DAEJEON -- Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded the death penalty for a man charged with raping and killing the 20-month-old daughter of his live-in girlfriend. The 29-year-old man, surnamed Yang, allegedly killed the baby girl for not stopping crying on the night of June 15 by covering her with a blanket and punching and stomping on her for about an hour while drunk at his home in Daejeon, about 165 kilometers south of Seoul. He was also charged with raping the toddler before beating her to deat

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2021

South Korea could make "big adjustments" to its virus prevention measures if the number of omicron coronavirus variant cases spike in the country, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday. "We discussed such an issue during a special virus response meeting presided over by President Moon Jae-in on Nov. 29," Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for communication, told a YouTube channel of a local news outlet. "We have completed our review (on the issue).&q

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday lauded the cooperative movement's role in promoting social responsibility on a range of issues, including environment and society. "The spirit of corporate federations, which has become an important axis of the global economy, must become a value of our society and the world," Moon said at the opening ceremony of the 33rd World Cooperative Congress. Moon said the competitiveness of coexistence and cooperation will be strengthened when socially res

Politics Dec. 1, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Wednesday it has bagged orders worth a combined 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) to build six liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Under the deals with two companies in North America, the 174,000-cubic meter LNG carriers will be delivered by the second half of 2025, DSME said. DSME has won orders worth $10.44 billion so far this year, far exceeding its annual order target of $7.7 billion. With the latest deals, DSME's annual orders

Industry Dec. 1, 2021

The average life expectancy of South Korean babies born last year reached 83.5 years, more than seven years longer than two decades ago, data showed Wednesday, amid improved public awareness about health and a better medical system. The average life expectancy at birth in 2020 was 2.4 months longer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with 10 and 20 years ago, the average life expectancy became 3.2 years and 7.5 years longer, respectively. The read

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2021

National security adviser Suh Hoon will visit China this week to meet with Beijing's top diplomat, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday, as Seoul pushes to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War. Suh will visit the northeastern port city of Tianjin on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi, the presidential office said. The two plan to meet Thursday and "exchange opinions on issues of mutual concern, such as South Korea-China rel

Politics Dec. 1, 2021

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Wednesday it has signed a $245 million deal with a European company to sell its drill ship it has failed to deliver due to a botched deal. "The deal will help improve our financial health along with our recent sale of new shares," Samsung Heavy said in an emailed statement. The drill ship sold to the European company is one of two drill ships that Swiss-based offshore driller Transocean Ltd. relinquished without specifying a reason in September 2019.

Industry Dec. 1, 2021

South Korea's manufacturing activity remained in the expansionary phase for 14 months running in November on brisk exports, a global market researcher said Wednesday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector came to 50.9 last month, up 0.7 point from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit. Since October 2020, South Korea's PMI, a key measure of factory activity in a country, has been above the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expa

Economy Dec. 1, 2021

South Korea's Marine Corps launched an aircraft group Wednesday to bolster the defense of border islands and wartime capabilities for landing operations, its officials said. The launch of the Marine Aircraft Group came as the armed service had sought to secure a separate air unit after its earlier unit, formed following the 1950-53 Korean War, was incorporated into the Navy in 1973. The launch ceremony took place at the newly minted group in Pohang, 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with the

Defense Dec. 1, 2021

A Seoul court questioned a former opposition lawmaker Wednesday to determine whether to approve an arrest warrant for him on charges of accepting bribes in the form of severance pay for his son from an asset firm at the center of a massive development corruption scandal. Kwak Sang-do quit the main opposition People Power Party and ultimately gave up his parliamentary seat following revelations that his son received 5 billion won ($4.2 million) in severance pay from Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Manageme

Politics Dec. 1, 2021

A semiconductor industry tracker on Wednesday cut in half its growth projection of the global memory chip market next year. World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), a nonprofit organization of chipmakers, forecast the memory market to expand 8.5 percent year-on-year to $171.6 billion next year, down from a growth rate of 18.4 percent with $190.7 billion it forecast in its August report. While the agency did not elaborate, falling DRAM prices and an expected slowdown in memory demand are be

Economy Dec. 1, 2021

South Korean fantasy horror "Hellbound" has dropped to second place on Netflix's weekly official viewership chart for non-English TV programs in its second week of release, the global video streaming service said Wednesday. Yeon Sang-ho's dystopian horror ranked No. 2 on the chart for the week from Nov. 22-28, posting 67.5 million hours of viewing. It was closely followed by the Colombian telenovela "The Queen of Flow: Season 2" with 69 million hours. The Korean-language

Television Dec. 1, 2021

The number of smartphone users on 5G mobile networks had topped 19 million as of October, data showed Wednesday, as new smartphone launches boosted user growth in the latest generation networks. The total number of 5G users reached 19.38 million in October, accounting for around 27 percent of the total 72.15 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea, which has a population of 52 million, first commercialized 5G networks

Industry Dec. 1, 2021

South Korea's military reported 38 additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday, including cluster infections at an Army unit in Gangwon Province, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,366. Ten Army conscripts stationed at a base in Hwacheon, 118 kilometers northeast of Seoul, tested positive after a fellow was infected at their base. All of the newly added patients from the base were fully vaccinated. The military added it is carrying out COVID-19 tests on around 300 troops on the base.

Defense Dec. 1, 2021

The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Seoul surpassed 2,000 for the first time, officials said Wednesday. The capital logged an all-time daily high of 2,222 COVID-19 patients Tuesday, according to the Central Disease Control Headquarters. Only 10 of the city's total were from overseas. The latest daily tally broke Seoul's previous daily record of 1,888 set only four days ago. It also marked an increase of 1,036 from 1,186 the previous day and an increase of 488 from 1,734 a week earlier.

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2021