South Korea will extend a travel ban on six countries in the Middle East and Africa as well as some parts of the Philippines for six months due to prolonged security risks, the foreign ministry said Friday. The ban was slated to expire on Jan. 31. It will be extended for Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan and the southern region of the Philippine archipelago -- the Zamboanga Peninsula, Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi -- the ministry said. The designated regions are exposed to constant

Foreign Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

K-Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank, said Friday it has begun the process of an initial public offering (IPO) as part of efforts to raise funds to strengthen its foothold as a major digital financial platform. K-Bank sent a request for proposal to local and foreign securities firms earlier in the day, the first step of a company going public. It also plans to select a lead manager for an IPO by next month, according to company officials. "Details on IPO timelines will be determine

Economy Jan. 7, 2022

Seoul shares ended higher Friday spurred by gains in tech shares, though investors remain concerned about the Fed's looming tapering move. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 34.36 points, or 1.18 percent, to close at 2,954.89 points. The KOSPI rebounded from a 2.3 percent drop in the previous two sessions. The decline was attributable to Fed meeting minutes that suggested the US central bank may raise interest rates s

Market Jan. 7, 2022

President Moon Jae-in on Friday extended his sympathy over the deaths of three firefighters killed in a warehouse blaze in Pyeongtaek this week. Presidential Chief of Staff You Young-min visited the funeral altar earlier in the day and conveyed Moon's message of condolences to the bereaved families. Moon said he "prays for the repose of the three firefighters who died while facing the flames with thorough responsibility and courage," according to You. You said the government will

Politics Jan. 7, 2022

A Seoul court on Friday ruled against a same sex couple demanding the same spousal health insurance coverage as heterosexual couples, saying matrimony in South Korea is still considered a union between a man and a woman. In February of last year, So Seong-wook filed the administrative lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) after the agency canceled So's coverage under the insurance program of his male partner's employer. "The union of a man and a woman is still under

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

JEONJU -- South Korea's southwestern city of Jeonju will host next year's annual conference of the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO), officials said Friday. TPO, the largest international organization related to tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, was established in 2002 with the goal of developing the tourism industry through the formation of a network among regional cities. It has 136 cities in 16 countries, including South Korea, China and Japan, and 54 private org

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

President Moon Jae-in on Friday ordered aides to closely cooperate with US troops stationed in South Korea to curb the spread of COVID-19 at US military bases here. Moon also instructed aides to come up with enhanced antivirus measures for citizens and business facilities near US military bases, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. According to a recent report by the Stars and Stripes, the US military's news organization, US Forces Korea counted 467 new COVID-19 cases

Politics Jan. 7, 2022

K-pop superstar BTS has grabbed the honor of having the most sold digital song of the year in the United States for the second time. "Butter" was the most sold digital song of the year in the country with 1.89 million downloads sold, according to an annual year-end report released jointly by MRC Data and Billboard on Thursday (US time). In 2020, the group's "Dynamite" was the top seller with 1.26 million sold. The summery disco-pop song was released in May as the group's se

K-pop Jan. 7, 2022

South Korea on Friday sought cooperation with partner nations to overcome current global supply chain disruptions and to seek measures to ensure stable supply chains, the industry ministry said. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request during a meeting with ambassadors and charge d'affaires of 10 resource-rich nations held in Seoul in the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The 10 nations are Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, th

Foreign Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

Police on Friday pressed murder charges against the owner of a children's sports center in Seoul on charges of sticking a 70-centimeter plastic stick into the anus of an employee and causing him to die with ruptured organs. The 41-year-old suspect, whose identity was withheld, was arrested Sunday for killing the 20-something employee at the facility in northwestern Seoul on Dec. 31. The Seodaemun Police Station referred the suspect to the prosecution for further investigations. Police said the

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol by 10 percentage points with the election just two months away, a survey showed Friday. Lee of the ruling Democratic Party garnered 36 percent, while Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party gained 26 percent, showed the Gallup Korea survey of 1,002 adults conducted Tuesday and Thursday. Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, came in third with

Politics Jan. 7, 2022

South Korea plans to announce measures to boost the domestic reserves of key items related to economic security in the first quarter in a bid to cope with risks from strains on the global supply chain, a senior government official said Friday. In a related move, the country plans to boost the stockpile of rare metals to 100 days of use from the current 57 days and raise the reserves of some rare metals to a maximum of 180 days of use in case their supply faces instability, according to First Vi

Economy Jan. 7, 2022

POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Friday that it has started the construction of a plant in China that will produce galvanized steel sheets to be used in making cars. The plant in Tangshan in northern China's Hebei Province, whose construction is to be completed by 2023, will have a production capacity of 900,000 tons, according to POSCO. In June last year, POSCO signed a deal with HBIS Group, China's second-biggest steelmaker, to set up a $600 million joint venture i

Industry Jan. 7, 2022

SUWON -- An appeals court upheld a 3 1/2-year prison term for a North Korean defector charged with spying for Pyongyang, court officials said Friday. The defector, whose identity was not made public, was indicted on charges of meeting with a North Korean official after traveling to a border region between China and the North in May 2018 at the request of his brother staying in the North. During the meeting, the defector allegedly accepted a request from the official to collect and deliver info

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

Senior diplomats of South Korea and Iran had discussions on Iranian assets frozen here under US sanctions, the foreign ministry said Friday, with the thorny bilateral issue on the table for the talks in Vienna aimed at restoring the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. Seoul's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Bagheri Kani, in the Austrian capital Thursday (local time), on the sidelines of the eighth round of negotiations to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Pl

Foreign Affairs Jan. 7, 2022