South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on eased recession woes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 36.85 points, or 1.44 percent, to 2,593.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In the United States, stock indices finished higher as better-than-expected unemployment data buoyed investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.76 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.87 percent. In Seoul, most share

Market Aug. 9, 2024

PARIS -- Kim Yu-jin, the latest Olympic taekwondo champion from South Korea, took a far more circuitous road to Paris than her teammates and many others who fancy themselves as medal contenders. Of the four South Korean taekwondo practitioners in Paris, Kim, who won the women's -57-kilogram gold medal on Thursday, had the lowest world ranking position at No. 24. Her three teammates, Park Tae-joon in the men's -58kg, Seo Geon-woo in the men's -80kg, and Lee Da-bin in the women�

More Sports Aug. 9, 2024

Woo Ha-ram ended up well off the podium in the men's 3-meter springboard diving event at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Woo scored 374.15 points to finish in 11th place among the 12 finalists at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. This was Woo's second straight appearance in the 3m springboard final. He had finished fourth in Tokyo in 2021, the best Olympic performance by a South Korean diver, but did not come close to topping that Thursday. He was in 11th place afte

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

The reigning bronze medalist Jun Woong-tae ranked fourth after the opening fencing event of the modern pentathlon at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Jeon went 22-13 in his 35 fencing matches in the men's ranking round and earned 235 points to rank fourth out of 36 athletes. A win-loss record of 25-10 is worth 250 points. Athletes earn five points for each additional victory and lose five points for each additional defeat beyond the 10th. Jun won bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to become

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

The 2016 Olympic women's golf champion Park In-bee has missed out on an election for membership on the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee, failing to earn enough support from fellow Olympians to join two other South Koreans at the top Olympic body. The IOC announced voting results for the Athletes' Commission on Thursday in Paris, and Park was not among the four newly elected members. Members on the Athletes' Commission have an eight-year term, and

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

Kim Su-ji just missed out on the final of the women's 3-meter springboard diving at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Kim finished 13th among 18 divers in the semifinal with 272.75 points at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, with only the top 12 moving on to the final. Kim finished 6.15 points behind the last qualifier, Yasmin Harper of Britain. Kim will be the first reserve in case a finalist cannot compete Friday. Kim ranked seventh after her first dive with 58.50 points

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

Sport climbing medal hopeful Seo Chae-hyun qualified for the women's combined event final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, making up enough ground in the lead portion of the competition after struggling in bouldering earlier in the week. Seo tied for fourth in the lead semifinal with 72.1 points at Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue in Le Bourget, north of Paris. Combined with 44.2 points from the bouldering semifinal Tuesday, Seo finished eighth overall among 20 climbers with 116.3 points

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

The Paris Olympic badminton champion An Se-young apologized to fellow South Korean athletes Thursday for stealing spotlight away from them with her recent criticism of the national badminton federation. Moments after winning the women's singles gold medal in Paris on Monday, An lashed out at her national team and the Badminton Korea Association for their poor handling of her knee injury, and for outdated and inefficient operations, among other things. She even said she found it difficult

More Sports Aug. 8, 2024

South Korean stocks ended a two-day rebound after the global crash as investor sentiment was dampened by lingering US recession woes and the sluggish performance of big tech firms. The local currency slightly fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 11.68 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 2,556.73. Trade volume was moderate at 477.7 million shares worth 11.2 trillion won ($8.1 billion), with losers closely beating winners 464 to 423. Foreigners and i

Market Aug. 8, 2024

Actress Han Ji-min and Jannabi front man Choi Jung-hoon are dating, Choi's agency confirmed Thursday. The couple reportedly developed feelings for each other after Han's appearance on the KBS music show "The Seasons," hosted by Choi, in August last year. During the show, they performed Jannabi's "A Thought on an Autumn Night" together. The 41-year-old actress debuted as an advertisement model in 1998 and has since built a successful acting career. She has starr

Television Aug. 8, 2024

The leader of the ruling People Power Party announced plans Thursday to provide an additional 15,000 won ($11) in electricity support to 1.3 million vulnerable households to help them better cope with the hot weather. Han Dong-hoon made the announcement during a meeting of the PPP supreme council, pointing out that many families are suffering from the record-breaking heat wave this summer. He explained his support scheme will essentially cover the entire electricity bill for the vulnerable house

Politics Aug. 8, 2024

Yonsei University has revoked the master's degree of a minor party leader's son following a court ruling related to the case, informed school officials said Thursday. The university recently decided to cancel the admission of Cho Won, the son of Cho Kuk, the chief of the Rebuilding Korea Party, into its graduate school of political science and diplomacy in 2018 and his master's degree earned from the same school in 2021, they said. The decision came after the Supreme Court confirm

Politics Aug. 8, 2024

A military intelligence official has been referred to the prosecution for allegedly leaking information of South Korean espionage agents operating overseas, the defense ministry said Thursday. "The Defense Counterintelligence Command has referred the civilian official at the Korea Defense Intelligence Command to the military prosecution on charges of violating the Military Secret Protection Act ... as well as espionage charges," the defense ministry said in a statement. The official, w

Defense Aug. 8, 2024

The government is considering requiring electric vehicle manufacturers to disclose information on car batteries amid an EV scare following a massive fire caused by a Mercedes-Benz vehicle last week, according to sources Thursday. According to the sources, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is reviewing the measures for car manufacturers to include EV battery manufacturer details in vehicle specifications. Currently, EV manufacturers are required to provide information on vehicle

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2024

The justice ministry on Thursday was scheduled to review beneficiaries of special presidential pardons to be granted on the occasion of Liberation Day next week, including a former South Gyeongsang governor and a former presidential secretary. President Yoon Suk Yeol will grant special pardons mostly to those convicted of livelihood-related crimes and others in commemoration of the Aug. 15 national holiday, the fifth round of such special pardons since his inauguration in 2022. The justice minis

Politics Aug. 8, 2024