South Korea's Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook left for the United States on Tuesday for talks on semiconductor supply chains, steel tariffs and other pending issues, his office said. During a three-day stay in Washington, Moon plans to meet with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, as well as other government officials and industry experts, to discuss ways to strengthen economic partnership, according to Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. &q

Foreign Affairs Nov. 9, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. on Tuesday submitted information on their chip businesses to the United States but withheld some key data considered trade secrets in an apparent delicate balancing act. The two South Korean chipmakers made the filings about two months after the US Department of Commerce requested data on the ongoing chip crisis that has hobbled global automakers and other electronic product manufacturers. Washington had asked major chipmakers to "voluntarily"

Industry Nov. 9, 2021

K-pop superstars BTS will hit the stage with American rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a joint performance of "Butter" at the 2021 American Music Awards. BTS and Megan Thee Stallion were among the list of AMA performers announced Monday (US time) by the show on its website, along with Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo. The septet was nominated in three categories -- "Artist of the Year," "Favorite Pop Duo or Group" and "Favorite Pop Song" for "Butter."

K-pop Nov. 9, 2021

The number of travel agencies in South Korea has declined nearly 6 percent over the past two years in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed Tuesday. There were 21,231 tour agencies in Asia's fourth-largest economy as of end-September, down 6.1 percent from two years earlier, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Association. The number fell to 21,540 a year earlier from 22,609 in September 2019 and continued to go south this year. The decrease came as pandemic-indu

Industry Nov. 9, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged to open a hospital for firefighters in 2024 to better safeguard their safety and health. In a message marking the 59th Fire Service Day, Moon also vowed to improve firefighting equipment and provide more personal safety gear. The firefighter hospital, which is under construction as planned, will open in 2024 as the nation "will do its utmost to continue to safeguard firefighters' safety and health," Moon said. "People have always had fai

Politics Nov. 9, 2021

WASHINGTON -- China has the ability to help steer North Korea toward a diplomatic solution of its nuclear standoff, the Pentagon Press Secretary said Monday. John Kirby insisted one way for China to do so would be to faithfully implement UN Security Council sanctions on the North. "China does have influence in Pyongyang and we all, the international community, would like to see them use that influence in a constructive way to put some bite into the sanctions that are already in place unde

Foreign Affairs Nov. 9, 2021

WASHINGTON -- The United States and South Korea fully agree on the need to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy, a state department spokesperson said Monday, reaffirming US commitment to engage with North Korea. Ned Price, however, declined to comment on whether the US agrees with a Seoul-proposed declaration of an end to the Korean War. "We see eye to eye with our South Korean counterparts that achieving a complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula

Foreign Affairs Nov. 9, 2021

South Korea's military held an annual meeting of general-grade officers from all armed services via video links Monday to discuss defense reform, inter-service cooperation and other security issues, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Gen. Won In-choul and the top brass of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps attended the Mugunghwa Meeting that the military has held since 1973 to discuss national security issues. Mugunghwa, the rose of Sharon in English, is the country's na

Defense Nov. 8, 2021

The South Korean men's national football opened training camp Monday ahead of two World Cup qualifying matches this month. Players reported to the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, just north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, for a three-day camp before they host the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday. South Korea will then face Iraq on Nov. 16 in Qatar as a neutral venue. Head coach Paulo Bento named his 25-man roster last Monday, and three Europe-based players who just completed their

Soccer Nov. 8, 2021

The South Korean government reacted cautiously to a report of North Korea's military having staged an "artillery fire competition," saying it will keep a close watch on related situations. "Rather than prejudging North Korea's intentions, the government will closely monitor relevant moves," the unification ministry's spokesperson Lee Jong-joo told reporters when asked about the issue. The previous day, the North's official KCNA news agency reported the training event had be

North Korea Nov. 8, 2021

South Korea and Singapore agreed Monday to conclude their digital trade pact this year in a move to deepen broader trade and economic ties, Seoul's trade ministry said. The agreement was made during the meeting between Seoul's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Singaporean Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng held in Seoul. "The two sides agreed to speed up working-level negotiations with a goal to conclude the Digital Partnership Agreement (DPA) within this year, as their talk

Economy Nov. 8, 2021

South Korean stocks lost for the second straight session Monday as financial, bio and tech stocks plunged. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 9.07 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 2,960.2 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 551 million shares worth some 10.2 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 502 to 352. Foreigners sold a net 122 billion won, while retail investors bought 366 billion w

Market Nov. 8, 2021

South Korea's senior diplomat participated in a preparatory meeting to fine-tune agenda items for an upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, the foreign ministry said Monday. Lee Sung-ho, deputy foreign minister on economic diplomacy, represented Seoul during the virtual conference held last week to prepare for the annual APEC summit slated for Friday. Lee and other participants discussed actions plans for the Putrajaya Vision 2040, which aims to strengthen trade and investme

Foreign Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Monday it has detected 14 hacking attempts from abroad on the country's key industry technologies in the first nine months this year that could have resulted in nearly 1.78 trillion won ($1.5 billion) worth of damage to relevant companies. Of the total cases detected between January and September, seven were reported from the country's leading chip and display industries, according to the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The NIS added it has pre

Social Affairs Nov. 8, 2021

South Korea said Monday it plans to import 200 tons of urea from Vietnam next week in the latest move to help ease a supply shortage of urea water solution, a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions. The amount is part of 10,000 tons of urea that South Korea hopes to import from Vietnam and other nations to make urea water solution, according to the finance ministry. Separately, South Korea is set to import 27,000 liters of urea water solution from Australia, including 20,000

Foreign Affairs Nov. 8, 2021