Two prominent biological scientists in South Korea have been named as foreign members of the Royal Society of Britain, the scientific academy said. Professors Kim V. Narry of Seoul National University and Lee Sang-yup of KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) became first South Koreans to join the Royal Society, according to its announcement Thursday (local time). Founded in 1660, the society is one of the most prestigious and oldest institutes in the field of science. It h

Social Affairs May 8, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose back to the 700s for the first time in 10 days Saturday as the country remains on alert for a potential upsurge in variant cases. The country reported 701 more COVID-19 cases, including 672 local infections, raising the total caseload to 126,745, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement. The daily caseload reached 488 on Monday on fewer tests over the weekend and stayed under 700 from Tuesday to Friday. There wer

Social Affairs May 8, 2021

South Korea's oil refining industry is expected to rebound in the first quarter thanks to surging global oil prices and a recovery in refining margins after hemorrhaging from the pandemic-driven slump last year, analysts said Saturday. Four refiners -- SK Innovation Co., GS Caltex Corp., S-Oil Corp. and Hyundai Oil Bank Corp. -- registered their worst performances ever last year, stung by slumping crude prices, weak refining margins and tumbling demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The fou

Industry May 8, 2021

A yellow dust storm that originated in the Gobi Desert in northern China and Mongolia on Friday blanketed most of South Korea, including the greater Seoul area, the state weather agency said. A fine dust advisory, issued for Seoul at 1 p.m., was upgraded to a fine dust warning one hour later, as the average hourly concentration of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 10, surged to 610 micrograms per cubic meter in the capital Friday afternoon. A fine dust wa

Social Affairs May 7, 2021

Samsung Securities Co. on Friday reported its first-quarter net income of 289 billion won ($257.8 million), up 1776.4 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 399.3 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 22 billion won a year ago. Revenue fell 43.5 percent to 3.29 trillion won. The operating profit was in line with the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. Th

Market May 7, 2021

A presidential secretary on Friday offered to resign over allegations that he awarded public projects worth millions to his private firm while serving as a senior official at the Seoul city government. The resignation offer by Jun Hyo-kwan, a presidential secretary for cultural affairs, came amid the allegations, raised by an opposition lawmaker, that his private company received a total of 12 orders worth 5.1 billion won ($4.5 million) from the Seoul city government from 2014-2018. During the

Politics May 7, 2021

The evolving US-led Quad forum is neither a security alliance nor an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a US White House official said Friday, stressing it is an open framework designed to tackle shared challenges. Edgard Kagan, senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, made the remarks in a virtual seminar, amid a sense that the Quad, which consists of the United States, Australia, India and Japan, aims to counter the rise of Chin

Foreign Affairs May 7, 2021

South Korea's housing market sentiment slightly exceeded par for the first time in 47 months in May on rising hopes of business improvements, a poll showed Friday. The Korea Housing Institute said that its housing business sentiment index (HBSI), based on a survey of about 500 construction companies, amounted to 101.2 for this month. It represents the first time for the HBSI to surpass the 100 level since it stood at 121.8 in June 2017. A reading above 100 means the number of companies foreca

Economy May 7, 2021

A former senior prosecutor was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for taking bribes in connection with a financial fraud scandal involving Lime Asset Management. The Seoul Southern District Court convicted Yun Gap-geun, former chief of the Daegu High Prosecutors Office, of accepting bribes through good offices. He was indicted for accepting about 220 million won ($196,250) in kickbacks from Lee Jong-pil, former vice president of the hedge fund, and the chairman of Metropolitan Group, a

Social Affairs May 7, 2021

Uncharacteristically wobbly with his command, Toronto Blue Jays' left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin labored through five innings for a road victory against the Oakland Athletics in his first outing back from the injured list (IL). But more importantly, the South Korean pitcher reported zero pain afterward. Ryu allowed four runs on six hits, including a home run, in five innings at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland on Thursday (local time) and watched his teammates tacking on late runs for a 10-4 victory. Ryu

Baseball May 7, 2021

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, the country's university students are fighting not only against the virus but also with their schools over tuition refunds. And that fight entered a new phase Thursday, as the Seoul Central District Court held a first hearing on a class action suit filed in July by nearly 3,000 students. A student association demanding tuition refunds called on the court to make a "rightful" ruling on the case, and criticized the schools for dragging th

Social Affairs May 7, 2021

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a photo session with families of the army, a day after attending their art performance, state media reported Friday. Earlier on Wednesday, Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended the performance of the art groups of servicemen's families from large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA), according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim highly appreciated the performers' devoted efforts for being "reliable assistants to their husbands&quo

North Korea May 7, 2021

SM Entertainment, the K-pop powerhouse behind acts like SuperM and EXO, on Friday unveiled a plan to launch a new K-pop band in the United States through a televised audition program. SM and MGM Worldwide Television will introduce a competition series to pick members of a new boy band named NCT-Hollywood, one of the subunits for SM's NCT boy band brand, the company said in a statement. NCT, short for Neo Culture Technology, is SM Entertainment's international idol group project launched in 201

K-pop May 7, 2021

Five Navy sailors tested positive for the new coronavirus while on the same naval ship, bringing the total caseload from the vessel to 38, the defense ministry said Friday. Last month, the Navy reported 33 COVID-19 cases among members of the Gojunbong landing ship in the first mass infection on a military vessel. Of 84 sailors aboard the ship, 51 tested negative and have been in isolation, but five of them were found to have contracted the virus in a test required to exit quarantine, the min

Defense May 7, 2021

The top diplomats of South Korea and Britain have agreed to reinforce cooperation on equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and the expansion of bilateral exchanges during their talks near London, the foreign ministry said Friday. The agreement came during a strategic dialogue between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, in the London suburb of Kent on Thursday, the day after a Group of Seven ministerial session ended. "The two minister

Foreign Affairs May 7, 2021