had attracted huge public att

Politics June 8, 2021

SK Telecom Co., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Tuesday it will wrap up the testing of a next-generation traffic system in Seoul by the end of this month as it seeks to accelerate efforts to develop self-driving technology based on its high-speed 5G network. The telecom operator has been testing the traffic system, named the Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS), with the Seoul metropolitan government since early 2019 and has installed 1,735 5G sensors across the city's m

Industry June 8, 2021

The number of registered employees, who are eligible for state insurance programs, in South Korea rose 2.2 percent on-year in 2019, data showed Tuesday. There were 24.35 million registered employees in 2019, compared with 23.38 million in 2018, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. About 20.48 million people worked the same job in 2019, while some 3.87 million people changed jobs, the data showed. Of the people who changed jobs in 2019, people aged between 15 and 29 accounted fo

Economy June 8, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. aims to expand the use of its seventh generation V-NAND chip solutions, a senior executive said Tuesday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes to bolster its technology prowess in the memory sector. In the second half of the year, the world's leading memory chip maker will introduce a new consumer solid state drive (SSD) product based on its seventh generation V-NAND chip that boasts the smallest cell size yet in the industry, according to Song Jai-hyuk, head of Samsung's

Industry June 8, 2021

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 7.3 percent last year from 2019, the first time there has been a decrease for two consecutive years, the environment ministry said Tuesday. The ministry's Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center said total emissions last year are estimated at 648.6 million tons, down 7.3 percent from 2019, and down 10.9 percent from 2018, when the level of emissions was the highest at 727.6 million tons. The decrease was caused in part by less economic activity amid the CO

Social Affairs June 8, 2021