Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 23 percent in November from a year earlier amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic, an industry association said Friday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles declined to 360 units last month from 468 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Decreased sales of MAN, Scania, and Mercedes-Benz trucks weighed on the monthly result, KAIDA said. From January to Nov

Industry Dec. 24, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 7,000 on Friday for the second day in a row on the back of antivirus restrictions, but critical cases surged to a record high again. The country added 6,233 more COVID-19 cases, including 6,163 local infections, bringing the cumulative total to 596,209, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's tally is down from 6,918 on Thursday and sharply down from 7,434 reported on Dec. 17. The number of critically ill patients, h

Social Affairs Dec. 24, 2021

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid eased concerns over global economic growth next year despite the outbreak of omicron virus strain. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 26.46 points, or 0.88 percent, to 3,024.63 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment was buoyed as the omicron variant is highly infectious but less likely to lead to hospitalization. Most stocks advanced across the board. Market bellwe

Market Dec. 24, 2021

The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has assigned 1.29 million doses of additional COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea, a UN website showed Friday. According to the U.N. Children's Fund's COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard, the addition increases the number of vaccines allocated to North Korea to 8.12 million doses. The number is up from the previously known 6.83 million, including 4.7 million doses of COVAX allocated to the North last month. The type of the newly allocated

Social Affairs Dec. 24, 2021

South Korea's central bank said Friday that it will "appropriately" adjust its monetary policy next year, given a variety of factors that could quicken inflation, suggesting that it will maintain the move to hike the key interest rate. In a report laying out its monetary policy direction for 2022, the Bank of Korea (BOK) also expected that the country's inflation will run in its 2 percent target range next year but expressed concerns over intensifying upward pressure from global suppl

Social Affairs Dec. 24, 2021

South Korea is in the final stage of signing a contract with US drug giant Pfizer Inc. to get its oral drug for COVID-19, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. "The government has been discussing a purchasing deal with Pfizer for a volume that is much more than our previously announced plan of 70,000 people," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. "We will announce the deal in detail once we confirm the contract and our drug safety agency approves emergency use

Social Affairs Dec. 24, 2021

President Moon Jae-in visited a front-line military unit on a western border island on Thursday and hailed Marines there for their hard work, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon flew by helicopter to Baengnyeong Island near the western sea border with North Korea and began his visit by paying his respects at a memorial dedicated to the 46 sailors killed in the North's sinking of the Cheonan corvette in 2010, his spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said in a written briefing. Moon then visited the headquarters o

Defense Dec. 23, 2021

  Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, said Thursday it will secure 557.8 billion won ($470 million) through a property sale as part of its efforts to improve its financial status amid a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, Korean Air will sign a deal to sell its land and building at Songhyeon-dong in central Seoul to the public housing developer Korea Land & Housing Corp., the company said in a regulatory filing. LH will exchange the Songhyeon-dong site with

Mobility Dec. 23, 2021

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook on Thursday emphasized the need for close defense cooperation with China and Japan to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the region, the defense ministry said. "While the alliance between South Korea and the United States remains strong, I think (Seoul should) closely cooperate and get along with neighboring China," Suh said during a lecture in Singapore.  China can play a key role in the denuclearization of the Kore

Defense Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook held talks with his Singaporean counterpart Thursday to discuss regional security cooperation, including joint efforts to fight terrorism, his office said. The talks between Suh and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen came on the second day of his three-day trip to Singapore, a key partner for Seoul's New Southern Policy aimed at deepening ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Suh was on an overseas trip that also took him to Guam a

Defense Dec. 23, 2021

The South Korean stock market extended its winning streak to a third session Thursday, buoyed by advances by tech and auto issues. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) advanced 13.69 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 2,998.17 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 476 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 477 to 358. Foreigners bought a net 224 billion won and instituti

Market Dec. 23, 2021

Unionized delivery workers of South Korea's leading logistics firm CJ Logistics Corp. said Thursday they will launch a general strike next week, calling for better working conditions and steps to prevent overwork. Of 20,000 delivery workers at the logistics arm of the country's conglomerate CJ Group, some 1,700 couriers who have the right to strike are expected to launch an indefinite walkout Tuesday. The walkout plan was approved by 93.6 percent of the vote by 2,290 unionized members earlier

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea's foreign ministry called in a Japanese Embassy official Thursday to express concerns over the operator of Tokyo's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant having filed for approval for its planned release of radioactive water into the ocean. On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) submitted an application for the planned water release to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) amid growing concerns in South Korea that it could cause health risks and maritime contamination. L

Foreign Affairs Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea's national Olympic body set a humble target for medals at the upcoming Beijing Winter Games on Thursday, with hopes of winning a gold medal or two for a top-15 finish. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) predicted South Korea will fall well short of its Winter Olympic-record total of 17 medals won at home during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. South Korea won five gold, eight silver and four bronze medals to finish seventh in the medal race then. This time around, t

More Sports Dec. 23, 2021

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that grandparents can legally adopt their own grandchild, even though the child's biological parent is alive, when the arrangement is in the interest of the child's welfare. The top court ruled in favor grandparents who filed an appeal to adopt their own grandchildren, and transferred the case to a district court in Ulsan, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for a retrial. The decision was the first Supreme Court ruling which allowed grandparents to adopt the

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2021