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

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, led by advances of auto and chemical heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 2.58 points, or 0.09 percent, to trade at 2,987.06 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor moved up 1.58 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia added 0.36 percent. Chemical giant LG Chem advanced 0.8 percent, and steelmaker Posco climbed 0.71 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded fl

Market Dec. 23, 2021

Turnover of South Korea's main bourse plumbed a 19-month low in December as retail investors flee stocks for higher returns, data showed Thursday. The average daily turnover of the KOSPI market stood at slightly over 10 trillion won ($8.39 billion) for 16 trading sessions till Wednesday, according to the data from the Korea Stock Exchange. It was the lowest tally since May 2020, when the daily turnover came to 9.9 trillion won. The figure was also down 15 percent from November and nearly half

Market Dec. 23, 2021

Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun will leave Pyongyang following a seven-year stint, according to the North's state media Thursday, with his departure having been delayed apparently due to tight border control to stave off the COVID-19 pandemic. The envoy met with Choe Ryong-hae, a member of the North Korean ruling party's politburo presidium, and other ranking officials at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang for a farewell, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) s

North Korea Dec. 23, 2021

South Korea on Wednesday became the 10th country outside of Europe to join the European Union (EU) law enforcement cooperation agency that fights terrorism and other international crimes, police said. The National Police Agency (NPA) joined Europol by signing a working-level agreement that was approved unanimously by the 27 EU nations on Oct. 6. The accession is an outcome of efforts by police to strengthen cooperation with Europe since 2017, officials said. Under the agreement, police can now

Foreign Affairs Dec. 22, 2021

South Korean stocks closed up for the second straight session Wednesday, led by chipmaker gains and easing fear about the omicron variant of the new coronavirus. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 9.45 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 2,984.48 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 453 million shares worth some 8.6 trillion won ($7.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 486 to 357. Foreigners bought a net 30

Market Dec. 22, 2021

A man who stunned the nation earlier this year by sexually assaulting and killing a 20-month-old baby girl was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a court in the central city of Daejeon on Wednesday. The Daejeon District Court handed down the sentence to the 29-year-old man, identified only by his surname Yang, after convicting him of raping and killing the baby daughter of his live-in girlfriend in June. Yang was indicted for abusing and killing the baby girl because she did not stop crying on

Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2021

US President Joe Biden has banned the provision of nonhumanitarian aid to North Korea for fiscal year 2022, accusing the reclusive state of human trafficking, according to the White House. It marks the 19th consecutive year for a US president to take such a measure against Pyongyang. In a presidential memorandum for the secretary of state, posted on the White House website Tuesday (Washington time), Biden said the US will not provide "nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related assistance" or

North Korea Dec. 22, 2021

South Korea's drug safety agency said Wednesday that it has begun reviewing an emergency authorization of US drug giant Pfizer Inc.'s oral drug to treat COVID-19. Paxlovid is the antiviral pill for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at increased risk of hospitalization or death, according to Pfizer and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. If authorized, Paxlovid would be the first oral antiviral of its kind in South Korea. The drug candidate is a protease inhibitor antivi

Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2021

A former elementary school principal indicted for allegedly installing a spy camera in a female teachers' restroom admitted to all charges against him in his first court hearing Wednesday. The 57-year-old former principal at the school in Anyang, 23 kilometers south of Seoul, was charged with the sexual offenses last month for allegedly fitting a tiny camera inside a tissue box in the restroom in late October to secretly film women while serving as the school's chief. He was dismissed from the

Social Affairs Dec. 22, 2021

South Korea's finance ministry said Wednesday it will put the top priority on stabilizing consumer inflation next year as the country faces a buildup in price pressure amid rising prices of raw materials and farm products and the economic recovery. The government plans to beef up the monitoring of the supply of key farm produce closely linked to people's livelihoods and freeze public utility bills in the first quarter of next year. The Ministry of Economy and Finance picked measures to stabili

Economy Dec. 22, 2021

South Korea's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it will continue to prioritize a "soft landing" for soaring household debt and bringing debt growth down to pre-pandemic levels next year. In a report laying out its policy goals for next year, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) also said that it will "preemptively" manage vulnerability risks facing the financial sector amid worries that snowballing corporate and household debt and rising interest rates could hurt the

Economy Dec. 22, 2021