New home permits in South Korea surged more than 24 percent in the first 10 months of the year amid high housing prices, government data showed Friday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 405,704 units in the January-October period, up 24.4 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 54.7 percent to 70,578 over the cited period. New home permits issued

Economy Dec. 3, 2021

South Korea will limit private gatherings to six people in the capital area and eight in other regions for four weeks starting next week, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, reversing an easing of distancing rules adopted under the "living with COVID-19" scheme last month. Kim announced the new measure during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country and heightened fears of the more contagious omicr

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2021

The United Nations has excluded North Korea from its global humanitarian assistance plan for 2022, its recent report showed, apparently due to the impoverished country's prolonged border lockdown against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Global Humanitarian Overview 2022 released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, "Afghanistan, DPR Korea and Myanmar are facing acute food insecurity situations, which are likely to deteriorate further by the year's end."

North Korea Dec. 3, 2021

South Korean stocks rallied for second straight session Thursday on the back of strong foreign buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 45.55 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 2,945.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 523 million shares worth some 11.8 trillion won ($10 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 756 to 139. Foreigners bought a net 886 billion won, while retail investors sold 915 billion

Market Dec. 2, 2021

More listed units of South Korea's major business groups have adopted electronic voting and other types of voting this year than a year earlier in a bid to promote small shareholders' rights, the country's antitrust regulator said Thursday. As of May, 78.8 percent of 274 listed affiliates of the country's 62 major conglomerates, or 216 firms, had introduced at least one out of cumulative, written or e-voting systems, the Fair Trade Commission said in a report on large business groups' governanc

Industry Dec. 2, 2021

South Korean historical romance series starring young and up-and-coming actors are creating a fresh buzz at home and abroad for their dramatic settings and resonating love stories. KBS' "The King's Affection," based on the popular webtoon "Yeonmo," is a story of a fictional princess of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), who has been raised as her deceased twin brother and becomes a king. Starring Park Eun-bin, the 20-episode series airing every Monday and Tuesday saw its viewe

Television Dec. 2, 2021

Doosan Robotics Co. said Thursday it has produced an unmanned modular robot cafe in cooperation with Folletto Robotics, a local unmanned beverage manufacturing system maker. Doosan Robotics is a subsidiary wholly owned by Doosan Corp., a holding company of Doosan Group, South Korea's 15th largest conglomerate by asset. The unmanned modular robot cafe is a kind of collaborative robot, which refers to a robot that can work with a human. The unmanned modular robot cafe can be manufactured by put

Industry Dec. 2, 2021

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean railway system and plant equipment maker, said Thursday it has received a 219 billion won ($186 million) order to supply tram cars to Canada. Under the deal, Hyundai Rotem will supply tram cars for the Valley Line West to be built between the downtown of Edmonton, Alberta, and the western part of the city by June 2027, the company said in a statement. The company didn't provide the volume of tram cars. Hyundai Rotem beat rivals such as Germany's Siemens AG,

Industry Dec. 2, 2021

The number of Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases has hit a record high of 2,268, surpassing 2,000 for two straight days, health authorities said Thursday. Of the cases reported Wednesday, 2,262 were local infections, and six were from overseas, according to the Central Disease Control Headquarters. The new high was up 46 from the previous high of 2,222 recorded Tuesday and up 508 from 1,760 tallied a week ago. The number of new daily coronavirus cases in Seoul topped 1,000 for the first time on Sep

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2021

Fears over the omicron coronavirus variant are dashing hopes for the resumption of overseas travel, forcing many to cancel or postpone travel plans, including honeymoons, only a month after the country's "living with COVID-19" policy revived expectations for a return to normal. South Korea confirmed five omicron infections a day earlier, the first local cases of the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant, forcing authorities to tighten passenger screening and other antivirus quarantine measu

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases and the number of critically ill patients hit record highs Thursday, heightening concerns over medical capacity amid the spread of COVID-19 and continued surge in critical cases. South Korea reported 5,266 new COVID-19 cases, including 5,242 local infections, raising the total caseload to 457,612, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked the second straight day that the number of new coronavirus cases has been above 5,000

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2021

K-pop supergroup BTS will be unable to attend the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs) scheduled for next week as the members have to go through COVID-19 isolation upon arrival from the United States due to tightened quarantine rules. The government decided to place all overseas arrivals under a 10-day quarantine for two weeks starting Friday, regardless of their nationalities and vaccination status, to tackle the omicron variant. The septet is currently in Los Angeles for its first in-person

K-pop Dec. 2, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street that stemmed from worries about the global outbreaks of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.42 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,890.3 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a weak start, led by foreign and institutional sell-offs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.34 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite de

Market Dec. 2, 2021

The National Assembly is set to pass the government's 2022 budget before Thursday's deadline after increasing the sum by 3.5 trillion won ($2.97 billion) to 607.9 trillion won, a ruling party official said. "The ruling and opposition parties have nearly reached an agreement on tax revenues and expenditures, as well as the amount of net increase," the Democratic Party official told Yonhap News Agency. "There are differences over some projects, but we can't let that stop us from p

Politics Dec. 2, 2021

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday the nation's plan to gradually return to normal life is facing challenges, as the first cases of the omicron variant were detected in South Korea amid growing woes over an ongoing jump in COVID-19 infections. "The path toward a phased return to normalcy is not smooth, and risks over the new omicron variant are growing," Moon told a meeting of a national prayer group, the Korea National Prayer Breakfast. Moon said, however, the government will spare

Social Affairs Dec. 2, 2021