Nearly 500,000 high school seniors and other exam takers nationwide sat down to take the annual national college entrance test Thursday, the second such exam held against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 509,000 high school seniors, graduates and others signed up to take the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a single-day five-session exam, held this year at 1,251 test sites nationwide. It is the second CSAT the country has held since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. boosted its market presence in the global memory market in the third quarter, further consolidating its dominant position in the segment, a report showed Thursday. Samsung, the world's biggest memory chip maker, took up 44 percent of the DRAM market for the three months ending in September, slightly up from 43.6 percent the previous quarter, according to analytics provider TrendForce. DRAM, or dynamic random-access memory, is a volatile semiconductor memory that retains

Industry Nov. 18, 2021

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will hold a meeting with hospital chiefs in the Seoul metropolitan area to discuss operations of intensive care beds amid a rising number of critically ill coronavirus patients, his office said Thursday. Kim will have an emergency meeting with heads of 22 tertiary hospitals in the capital area on Friday to discuss the bed situation for serious COVID-19 patients following concerns over the region's medical capacity. The Seoul metropolitan area, including the surround

Politics Nov. 18, 2021

The government of the southeastern city of Gimhae apologized Thursday for ordering mandatory COVID-19 tests of foreign children registered at the city's daycare centers amid a backlash over xenophobia and rights violations concerns. A government memo obtained by Yonhap News Agency earlier this week showed the municipality, located 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, ordered 93 daycare centers to cooperate with preemptive tests of foreign children under their care on Monday and Tuesday. The city

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2021

South Korea ranks low among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in terms of the employment rate for university graduates due mainly to a severe mismatch between their majors and job openings, a report showed Thursday. The employment rate for South Koreans aged 25-34 with university diplomas came to 75.2 percent in 2020, the 31st lowest among 37 comparable OECD member countries, according to the report from the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). Th

Social Affairs Nov. 18, 2021

T he United States is very satisfied with its consultations with South Korea and Japan on the best way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday. The US diplomat, however, declined to offer any direct response when asked if the US supported declaring a formal end to the Korean War as proposed by South Korea. "The United States is very satisfied with the consultations we are having both with the Republic of Korea and with Japan and with

Foreign Affairs Nov. 18, 2021

Tesla Korea, BMW Korea and two other companies will voluntarily recall more than 2,500 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The two other companies are MAN Truck & Bus Korea and Moto Rossa, which imports Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A's two wheelers, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The

Industry Nov. 18, 2021

North Korea on Wednesday slammed the United States for its ongoing nuclear command training exercise, calling it a nuclear war drill targeting the entire world. Global Thunder, led by the US Strategic Command, is an annual command military exercise that provides training opportunities, with a specific focus on nuclear readiness. The exercise, which kicked off on Nov. 1, involves a number of countries, including South Korea. In a commentary posted on its website, the North's foreign ministry s

North Korea Nov. 17, 2021

The US Forces Korea on Wednesday started inoculating children in its affiliated community with a pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at three of its bases, its officials said. The vaccination program for children aged 5 to 11 started at the medical facilities in Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and Camp Walker in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of the capital, the USFK said. The vaccination came after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized the

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2021

North Korea has expressed concerns over the spread of the coronavirus and a "catastrophic public health crisis," after countries across the globe eased a set of antivirus rules as part of efforts to gradually get back to pre-pandemic normalcy. The North's official radio broadcaster Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported Tuesday the virus situation is at a serious stage, citing "premature" decisions to lift social distancing measures against COVID-19. "Countries

North Korea Nov. 17, 2021

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said Wednesday that the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010 was clearly the act of North Korea. Yoon made the remarks during a meeting with Choi Won-il, the retired captain of the sunken naval ship Cheonan, and Lee Seong-woo, who represents family members of the fallen soldiers, saying that questioning the scientifically proven investigation outcome comes from a "submissive" attitu

Politics Nov. 17, 2021

South Korean stocks retreated more than 1 percent Wednesday, as strong US economic data raised concerns about an earlier than expected rate hike by the US Federal Reserve amid rising inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 34.79 points, or 1.16 percent, to close at 2,962.42 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 533 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($8.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 730 to

Market Nov. 17, 2021

The combined net profit of listed South Korean companies rose 165.8 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, the bourse operator said Wednesday. The combined net profit of 586 out of 670 firms listed on the main Kospi bourse came to 128 trillion won ($108 billion) in the January-September period, up from 48.19 trillion won during the same period of last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). The bourse operator excluded 84 out of 670 compani

Industry Nov. 17, 2021

App store operators will face a fine of up to two percent for forcing developers to use their own in-app payment systems, the country's telecommunications regulator said Wednesday. Under the enforcement decree of the revised law aimed at curbing Google Inc. and other app store operators' dominance, such app store operators will have to pay one percent of their revenue for delays in reviewing apps, according to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). In August, South Korea made amendments to

Industry Nov. 17, 2021

Daily coronavirus cases in Seoul topped 1,400 for the first time Wednesday, two weeks after the nation drastically eased social distancing rules. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 1,436 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the capital over the past 24 hours, the highest since the start of the pandemic early last year. Of them, 1,432 were local infections, and four were imported cases. The total caseload reached 134,949 in the city with a population of more than 9.58 mil

Social Affairs Nov. 17, 2021