Moody's Investors Service will closely monitor the asset soundness of non-banking financial institutions in South Korea amid worries that they could face risks from snowballing corporate and household debt and rising interest rates, an analyst of the global credit appraiser said Tuesday. In a virtual media briefing, Ok Tae-jong, a senior analyst at Moodys' Investors also said that a continued increase in household debt and asset prices could negatively affect the evaluation of the overall banki

Economy Dec. 7, 2021

South Korean biotechnology firm Hyundai Bioscience Co. said Tuesday that the combination of its oral antiviral candidate and dexamethasone showed high efficacy in treating COVID-19 during animal testings. The company is currently re-purposing niclosamide-based CP-COV03 as a potential treatment for the COVID-19 virus. The investigative drug's indication also includes influenza. Citing the result of the latest animal testing, Hyundai Bioscience said use of both CP-COV03 and dexamethasone resulte

Industry Dec. 7, 2021

South Korean shipbuilders ranked first in global new orders for a second month in November, far outpacing their Chinese rivals, industry data showed Tuesday. Local shipbuilders, led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., gained 58 percent, or a combined 770,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs), of 1.32 million CGT global new orders last month, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. Chinese shipbuilders bagged 460,000 CGTs, taking up 35 percent of the total. I

Industry Dec. 7, 2021

South Korea said Tuesday it will implement eased capital gain taxes on property sales for single-home owners this week amid growing public discontent over real estate-related tax burdens ahead of the presidential election. Last week, the National Assembly approved a revision to the income tax act that calls for raising a threshold of capital gains tax exemptions on real estate sales for single-house owners to 1.2 billion won (US$1 million) from the previous 900 million won. The government appr

Economy Dec. 7, 2021

President Moon Jae-in instructed aides Tuesday to make greater efforts to prevent the spread of the omicron variant, urging more people to get booster shots as the nation is struggling with a spike in COVID-19 deaths and infections. "We are facing a very grave situation as the numbers of confirmed patients, critically ill patients and deaths are on the rise, coupled with the omicron variant," Moon told a Cabinet meeting. Amid growing alarm over omicron, which is potentially more cont

Politics Dec. 7, 2021

One club will try to stay in the top flight in South Korean football, while another will look to join the big boys after six years away. It will be Gangwon FC of the K League 1 versus Daejeon Hana Citizen of the K League 2 in this year's two-legged promotion-relegation playoffs. The opening leg will kick off at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Daejeon's home, Hanbat Stadium in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul. The return leg will be 2 p.m. on Sunday at Gangneung Stadium in Gangneung, about 230 ki

Sports Dec. 7, 2021

The Air Force launched a surprise operation to install an anti-missile radar on a mountain in the southeastern city of Busan, sparking angry protests from residents concerned about potential health hazards from the radar's electromagnetic waves. Police were trying to disperse a group of protesters on Mt. Jang in the city, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, where the Air Force began installing a Green Pine land-based radar at around 6 a.m. Minor clashes broke out during the standoff. The Air Fo

Social Affairs Dec. 7, 2021

South Koreans are estimated to have spent more than 17 billion won ($14.5 million) in purchasing contents by Disney+ less than a month since its launch here, data showed Tuesday. Payments to Disney+ in the country were estimated at 17.2 billion won for November, according to industry tracker WiseApp, which analyzed credit and debit card data of those aged 20 or over. WiseApp added that the data excludes other payment methods, such as those through telecom operators. Disney+, the flagship stre

Technology Dec. 7, 2021

Three foreign students attending universities in Seoul have been confirmed to be infected with omicron, officials said Tuesday, signaling the highly contagious COVID-19 variant's penetration into the capital. One foreign student each from Seoul National University (SNU), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and Kyunghee University has been confirmed to have contracted the omicron variant, according to the Seoul city government.All of the three were found to have visited a church in Inche

Social Affairs Dec. 7, 2021

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has bagged two orders worth a combined 734 billion won ($621 million) to construct three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. With the latest deals, Samsung Heavy Industries has won orders worth a cumulative $11.8 billion so far this year, exceeding 30 percent of its annual order target of $9.1 billion, the shipbuilder said in an emailed statement. By ship, Samsung Heavy Industries bagged orders for 20 LNG carriers, 44 container carriers and

Industry Dec. 7, 2021

A total of 1,450 students from kindergarten to high school tested positive for COVID-19 in Seoul last week, up 360 from 1,090 a week earlier, after the full resumption of in-person classes, the city's education office said Tuesday. The increase came in the second week since all kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools returned to full-fledged in-person classes on Nov. 22 in line with the country's "living with COVID-19" scheme aimed at gradually bringing the country back

Social Affairs Dec. 7, 2021

South Korea said Tuesday it has allocated 73 percent of fiscal spending for implementation in the first half of next year in a bid to help the country's economic recovery gain traction. The government plans to front-load 363.5 trillion won ($307.7 billion) of next year's budget spending of 497.7 trillion won in the January-June period, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The 2022 proposition is higher than 72.4 percent of the budget spending allocated in the first half of this ye

Economy Dec. 7, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 5,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but the number of critically ill patients hit a fresh high as concerns about a surge fueled by the omicron variant continued to put heath officials on edge. The country added 4,954 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 482,310, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients hit a record high of 774, up 47 from a day ag

Social Affairs Dec. 7, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, largely as the estimate-beating jobs data in the United States raised investors' concerns that the Federal Reserve could hasten its key rate hike to reign in the inflation pressure. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 8.49 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,964.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 0.66 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix traded flat. Pharmaceutical gi

Market Dec. 7, 2021

The United States will diplomatically boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics over China's human rights abuses, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. US athletes, however, will be allowed to take part should they choose to do so. "The (Joe) Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, given the PRC's ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,"

Foreign Affairs Dec. 7, 2021