South Korea's sensational survival drama "Squid Game" has been nominated in three categories, including best drama series, at the 27th Critics Choice Awards. According to the nominations announced by the Critics Choice Association Monday (US time), "Squid Game," a Netflix original, was listed in the categories best drama series, best actor in drama series and best foreign language series. In the best drama series section, "Squid Game" will compete with seven other

Film Dec. 7, 2021

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has presided over a gathering of military educators and called on them to nurture people with "absolute fidelity" to the ruling Workers' Party, the country's state media reported Tuesday. The party's Central Committee and Central Military Commission convened the gathering at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang on Saturday and Sunday to make a "groundbreaking" change in education projects in line with the "shifting times," acco

North Korea Dec. 7, 2021

A virtual UN peacekeeping ministerial conference is scheduled to open Tuesday, hosted by South Korea, promising to serve as a chance to further solidify the global community's collective commitment to sustainable peace in conflict-laden parts of the world. The two-day 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial comes as Seoul has steadily pushed to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and embrace a greater role in global efforts to stabilize volatile regions in the Middle East, Africa and el

Foreign Affairs Dec. 7, 2021

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Tuesday its COVID-19 antibody treatment has won emergency approval from Australian authorities. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) granted provisional approval of Rekirona for the intravenous treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adult patients. It is the fifth COVID-19 treatment to receive regulatory approval in Australia. Rekirona is a monoclonal antibody with activity against COVID-19. A monoclonal antibody is a type of prot

Industry Dec. 7, 2021

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the 18th straight month in October, though the surplus was smaller than the previous month due to increased imports amid high energy and raw material prices, the central bank said Tuesday. The current account surplus came to $6.95 billion in October, down from $10.07 billion a month earlier, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea. The October figure marked the 18th straight month that the current account has been in the black since

Economy Dec. 7, 2021

K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment on Monday revealed its much-anticipated first boy group in six years since the debut of Day6 in September 2015. Xdinary Heroes is to land in the highly competitive K-pop music scene, dropping its debut digital single titled "Happy Death Day" at 6 p.m. During a media showcase for the upcoming release, which was livestreamed from a music hall in Seoul, the band members said they are so thrilled to become finally able to make their debut. "I'm ne

K-pop Dec. 6, 2021

Almost all of the children and teenagers confirmed to have COVID-19 in the past two weeks were found to have not completed their vaccination, the education minister said Monday. Of a total of 2,990 youths who tested positive, 99.8 percent, or 2,986, had only received the first jab of a COVID-19 vaccine or none, Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during a meeting with superintendents of education offices across the country. One in five coronavirus patients is aged 18 or under, with a daily average of 56

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2021

South Korean stocks advanced for the fourth straight session Monday on easing woes over the impact of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 4.92 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,973.25 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 468 million shares worth some 9.1 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 543 to 319. Foreigners bought a net 97 billion won and ins

Market Dec. 6, 2021

The risk level of the pandemic in South Korea's capital area over the past week has been at the highest level for two weeks in a row, health authorities said Monday. Earlier, South Korea introduced a new five-tier assessment system to evaluate the risk level of COVID-19 on a weekly basis that is used to decide whether to further ease virus restrictions under its three-phase "living with COVID-19" scheme, which began on Nov. 1. If the risk level reaches the fourth degree or higher, th

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2021

The South Korean government will beef up efforts to monitor fake news on North Korea that "distort the policy environment" for inter-Korean relations, officials said Monday. On Friday, the National Assembly approved a 1.5 trillion won ($1.27 billion) budget for the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs next year, including 200 million won to launch the new monitoring program. The program was suggested following "needs for a more systematic monitoring due to the fre

North Korea Dec. 6, 2021

South Korea stepped up diplomacy last year to deal with emerging challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and join global efforts to fight cross-border health threats, according to its annual diplomatic white paper published on Monday. The foreign ministry added a new chapter to the 2021 white paper to detail diplomatic activities in regard to protection of Korean nationals and businesses abroad, securing medical equipment, such as masks, and regional coordination against the pandemic. "The

Foreign Affairs Dec. 6, 2021

South Korea and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) plan to co-host a road show this week with an aim to facilitate Korean startups' foray into the Asia-Pacific region and find ways to promote sustainable growth of developing nations, the finance ministry said Monday. The ADB Ventures Korean Roadshow will be held Friday both via YouTube streaming and at Dream Plus in Seoul's southern district of Gangnam, according to the finance and SME ministries. At the event, the Korean government plans to pro

Economy Dec. 6, 2021

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that South Korea's trade is expected to amount to an all-time high of more than $1.2 trillion this year on the back of strong exports in a sign that the nation's economic recovery is faster than anticipated. "Exports are forecast to exceed $630 billion and trade volume is expected to surpass $1.2 trillion," Moon told a ceremony marking the 58th Trade Day. In the first 11 months of this year, South Korea's cumulative exports came to $583.8 billion, th

Politics Dec. 6, 2021

Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea's leading life insurers, said Monday that it has requested a reinvestigation into and punishment of some accountants of Deloitte Anjin accused of conspiring to inflate the prices of a put option that one of its strategic investors exercised years earlier. In October 2018, Affinity Equity Partners exercised a put option on 6 million shares in Kyobo Life Insurance at a strike price of 409,000 won ($345) per share after the insurer failed to deliver on its

Industry Dec. 6, 2021

South Korea's military reported 19 additional COVID-19 cases, all of which are breakthrough ones, Monday, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,531. Of the new cases, 13 people are from the Army, one from the Air Force, two from the Marine Corps and three from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, officials said. Of the cumulative cases in the military, 279 patients are still under treatment. Amid growing fears of the omicron variant, the military has toughen

Defense Dec. 6, 2021