The government on Thursday hinted at easing a real estate holding tax for those who have become temporary multiple homeowners following a call from the ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. "There are some positive sides (of Lee's proposal)," Koo Yun-cheol, Minister for Government Policy Coordination, said in a MBC radio interview. He added that the government is currently discussing with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) over its real estate taxation scheme to stabilize

Politics Dec. 30, 2021

The floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday demanded a meeting with President Moon Jae-in following revelations that a state investigative agency checked the phone records of its presidential nominee, the nominee's wife and dozens of party lawmakers. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has come under fire over revelations that it obtained the phone records of journalists in an alleged attempt to identify the source of leaks to th

Politics Dec. 30, 2021

South Korean Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee has declined to appeal a recent two-month ban, an official confirmed Thursday, though the skater is mulling other options to get herself reinstated for the Beijing Winter Games in February. The Korea Skating Union (KSU) slapped Shim with the two-month penalty on Dec. 21, over her disparaging remarks on South Korean teammates and coaches in text messages during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Shim had until Wednesday to submit her appe

Olympic Games Dec. 30, 2021

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday it has imposed a combined fine of 912 million won ($769,500) on 107 affiliates of 40 conglomerates for their failure to properly make public filings on major business information. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it has looked into whether 2,612 affiliates of 71 large business groups subject to public filing obligations have fully made public disclosures of key details about business operations. Large business groups with assets of 5 trillion

Economy Dec. 30, 2021

The Kiwoom Heroes announced Thursday they will bring back starter Eric Jokisch for his fourth season in South Korea. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said Jokisch, 32, has agreed to a new one-year deal worth $1.3 million. He made $900,000 this year. Jokisch tied for the KBO lead with 16 wins in 2021, while ranking second with 181 1/3 innings pitched and fourth with a 2.93 ERA. He won the ERA title in 2020. Since 2019, his first in the KBO, Jokisch has posted the league's lowest ERA

Baseball Dec. 30, 2021

The South Korean baseball champions KT Wiz announced Thursday they will bring back both of their foreign starting pitchers for next year. The Wiz said they have signed right-handers Odrisamer Despaigne and William Cuevas to new one-year deals. Despaigne, 34, can earn a maximum $1.35 million, with $1.1 million in salary and signing bonus, plus up to $250,000 in incentives. The 31-year-old Cuevas can earn as much as $1.1 million won -- $1 million in salary and signing bonus, and a maximum $100,0

Baseball Dec. 30, 2021

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 28 additional COVID-19 cases, including 25 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,235. Of the new cases, 14 are from the Air Force, 10 from the Army, two from the Navy, one from the Marine Corps, and one from a unit under direct control of the ministry. Currently, 268 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,436 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Dec. 30, 2021

Air Busan Co., a budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., said Thursday it will open the Incheon-Vladivostok route in February to meet business travel demand.   Air Busan will offer flights to the Russian far eastern port city every two weeks from Feb. 5, the company said in a statement. "There is a growing outbound travel demand to Vladivostok for business purposes. Passenger travel demand is also expected to rise once the COVID-19 pandemic slows down," the statement

Industry Dec. 30, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 5,000 for the second day in a row Thursday as authorities weigh whether to extend the current social distancing rules amid concerns over the omicron variant and critical cases. The country added 5,037 new COVID-19 infections, including 4,930 local infections, raising the total caseload to 625,967, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Thursday's figure is lower than 5,408 cases reported the previous day but marked

Social Affairs Dec. 30, 2021

After a whirlwind of offseason transactions, there will be some familiar players in unfamiliar uniforms in South Korean baseball in 2022. Players who had spent over a decade with one team have moved on to other clubs -- to chase an elusive championship ring and, if they're being honest, boatloads of money. Park Byung-ho, who won two regular season MVPs with the Kiwoom Heroes, on Wednesday became the latest franchise icon to switch teams this month. He signed a three-year, 3 billion won (US$2.5

Baseball Dec. 30, 2021

South Korea has started the construction of a new 3,600-ton-class military submarine with improved ballistic missile capabilities, officials said Thursday. The second unit of Changbogo-III Batch-II class submarine, boasting advanced combat capabilities and sonar systems, is set to be built by 2026 and handed over to the Navy in 2028, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). It is expected to have 10 vertical launch tubes for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLB

Defense Dec. 30, 2021

A ruling party lawmaker plans to accept political donations in cryptocurrencies, his office said Thursday, amid rising interest in virtual assets in the country. Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the ruling Democratic Party is trying to get campaign contributions in virtual currencies and issue non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as a receipt for such donations starting mid-January. If realized, Lee would be the first lawmaker in South Korea to accept virtual assets for campaign finance. "We are currently re

Politics Dec. 30, 2021

SK hynix Inc, South Korea's key memory chip maker, said Thursday it has closed the first phase of the transaction to acquire Intel's NAND and solid-state drive (SSD) business, and will name the newly established subsidiary Solidigm. The announcement came eight days after it received the merger clearance from China's State Administration for Market Regulation, the last remaining major regulatory hurdle for its $9 billion acquisition of Intel's SSD business and the Dalian NAND flash manufacturin

Industry Dec. 30, 2021

South Korean shares opened a tad higher Thursday as investors snapped up tech blue-chip bargains following a drop in the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.31 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,997.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech and bio shares led the overall gains. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 0.63 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix spiked 3.15 percent. But auto, steel and chemicals were in negative terrain to keep the r

Market Dec. 30, 2021

North Korea had high-profile discussions on key policy issues for 2022 during a year-end plenary session of the Workers' Party, with senior officials, including those in charge of inter-Korean relations and foreign affairs in attendance, according to its state media Thursday. The North convened a third day of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the party's 8th Central Committee on Wednesday, during which "sectional workshops" continued from the previous day to "map out plans according to

North Korea Dec. 30, 2021