South Korean restaurants' business sentiment rebounded in the first quarter of the year on eased social distancing rules, but it was still below pre-pandemic levels, a state food distribution firm said Thursday. The business survey index (BSI) for the country's restaurant industry stood at a post-pandemic high of 67.26 for the January-March period, up 7.5 points from a year earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. The first-quarter reading was also 7.93 points high

Economy April 29, 2021

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Thursday it has launched an alliance with global tech giants, including Microsoft Corp. and SAP, to support local startups in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) sectors. The alliance, named ESG Korea 2021, will offer information and communication technology-based solutions for startups that seek to solve social problems and help them measure their progress in the field, according to a statement from SK Telecom. It aims to s

Industry April 29, 2021

Mercedes-Benz Korea, BMW Korea and five other companies will voluntarily recall nearly 14,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The seven companies -- which include Honda Korea Co., Tesla Korea, MAN Truck & Bus Korea Ltd. and Hanbul Motors, which imports vehicles of France's PSA Group -- are recalling a combine

Mobility April 29, 2021

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for the fourth straight month for May, despite lingering concerns about sluggish consumption amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 98 for May, up from 91 for April, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber o

Economy April 29, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday expected its semiconductor business to rebound in the current quarter following mediocre performance, although its mobile unit is projected to suffer a profit decline after spearheading its strong first-quarter earnings. Samsung's net profit stood at 7.14 trillion won ($6.4 billion) in the January-March period, up 46.2 percent from a year earlier, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor said in a regulatory filing. Its operating profit jumped 4

Industry April 29, 2021

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke by phone with his Vietnamese counterpart on Wednesday and discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, including Japan‘s planned release of radioactive Fukushima water. In the phone talks with Bui Thanh Son, Chung asked for Vietnam’s close cooperation in strengthening the economic and other ties between South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the five Mekong countries -- Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Ca

Politics April 28, 2021

Defense Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday that the ballistic missiles North Korea test-fired last month flew about 600 kilometers, revising the military’s initial assessment. 　After the North‘s March 25 test-firing of two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the military said their flight range was 450 km. North Korean state media has claimed that the missiles flew 600 km. 　“We believe that they flew about 600 km,” Suh said in a parliamentary session when

Defense April 28, 2021

South Korean stocks dipped 1 percent on Wednesday as foreign investors offloaded local stocks to cash in recent gains ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 33.95 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 3,181.47 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 18 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 699 to 193. Foreigne

Market April 28, 2021

President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences Wednesday over the death of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, a former Catholic archbishop of Seoul. Moon described Cheong as a "big hill" of South Korea's Catholic community and a "guru of the nation." "The passing of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, who delivered peace not only to Catholics but also to all of the people throughout his life, is deeply regrettable," Moon wrote on his social media accounts. "He

Politics April 28, 2021

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Nam Yeong-shin apologized Wednesday over criticism that a boot camp and some other units enforced excessive anti-coronavirus rules in violation of human rights, such as restricting bathroom access. Nam offered the apology after convening an emergency meeting of senior commanders and ordered them to review the Army's health protection rules from scratch and come up with measures to prevent violating soldiers' rights in the course of its fight against COVID-19. "At

Defense April 28, 2021

South Korean health authorities said Wednesday that fully vaccinated people will be exempted from the country's mandatory 14-day isolation period from early next month as the country is struggling to speed up the vaccination campaign. Health authorities said that, under the country's anti-infection measures, those who have been fully inoculated will no longer be required to self-isolate themselves after coming in close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering the country from overseas from Ma

Social Affairs April 28, 2021

The defense ministry said Wednesday it is trying to secure new "large-scale" firing ranges for the US Forces Korea (USFK) as the American military has complained about limited access to the existing ones due to strong protests from residents. In a report presented to the National Assembly, the ministry said that it will push to secure large-scale training sites as replacements of the existing ranges as part of its longer-term plan to resolve ongoing conflicts between the USFK and resi

Defense April 28, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. regained the top spot in the European smartphone market in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, on the back of robust sales of its new handsets. The South Korean tech giant represented 32 percent of smartphone sales in Europe in the January-March period, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier, and beat its US rival Apple Inc., which settled for 28 percent, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. Samsung was in the runner-up spot with

Industry April 28, 2021

South Korea will consider publishing a report on human rights situations in North Korea after securing more verifiable information and testimonies from North Korean defectors, a unification ministry official said Wednesday. The government runs a center for North Korean human rights records under the ministry to accumulate information on human rights violations in the reclusive country based mostly on interviews with North Korean defectors. The center was launched in 2016 in line with the North

North Korea April 28, 2021

The value of daily retail payments grew 15.2 percent on-year in 2020 as online financial transactions increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of daily retail payments, which are typically made between individuals and non-financial firms on a small sum of money, stood at 80.2 trillion won ($72 billion) last year, compared with 69.6 trillion won in 2019, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). With COVID-19 spreading, more consumers are using

Economy April 28, 2021