A Russian court has renewed the detention period of a South Korean national arrested in Moscow on suspected espionage charges for another month until mid-November, Russian media reported Tuesday. The Moscow court made the decision on the South Korean, surnamed Baek, as it turned down Baek's appeal against an earlier court decision in June that extended his detention for three months until September, the TASS and Rio Novosti news agencies reported. Baek has been held in the Lefortovo detenti

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2024

Rising K-pop girl group Kiss of Life has set its sights on one of the biggest stages in music: Coachella. With the release of its third EP, "Lose Yourself," on Tuesday, the four-member group revealed its aspirations to perform at the renowned North American music festival. The group, known for hits like "Shhh," "Bad News" and "Sticky," held a press showcase in Seoul to discuss the new album and future ambitions. "We've had this big dream of perfo

K-pop Oct. 15, 2024

South Korea's state-run oil developer said Tuesday it has picked an adviser for the exploration of potential oil and gas reserves off the nation's East Sea. The Korea National Oil Corp has named S&P Global as the adviser for a project in the East Sea that could potentially uncover between 3.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of gas and oil. If confirmed, the quantity would be sufficient to meet the country's gas demand for up to 29 years and its oil demand for four years. The KN

Industry Oct. 15, 2024

US space firm SpaceX may launch its Starlink satellite internet services in South Korea next year, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, the science ministry had notified the revisions of related regulations for Starlink's internet services. After a six-month period, the science ministry will launch the process for the approval of a deal between SpaceX and its Korean unit, Starlink Korea. The sources said once all required processes are completed, SpaceX will launch the s

Technology Oct. 15, 2024

Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun apologized Tuesday over the fate of members of a past secret unit that trained commandos to infiltrate into North Korea for the first time since they were killed more than a half century ago. Kim's apology was read on his behalf during a ceremony to mark the beginning of an excavation project to find the yet-recovered remains of four Silmido unit members who were executed and secretly buried in 1972. "May those who were sacrificed during the Silmido inc

Defense Oct. 15, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol urged Tuesday bipartisan efforts to abolish the planned financial investment income tax and instructed the government to prepare lifting a temporary ban on short selling in March 2025 to shore up the stock market. During a Cabinet meeting, Yoon addressed the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the financial investment income tax, which would impose a 20 percent tax on capital gains exceeding 50 million won ($38,000) from stock investments, or a 25 percen

Politics Oct. 15, 2024

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday it plans to send a delegation to the Philippines and Thailand to explore infrastructure and development-related cooperation with the countries. During the four-day trip beginning Tuesday, the delegation headed by First Vice Land Minister Jin Hyun-hwan plans to meet with Manila's land and transport ministries, as well as the Asian Development Bank officials, to discuss cooperation in related areas. In Thailand, the delegation pl

Economy Oct. 15, 2024

Container shipping costs from South Korea to China rose for the eighth consecutive month in September, the customs agency said Tuesday. The average shipping cost for a 40-foot container from South Korea to China climbed 17.6 percent on-month to 862,000 won ($634.48) last month, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The figure has been on a constant increase since February. But the average shipping costs from South Korea to the European Union shed 14.7 percent, the first fall in f

Economy Oct. 15, 2024

Russia has called on South Korea to refrain from further provocations in response to North Korea's accusation that Seoul had deployed unmanned drones. North Korea claimed Friday that South Korea sent unmanned drones carrying anti-North propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang on Oct. 3, as well as on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, however, said he could not confirm the North's claim. "The South Korean authorities should take Pyongyang&#

Diplomatic Circuit Oct. 15, 2024

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 5.45 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,628.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks closed sharply higher ahead of earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.47 percent to close at 43,065.22, breaching the 43,000 mark for the first time, while the S&P 500 also climbed to a record high of 5,859.85. In Seoul, large cap

Market Oct. 15, 2024

This year's Nobel economics prize laureates on Monday applauded South Korea's economic rise, a key subject of their research, but pointed out a set of challenges ahead, including the fast-graying population of Asia's fourth largest economy. They also drew a stark contrast between the economic backwater of North Korea -- a repressive country under an institutional framework that they said serves only a certain elite class -- and South Korea under a more "inclusive" system

Foreign Affairs Oct. 15, 2024

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accused the South Korean military on Monday of sending unmanned drones carrying leaflets over Pyongyang in recent days, while also blaming the United States for the incident. "We clearly know that the main culprit behind the Pyongyang drone incident is the trash of the South Korean military," Kim said in a statement carried by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency. She, however, provided no eviden

North Korea Oct. 14, 2024

Both the Samsung Lions and the LG Twins have altered their pitching plans for the ongoing Korea Baseball Organization postseason series -- with the latter team deciding to switch things up after Monday's game was postponed due to rain. The two teams were scheduled to play Game 2 of their best-of-five series at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Monday, but rain pushed the contest to Tuesday, back at the same venue. Speaking to reporters before the postp

Baseball Oct. 14, 2024

South Korean shares closed sharply higher Monday, helped by strong advances in tech and financial shares. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 26.38 points, or 1.02 percent, to close at 2,623.29. Trading volume was moderate at 391 million shares worth 8.3 trillion won ($6.12 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 488 to 395. Foreigners net bought 77.6 billion won worth of shares while retail investors dumped 440

Market Oct. 14, 2024

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose for the 11th consecutive month in September, driven by record sales of semiconductors, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $22.4 billion last month, up 24 percent from $18.04 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The monthly tally marked the second highest since March 2022. Imports of ICT products increased 15.9 percent on-year to

Economy Oct. 14, 2024