Investigative authorities of South Korea and the United States have cooperated to crack down on a 2017 cryptocurrency phishing scam and help victims recover some of their losses, prosecutors in Seoul said Thursday. The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) said it arrested two South Korean suspects behind the cyber fraud and confirmed the identify of one Japanese suspect based on intelligence provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2018. The SPO and the FBI then teamed up to sei

Foreign Affairs Dec. 23, 2021

SEJONG -- Corporate retirement pension funds under management expanded more than 16 percent in 2020 from a year earlier as the system has taken root here, government data showed Thursday. Cumulative corporate retirement pension funds stood at 255 trillion won ($214 billion) as of end-December last year, up 16.1 percent from a year ago, according to the data first compiled by Statistics Korea. A total of 408,000 companies adopted the scheme for their employees as of last year, up 3.5 percent fr

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2021

SEJONG -- North Korea's economy shrank 4.5 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to international sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. The drop in the reclusive country's real gross domestic product (GDP) represents a turnaround from a 0.4 percent increase a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The statistics agency attributed the decline to international economic sanctions for its weapons program and border lockdowns stemming from th

North Korea Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea will be able to borrow up to $60 billion from the US Federal Reserve's "repo facility," designed to help countries secure overnight dollar funding by using their holdings of US Treasury securities, the central bank said Thursday. The deal reached with the Federal Reserve on Tuesday (US time) will allow the Bank of Korea (BOK) to exchange its US Treasury holdings for dollars through the Foreign and International Monetary Authorities (FIMA) Repo Facility at an interest rate

Market Dec. 23, 2021

South Korean firms' earnings plunged to a six-year low in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. The combined pretax net profit of 13,429 companies came to 97.7 trillion won ($82 billion) in 2020, down 3.9 percent from the prior year and marking the third straight year of decline, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It was the lowest level since the 91.4 trillion won recorded in 2014 and represented the first time for their total bottom l

Economy Dec. 23, 2021

The government will cut credit card processing fees for small merchants to ease their burdens amid the COVID-19 crisis, the ruling Democratic Party said Thursday following its meeting with financial authorities. The commission rate for small merchants with an annual revenue of below 300 million won ($252,550) will be lowered from 0.8 percent to 0.5 percent, according to Rep. Kim Byung-wook of the DP. For small business operators with an annual revenue between 300 million won and 500 million

Politics Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea and China will hold high-level strategic talks on Thursday, the first of its kind between the two sides in more than four years, to discuss bilateral cooperation on regional and global issues, Seoul officials said. Choi Jong-kun, first vice foreign minister, and his Chinese counterpart Le Yucheng will lead the 9th Strategic Dialogue meeting to be held via video links in the afternoon. The two countries held the 8th session in June 2017. The discussions are expected to touch on a wi

Foreign Affairs Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea will expand "future-oriented" cooperation with the United States on supply chains, technologies and other areas next year while reinforcing "conflict prevention" efforts with China, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry delineated the plans in a written policy report for 2022 to President Moon Jae-in as Seoul seeks to craft an optimal diplomatic strategy amid a hardening Sino-US rivalry on technological primacy, security, trade and other fronts. Deliv

Foreign Affairs Dec. 23, 2021

A trial run of hydrogen-powered heavy duty trucks kicked off Thursday as part of South Korea's broader efforts for a shift to eco-friendly vehicles in line with the carbon emission cut initiative. Five 11-ton fuel cell trucks, including Hyundai Motor Co's Xcient, will run on roads in the Seoul metropolitan area and the southern region for the next 12 months, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a release. Two logistics companies -- CJ Logistics Corp., Hyundai Glovis Co. -

Technology Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea's financial system has remained stable, but a rise in housing prices and high household debt serve as major potential risks to financial stability, a central bank report showed Thursday. In a biannual report on financial stability, the Bank of Korea (BOK) called for policy efforts to stabilize the housing market and curb the growth of household debt, raising the need to ease the high level of financial imbalances. "Since the first half of this year, the country's financial sy

Economy Dec. 23, 2021

More than 6 out of 10 workers at big and medium-sized companies think the country's public sector is heavily corrupt, a survey showed Thursday. In the survey of 1,000 workers, conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, 61.9 percent said that corruption in the public sector is serious, up from 49.8 perent last year. The corresponding figures for 2017-2019 were 55.4 percent, 56.2 percent and 48.1 percent, respectively. By sector, construction, national defense and the prosecution

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2021

No South Korean sport went through the kind of roller-coaster ride that volleyball did in 2021. The sport's highest of highs and the lowest of lows dominated the news cycle and also the annual rankings of the top 10 sports stories released by Yonhap News Agency on Thursday. A series of off-court scandals in the sport ranked No. 1 in Yonhap's survey of 51 South Korean newspapers and broadcasters, with 315 points. A first-place vote was worth 10 points, with a second-place vote worth nine points

More Sports Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 26 additional COVID-19 cases, including 23 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,027. Of the new cases, 12 are from the Army, six from the Air Force, five from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, one from the Navy, and one from the Marine Corps, the ministry said. Currently, 289 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,243 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Defense Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea has secured 13 quota places in speed skating for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, with a few medalists from the previous Winter Games in 2018 earning another shot at the podium. The International Skating Union (ISU) announced its allocation of quota places for speed skating on Thursday, based on results from four ISU World Cup competitions this season. On the women's side, South Korea won a spot in the 500m, two places in the 1,000m, and two more in the mass start. For men, South

More Sports Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 7,000 on Thursday, but critical cases and deaths surged to record highs as the country has reimposed antivirus restrictions amid the resurgence of infections and spread of the omicron variant. The country added 6,919 more COVID-19 cases, including 6,856 local infections, bringing the cumulative total to 589,978, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Thursday's tally is down from 7,456 on Wednesday but higher than 5,202 reported T

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2021