South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 for the first time in three days Friday, but the government decided to extend toughened social distancing rules for two more weeks through mid-January to try to reduce critical cases and contain the omicron variant. The country added 4,875 new COVID-19 infections, including 4,758 local infections, raising the total caseload to 630,838, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily tally represented a sharp de

Social Affairs Dec. 31, 2021

Can Samsung Electronics Co. live up to the expectations and hype that the company helped create in the days leading up to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next week? Earlier this week, the South Korean tech giant unveiled a teaser video featuring alien employees working hard behind a frosted window on the next innovations. Aliens have been often used by the company in its marketing strategy to create hype about its tech prowess being unparalleled and on another level. As far b

Industry Dec. 31, 2021

North Korea has discussed a draft resolution expected to be adopted at the close of an ongoing key party meeting, its state media reported Friday, amid expectations the document could include its foreign policy line for the new year. The North convened a fourth day of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's 8th Central Committee on Thursday, during which participants "concluded sectional workshops and consultative sessions," according to the official Korean Central News

North Korea Dec. 31, 2021

Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday it will suspend one of its seven domestic plants next month to prepare for the production of electric vehicles. Hyundai Motor will halt the Asan plant from Jan. 3-28 to upgrade the facilities before beginning production of EVs next year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company plans to resume operations of the 300,000-unit-a-year Asan plant, which produces the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe SUV, on Feb. 3. Hyundai has seven domestic plants -- five

Industry Dec. 30, 2021

The South Korean stock market finished the final session of the year with lackluster trading Thursday as investors took to the sidelines amid a lack of market-moving events. The local currency gained ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 15.64 points, or 0.52 percent, to finish at 2,977.65. Trading volume was a bit slim at about 454.04 million shares worth 8.59 trillion won ($7.23 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 485 to 377. T

Market Dec. 30, 2021

An Army service member suffered an injury in a land mine explosion near the inter-Korean border Thursday, an official said. The detonator of the Claymore directional anti-personnel mine exploded at the front-line Army base in Yanggu, 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul, when the troops were inspecting their equipment. The soldier is currently receiving medical treatment, although the official said his injury does not appear to be life-threatening. The Army is currently investigating the exact c

Defense Dec. 30, 2021

Hanwha Solutions Corp. a chemical and energy unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Thursday it is acquiring the telecommunication module business of Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. in a bid to diversify its electronics component sector. Under the agreement signed between the two companies earlier in the day, Hanwha Solutions will take over the WiFi module and the high-speed fifth-generation (5G) milimeter wave (mmWave) antenna module divisions from the Samsung unit, it said in a p

Industry Dec. 30, 2021

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he wants to pay a visit to former President Park Geun-hye when she recovers her health, as Park was to be set free later in the day under a presidential pardon. Park's release puts Yoon in an awkward position as he headed the investigation of Park's corruption scandal in 2016 that eventually led to her impeachment, ouster from office and imprisonment. "I would like to visit and meet former President Park Geun-hye when she

Politics Dec. 30, 2021

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) claimed Thursday it has detected suspicious opinion rigging attempts against its presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol as it plans to lodge complaints with election and law enforcement authorities over the issue. The PPP said it found signs of illicit cyber operations targeting Yoon through its self-developed software Kraken. The software was designed to spot manipulative online comments in order to prevent incidents like the 2017 opinion rigging scan

Politics Dec. 30, 2021

The planned expansion of the government's COVID-19 vaccine pass system to include 12- to 18-year-olds will likely be delayed by one month to next March, government officials said Thursday. The possible delay may be formally announced by the government on Friday, together with its decision on whether to extend the current strict social distancing measures for two more weeks, the officials said. Starting on Dec. 6, South Korea expanded its vaccine pass program, requiring vaccine passes or a nega

Social Affairs Dec. 30, 2021

The Constitutional Court has ruled again unanimously that there is no problem with the Medical Service Act that allows only blind people to be eligible for an official license as massage therapists, officials said Thursday. A group of sighted massage parlor owners filed the petition claiming the law infringes upon their right to choose jobs. The law stipulates up to three years in prison or 30 million won ($25,300) in fines for those practicing massage therapy for profit without a license. But

Social Affairs Dec. 30, 2021

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) reclaimed its status as South Korea's largest umbrella union in 2020, outpacing its rival organization in terms of membership size, a government report showed Thursday. According to the labor ministry's latest report on workplace unionization, the number of union members registered under FKTU was recorded at 1.15 million, or 41.1 percent of the total 2.8 million unionized workers in the country as of 2020. The more militant Korean Confederation of T

Social Affairs Dec. 30, 2021

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Thursday its new biosimilar of the arthritis drug Humira has won approval from Canadian authorities. Yuflyma, an adalimumab biosimilar with a high concentration, is used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory diseases. Yuflyma requires only half the solution administered to patients compared with the existing Humira biosimilar and is also citrate-free, which lessens discomfort during injection. Celltrion re

Technology Dec. 30, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it sold four times as many foldable Galaxy Z series phones this year as last year, further solidifying its lead in the fast-growing new smartphone segment. While the South Korean tech giant did not disclose the exact tally, the total sales of the Galaxy Z series is believed to be around 8-9 nine million units this year, led by the popularity of the Galaxy Z Fold3, which folds in half like a book, and the clamshell-type Galaxy Z Flip3, among young tech-savv

Technology Dec. 30, 2021

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has widened his lead over his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol to 11 percentage points in a hypothetical four-way race, a survey showed Thursday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party garnered 39 percent support against Yoon of the conservative People Power Party's 28 percent, according to the survey of 1,000 adults conducted Monday through Wednesday by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research. Lee gained 4 percentag

Politics Dec. 30, 2021