Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States are set to hold annual economic talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss bilateral cooperation on global supply chains, energy, infrastructure and technology, Seoul officials said. Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon and Jose Fernandez, US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, will lead the sixth Senior Economic Dialogue (SED), as a Sino-US rivalry intensifies on technological leadership, trade and secur

Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking an overnight stock plunge on Wall Street as investors digest the US Fed's recent monetary policy decision. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) declined 4.92 points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,001.49 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shed 2.47 percent over the Fed's move to double the pace of its stimulus withdrawal and projections of three rate hikes next year. The Dow Jones Ind

Market Dec. 17, 2021

A 3.2 magnitude earthquake struck near South Korea's southern island of Jeju on Friday in the 18th aftershock following a 4.9 magnitude quake earlier this week, officials said. The aftershock occurred at 6:22 a.m. in waters about 38 kilometers off the island's southwestern city of Seogwipo, near the epicenter of Tuesday's quake, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Officials said the quake was the 18th and the biggest aftershock of Tuesday's earthquake. Local fire authori

Social Affairs Dec. 17, 2021

The North Korean Embassy in China held a memorial service to commemorate former leader Kim Jong-il on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death, Pyongyang's state media reported Friday, highlighting close ties between the two countries. Wang Chen, vice chairman of the standing committee of the Chinese National People's Congress, attended the ceremony Thursday and asked North Korean Ambassador Ri Ryong-nam to convey Chinese President Xi Jinping's "warm greetings and best wishes"

National Dec. 17, 2021

Kia Corp., a smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., on Thursday launched the Carens multi-purpose vehicle in India to gain a share in the local family car market. The seven-seat Carens MPV comes with a 1.5-liter diesel engine, a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine or a 1.6-liter gasoline engine model, the company said in a statement. The 1.6 gasoline model is equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, with the 1.4 gasoline turbo model mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission or

Industry Dec. 16, 2021

Defense Minister Suh Wook will visit Thailand and Singapore next week for talks with senior officials there on bilateral defense cooperation, his ministry said Thursday. On Sunday, Suh will visit Thailand for a four-day visit at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who doubles as defense minister. They plan to discuss the security situations on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, and discuss arms industry cooperation between Seoul and Bangkok, according to the ministry.

Defense Dec. 16, 2021

South Korea's new Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Jung-soo vowed Thursday to forge ahead with the Navy's long-cherished project to secure a light aircraft carrier, as he took the helm of the armed service. Kim made the remarks amid expectations that the Navy will embark on the project to acquire the coveted vessel by 2033 next year, as the National Assembly passed a 7.2 billion won ($6.08 million) budget earlier this month to begin a process for its basic design. "Given that a light ai

Defense Dec. 16, 2021

South Korean stocks advanced for a second straight session Thursday amid eased uncertainties from the FOMC meeting results. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 17.02 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 3,006.41 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 397 million shares worth some 8.4 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 416 to 406. Foreigners bought a net 183 billion won, while institutions sold

Market Dec. 16, 2021

The main opposition People Power Party's presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, saw his lead over ruling Democratic Party rival, Lee Jae-myung, narrowed to a margin of 3.9 percentage points, an opinion poll showed Thursday. Yoon was leading Lee 42.3 percent to 38.4 percent in the survey by RnSearch, commissioned by Maeil Business Newspaper and its affiliated broadcaster MBN. The 3.9 percentage point gap is smaller than a 5.4 percentage point margin in favor of Yoon seen in the previous survey

Politics Dec. 16, 2021

The world's largest and most influential professional association for police leaders opened its Asia-Pacific office in South Korea on Thursday, the National Police Agency (NPA) said. The Asia-Pacific World Regional Office of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) began its operations at the NPA in central Seoul, the agency said. The United States-headquartered IACP is the world's largest nonprofit organization of police commanders and currently has about 31,500 members in 168

Politics Dec. 16, 2021

South Korea's military recruitment agency on Thursday disclosed personal information about 342 people accused of dodging mandatory military service. The disclosure of their names, ages, addresses and other details came as part of the efforts by the Manpower Administration to pressure them to fulfill their service and prevent potential draft dodgers, officials said. The list included 92 men who apparently dodged their service as active-duty soldiers and 30 others who attempted to evade their al

Defense Dec. 16, 2021

South Korea will come under the grip of the season's coldest weather later this week, with the morning lows dipping to minus 9 C in Seoul and minus 15 C in some inland areas, the state weather agency said Thursday. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that the freezing temperatures will be accompanied by snow, which is forecast to begin in central and western coastal areas Friday and spread to the greater Seoul area and almost all central regions over the weekend. It did not rule

Social Affairs Dec. 16, 2021

President Moon Jae-in apologized to the nation Thursday for restoring tough social distancing measures following a spike in coronavirus cases and deaths. Moon issued the apology shortly after the government announced new measures to reduce the maximum private gathering size to four people and restore a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurant and cafe business hours. "I am sorry that we have had to once again strengthen antivirus measures," Moon was quoted as saying by his spokesperson Park Kyung

Politics Dec. 16, 2021

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., who have fought the company for nine years demanding that regular periodic bonuses be counted as part of their "ordinary wage." The top court ruled in favor of 10 employees who filed the appeal on behalf of some 30,000 workers at the shipbuilding conglomerate and sent the case back to the Busan High Court for a retrial. The suit was launched by workers asking the company to recognize regular bonu

Social Affairs Dec. 16, 2021

South Korean construction companies' sales dropped on-year in 2020 for the first time in 21 years due to the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. The combined top line of local builders reached 396.9 trillion won ($336 billion) last year, down 1.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marks the first on-year decline since the 11.1 percent decrease recorded in 1999 in the wake of the country's foreign exchange crisis. Their domestic s

Economy Dec. 16, 2021