Prime Minister Han Duck-soo met with Thailand's Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa in Seoul on Thursday and discussed bilateral relations and future cooperation, Han's office said. The meeting took place as the top Thai diplomat paid a courtesy call on Han while on his visit to South Korea this week. In Thursday's meeting, Han expressed hope that South Korea and Thailand will further deepen their economic cooperation in areas like clean energy and smart infrastructure, the pri

Foreign Affairs Aug. 1, 2024

South Korean stocks increased for two straight sessions Thursday driven by the US Federal Reserve's strong signal for a rate cut next time. The local currency rose sharply against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index increased 6.99 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,777.68, following a 1.19 percent rise the previous day. Trade volume was moderate at 463.9 million shares worth 10.6 trillion won ($7.75 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 632 to 247. Foreig

Market Aug. 1, 2024

South Korean stocks started higher Thursday, driven by the US Federal Reserve's rate-cut signals. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) gained 18.65 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,789.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading. At its rate-setting meeting, the US central bank froze its key rate in the 5.25-5.50 percent range. Chair Jerome Powell said a reduction in policy rate "could be on the table" at its upcoming meeting next month. The comments pushed up US stocks,

Market Aug. 1, 2024

South Korea's exports extended on-year gains to the tenth straight month in July on the back of the robust performance of semiconductors, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments rose 13.9 percent on-year to $57.4 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports added 10.5 percent on-year to $53.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.62 billion. South Korea has been maintaining a trade surplus for 14 consecutive months. The com

Economy Aug. 1, 2024

The United States is considering a new measure meant to prevent Samsung Electronics Co., SK hynix Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. from supplying high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to Chinese firms, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Citing people familiar with the matter, the news outlet said that the US is weighing the unilateral restrictions on China's access to artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips and equipment capable of making those chips "as soon as next month," though no fin

Economy Aug. 1, 2024

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark lending rate steady for an eighth consecutive time, while its chair said a rate cut could be "on the table" as soon as September if conditions are met. After the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the central bank announced the decision to maintain the rate in the 5.25 to 5.50 percent range, a 23-year high, and pointed out "some further progress" toward its inflation target of 2 percent. Albeit in a cautious t

Economy Aug. 1, 2024

PARIS -- South Korea has secured at least the silver medal in the mixed doubles event in badminton at the Paris Olympics, after an all-Korean semifinal duel as set up on Wednesday. Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung first advanced to the semifinals by defeating Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong 2-0 (21-15, 21-10) in the quarterfinals at La Chapelle Arena in Paris. Moments later, Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun also reached the semifinals with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-14) win over Chen Tang Jie and

More Sports Aug. 1, 2024

PARIS -- They say all good things come in threes. At the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, South Korea collected its third consecutive gold medal in the men's sabre team event. Oh Sang-uk, Gu Bon-gil, Park Sang-won and Do Gyeong-dong pushed South Korea past France 45-41 in the final, making South Korea the first Asian country to win three straight team fencing medals in Olympic history. The streak started in 2012 in London. The men's sabre team event was not included in the 2016 Rio de Ja

More Sports Aug. 1, 2024

PARIS -- The South Korean men's sabre fencing team at the Paris Olympics was much different than the one at the Tokyo Games three years ago. But the new-look team produced the exact same result on Wednesday: the gold medal. With half of the team from 2021 changed, South Korea defeated Hungary 45-41 in the gold medal match of the Paris Games at Grand Palais in the French capital. Oh Sang-uk, Gu Bon-gil and Park Sang-won, with Do Gyeong-dong as an alternate, gave South Korea its third conse

More Sports Aug. 1, 2024

  PARIS -- South Korea seized its third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men's sabre fencing team competition on Wednesday in Paris, becoming just the second country ever to win at least three gold medals in a row in that event. World No. 1 South Korea defeated third-ranked Hungary 45-41 in the gold medal match of the Paris Summer Games at Grand Palais in the French capital. Oh Sang-uk, Gu Bon-gil and Park Sang-won started in the final, with Do Gyeong-dong subbing in for Gu later. Oh,

More Sports Aug. 1, 2024

Major Southeast Asian nations and their Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea and the United States, have called for North Korea to "fully comply" with U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions banning its nuclear and missile programs, as they wrapped up an annual ministerial meeting in Laos last week. The chairman's statement from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), released Tuesday, also called on countries to "fully implement" UNSC resolutions on North Korea and mak

North Korea July 31, 2024

Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union are still at odds over any breakthrough in their wage negotiations amid an ongoing strike, industry sources said Wednesday. The negotiations between management and the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) started Monday after their previous talks ended without an agreement last week. Last week's meeting was the first management-labor discussion since NSEU's full-scale strike started on July 8. The NSEU has proposed three days of &quo

Industry July 31, 2024

South Korea's intelligence agency is closely watching relations between North Korea and China, amid increasing signs of the two countries growing apart, officials said Wednesday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it is monitoring any unusual moves after learning that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has apparently instructed his diplomats stationed in China "not to mind Beijing" when they are on the job. South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported earlier in the

North Korea July 31, 2024

Seoul shares ended sharply higher Wednesday on tech gains amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve may begin a rate cutting cycle within months. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shot up 32.50 points, or 1.19 percent, to close at 2,770.69. Trade volume was moderate at 543.14 million shares worth 11.84 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 586 to 302. Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 202 billion won

Market July 31, 2024

An attempt by victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery to collect court-ordered compensation from the Japanese government has fallen through as Tokyo refused to submit a list of its assets in South Korea. The case involves several Korean victims of Japan's sexual enslavement during World War II, who won a damages suit against the Japanese government in early 2021, securing a claim of 100 million won ($72,364) in compensation per person. However, Japan refused to pay the ordered compen

Foreign Affairs July 31, 2024