South Korea's overseas aid agency said Tuesday it has provided $24 million worth of support to help eight developing countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic this year. The support measures were meant to help the countries diagnose, treat and prevent COVID-19, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) said in a press release. The beneficiaries of the support program were Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Jamaica.

Foreign Affairs Dec. 28, 2021

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, on Tuesday expressed opposition to granting a pardon to former President Lee Myung-bak, saying it could hamper national unity in the long term. After the government decided to pardon former President Park Geun-hye last week, some conservative supporters have been demanding that Lee, currently serving a 17-year prison term over embezzlement and bribery charges, should also be released. "We first need to think about whe

Politics Dec. 28, 2021

Most South Koreans, especially younger people, don't like China even though the administration of President Moon Jae-in has pursued pro-China policies, main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) made the remarks during a discussion hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in South Korea (AMCHAM) in his answer to a question about the country's dependence on exports to China. "The current government used policies skewed toward C

Politics Dec. 28, 2021

South Korea will become the ninth-largest contributor to the United Nations' regular and peacekeeping budgets starting next year, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The UN General Assembly on Friday approved the budget obligations for 193 member states, setting South Korea's share at 2.57 percent of the total funding for the 2022-24 period. The ratio was up from 2.27 percent for the 2019-21 period, moving the country's rank up two notches from the current 11th place. The ministry said South K

Foreign Affairs Dec. 28, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Tuesday it has received a 583 billion won ($490 million) order to build two patrol frigates for the Philippines. KSOE is the shipbuilding subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, the world's biggest shipbuilder by orders. Under the deal signed with the Southeast Asian country's defense ministry, KSOE's main affiliate Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. will build two 3,100-ton patrol frigates for the country by 2025, the compa

Industry Dec. 28, 2021

Seoul shares closed higher on Tuesday as foreign and institutional investors scooped up market heavyweights following overnight US gains. The local currency fell against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) went up 20.69 points, or 0.69 percent, to 3,020.24 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 593 million shares worth some 11.9 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 524 to 333. Individuals sold a net 1.9

Market Dec. 28, 2021

South Korea called Tuesday for Japan's retraction of a push to list a former mine linked to wartime forced labor as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, calling it "very deplorable." Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs has reportedly been pushing to register the Sado mine on the coveted list where Koreans were forced into hard labor during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. The move came as Seoul has repeatedly taken issue with Tokyo's failure to properly fulfill its pled

Politics Dec. 28, 2021

A vehicle skidded on an icy road in central South Korea and struck and killed three migrant workers who were out on the road to take care of an earlier accident, police said Tuesday. The mishap happened in the city of Asan, about 85 kilometers south of Seoul, on Monday evening when four people -- two Russians, one Uzbek and one Kazakh -- were helping out the Filipino driver of a 1-ton freight truck stranded on the slippery road. The four had got out of their Sorento SUV on the way home to help

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2021

North Korea hit back Tuesday at a recent US decision to retain it on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, accusing Washington of having engaged in terrorist acts under the pretext of "counterterrorism." Earlier this month, the State Department unveiled its annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2020, which kept the North on the list, along with Iran and Syria. In a post on its foreign ministry website, Pyongyang criticized Washington for posing as the "judge of terrorism,"

Politics Dec. 28, 2021

South Korea plans to double the number of electric and hydrogen vehicles on its roads next year as part of efforts to achieve its goal of net zero carbon emission by 2050. The government will seek to bring up the number of electric and hydrogen cars in use to about 500,000 in 2022, from the current level of about 248,000 units, the environment and four other ministries said in their joint announcement of policy plans for next year. Under the plans, the numbers of electric cars will rise by 200

Technology Dec. 28, 2021

Apple could submit its compliance plans for a new South Korean law that bans app store operators from forcing in-app payment systems on developers, industry sources said Tuesday. The new law went into effect in September, making South Korea the first country in the world to introduce such curbs on in-app billing policies of Apple and Google. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) requested Apple to turn in its compliance plans within this year as it drafted an enforcement decree of the revi

Technology Dec. 28, 2021

The global TV sensation "Squid Game" will likely return not only with season 2 but also with season 3, its creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said Tuesday. "I'm in talks with Netflix over season 2 as well as season 3," Hwang said in an online interview with Korean broadcaster KBS. "We will come to a conclusion any time soon." It is the first time that the director-writer has hinted at the possibility of a third season of the biggest Netflix original series after he confirmed

Television Dec. 28, 2021

South Korea plans to embark on a civilian-military project next year to design a solid-fuel space launch vehicle under a broad initiative to develop the country's space defense industry, the state arms procurement agency said Tuesday. At a policy forum, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) unveiled the initiative consisting of 24 key tasks aimed at locally developing cutting-edge technologies, nurturing the space industry and strengthening civilian-military cooperation. The in

Defense Dec. 28, 2021

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday he feels sorry for former President Park Geun-hye over a corruption probe he conducted as a senior prosecutor a few years ago that eventually led to her impeachment. "Even though the investigation of former President Park was my job as a public official, I feel truly sorry politically and emotionally as a human being," Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said during a discussion hosted by the Korea Broa

Politics Dec. 28, 2021

About 78 percent of salaried workers support the 52-hour workweek that was introduced in 2018 to reduce long working hours, a labor ministry survey showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 1,300 people, 71 percent said the reduction of the maximum weekly working hours to 52 from 68 was a good decision. Of the wage earning respondents, in particular, 77.8 percent were in support of the shorter workweek. The Nov. 26-30 survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.72 percentage points and

Social Affairs Dec. 28, 2021