South Korean stocks tumbled to a 52-week low Tuesday as concerns over the potential impact of the omicron coronavirus variant continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plummeted 70.31 points, or 2.42 percent, to close at 2,839.01 points. Trading volume was high at about 968 million shares worth some 19.2 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 874 to 48. Foreigners sold a

Market Nov. 30, 2021

South Korea and Britain have agreed to bolster bilateral cooperation in artificial intelligence and 5G on the sidelines of a tech forum, Seoul's ICT ministry said Tuesday. Lee Tai-hee, South Korea's deputy minister for planning and coordination at the science and ICT ministry, held talks with Chris Philp, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in London on Monday (local time) as he visited the Future Tech Forum. During their meeting, Lee

Technology Nov. 30, 2021

Exports by South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have reached an all-time high this year amid a global economic recovery, government data showed Tuesday. As of Monday, local SMEs' overseas shipments exceeded the previous full-year record of $105.2 billion set in 2018, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Korea Customs Service. Smaller companies' exports stood at $100.9 billion in 2019 and $100.7 billion last year. This year's SME exports accou

Industry Nov. 30, 2021

Approximately one-fifth of Seoul youths have been exposed to digital sex crime risks, according to a Seoul city government survey Tuesday. In the survey on 4,012 students in Seoul aged between 12 and 19 conducted in July, 21.3 percent said they have been exposed to the risks of digital sex crimes through online chat applications or social media. Of those, 56.4 percent said they were sent sexual messages or images, and 27.2 percent said they were constantly heckled online for in-person meetings

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2021

South Koreans' overseas card spending declined 14.8 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier as the government tightened rules on withdrawals of money from automatic teller machines and the won depreciated against the dollar, central bank data showed Tuesday. According to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $2.88 billion in the July-September period, down from $3.37 billion

Economy Nov. 30, 2021

The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has assigned 4.7 million doses of additional COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea in its latest distribution plan, its report showed Tuesday. According to the program's 12th vaccine allocation decision, AstraZeneca's vaccines will be provided to North Korea, though Pyongyang remains unresponsive to the proposed vaccine assistance. When added to the 2 million doses of vaccines COVAX earlier allocated to the North, the amount is enough to i

North Korea Nov. 30, 2021

The education ministry has launched an assistance project to build a smart classroom in Cambodia to help the country experiment with teaching and learning through up-to-date information and communications technology (ICT) devices, officials said Tuesday. Under the joint project launched with the Busan city education office and the APEC Learning Community Builders, the Ministry of Education installed an ICT-equipped experimental classroom in Wat Bo Primary School in Cambodia's Siem Reap, accordi

Foreign Affairs Nov. 30, 2021

The leader of the main opposition People Power Party canceled part of his official schedule Tuesday, adding weight to speculation he could resign over disagreements with the party's presidential nominee Yoon Seok-youl. The party informed reporters at short notice that Chairman Lee Jun-seok had canceled his attendance at a forum Tuesday morning, without providing a reason. The notice added to speculation Lee could be considering resigning from at least one of his official titles, including co-c

Politics Nov. 30, 2021

A near-century-old restaurant in Seoul, believed to be the first to serve western-style cuisine in Korea, has announced it will shut down due to the pandemic after nearly a century of business. Seoul Station Grill, which opened on Oct. 15, 1925, on the second floor of the old Seoul Station building, is known for introducing pork cutlet and hamburger steak to Koreans for the first time during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. "Our business has suffered greatly fro

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2021

Genesis, the luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Co., on Tuesday unveiled the exterior images of the all-new Genesis G90 sedan ahead of its local launch next year. The G90 is a fully revamped model following its face-lift in 2018. Genesis plans to launch the flagship G90 sedan and its long wheelbase version in the domestic market early next year, a company official said. Under the brand's design philosophy of Athletic Elegance, the new G90 features an extension of Genesis' "two-line" de

Industry Nov. 30, 2021

South Korea's military reported 23 additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,328. Among the new cases, five Army officers and a conscript stationed in the central city of Sejong tested positive after a fellow was infected at their base. A civilian employee of the Army based in Seoul tested positive after working at a COVID-19 testing center. Another Army conscript from Jincheon, 91 kilometers south of Seoul, also contracted the virus after working

Defense Nov. 30, 2021

Defense Minister Suh Wook expressed appreciation to a visiting former US Forces Korea (USFK) commander for his contributions to the bilateral alliance during a meeting earlier this week, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Suh and Vincent Brooks, who led the USFK from 2016-18, met Monday, as the latter was in Seoul to attend a set of alliance-related events ahead of the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), the annual defense ministerial talks between the two countries slated for Thursday. Suh e

Defense Nov. 30, 2021

North Korea has seen an increase in heat waves and tropical nights and a decline in cold spells over the past three decades as global warming has driven up temperatures, South Korea's state weather agency said Tuesday. The average annual temperature in North Korea rose by 0.4 degree Celsius to 8.9 C for the 1991-2020 period in comparison with the 1981-2010 period, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The agency used temperature and precipitation data collected from 27 ob

North Korea Nov. 30, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the third straight day Tuesday, but the number of critically ill patients hit a fresh high amid concerns over the global spread of the new virus variant. The country reported 3,032 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,003 local infections, raising the total caseload to 447,230, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country reported the highest daily cases of 4,115 to date on Nov. 24. South Korea added 44 m

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2021

North Korea has criticized a new trilateral security partnership among Australia, Britain and the United States as an American "tool for war" that poses "serious threats" to world peace. In a commentary posted on the North's foreign ministry website Monday, the Korea-Asia Association said the international community should be wary of the initiative, called AUKUS, that "brings dark clouds of a nuclear war to the world." "(The concerns) come from the fact that

Foreign Affairs Nov. 30, 2021