A choking pall of fine dust plagued much of South Korea on Saturday, prompting authorities to urge vulnerable people to stay indoors. As of noon, the density of ultrafine dust, called PM 2.5, hit the "very bad" level for Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province and South Chungcheong Province, according to data from the state-run Korea Environment Corp. Other parts of the country, excluding Gwangju and South Jeolla Province in the southwest, registered "bad." The level of fine d

Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2021

The music video for K-pop superband BTS' "Dynamite" has passed 1.3 billion views on YouTube, its management agency said Saturday. The video for the megahit single released in 2020 reached the milestone at 10:15 p.m. Friday, Big Hit Music said. It became the seven-member group's third music video to hit 1.3 billion YouTube views following "DNA" and "Boy with Luv." BTS has a total of 35 music videos with more than 100 million views on the global music sharing sit

Performance Nov. 20, 2021

North Korea's foreign ministry on Saturday criticized the U.N. Human Rights Council for adopting "arbitrary" Western standards to attack its human rights conditions. The ministry said the U.N. council's adoption of human rights resolutions "targets particular countries," which is against its purpose of treating human rights issues in a "fair, equal" manner. "The U.N. Human Rights Council has become a stage for pinpointing independent, developing nations

North Korea Nov. 20, 2021

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 3,000 for the fourth consecutive day Saturday, raising concerns over a virus resurgence ahead of the winter months and the full-fledged reopening of schools. The country reported 3,212 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,194 local infections, raising the total caseload to 412,311, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Saturday's caseload was up 178 from the previous day and marks the third-largest tally since the p

Social Affairs Nov. 20, 2021

An ultrafine dust advisory was issued for all of Seoul on Friday for the first time in about six months, the metropolitan government said. The advisory was issued at 7 p.m. as the hourly average density of ultrafine dust particles soared to 83 micrograms per cubic meter as of 6 p.m. and to 96 micrograms per cubic meter one hour later in 25 districts across the capital, according to the city-run Research Institute of Public Health and Environment. It was the first ultrafine dust advisory iss

Social Affairs Nov. 19, 2021

South Korean stocks snapped their three-day losing streak Friday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the recent fall in the local stocks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.64 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 2,971.02 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 649 million shares worth some 10.9 trillion won ($9.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 431 to 403. Foreigners bought a net 231 billion

Market Nov. 19, 2021

A senior official of South Korea's financial regulator on Friday urged major banks to determine their lending rates based on "best practice" and make improvements in relevant procedures if necessary. Lee Chan-woo, first senior deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remark in a meeting with officials of eight banks handling credit affairs in Seoul amid growing worries that the recent steep hike in loan rates could add to the financial burden on households

Economy Nov. 19, 2021

Former President Lee Myung-bak on Friday lost a lawsuit aimed at reversing the prosecution's sell-off of his home in southern Seoul as part of fines handed down to him for corruption charges, officials said. Lee, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, is currently serving a 17-year jail sentence over embezzlement and bribery convictions. He was also handed a fine of 13 billion won ($11 million) and an additional forfeiture of 5.7 billion won. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled against Le

Politics Nov. 19, 2021

A National Assembly committee passed the unification ministry's 2022 budget proposal on Friday despite a boycott by the main opposition party. The ministry had requested 1.27 trillion won ($1.07 billion) for the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to finance various humanitarian, economic and social projects between the South and the North. The ruling Democratic Party added an extra 10.7 billion won on top and passed the proposal during a meeting of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unificat

Politics Nov. 19, 2021

South Korea's media and entertainment giant CJ ENM said Friday it has acquired a managerial stake in Hollywood studio Endeavor Content in a record 920 billion won ($775 million) deal to strengthen its overseas business. CJ ENM purchased an 80 percent stake in the content production-distribution unit of US sports and entertainment group Endeavor Group Holdings. Endeavor Group will retain the remaining 20 percent stake in Endeavor Content, whose management, including co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graha

Industry Nov. 19, 2021

South Korea has expanded a newly minted task force on economic security to better cope with supply chain disruptions and detect emerging risks at an early stage, the foreign ministry said Friday. Lee Seong-ho, deputy minister on economic diplomacy, will lead the task force composed of three subdivisions -- supply chain, digital and new technologies, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) -- the ministry said. The team was launched under the ministry's bilateral economic diplomacy dep

Foreign Affairs Nov. 19, 2021

South Korea's top trade official called on the United States on Friday to launch negotiations swiftly to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai during in a joint committee meeting of the bilateral free trade agreement. It is the first time in 10 years that a US top trade official has visited South Korea. She arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a four-day visit that includes a m

Economy Nov. 19, 2021

South Korea decided to lift the flight ban on Boeing 737 Max later this month, the land ministry said Friday, more than two years after its grounding following the crashes involving the same model in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said its flight will be cleared for passage through the territorial sky, landing and takeoff, from Nov. 22. South Korea put a ban on the B737 Max on March 2019, after the one operated by Ethiopian Airlines plunged to the g

Industry Nov. 19, 2021

Prosecutors on Friday raided an office of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) over allegations government officials were illegally involved in the party's policy development process for the upcoming presidential election. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office dispatched a team of investigators to search the party's policy research office at a building inside the National Assembly compound in Yeouido, western Seoul, earlier in the day, according to judicial sources. The search came after

Politics Nov. 19, 2021