The Kia Tigers announced their signings of two new foreign players on Monday, adding a former major league outfielder and a career minor league pitcher to their roster. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club inked outfielder Socrates Brito to a one-year contract at $900,000. The 29-year-old from the Dominican Republic will get $500,000 in salary, $100,000 in signing bonus and up to $300,000 in incentives. Ronnie Williams, a 25-year-old right-hander from Miami, agreed to a one-year deal at

Baseball Dec. 27, 2021

South Korea will push to submit an official application to join a mega Asia-Pacific free trade agreement in April next year by speeding up the process of collecting public opinions and building social consensus, the country's top economic policymaker said Monday. The government earlier said that it had begun the process to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) involving 11 nations as part of efforts to diversify its export portfolio. Finance Mi

Economy Dec. 27, 2021

SM Entertainment, a leading K-pop agency, formed a new supergroup Monday with seven of its top female artists. GOT the beat consists of diva BoA; Taeyeon and Hyoyeon of Girls' Generation; Seulgi and Wendy of Red Velvet and Karina and Winter of aespa. It is the first group formed under SM's broader project titled "Girls On Top (GOT)" for debuting new female units with leading artists managed by the company. The new septet will debut at a free online concert titled "SMTOWN Live 2

K-pop Dec. 27, 2021

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's second-biggest shipbuilder by orders, said Monday it has received a 240 billion won ($202 million) order to build a liquefied natural gas ship for a shipper in Latin America by 2024. The company did not provide the name of the shipper. With the latest order, Samsung Heavy has achieved $12.2 billion worth of orders this year, exceeding its annual order target of $9.1 billion amid the pandemic. This year, Samsung Heavy said it has received orders to

Industry Dec. 27, 2021

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, on Monday shrugged off a possible alliance with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung, saying he is not interested in anyone's offer. Ahn dismissed the DP Chairman Song Young-gil's view that he can "integrate" with Lee. Song earlier said in a Yonhap News Agency interview that Ahn is essential for national development and he is the most meaningful candidate from the oppositi

Politics Dec. 27, 2021

South Korea's military on Monday reported 33 additional COVID-19 cases, including 31 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,153. Of the new cases, 11 are from the Navy, nine from the Army, eight from the Air Force, and five from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 278 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,358 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Defense Dec. 27, 2021

The cost of living was cited as the most important economic issue of 2022 by Seoul citizens, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey on 1,200 households in the capital by the Seoul Institute, 19.2 percent of the respondents said the cost of living is the top economic issue next year. Another 17.3 percent cited youth unemployment and job creation followed by mortgage loans and increasing household debts at 9.8 percent, the result of the 2022 presidential election at 8.3 percent, incom

Economy Dec. 27, 2021

South Korea has signed a contract to mass-produce ground communication devices for joint operations with the military's new satellite launched last year, the arms procurement agency said Monday. Under the deal, two local defense firms -- LIG Nex1 Co. and Hanwha Systems Co. -- will produce eight different ground-based communication devices through 2025 with a budget of 888.5 billion won ($748.5 million), according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The military launched i

Defense Dec. 27, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 for the first time in 20 days Monday due partly to antivirus restrictions and fewer tests over the weekend, but the number of critical cases remained high. The country added 4,207 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 611,670, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure marked the first time daily cases fell below 5,000 since Dec. 7, and represented a sharp decline from a daily record high

Social Affairs Dec. 27, 2021

South Korean girl group TWICE will hold two concerts at Tokyo Dome on April 23-24 as part of its ongoing world tour, the group's management agency said Monday. They will become the group's first performances in Japan since 2019, when it performed in seven big cities in the country as part of a world tour, according to JYP Entertainment. The new world tour titled "III" began with two concerts in Seoul, on Saturday and Sunday, which were the first in-person concerts by the group in 22

K-pop Dec. 27, 2021

Seoul shares opened lower Monday on profit taking amid lingering concerns over the impact of the omicron variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.62 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,008.81 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Individuals and foreigners' stock selling worth a combined 48 billion won ($40 million) exceeded institutions' stock purchases valued at 43 billion won.  Tech and airline stocks were lead decliners.  Market bellwether Samsun

Market Dec. 27, 2021

North Korea is spurring online education at major universities as part of efforts to train "intellectual-type workers" with science and technology expertise, according to its state media Monday. The North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, said around 100,000 workers are currently enrolled for online classes across the country, including 10,000 newly registered this year. North Korea has been highlighting its efforts to develop the remote education system as a tool to help workers

North Korea Dec. 27, 2021

South Korea's two leading presidential candidates are in a very tight race, with one opinion poll putting the main opposition's Yoon Suk-yeol ahead of the ruling party's Lee Jae-myung and another survey showing contrary results. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) had 40.4 percent, down 4 percentage points from a week ago, while Lee of the Democratic Party (DP) posted 39.7 percent, up 1.7 percentage points from a week earlier, according to a Realmeter poll conducted on 3,090 adults between Sun

Politics Dec. 27, 2021

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has stretched his goal scoring streak to four matches, helping his London club stay undefeated in their past six contests. Son rounded out Tottenham's scoring in the 74th minute of their 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). Son has now scored in four consecutive Premier League matches. He has a team-leading eight goals this season in 16 matches in the league and nine goals in all comp

Soccer Dec. 27, 2021

South Korea's military on Sunday reported 31 additional COVID-19 cases, including 30 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,120. Of the new cases, 22 are from the Army, six from the Navy and three from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 278 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,327 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Social Affairs Dec. 26, 2021